Path of Exile is one of those games where timing and reaction matter, whether you’re diving headfirst into a map packed with enemies or trying to time your flask usage just right during a boss fight. So when you’re dealing with high latency, it’s more than just annoying: it can actually ruin your gameplay. If you’ve been wondering how to reduce ping in Path of Exile, you’re definitely not alone.
The good news? There are several real, practical things you can do to fix it.
In this guide, we’ll explore why your ping might be spiking, which in-game settings can help, and what steps you can take outside the game to get a smoother experience.
6 Ways to Reduce Ping in Path of Exile
Let’s get right to it. If you’re looking to shave some milliseconds off your latency and keep things running smoothly, here are six ways that can make a real difference.
1. Choose the right server region
This might sound basic, but it’s a big one. Path of Exile automatically assigns a server region based on your location, but sometimes that default isn’t ideal. You can manually select your gateway from the login screen—pick the one physically closest to you.
For example, if you’re in Sydney but connected to a Washington DC server, you’re asking for trouble. Switching to the Sydney gateway could drop your ping by 100ms or more.
2. Use a wired connection
Wi-Fi is super convenient, but it’s also prone to interference. If possible, plug in an Ethernet cable. Wired connections are more stable, less prone to packet loss, and usually offer lower latency.
3. Close background apps
You’d be surprised how many background apps eat up bandwidth. Steam updates, Windows updates, cloud sync tools like Dropbox: these can all cause lag. Before launching the game, close anything that doesn’t need to be running.
4. Use NoPing
This is where things get a little more interesting, especially if you’ve already tried the basics and your ping is still awful.
NoPing is a service designed to optimize your route to games’ servers. Sometimes, the normal path your internet provider uses isn’t the fastest. NoPing reroutes your data through a better, more direct path.
Here’s how to use NoPing to fix high ping in online games:
- Sign-up through the website and download NoPing (you can test it for free).
- Open NoPing and search for your game inside the software
- Once you find it, click on it and, on the next screen, select “Choose automatic” or “Choose manual” and click “Continue”. We recommend choosing automatic, as NoPing’s technology analyzes all routes on a global scale and automatically selects the best option for you.
- On the next screen, click on “Optimize Game”.
- And that’s it, you can start playing with optimized ping!
You can test different servers within NoPing to see which gives you the lowest latency.
5. Restart your modem/router
It’s the oldest trick in the book, but it works. Routers sometimes get bogged down or encounter DNS issues that can impact latency. A quick restart can help reset your connection and clear any issues.
6. Update your network drivers
Old or outdated network drivers can cause instability or weird behavior with online games. Make sure your drivers are up to date, especially if you’re on Windows. Head to the manufacturer’s website or use Device Manager to check.
Path of Exile Game Settings to Reduce Ping
Tweaking in-game settings won’t fix everything, but they can help reduce the impact of latency or make lag spikes less disruptive.
Predictive vs Lockstep
Source: VHPG
This is arguably the most important setting related to network performance in Path of Exile. When you go into Options > Game > Networking Mode, you’ll see three choices:
- Lockstep: This mode gives you accurate movement syncing but depends on a stable low-latency connection. If your ping is high or unstable, your character may “freeze” during lag.
- Predictive: Here, the game guesses your movements and corrects if there’s a mismatch with the server. It feels smoother if your connection isn’t great, but desync is possible.
- Auto: The game picks for you based on conditions—but it’s not always the best choice.
If you’re struggling with ping spikes, switch to Predictive. It’ll feel a bit looser, but you won’t get stuck in place during lag spikes.
Enable “Engine Multithreading”
While this isn’t directly about ping, turning on Engine Multithreading can improve overall performance, which helps make your gameplay feel smoother even if ping isn’t perfect. This setting is under Options > Graphics.
Source: Path of Exile Forum
Disable unnecessary visual effects
More effects = more things your PC needs to process. In areas where performance dips and ping spikes seem to come together (like big Harvest or Legion fights), try reducing particle effects, shadow quality, or turning off post-processing. It won’t lower your network ping, but it can reduce perceived lag.
What Causes High Ping in Path of Exile?
Understanding why your ping is high is half the battle. Here are some common reasons players experience latency issues in PoE:
- Bad routing by your ISP: This is surprisingly common. Your data might take a weird, roundabout path to get to the PoE servers.
- Busy home networks: Streaming, downloading, or other people using the internet while you play can cause latency spikes.
- Server congestion: Path of Exile is a popular game, and league launches especially put stress on servers.
- Background updates: If Windows or Steam is quietly downloading something, your connection may suffer.
- Wi-Fi interference: Wireless networks can be unstable, especially in crowded areas or large houses.
Pinpointing the cause can take a bit of testing. A ping-trace tool or even a program like WinMTR can help you see where delays are happening.
How to Test if Path of Exile Servers Are Down?
Sometimes the problem isn’t on your end. To check if the servers are having issues:
- Try the official forums or social media
The Path of Exile subreddit and official Twitter are great places to check. If others are complaining about latency or disconnects, it’s probably not just you. - Check community-run status pages
Some fans maintain websites that show the live status of PoE servers. These often include latency graphs and connection quality metrics. - Try switching gateways
If one region is down or overloaded, another might still be functional. From the login screen, select a different server region and see if the ping improves. - Run a WinMTR test
Download WinMTR, input the IP address of the server you usually connect to, and let it run for a few minutes. This will show if there’s packet loss or high latency along the path to the server.
If the problem is indeed on GGG’s side, all you can really do is wait it out—but at least you’ll know not to spend hours troubleshooting your own setup.
FAQ
Q: What’s a good ping for PoE?
A: Under 50ms is ideal. 50–100ms is still playable for most builds. Anything over 150ms starts to feel sluggish, and over 200ms can cause rubberbanding or skill delay.
Q: Why does ping spike in party play?
A: Party play adds more data to sync—enemies, loot drops, skill effects, and more. If one party member has a bad connection, it can cause lag for others. Also, servers may struggle under the load in very busy zones.
Q: Does reducing graphics settings help with ping?
A: Not directly. Ping is about your network connection. But lowering graphics can reduce performance-related stutter, which feels similar to lag.
Q: My ping is fine, but I still lag. What gives?
A: It could be packet loss, poor frame rate, or server-side issues. Use tools like WinMTR to diagnose your connection, and monitor your FPS in-game to make sure it’s not a GPU problem.
Path of Exile is a fast, intense game, and lag can kill your fun fast. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a network engineer to fix most ping problems. Stick with the basics: pick the right server, close background apps, and use a wired connection.
And use NoPing to always have the best connection to play Path of Exile. Download now and start your free trial!
