The question of how to lower ping gets asked regularly.
Why? Well, the question normally comes from online gamers. You know, the ones playing games where timing is all-important. MMO games like League of Legends or World of Tanks.
Or shooting games like Grand Theft Auto V or Team Fortress 2, when your frag count can be almost totally dependent on how good your Internet/ISP connection is.
If your opponents have better connectivity than you do, you can bet you’re at a disadvantage.
Latency is a major factor that can affect your gaming experience, with the much hated lag. This is where WTFast may be able to help out…
If your games playing experience is laggy, it can be incredibly frustrating. There are several options available to help this and lower or reduce latency.
These options include:
- Changing your ISP (some ISP’s are better than others).
- If applicable, upgrading your ISP package (If you aren’t on your ISP’s premium package, upgrading can help).
- Implementing QoS on your router (this particularly helps if you share your Internet connection with others).
Another option is to live closer to the game server. Yes, we are being silly now!
Or…you could try a game accelerator, like WTFast. Ok, we really need to start talking about WTFast already…
What is WTFast?
WTFast is also known as the Gamers Private Network (GPN). WTFast uses optimized paths through the Internet from your home to the gaming server you are connecting to, in order to reduce latency as much as possible.
WTFast does this, it claims, with the assistance of ISPs, by using paths within the Internet that are less likely to be congested with other general Internet traffic, using the most direct paths from source (your home) to destination (game server).
Rather than your gaming packets hopping haphazardly from one router to another to get to where they’re going, WTFast uses the path of least resistance which increases the likelihood of high latency and the dreaded ‘packet loss’.
In order to use the service, users are required to download the software and sign up for a free account. <<< free trial no longer available, sadly
Does WTFast Work?
It depends where you are located, where the gaming server is located and what’s in between. There are a lot of known unknowns…
Some gamers have tried it out and found no difference at all, while others have seen marked improvements.
Will WTFast work for you? Well, there’s only one way to find out! If your current round trip times (RTT) are 100ms or more, then it is more likely to be beneficial. If you already get lower than this, the differences may be less noticeable.
Like we said before, WTFast offers users the option to sign up for a free account <<< no longer an option 🙁 – so you can try it out for yourself. However, to really benefit from what WTFast can potentially offer you, it is recommended to pay for one of the one-time packages on the ‘Advanced’ plan. The Advanced plan offers users access to all benefits including:
- Advanced Multi-Server Network Optimization
- Customize WTFast Server Ports
- Advanced Lag Spike & Disconnect Reduction
- Run Silent options to increase convenience
- Support for more custom games
One off costs to try out the Advanced package:
- 2 day advanced membership = $1.99
- 7 day advanced membership = $4.99
One month recurring costs start at $5.99
You can find out more on their site: https://www.wtfast.com/
Sometimes WTFast promo codes are available on other sites.
Is WTFast Safe?
According to their website, yes. Using proxy servers and/or a VPN is commonplace in the gaming world. WTFast state clearly they are “directing your game traffic”, and you have nothing to worry about.
Great Product!!! Definitely worth it if you’re playing more demanding, competitive fps games. Brought my ping down by roughly 30-50% on average versus my normal wifi!
Glad you’re enjoying it!
Does WTFast really work?
Emphatically, NO! It may knock about 3% off ping in SOME games, but only occasionally. More often than not, I find it actually DOUBLES PING rates. I am in Canberra Australia, and my main game is War Thunder, which runs off a Dublin Ireland server. WTFast will occasionally pick the correct second server (I have to manually select server 1 – it’s automatic selection is beyond pathetic). But then, having initially selected the best second server, more often than not it will ditch it mid game and choose something worse than I get without WTFast. e.g. my ‘native’ ping is consistently around 220. WTfast improved this to 200, using the Dublin server, but then changed mid-game and my ping went to 600, with 12% PL. It follows this pattern more often than not, and IMO, is a waste of time, effort and money (If you are as silly as me and choose to pay for it).
Hi SAH,
Thanks for commenting.
Ok, the free trial is no longer available. Updating the article to reflect that right now!
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out. The general consensus, we’re learning, is that users in generally slower internet regions, are the ones who will benefit the most from WTFast. I’m assuming you get solid speeds and low latency in Canberra? WTFast might not help you so much (well, as you’ve pointed out, can actually hinder performance.) However, this isn’t always the case. It’s mixed results it seems, and the only way to really find out is to try it. Too bad the free trial is no longer around to “dip the toes”.
Gaming from Australia to Ireland is never going to be a fun experience though, to be honest. There’s always going to be latency issues, when traversing the whole way around the world. Have you tried gaming at non-peak times (as in not the evenings)? Would be interesting to hear if there’s a difference. Although if it was, you don’t really care we guess, as you probably only want to play games in the evening!
Regardless, we’re sorry WTFast didn’t work out for you 🙁
WTfast Does not work! it does not reduce lag at all. don’t buy it it’s a scam
WTfast Does not work at all.