Forum Discussion

rsummers's avatar
rsummers
Settling in
17 days ago

Possible congestion when gaming

I play Valorant on London servers and always get ping spikes not related to hardware. I have checked fps, drivers and anything I could think to do with my PC. I think it may be to do with my internet connection. I am using an ethernet connection and get fast enough speeds so the only thing I can think it would be is congestion somewhere in my area.

Here is a broadband monitoring graph from the other day: https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/3fd1826f9a01c9295685adaeb7edc1da8708ae7b-28-02-2025

Let me know if I have missed anything, I have even tried getting a new router to see if that would make a difference and it has not. 

    • rsummers's avatar
      rsummers
      Settling in
      17 days ago

      Would the high maximum ping cause ping spikes. Seeing as the game is fast paced, any difference in ping is noticeable even going from 20 to 40. Is there anything I can do to minimise the range in ping? 

      • Cardiffman282's avatar
        Cardiffman282
        Trouble shooter
        17 days ago

        Actually looking at the BQM there are the beginnings of packet loss at the end of the tracked period. Check for local faults on 0800 561 0061. 

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    17 days ago

    You have ignored the vast majority of the network, which is beyond VM and the unknown performance of the game servers.

    • rsummers's avatar
      rsummers
      Settling in
      17 days ago

      I can say it almost certainly is not the game servers, if it was then other people in my games would experience similar ping spikes. Additionally, it happens every game (no matter time of day), so it is not a specific server location. I have also tested it at different times and it makes no difference - so it isn't the servers being unable to handle the load during peak times.

  • jpeg1's avatar
    jpeg1
    Alessandro Volta
    16 days ago

    Apart from the burst of packet loss at 11pm, it's pretty good. Pings of 40 aren't bad, many VM users get far worse every day. 

    Post a live link to the BQM so we can see if the 11pm burst is repeated. 

    • rsummers's avatar
      rsummers
      Settling in
      16 days ago

      Hi usually I would agree with you as it shouldn't make much of a difference but in Valorant a ping spike from 20-40 is very noticeable (enemy players will teleport on screen even from it happening once) and can impact the outcome of a game. I would honestly be happy with a constant 30/40 ping instead of the fluctuations but I don't think there is a way to achieve that.

    • rsummers's avatar
      rsummers
      Settling in
      16 days ago

      Here is a live link: https://www.thinkbroadband.com/broadband/monitoring/quality/share/c1bc16fb43a8c7101bdf73b09e601664b07fd437

  • jpeg1's avatar
    jpeg1
    Alessandro Volta
    16 days ago

    Well right now your BQM is very good for a VM connection, just an occasional peak above 30Mbps. VM will not be able to improve this. 

    As said, many users get far worse than this. Unfortunately if it's not satisfactory for your needs then you'll need to find another service.