Understanding Ping and Latency

Ping (measured in milliseconds, ms) represents the time for data to travel from your computer to the game server and back. A 50ms ping means data takes 50ms round-trip. Lower ping is better: 0-30ms is excellent, 30-60ms is good, 60-100ms is acceptable, 100+ ms becomes noticeable.

High ping affects hitreg (hit registration) and responsiveness. A player with 100ms ping appears to shoot before you react because of the latency delay in their view. The server must account for this, leading to situations where bullets seem to miss despite appearing to hit on your screen. Professional players prioritize low ping (under 50ms) for this reason.

Ping varies based on geography and internet quality. Playing on distant servers increases ping. Playing during high-traffic times (peak gaming hours) increases ping due to network congestion. Most players experience 10-30ms variation throughout the day. Consistent, low ping matters more than occasional spikes.

Valve's server selection algorithm tries to connect you to geographically close servers, but isn't perfect. Check your ping at match start (visible in-game). If consistently above 100ms, you might need to select different region servers or contact your ISP about connection quality.