The Game Feels Sluggish, Enemies Are Too Fast, and You Die in a Millisecond

[jassine]

Now we only need to figure out why VPN sometimes fixes this feeling and enemies getting slowed down and suddenly the hitreg connects better ...

maybe the game servers detect that your new network is better, then you'll get all packets

Instead of discussing you could use Wireshark to record session, ask someone without issues to do the same and compare them to prove your point.

do you mean getting packets size using Wireshark ?

[themagic]

Now we only need to figure out why VPN sometimes fixes this feeling and enemies getting slowed down and suddenly the hitreg connects better ...

maybe the game servers detect that your new network is better, then you'll get all packets

yes the servers detects that you try to bypass the system and getting advantage by that...

but that just another dumb conspiracy theory from an crazy guy like me...

[JimCarry]

Now we only need to figure out why VPN sometimes fixes this feeling and enemies getting slowed down and suddenly the hitreg connects better ...

maybe the game servers detect that your new network is better, then you'll get all packets

yes the servers detects that you try to bypass the system and getting advantage by that...

but that just another dumb conspiracy theory from an crazy guy like me...

+1

[rusihhh]

Now we only need to figure out why VPN sometimes fixes this feeling and enemies getting slowed down and suddenly the hitreg connects better ...

Exactly — and there's a pretty logical explanation behind it.

VPN changes your packet route, which can influence how the game server "perceives" your connection.
For example:

→ Player A (normal connection):
“Hmm, connection looks stable — I’ll send him fat, full packets with lots of state data.”

→ Player B (some jitter/loss):
“Hmm... something’s off. Better send smaller, thinner packets to make sure they arrive.”

So when you use a VPN, you might accidentally skip over a problematic node or congested ISP exchange,
which makes your traffic look “cleaner” or more consistent to the game server.

I’ve experimented with this myself — routing traffic through different VPN tunnels and endpoints.
Sometimes it does improve responsiveness, but it’s pure RNG.
You can’t reliably predict which route will be better,
especially since each game session might spin up on a different server, in a different region, behind different routing logic.

Bottom line: Yes, VPN can help — not because it “accelerates” your ping,
but because it reshapes the path your packets take, which can trigger different netcode behavior on the server side.

[daemonjax]

It's probably just packets being received out of order on route A, and maybe not so much on route B.

Things happen while your packets are routed that neither you or the game's servers can do anything about.

Sidenote: Lots of online games use tcp instead of udp because it's easier than re-implementing tcp over udp. Case in point the game I'm playing now, Dune: Awakening. But I could name others off the top of my head... World of Warcraft, for one. Any game where you hear people talk about nagle's algorithm... that's gonna be tcp. UDP is perfect if: a) you really don't care if some packets are lost; b) you really don't care about the order the packets are received, probably because you're implementing a buffer... the perfect example being video. Long sidenote, sorry.

[rusihhh]

It's probably just packets being received out of order on route A, and maybe not so much on route B.
...

I think you might be slightly misunderstanding the core point I'm raising.

Yes — you're right that many online games (especially MMOs like WoW or survival games like Dune) use TCP,
because real-time responsiveness isn’t as critical.
But in competitive FPS shooters, UDP is the only realistic choice due to latency sensitivity and tolerance for controlled loss.

However — this isn’t about packet loss or out-of-order delivery.
Those conditions are easily detectable: the engine can discard out-of-order packets as degraded, or mark lost ones explicitly.

What I’m describing is this:
The client receives UDP packets in correct order and on time — but their size (and information content) varies.
These are “valid” packets, but lighter — they carry fewer gameplay deltas or entity updates.

And here’s the important part:

There is no protocol in the network path that fragments or trims UDP packets.
Unlike TCP, intermediate routers and nodes don’t alter UDP payloads.
So if the packet is smaller — it’s because the game server chose to send it that way.

This implies a server-side algorithm that dynamically decides:
→ Player A gets a full, rich state update (large packet)
→ Player B gets a minimal update (small packet)

Both are technically “delivered successfully” —
but the result is completely different gameplay quality.
The player with smaller packets lags behind in perception, smoothness, hitreg, and timing —
even with “0% packet loss.”

And yes — this is exactly what I explained in the original post.
Just wanted to clarify again since the conversation is drifting toward general networking,
rather than the selective server behavior that I believe is at the core of this issue.

[drosku]

hopefully ue5 has better networking itself im not familiar to ue5 to say my opinion, just rng with ur ip and node lol the riot support its so bad its crazy, here is all the things that make u do i msged them in the past and just dragged the issue, keep in mind i had internet issues back then!basic things like:
dns change, fullscreen optimization,driver updates, opening ports,disable ipv6.They made me record my gameplay, ping plotter and their tool for for logs and after-
2 random things?? like what are they on about they said disable toredo and use their repair tool for window timers like legit clock timers?
in the logs i had this aswell:
ogNet: Warning: UNetDriver::TickDispatch: Net tick flush took 94.37 ms
LogNet: Warning: UNetDriver::TickDispatch: Net tick flush took 101.89 ms
LogNet: Warning: UNetDriver::TickDispatch: Net tick flush took 117.91 ms
i think this was the culprit this is related to the issue
all other parameters were fine


chat gpt says: These warnings come from Unreal Engine’s networking system, specifically the UNetDriver class, and indicate that network processing is taking too long during a frame update.

Breakdown:
• UNetDriver::TickDispatch: This function runs every frame to handle network communication (sending/receiving packets, updating connections, etc.).
• “Net tick flush took X ms”: It means that network updates took X milliseconds to complete during a single tick (frame).

idk if they have even tier3 support or sum every tier2 support just ditches its helarious, same issues as you guys just enemies balzing fast even when i played against lower elos than me im lvl 10 on faceit and immo3 val so its just not cope as some ppl just say they are bronze because of this

[rusihhh]

hopefully ue5 has better networking itself im not familiar to ue5 to say my opinion...

I think you're drifting off-topic here a bit.
What you're describing — Riot support experience, Windows timers, logs, etc. —
is valuable in itself, but it’s not really what this thread is about.

This topic is focused on a specific network-level behavior pattern:
That the game may be dynamically adjusting the size and detail level of gameplay packets
based on how the server perceives your connection quality.

So the core idea is:
“You still receive all packets — but some players get more complete data than others.”

There’s no packet loss, no out-of-order mess, no spikes in logs —
yet the feel of the game changes dramatically depending on what you're receiving per tick.

And honestly, I find this theory much more grounded than chasing:

- the “golden power socket”
- registry entries
- BIOS voodoo
- or trying to perfectly align all Windows timers like it’s a spaceship launch

Also, just to clarify —
I'm not blaming this for bad aim or trying to cope for low performance.
I play at a high level — max rank in Rainbow Six Siege — and I’m very aware of my skill level.

But I’ve had extreme sessions where:

→ I go 10–0, I feel unstoppable, smooth aim, everything connects
→ Then next match: 0–10, I literally can’t react, enemies kill me in sub-millisecond bursts

Same PC
Same ping
Same FPS
Same enemy skill level

So no — I don’t believe I magically forgot how to play between matches.
It makes far more sense to suspect the server decided to feed me reduced update packets,
than to believe in “electric input lag” or that I forgot to rub my GPU with moonlight.

That’s why this thread matters — because we’re trying to investigate real, consistent patterns
that affect gameplay across matches, players, and regions — regardless of hardware or placebo rituals.

[rusihhh]

Summary & Call for Help:

If you're technically competent and want to help — or just understand what's going on —
please consider assisting in verifying this theory.

How to check packet size differences (tutorial):

1. Download and install Wireshark.
2. Start capturing packets at the beginning of a game session.
3. Apply a filter to isolate UDP traffic (usually ports 30xx, 50xx — depends on the game).
4. Let it run during the entire match.
5. Do the same for another match — or ask a friend (ideally on another ISP or different ping) to capture their session.

Then:

- Go to Statistics > Packet Lengths inside Wireshark.
- Compare average packet sizes.
- Optionally build graphs to visualize trends.

What we’re testing:
Whether clients with different connection "profiles" are receiving different-sized UDP packets from the server,
even with similar ping and no packet loss.

Why it matters:
If confirmed, it means the server might dynamically reduce update detail for some clients —
leading to degraded smoothness, responsiveness, and overall feel of the game.

And that destroys any notion of fair competition —
because one player is synced with the server, while another is forced to interpolate guesses.

This would explain why sometimes you feel unstoppable — and sometimes completely helpless —
on the same PC, same ping, same FPS, and same skill bracket.

Let’s dig deeper. This is far more useful than chasing "electric input lag" or golden power sockets.

[dervu]

Also would be better to filter for only incoming traffic, to see only what server sends you.