High ping issue when connecting to NA Valorant servers

[notgeo]

Hey, so I made a ticket with Riot regarding this so I'll just paste that into here:

"Hi, my issue is that I'm having high ping when connecting to NA. I'm from the UK and my ping to my own servers are fine, however when trying to play with friends on NA, my ping is now locked at around 140ms. As you can see in the 1st screenshot, I used to get 90ms to East, which geographically is the closest to me. Yet now for some reason it's saying US Central is my lowest ping.

I don't have a VPN installed so that's not the issue. I also just got done updating ALL my drivers (GPU, network, audio, literally everything) and it's still a solid 140ms.
I'm wired in via ethernet cable, and I have internet speeds of 1gig up/down so I know my connection isn't an issue either. I've tried ping tests on my browser and those are averaging 90-108ms to N. Virginia as well, so I'm assuming it's something on RIot's side but this has been a thing for maybe a week or so now (which is when I first noticed it after taking a hiatus of a couple months from the game) so I don't know if it might have been an issue for longer."

Their response to this was:

I suggest doing a clean boot before playing (avoid manually opening other apps apart from the game afterwards).

Important: After you click the 'Disable All' button, find 'vgc' and re-check that one.

■ If you're using WiFi, try switching to wired. In almost every case, using a wired connection is much better for the game, since the WiFi signal can go up and down, leading to connection issues all of the sudden. On the other hand, a cable will provide you with a more stable and reliable connection.

■ Let's disable the IPv6, since our game works better with IPv4:
• Go to Settings ➪ Network & internet ➪ Advanced network settings ➪ More network adapter options
• Right click on your current network adapter and select Properties
• Uncheck the box for "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)" and click Ok

■ Switching to a public DNS may help with the issue you are experiencing:
• Go to Settings ➪ Network & internet ➪ Click on the network connection for which you want to change the DNS (you can do it both with Wi-Fi and Ethernet) ➪ Hardware Properties ➪ DNS Server Assignment
• Click "Edit" ➪ Select "Manual" then switch on IPv4
• Below the IPv4 headings, you should try both the Google (Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8 | Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4) and the Cloudflare DNS (Preferred DNS: 1.1.1.1 | Alternate DNS: 1.0.0.1) - test it in the game, and if one of them doesn't work, check the other as well!

■ Let's make sure the Teredo Tunneling interface is disabled because it might cause connection problems such as yours:
• Open Start Menu
• Type cmd and run it with administrator permissions
• Type the following command: netsh interface teredo set state disabled

■ Follow this tutorial in order to release/renew your IP, and flush the DNS.

■ Try to check if your network adapter drivers are up to date (follow the steps from here to see how).

■ Let's go through a power cycle of your router and modem. Pull out the power cable from both devices (or one if you're using a router/modem combo device), wait at least 30 seconds, and then plug them back in. 

I've tried everything they've recommended and nothing has helped. I'm being told that my ping probably increased due to routing from my ISP (Talk Talk).

My question is, is there anything you guys can do to help?

[notgeo]

Hi so I had already spoken to their support team and they had confirmed it was a routing issue on the ISPs end so I’m not sure where to go from here.

I initially thought they had changed their server locations or something but it’s nothing like that.

Like I’ve said before in this thread, when I use Exitlag it fixes the problem. My Exitlag is connected to the UK. I’m not going and connecting to a US VPN so that the routing is different. I’m connecting to UK servers so it’s still reaching the same North American Valorant servers, it’s just rerouting on the European side so surely it is something they can help with? 

With no Exitlag, 130+ms to North America Valorant servers

WITH Exitlag, 90ms to North America Valorant servers

90ms used to be the norm in terms of latency I would get to NA servers so no one can explain this sudden jump

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hello,

Our Faults Escalation Team have advised that we don't have any control over this (a server in North America) and this is not something that we can resolve here.

Thanks

Michelle

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hello,

I'm really sorry for the delay. I've asked the Faults Escalation Team to confirm what the next steps will be and I'll post back as soon as I receive an update.

Thanks

Michelle

[Joshaa]

Hi All,

I can confirm I am having the same issue with high ping when connecting to NA servers. Was previously sitting steady at 80ms. Now my ping is over 140ms.

- I am using a wired connection from my pc to my router.

- I have QOS setup on my router prioritising traffic from my PC in order to ensure that no other device on the network is taking affect. (I have also tested with no other devices on the network, same result) 

- My setup has not changed from when I used to get 80ms to now when I get 140ms

Ideally if this could be looked into that would be great as it does seem that there is someform of underlying issue here that is begining to emerge. If you have any questions please feel free to ask

Josh

[notgeo]

Have they responded? I've had a private message from another customer who is having the exact same issue so I now know it isn't just me.

I feel like they could take it a little more seriously as it's almost been a month at this point since I first made the post...

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi notgeo,

I've not heard back from the network team yet so I've asked for an update.

Chris

[notgeo]

Hey, I'd love an update regarding this as it's been about 15 days now since I first brought this up and I'm sad to say it's still something I'm dealing with.

I've had to buy a month subscription of Exitlag as it's the only way I can circumvent this for the time being but obviously I'd like to not have to waste money on VPNs to get a connection I was getting with no problem days prior.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi, It was passed to one of the network team yesterday to look into but not hear anything since. (sorry no, there would be no point calling to have the network re-routed) - I'll let you know when I have any more information

Chris 

[notgeo]

Hi, so any update regarding this?
Can I just call TalkTalk and have them re-route my network?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

No problem

[notgeo]

Okay thank you

[Chris-TalkTalk]

As I said, I don't think there is anything that we can do but I'll ask our network team to take a look. I'll let you know when I receive an update or they may contact your directly

Chris

[notgeo]

Well no because like I said in my initial message, it’s already been like this for a week or so now.

And the fact that the high latency issue is circumvented when I use the Exitlag VPN tells me that clearly it’s a routing issue?

Plus people on Twitter and elsewhere are all telling me that my ISP should be able to change my routing to whatever my old one was?

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK, thanks for trying. Unfortunately I don't think there is anything that we can do, it may be something that just sorts itself out over the next few days

Chris

[notgeo]

Yes, I've tried this and it hasn't done anything for me.

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi notgeo,

Just to confirm, did you try switching the devices off for 30 minutes?

Chris

[notgeo]

Hi, just as an update, I downloaded exitlag, set it up so it automatically connects to the EU and chooses the best route for me, and as expected it's giving me optimal ping - 90ms which is what I'm supposed to be getting. So as I said, it's most definitely a routing issue now that it works like it's supposed to. 

Question is, can you, my ISP change my routing so that I don't need to pay for exitlag in order to get the ping I should be getting by default?

[notgeo]

I was linked https://support-valorant.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360047225674-How-to-Use-Tracert-to-Obtain-N...  on how to run a tracert command to get network logs and I attached my results below

"If you see an asterisk (*) in place of an RTT, then a packet was not returned within the expected timeframe. You might not have to worry if you only see one or two asterisks on a hop, but if you have 3 like in the example above followed by Request timed out, you may have a network issue. Here are a couple of common ones and what you can do:

• The destination’s firewall or security is blocking the request. In this case, you'll want to reach out to your ISP for further help on what may be causing the issue (be sure to show them your Tracert log!).
• There could be a problem on the network path between you and Riot's servers. This may also be the issue if your log shows increased latency (higher millisecond values) on a middle hop, which then increases steadily for subsequent hops. If that's the case, you might want to contact your ISP for help and show them your Tracert log."

[Chris-TalkTalk]

OK thanks 

[notgeo]

Thanks I'll try this and get back to you