League of Legends is now well into its thirteenth season, and despite some teething issues, things are settling down. A new competitive year is also well underway, so you can see your favourite pros back in action on the live stage.
While the pros often sit quite happily on very low ping, most casual gamers are confined to the realm of 20+ or higher. Here's how you can reduce your ping on Summoner's Rift, so you have the extra split second to dodge that Ashe arrow from downtown.
Build Your Collection: Shop League of Legends Collectables at Sideshow
How to reduce your ping in League of Legends
Unfortunately, the biggest factor that decides your ping is your location, both within and on which server you're logged in. NA Players for example typically deal with much higher ping, as their server covers a much wider area than that of EUW for example.
The easiest and surefire way to reduce your ping on any server worldwide, however, is to switch from Wi-Fi to Ethernet. Running a cable from your Broadband hub to your PC will improve your connection significantly.
Other ways to reduce ping
There are plenty of other ways to reduce your ping in League of Legends that require very little technical know-how. These will fix various issues, including internet connectivity and a slow CPU, all of which can affect ping:
- The first solution to high ping is to restart your modem and router. This alone fixes most internet issues players experience.
- Update your drivers. Many players go for years without updating their drivers and some errors can increase your ping.
- Close other applications that might lower your bandwidth, like Google Chrome, Steam, and Battle.net. To check what is taking up bandwidth, press Windows logo +R and type in resmon. In the opened window, look at B/sec column to get a rough idea of what’s eating away at your precious bandwidth.
- Shut down any antivirus software. They are usually one of the main culprits when it comes to ping.
- Use Riot’s League of Legends Hextech Repair Tool to diagnose your PC.
- Disable any proxy or VPN you’re currently using. While they are advertised as software that can reduce ping, they tend to increase it.
- Change your DNS server in your settings. Navigate to the Network & Internet option in the Control Panel and find the Adapter Settings and change TCP/IPv4 addresses to either 8.8.8.8 or 8.8.4.4.
- Renew your IP address. Open the command prompt with Windows Logo + R then type in cmd. Type “ipconfig /release” in the newly opened window to refresh your IP.
Once you've tried a few of these, you should be in perfect shape to head onto the rift and play some League of Legends.