Sorry I don’t know how to explain it and it might even sound like an excuse if I do but its not. Its not the typical kind of lag which is why I have such trouble fixing it.
Playing online feels very laggy for me (no rubberbanding “just” latency), its not every game but most of the time.
This is probably not a hardware issue because I had this even when I played on my PS3 a decade ago, my PS4 and even now on my PC. I get frustrated of my inability to fix this lag but after a while I just live with it.
I would like to believe this is just all my imagination but when I watch recorded footage I just can’t stop feeling betrayed.
What lag am I talking about?
You always hear that killcams aren’t accurate and it makes sense because its the server’s point of view but for me they are.
What do I mean with that, simple killcams show delayed gameplay which is exactly what I feel.
If I shoot something standing still all of my shots will hit but if my target is moving up, down, left or right on my screen some of my shots just dont hit.
This really handicaps me when I play aim heavy heroes best example playing Soldier.
Often you will have to shoot Phara’s out of the sky but because she is always moving I get those situations where I am shooting through her. I am very confident in my aim and would say that even when my crosshair is 60% of the time on the enemies character my accuracy will always be at ~30%.
“Simple solution don’t play hitscan” well yes but its not just hitscans even projectiles like Hanzo’s arrow can feel impossible to hit also every hero needs aim. I don’t want to main mercy because my connection decides it.
Its also not just about aim like I’ve said my whole gameplay feels delayed, no I am not talking about Input lag. When playing against skilled players with good reaction time I just feel helpless, they can simply spawn in deathmatch and just kill me while they are still glowing blue from the spawn Animation while I can get killed in black screen.
By the way is that normal to spawn but not see your game? I get asked a lot why I walk against the wall in spawn because I hold w in that 1-2 sec blackscreen.
What could be the problem I just can’t find the reason for it.
- Play on 40ms latency in Overwatch
- Play on a Ethernet cable with 100 mbp/s down & 6 mbp/s upload
- My pc is new I just build it 4-5 months ago and Overwatch is on my M.2 SSD
- Play on a 144hz BenQ monitor
When checking the Network graph (ctrl+shift+n) I can’t find anything fishy so its not packet loss either. (sadly I can’t run a test because my router doesn’t allow them)
My ISP has no idea what could be the issue as the connection is perfectly fine and yet I feel like I play on +100ms. Actually there is no difference between playing on EU and US Servers for me even if my ping is different (40ms EU, 120ms US) I get shot around corners just as much and have basicly no time to react to my enemies actions as they already happend the moment I see them.
Again this is not just my Imagination I know this is lag because I get games where I am hitting normal even shots I should have missed and don’t feel like I am dead before I know it. It has nothing to do with skill differences either as I can play normal against Grandmasters but lose to someone in Gold while getting this lag.
Any ideas what I could try?
Even if the connection is stable, it could be packet loss. It’s hard to detect when it’s happening in small quantities. You said your router doesn’t allow you to run tests? The router not responding to ping could be a defense mechanism, but it should respond because that is how a tech would make sure it is functioning properly when pinging you from the ISP or with their equipment at your home.
Can you humor me and try running a WinMTR?
How far is your cable stretching to reach you? There is such a thing as attenuation, which can effect older cables like Cat5 and Cat5e in a shorter distance than Cat6. It could also just be a bad connector somewhere that is leading to the smallest amount of lag.
Have you checked your SIM value in the network graph also? It could be that something is interfering with your hardware while you play, but I think this is the least likely culprit since you said it has always happened.
Weird after giving it another try I am getting results:
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| WinMTR statistics |
| Host - % |
Sent |
Recv |
Best |
Avrg |
Wrst |
Last |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| ip5b41b2fe.dynamic.kabel-deutschland(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
7 |
13 |
64 |
17 |
| 83-169-179-206-isp.superkabel(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
8 |
12 |
40 |
11 |
| ip5886c08a.static.kabel-deutschland(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
8 |
13 |
42 |
14 |
| ip5886edb0.static.kabel-deutschland(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
8 |
13 |
42 |
14 |
| ip5886edf0.static.kabel-deutschland(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
17 |
22 |
53 |
24 |
| ip5886eda3.static.kabel-deutschland(dot)de - 4 |
332 |
322 |
17 |
22 |
52 |
25 |
| pr01.eqfr5.blizzardonline(dot)net - 4 |
332 |
322 |
17 |
23 |
48 |
26 |
| ae1-br01-eqfr5.as57976(dot)net - 4 |
330 |
320 |
27 |
55 |
2418 |
34 |
| et-0-0-2-br01-eqam1.as57976(dot)net - 4 |
332 |
322 |
24 |
32 |
147 |
29 |
| 137.221.65.33 - 4 |
332 |
322 |
25 |
52 |
527 |
36 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| No response from host - 100 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| ________________________________________________ |
______ |
______ |
______ |
______ |
______ |
______ |
WinMTR v0.92 GPL V2 by Appnor MSP - Fully Managed Hosting & Cloud Provider
I am using a Cat5e 30m cable, could this be the problem? I was thinking about getting a new one as my router moved and is only 10-15 meters away.
Since you’re seeing consistent packet loss, I’d start by replacing the simplest thing first, which is the cable. Upgrade to a Cat6, and try to limit the distance if possible, just for future issues that may arise. You could also contact your ISP at the same time to see if you can get your equipment looked at.
Is there a big difference between Cat 6 and Cat 7? also is 15 meter okay?
I just tried to see when exactly my game starts to feel “laggy” I played some mccree hs only as the hitboxes are very small… for the first 15 kills its smooth. I don’t have to reload mid fight and hit my shots but after 2-3 minutes I suddenly don’t hit anything and see bullets hitting but not doing damage, flying through heads and my enemies are having trouble hitting me. This results and 3 players shooting at me and neither I or any of them hit me except the guy from the side because ‘adad’ is like standing still for flankers.
Just try one thing at a time 
More info on cable types: https://planetechusa.com/blog/ethernet-different-ethernet-categories-cat3-vs-cat5e-vs-cat6-vs-cat6a-vs-cat7-vs-cat8/
I faced the same issue as well. In conclusion, it’s not worth to play with a low ping. Force your ping to be around 50-100 would be ideal since most opponents are around that ping and this game favors the shooter so if your opponent has higher ping they are going to hit your ghost. I know some of you would say it doesn’t matter since you move faster but no in a game when milliseconds matter if all they see is your ghost they will have the upper hand u r basically slower to them. Get mid to high stable ping if your ping is unstable nothing matters anymore.
*I personally tested this myself, playing on my lan network with 15ms ping i miss all my obvious shots like how you described but switching it to my mobile network (USB tethered) and a 56ms ping I immediately felt that all my shots are connected getting gold medals and potgs are easier.