Despite the popularity of the game, we received several reports from users that they received the ‘High Ping’ issue on League of Legends quite frequently. Normally, when people have a high ping, it is directly associated with the network but according to our survey and findings, this wasn’t the case at all. In this article, we will go through all the reasons as to why this issue occurs and what are the possible workarounds or fixes to solve the problem.
What causes High Ping in League of Legends?
After we received several user reports, we started an investigation on our own and after troubleshooting everything, we came to the conclusion that there were several reasons as to why this issue occurred. The reasons why you experience a high ping or latency in League of Legends are but not limited to: Before you start with the solutions, make sure that you have an active internet connection on your computer. Furthermore, you should also be logged in as an administrator on your computer and have a valid copy of League of Legends. Note: Another case which you should avoid is running League of Legends through an external hard drive. When you use the External hard drive, the communication between the game and the servers slow down as another step of communication has to be done. This can be fixed by installing League of Legends in the computer’s hard drive and then launching it.
How to check the Ping/Latency in League of Legends?
Here, we have listed the method on how you can check the ping/latency in League of Legends. The display of Ping/FPS will be toggled when clicking the keys. However, if your configurations are changed, nothing will happen. Below is the method on how you can change the key binding which displays the FPS/latency on your screen.
How much Latency is Playable?
On top of users reporting the error to us, we also got several questions about how much latency is actually playable or is good to play. A ‘good’ latency varies from place to place. If the place where you live has a mediocre internet connection, then any latency below 90 or 100 is good to play. In some cases, this might even stretch to 150 or 180 which is even playable. However, any latency above 180/200 is considered a bad latency especially if you are experiencing frequent spikes when playing. These spikes make your action get relayed more slowly and causes a lot of different issues. Below are the solutions which proved to solve the problem for several users. Make sure that you start them from the top and work your way down accordingly. The solutions are ordered with respect to usefulness and accuracy in fixing the issue.
Pre-requisite: A Stable Internet Connection
Of course, without a stable internet connection, you will not be able to play League of Legends properly and your Ping will be very high. A stable internet connection meant for gaming means that a minimum number of people are connected to it and it is subscribed to a specific speed. This is a very important step. If you don’t have a fast and stable internet connection, there are high chances that the solutions below will not work as expected.
Solution 1: Updating LoL to the Latest Patch
League of Legends uses the Riot launcher to run the game. The launcher is itself responsible for installing all the patches against your game whenever you launch it to play. However, if you are already playing the game and a new patch comes out, the game will still continue. The patch will only be installed after you close the game. The client will then bar the game from launching until the latest patch has been downloaded and installed accordingly. Hence, you should exit the game and launch the Riot client. Click on League of Legends and see if there are any pending updates. If there are, wait patiently until they are completed. Do a complete restart of your system and launch League of Legends as an administrator on your computer.
Solution 2: Deleting the Configuration Files of LoL
Another thing to try before we move on to more extensive and technical methods is to delete all the configuration files of League of Legends. These configuration files store all your preferences and variables the game needs to perform its own processing. Just like all other temporary files, there are instances where the configuration files get corrupt or outdated. If any of these occur, the game will not be able to launch properly and will cause several issues including the high latency or ping. In this solution, we will navigate to League of Legends directory and delete the configuration files. Note: Do note that this will not remove your username etc. from League of Legends. Although, there might be ‘some’ preferences which will need to be saved again.
Solution 3: Using Hextech Repair Tool
Another thing to try before we move on to other alternatives is running the Hextech Repair Tool. Riot/Hectech have released a repair tool which analyzes all the installation files of the game and if they find any discrepancy, they delete the file and replace it with a fresh copy fetched online. This eliminates majority errors if they are originating from file corruption or missing files. To run the repair tool, an active internet connection is required. Make sure that you run the repair tool as an administrator as well and wait for the process to complete.
Solution 4: Setting Google’s DNS
If all the above methods fail to work and you are still having issues with high ping/latency in League of Legends, you can try changing your default DNS to Google’s DNS. Domain Name Servers are used sparingly in the game but if there is an issue with them and the game is unable to communicate properly, it might cause frequent latency/ping spikes on your game. Do note that this will also be reflected in other applications as we will be making changes to the DNS settings of the computer and not the game. If the issue persists, you can always revert back the changes instantly.
Solution 5: Checking Already Running Applications
All applications compete for resources when they are running on your computer simultaneously. These applications might include Torrent clients, downloading software, or other games, etc. If League of Legends has to compete with other applications for its bandwidth usage, you will experience extremely high pings and latencies. In this solution, we will open the task manager and close all these applications forcefully and then check if the ping issue is resolved.
Solution 6: Power cycling your computer
Power Cycling is an act where you turn off your computer and all other modules completely. When you do this, all the modules will be forced to reinitialize their configurations completely and this will also help services/modules recover from unexpected issues. This will also reset network configurations when you completely power cycle your computer. To Power Cycle your laptop shut it down properly and remove the power cable from it. Next, you have to remove the battery properly by clicking the button. Now, press the power button for around 1 minute. After performing all the actions, wait for 2-3 minutes before you plug everything back in. The main reason for taking out the battery is that all electronic modules get discharged properly and all the data stored in the RAM gets erased. Now, turn the laptop back in and check if the issue is resolved. If you have a PC, shut it down completely, and disconnect all modules and take out the main power cable. Now, wait for around 3-5 minutes and then check if the issue is resolved. Note: Perform the Power Cycling in your router as well. If there are some issues on it, they will be reinitialized.
Solution 7: Running in Compatibility mode
If all the above methods don’t work, it is possible that your computer has compatibility issues with the version of the game. This occurs when your computer has low hardware specifications and is trying to run a full-fledged game. On top of hardware, the compatibility mode also fixes other issues regarding the operation and network handling of the game. In this article, we will navigate to the game’s properties and make sure it runs in compatibility mode when you turn it on the next time.
Solution 8: Disabling Proxy Servers
A lot of different organizations make use of Proxy servers in their network. Proxy servers primarily do the task of mapping a single IP to multiple computers by assigning them sub-IP addresses so large number of requests can be entertained in low bandwidth. On top of this, the proxy server also caches data and returns it to computers if it has the latest copy of what the computer is requesting. However, proxy servers are known to be troublesome when users are playing online real-time games as the packet of the game first goes to the proxy server and after it’s processing, it is forwarded. Same goes for the return journey. In this solution, we will disable all proxy servers from your computer. Furthermore, if you are using an open internet connection (in organizations or public places), it is recommended that you change your network.
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