Your FPS and ping are two of the most important numbers you must remember when playing any competitive game, including Valorant. While your in-game settings can be tweaked to get the most FPS possible from your hardware, ping is different.
If you’re experiencing lags when playing Valorant online, chances are your high ping is causing issues. If you get stuck in a situation like that, here’s how to lower your ping on Valorant.
Also read: Can’t play Valorant on Windows 11: Quick Fix
Check Network Buffering settings
One in-game setting in Valorant you can tweak to get better ping is the Network Buffering setting. Here’s how.
Step 1: Open Valorant, click the gear icon at the top right and then choose Settings from the menu that appears.
Step 2: Under the General tab, scroll down to find the Network Buffering setting. You can choose between the Minimum, Moderate, and Maximum settings here based on how severe the issue is, respectively. It might not reduce your ping immediately, but it should improve the overall experience.
Repair your Valorant installation
Corrupt or missing files can also cause Valorant to get stuck during updates. Here’s how to repair your Valorant installation.
Step 1: Open the Riot Client and click the profile icon at the top-right.
Step 2: Click the Settings option.
Step 3: Select Valorant from the Settings menu and click the Repair button to validate your files.
Once the process is complete, Valorant will automatically download
Restart your router
This should be your first troubleshooting item when diagnosing internet-related issues. If your network runs slower than usual, try restarting your router to resolve the issue.
Switch to Ethernet
If you’re using Wi-Fi, try using ethernet while gaming instead. A wired connection will always be more stable than a wireless one, and in a game like Valorant, where ping and reaction times are everything, every millisecond counts.
End background tasks
If you don’t have a lot of system resources to run Valorant, it’s a good idea to pop open the Task Manager and kill some background tasks that might be hogging your CPU, Memory, GPU, and in this case, network bandwidth to ensure Valorant has some breathing room. Here’s how.
Step 1: Press the Windows Key + X or right-click the Start menu icon to open the Quick Action menu. Click Task Manager from the menu.
Step 2: End any non-essential processes or tasks that might consume system resources. A good example is browser windows that you no longer need or any other programs you might not be using at present. To end a task, click it and then click the End Task button in the bottom right.
Check your drivers
Your network adaptor’s drivers could be causing connectivity issues. Try connecting to the Internet using an ethernet connection or any other alternative, and follow these steps to install your drivers.
Step 1: Press the Windows key + R, type in devmgmt.msc and hit enter.
Step 2: Double-click Network adaptors to expand it and right click your Wi-Fi card or ethernet adaptor, depending upon what you need to fix. Click on Update driver.
Step 3: Select Search automatically for drivers, and Windows will find and install any available updates.
Now restart your PC and try again. The issue should be resolved.
Also read: Is Valorant cross-platform?