Ping spikes in online games is an issue that many of us have faced. Even if your internet seems to be fine, high ping can result in lags and delayed responses. In fast-paced games like Valorant which involves lots of movement and shooting, this latency can make your gameplay feel sluggish. It might even be the reason you lose battles. But why let your opponents have an unfair advantage with better response times when you can fix the unwanted ping spikes in Valorant? Read further to find out how.
Ping Spikes in Valorant: Why and How to Fix
Valorant, being a competitive and strategic game, demands optimal performance. High ping can significantly hinder your ability to compete effectively. Moreover, it can lead to frequent disconnections and game crashes. To address this issue, first, let’s understand why your ping is so high in Valorant all of a sudden.
- Network Congestion
- Limited Bandwidth
- Unstable Internet Connectivity
- Improper DNS Settings
Method 1: Basic Troubleshooting Solutions
High ping is fundamentally a network issue. Let’s start with some basic optimizations and see if they help.
Kill Background Applications: Background applications, especially those requiring an internet connection, can consume bandwidth which could cause latency issues in Valorant. We suggest you close all unnecessary programs.
Optimize Network Connectivity: If the system is connected to a poor and unstable internet source, they need to be fixed primarily for the game to run lag-free. Check our guide on Slow Internet Connection? 10 Ways to Speed up your Internet! for help.
Use VPN: Ping issues can also occur in the game if there are discrepancies with the Valorant server. Visit Riot Games official website and then check the server status in your region. If there are downtime issues, connect the PC to a reliable VPN service that would help you connect the device to the game server in any other region.
Method 2: Set Valorant to High Priority
You can set Valorant to high priority in Task Manager which will allocate more system resources to the game, potentially reducing lag and improving performance.
1. Launch Valorant on your PC, then press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager.
2. Move to the Details tab and look for Valorant processes in the list, typically named Valorant.exe or similar.
3. Right-click on each Valorant process, hover the cursor over Set Priority, and choose High.
4. Click on the Change priority button to confirm.
Method 3: Adjust Valorant Network Buffering Settings
High ping is often accompanied by packet loss, where data packets sent between your computer and the game server do not reach their destination. Modifying Network Buffering settings in Valorant can help with ping spikes.
1. Launch VALORANT, navigate the SETTINGS menu, and go to the GENERAL tab.
2. Look for the Network Buffering settings and choose Maximum for significant ping issues or Moderate for minor problems.
3. Restart VALORANT and play to see if the adjustments reduced the ping.
Also Read: What are Best Settings for Valorant for FPS?
Method 4: Open Firewall Ports for Valorant
Valorant uses specific ports for its communication with game servers. If these ports are blocked or restricted by your firewall, it can result in delayed or lost data packets and high ping. Here’s how you can open them:
1. Open the Control Panel on your PC and click on System and Security, followed by Windows Defender Firewall.
2. On the left pane, click on Advanced settings to open the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security window.
3. Right-click on Inbound Rules in the left pane and select New Rule… from the context menu.
4. In the New Inbound Rule Wizard, select Port and click Next.
5. Choose TCP or UDP, depending on the requirement.
6. In the Specific local ports field, enter the following port numbers (such as 8393-8400) for Valorant and click Next to proceed.
- 7000 – 7500 UDP (VALORANT Game Client)
- 8393 – 8400 TCP (Patcher and Maestro)
- 2099 TCP (PVP.Net)
- 5223 TCP (PVP.Net)
- 5222 TCP (PVP.Net)
- 80 TCP (HTTP Connections)
- 443 TCP (HTTPS Connections)
- 8088 UDP and TCP (Spectator Mode)
7. Select Allow the connection and click Next.
Now follow the on-screen instructions and once done, play Valorant and check if the issue is resolved.
Method 5: Flush DNS Cache
When you access a website on your PC, it stores DNS cache memory, which reduces the time it takes to load the same website when you visit it next time. However, over time, it can get filled, corrupt, and affect processes. Refer to our guide on How to Flush DNS Cache in Windows 11 to clear them out and fix the ping spikes issue in Valorant.
Method 6: Change DNS Server
Unreliable or overloaded DNS servers can contribute to network instability and affect online games. Switching to a more stable DNS server can help mitigate these issues.
1. Follow the path: Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Centre.
2. Click on Change adapter settings in the left pane.
3. Right-click on your active network connection and select Properties from the context menu.
4. Choose Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
5. Select Use the following DNS server addresses.
6. Set the Preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and the Alternate DNS server to 8.8.4.4, and click on OK to save the changes.
Method 7: Update Network Adapter Drivers
In case network adapters of the PC have outdated Odrivers, internet connectivity would not work fine and that could lead to high ping in games such as Valorant. You can update the drivers. Check our guide on How to Update Network Adapter Drivers on Windows 11.
We hope our guide helped you fix the issue of ping spikes in Valorant. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments box below. Stay tuned to TechCult for solutions to such game-related troubles.