Lag sucks. Picture this: you’ve booted up Dota 2 for a quick round of tower-destroying, creep-slaying, and human-foe-dominating action. Things are going great! You managed to pick Pudge before anyone else, or maybe you’re more of a Spectre main. Whatever the case, you get out there, take out a few creeps, run into your first real player and… you’re dead.
You’re dead, and you know for a fact they weren’t on your screen long enough to do that. You resolve, at long last, to see what you can do about lowering that high ping rate. Luckily, I can help with that. Here’s how to fix the most common causes of high Dota 2 ping, with a little help from CyberGhost VPN.
Quick Guide: How to Reduce Ping on Dota 2 with a VPN
Here’s how to resolve a lot of network-based ping problems in just a few minutes:
- Get CyberGhost VPN.
- Connect to a VPN server that’s close to the game server you want to play on.
- Start up Dota 2 and try to lock in your favorite champion.
Why Is My Ping on Dota 2 So High?
Oh, there are a number of reasons that could be happening. You could be connected to a server that’s too far away, for one thing. But even if you’re playing on the right server for your region, your signal can get waylaid by bad signal routing, overloaded networks, and other network-related issues.
Back at home, you might be dealing with software or hardware issues, or you might need to change up the way you actually connect to the internet. Thankfully, most of these issues are fixable within minutes, either with a no-lag VPN, or just a little bit of tinkering.
What Is a Good Ping for Dota 2?
The “good ping formula” for Dota 2 is the same as for most fast-paced games that require good reflexes and timing: If you can get between 25-40 ms of ping, you’re golden. If you can get even lower than that, you’re living the dream. 40-60 ms of ping is still perfectly playable, and you won’t see too much difference.
60-80 ms of ping is still playable, but opponents with better connections will have a distinct advantage over you. Finally, going over 80 ms of ping is when you’ll really start to notice it, and going over 100 will feel a lot like actual pain.
6 Ways to Lower Your Ping on Dota 2
1. Use a VPN
Yes, a VPN can, in fact, help to lower your ping in the right circumstances. It works by routing all of your internet traffic through a VPN server in a location of your choice. If you pick a VPN server that’s close to the game server, then the VPN has more control over how your signal gets to its destination.
This allows a VPN to automatically choose the fastest route possible, bypassing a lot of signal routing problems, the aforementioned overloaded networks, and other external networking issues. From the VPN server, your data only has to take a short trip to the gaming server and back, creating a generally smoother and often faster connection.
What’s more, all of the data sent between your PC and the VPN server is encrypted – and the VPN will also change your IP address. This helps to deal with other sources of lag and high ping, like your ISP throttling your game traffic and the possibility of DDoS attacks, letting you play Dota 2 more safely on any network.
If you want to get in a match on your lunch break at work or school, a VPN will also help you bypass any game-specific network blocks that might otherwise ruin your fun.
2. Use a wired connection
Next up, make sure that you make use of the ethernet port on your PC. If you’re on a Mac that only has USB-C, then get yourself an ethernet dongle. Running a cable to your modem or router is almost always going to give you a superior connection to your modem or router than Wi-Fi’s radio waves.
That said, Wi-Fi is getting a lot better with every new version, and there may come a time when the difference is negligible. We’re just not there yet.
3. Try another server region
Play around – try a different server, and see what works for you. Now Dota 2 should, if everything goes right, connect you to the server region closest to you automatically. That usually means getting the lowest ping possible.
But, if you live someplace far away from any of the official servers, it might choose one that is too far away by accident. Or maybe the nearest server is actually the wrong one, because there are more overloaded networks between you and that server location. In that case, a server that’s further away might actually provide a better connection. The point is that you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment.
4. Reboot/update your PC and modem
Turn it off, turn it on, and see if that helps. I’m serious. The longer any computer runs, the more you’ll find that little errors and problems pile up. It’s pretty much inevitable. That’s why rebooting your PC seems to fix so many issues, and it can sometimes solve high ping problems as well. The same goes for your router or modem.
Also keep in mind that software bugs can cause lag – so keeping your operating system up to date can help to resolve those issues. If you can, update the firmware on your modem too.
5. Clear your temporary files and DNS cache
Your computer likes to set aside files that it thinks it’s going to need later, in a “cache.” It also does this for all the servers you connect to as you game and browse the web. If either of these caches gets outdated or corrupted, they can cause problems, including lag and high ping. This may even stop you from connecting to the game at all.
Whatever operating system you use, there are plenty of tutorials on the web that teach you how to remove old temporary files. As for flushing the DNS cache, you may have to fiddle around with the command line a bit to get it done, but there are plenty of guides for that as well.
6. Call your ISP
If all else fails, if there’s no one else to whom you can turn… you might have to call the customer service department at your ISP. I know it can be painful. The awful on-hold music, the gauntlet of automated systems that try to keep you from talking to a real person, the social interaction. It’s all a bit much, but sometimes it must be done.
Your ISP’s support team might be able to fix the problem for you. Failing that, they might at least help you to identify the problem, and direct you towards a solution. Give them a call, or even write them an email. It could help.
Why CyberGhost Is the Best VPN for Dota 2
You might have noticed above that I made a big deal about selecting the VPN server closest to the game server. That’s where CyberGhost VPN comes in handy. It has VPN servers in every country where Dota 2 operates gaming servers, so you can always get a fast connection.
The servers themselves are fast, too, designed to handle massive amounts of data quickly. They’ll have no trouble keeping up with your ever-increasing actions per minute as you climb the ranked ladder.
Best of all, CyberGhost VPN works with every device that’ll let you play Dota 2: PCs with Windows, Mac, or Linux, as well as Windows/Linux-based handhelds like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally. It works great with GeForce Now streaming as well. Combine all of that with powerful data encryption, DDoS attack mitigation built into every server, and 24/7 customer support via live chat (you’ll probably never need it, but just in case), and you have one heck of a gaming VPN.
FAQ
Move next door to the data center that houses the gaming server. I’m not kidding. Getting a ping of under 20 ms isn’t easy, and is unlikely to happen unless you live in the same city as the game servers you want to play on. Remember, you’re up against Isaac Newton and all those pesky laws of physics when you’re trying to lower your ping, and distance is a factor.
The lower the better! Now, in just about any online game including Dota 2, a ping of 25-40 ms will make your gameplay smooth, and will give you an advantage – or at least an even footing – in your skirmishes with other players. 40-60 ms is still pretty good, and 60-80 ms is playable, but will put you at a disadvantage versus players with a lower ping rate than you.
That could happen for a number of reasons. Of course, your distance from the game server is a huge factor, so try to make sure you’re playing on the Dota servers nearest to you. Other factors include congested networks, bad signal routing, bugs in your software, a misconfigured server in your ISP’s data center… and so many other things.
Start by getting CyberGhost VPN, and connect to a fast VPN server that’s close to the game server. That’ll bypass a lot of network issues. You can also make sure you’re playing on a wired connection. Then, clear the cache on your PC or Mac, reboot your computer and modem, and try connecting to other game servers. If all else fails, call your ISP for support. It could help.
The quick and dirty way is to open up your chat mid-match with the Enter key, and type in “-PING” (without the quotes), and hit Enter again. Your ping will be displayed on the right. For a more permanent solution – and more detailed info – go to the main menu and select: Options > Advanced Options > Miscellaneous and tick Display Network Information.
Yes. High ping can cost you your fights, your digital lives, and the whole match in pretty much any fast-paced online game, and Dota 2 is very much a fast-paced game. If your ping is too high, you may find yourself wandering onto battlefields only to die seconds later, wondering what the heck hit you as your PC catches up with the game server.
Leave a comment