How to Fix Packet Loss in CS2?

One of the most frustrating things in CS2 aside from those spinny boys abusing inept VAC is the lag that can cost you a round or even the entire game. No matter how good you are at CS2, but if the game stutters and your enemies magically teleport from one point to another, there’s a bigger issue at hand. Packet loss happens when the data fails to arrive at the end server, and people have been complaining about the same happening in Counter-Strike. In this article, we’ll cover the most effective ways of fixing packet loss in CS2. 

What is Packet Loss in CS2?

Packet loss happens when the data fails to exchange between your computer and a server of a game. Rather than just taking a long time to exchange said data between client and host, some data never arrives, which causes this data to be re-sent, essentially causing this lag you’ve encountered in CS2. These issues can be caused by hardware failure on any side, software issues, network congestion and slow connection speeds. 

Even though that with each update CS2 gets smoother with the new fixes and improved quality, some players still face occasional packet loss issues. You may have seen some players teleport short distances, freeze, and skip movement, along with delayed actions when you try to move, shoot and interact with the game. Packet loss can also be the reason of sudden network errors causing disconnection. 

How to Check and See Packet Loss in CS2?

If you think you might be experiencing packet loss, then there’s an easy way of finding it out. Here’s how to perform CS2/CSGO packet loss test:

• Open console by pressing the tilde (~)

• Since the “net_graph 1” is no longer available, copy and paste this new cs2 packet loss command “cl_hud_telemetry_serverrecvmargin_graph_show 2” and press Enter

• Start any online game mode and observer the graph in the top right corner. 

• The packet loss will be represented by the red bar. 

How to Fix Packet Loss in CS2?

You can use a built-in packet loss utility in CS2 that was released a few months ago. Here’s how you activate it:

• Open Settings > Game 

• Find the Buffering to smooth over packet loss 

• Change the value from None to 1 packet or 2 packets, depending on the severity of your issue

• However, this setting might slightly increase the latency

Alternatively, you could try playing on Faceit or ESEA servers, as some players allegedly noticed the difference in a connection quality. Also, if other multiplayer games perform poorly as well, then you should consider checking the quality of your Internet connection or check if there’s an issue with the router. Try unplugging the Ethernet cable and connect it directly to your PC if the game performance is smoother. Make sure to check our guide on how to fix lags in CS2.

Something that may also contribute to poor performance is multiple active background processes that tend to use bandwidth needed for the optimal CS2 performance. 

• Open the task manager by the Ctrl+Alt+Delete combination

• Head to Performance tab and proceed to Open Resource Monitor

• Click Network and find unnecessary processes by right-clicking and pressing End process