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It takes a lot of effort to have seamless gaming experience. Many things have to go right to get that perfect balance between performance and efficacy. Especially in an online game where the internet connection can be the difference between a frag or getting pwned. Getting a gaming VPN can help a lot in this regard – here’s why.
People pour a lot of energy and money into getting their rig set up just the way they like. Whether it’s buying additional accessories for their PS4 or installing a water-cooling system for their PC. Spending all that money and time on getting the perfect gaming setup should be enough, but unfortunately, it isn’t.
The online world of MOBAs, MMOs, FPS games, and various other online genres require a touch more. Mainly in the form of a strong internet connection and access to a low-ping server. Depending on where a person lives, and who their internet service provider is, that’s a lofty demand.
Don’t let all that hard work go to waste because of a poor internet connection or server lag. Here are the 5 major advantages a gaming VPN can offer gamers in a bid to enhance their online experience.
1. Prevent ISP Throttling
Internet service providers can be very polarizing. People either hate their ISPs guts or love them and often rave about the great speeds and service they get. It’s true, not all ISPs have been created equal – but there’s something they all have in common. Throttling.
Ever notice, sometimes, the internet seems slow for no apparent reason? Suddenly enemies in games get the upper hand, and lag spikes become a serious problem? Most ISPs justify their throttling practices by saying that it’s meant to reduce network congestion. So they seek out data packets that take up a lot of bandwidth (like streaming and gaming) and throttle them.
A VPN helps in this regard because it hides internet packets from any outside onlookers, even ISPs. So no matter what a person is doing online, their ISP won’t be able to track it and throttle them.
2. Shorter Connection Routes Can Reduce Ping
There’s no point in denying that a VPN can add latency to a connection. It adds an extra server that the information has to travel through after all. What most people don’t realize, however, is that this is avoidable and that a VPN service can reduce ping.
High latency is caused by the time it takes for a computer to ping off of a server or other computer. When someone who lives in the UK tries to connect to servers in the US, they will have high latency. Connecting to a VPN server can improve ping because it could result in better, faster routing, depending on the server. A person who connects to a VPN server that’s geographically close to them also has a better chance of reducing their ping.
3. Get to Play New Titles First, from Anywhere
Countries in the East technically have earlier launch dates than those in the West. Games also don’t always launch on the same day everywhere. With a VPN, a person can mimic the IP address of a server in a certain country to get games early.
4. Get Access to PSN and Xbox Live Content After Moving
Both PlayStation and Xbox use region-locked accounts and payment methods for their players. This prevents people in, say, Germany from buying a game with a Brazillian account (where the price might be lower). This becomes a huge pain, however, when people move to another country.
A VPN keeps these restrictions from negatively affecting people’s accounts by letting them connect to a server back in their home country. So the store will keep thinking they’re there even if they are not.
5. Remove Server Restrictions
Plenty of online multiplayer games have restrictions on their servers. Dota 2, for instance, put people with the same ping together. Other games, like League of Legends, have region locks in place. These force gamers to only play within an automatically assigned server region. This is a massive bummer for anyone who has friends in different countries who want to play together.
A VPN overcomes this issue by letting players choose which region’s servers they want to connect to.
Final Thoughts
Keep the frustrations on the virtual battlefield and don’t let ISP throttling or game publisher bureaucracy get in the way. A gaming virtual private network provides even more benefits than outlined here, including protecting people’s online privacy.
Remember those crazy swatting incidents? They were possible thanks to malicious gamers being able to figure out their opponents’ locations from their IP addresses. Sure, it’s a rare occurrence, but a VPN can also provide peace of mind from potentially dangerous incidents like that.
