Every Frame Counts!
Giving you the best chance you got.
There are a variety of ways that you can give yourself a technical edge in many eSports or competitive gaming. This guide explains some of the common tactics that anyone - including the pros - can do to give themselves an edge.
Topics
1. Minimizing Network and Input Latency
There are several key communications that occur during gameplay. From host servers to your PC, and even amongst your PC components. Minimizing latency can get you game information earlier in the moments that determine a game's outcome.
2. Optimizing Graphics Settings
Certain graphics configurations can give you an edge over the competition, giving you wider fields of view or recoloring UI elements to help you spot foes quicker.
3. Optimizing Monitor Settings
A responsive monitor will display images faster and show you more about the environment earlier. This head-start might make the difference in a 1v1!
Network Latency (Ping)
Hello?.................................................................................Hello!
Ping is the length of time it takes to communicate between a computer and a game server. The shorter the ping, the quicker real-time information you will get from the server.
A good ping is typically under 25-30 milliseconds (ms). Excellent ping can under 10ms. Poor ping depends on the game and the gamer. For competitive titles, 100ms ping or more is likely going to give you a noticeable disadvantage.
Hardwire Your Internet
If possible, make sure your opt for a hardwired internet connection as opposed to a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection.
Disable VPNs
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are made for security reasons, but may create additional network latency between you and a game's servers. In some cases, the game may even assign you a game server in a different region, depending on where the VPN is hosted.
Input Latency
Your DPI button can't help you here.
Your keyboard, mouse, and controller (if you are a loser) all have an input latency. This is the time it takes for your system to recognize that you pressed a certain key and that having an impact on the game.
Over time, the gap between wired and wireless input modes has narrowed significantly. At this point, the latency difference between a high-quality wireless mouse and a wired mouse may be less than 10 milliseconds. Still, if you want the best of the best, wired is the way to go.
Maximizing Framerates and Enemy Visibility
More frames, more enemies.
Higher framerates mean that you will get more visual updates to the game per second.
Consider this: A game is running at 30 FPS. When an enemy comes around a corner, they are displayed on the monitor. In this case, they downed you and won the fight fair and square. Now, if the first frame where the enemy was visible had been displayed sooner because the framerate was actually 100 FPS, you would've have had more time to react - and potentially survive the encounter.
Reduce Non-Critical Visual Settings
Reducing in-game quality settings to the minimum will allow your GPU to produce a higher framerate. Turn down most quality settings, but pay attention to these options:
ENABLE the following (if available):
- AMD Anti-Lag or Nvidia Reflex
- Set game resolution to your monitor's maximum, but no higher. If you have a relatively weak GPU and you are unable to get high framerates while running at native resolution consider FSR, RSR or DLSS.
- Maximize (or increase to your preferred level of) FOV
DISABLE the following (if available):
- Vertical Sync (V-Sync)
- Frame Generation
- Ray-Tracing
- FPS Cap or Limit
- Camera Shake
- Motion Blur
Consider a Custom Color Correction
Some games allow the user to adjust UI colors for individuals that have certain types of color blindness. Changing UI elements to high-contrast colors may give you an advantage.
Example: All enemies are outlined in a light red. If you change the color correction to show enemies outlined in magenta, it may be easier to spot an enemy peeking a corner because magenta is high contrast and will stand out in the environment. Red is somewhat common and may naturally occur in the game environment.
Color corrections should be done on a game-by-game basis, and options can vary wildly between games. Research common color corrections for the game you are playing, and see if it works for you!
Reducing Response Time and Refresh Rates
Lighting Fast
The last piece of this game-winning puzzle is to make sure your monitor is set up to give you the most competitive experience. There are a couple of items to check:
- Monitor Refresh Rate
- Response Time
Refresh Rates
Your refresh rate is different from your framerate. You will want to enable the highest refresh rate available on your monitor for the best experience. You can check your refresh rate in the Windows Display > Advanced Display settings, and selecting the refresh rate dropdown.
You may need to enable the higher refresh rate on your monitors physical button. Read your monitor's user manual for more information.
Unable to choose the highest refresh rate as advertised on your monitor's box? Stay tuned for our cable compatibility page.
Response Time
Every monitor has a response time. This is the time it takes for a pixel to change from one color, to another. The faster the response time, the better. There likely aren't any changes you can make to your monitor's response time outside of enabling an "Overdrive" mode - which you should not do.
Overdrive modes (OD), can introduce input lag. OD works by reviewing the incoming frames and altering the voltage to pixels that need to change colors in upcoming frames so they can change "quicker". The experience may appear more responsive, but because the monitor has to review incoming frames, it introduces input lag where not needed.
When purchasing monitors, look for units with rapid response times (<5ms).