Eli5: what is ping in games and how can you fix it?
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Ping time is the round trip time it takes for a message to be sent from your computer to a server and back to your computer. This is important in many online games: You perform an action (e.g. pressing Q in league of legends) and your computer needs to send the message “player pressed Q” to the lol server. The lol server then needs to distribute this message to all the other players so that they can also see that you activated your ability. If you have a low ping, the message gets distributed really fast. Conversely, if you have a high ping, it takes longer for other players to see that you pressed Q, but it also takes you longer to see what the other players are doing, as the messages take longer to transmit.
Ping is affected by lots of factors. Firstly, it is lower (=better) the closer the server is to you geographycally. This is why your ping will be better if you are in Europe and play on EU servers rather than playing on US servers. On the other hand, if you are in the US, US servers will be better. So, step 1 is to choose the server closest to you.
Then, make sure that you have a good internet connection. Wired is better than wireless. And if you use a wireless connection make sure that you have a good signal strength.
As a last resort, check your internet contract and how your house is connected to the internet as different ways of connecting and even different ISPs (internet companies) might yield different results.
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