Lost Ark is an online action-packed MMORPG game that immerses players into a fantasy world filled with magic, combat, and adventure. However, as thrilling as it may be, network lag, high ping, and packet loss can ruin the gameplay experience for players, causing delays in actions and responses and ultimately disrupting the overall flow of the game. Fortunately, there are a variety of solutions available to help fix these issues and enhance the game's performance. In this article, we will explore the various reasons behind high network ping and packet loss and provide you with some tips and tricks to help fix these problems and improve your gaming experience.

Verify the Lost Ark Server Status

Verify the Lost Ark Server Status page to ensure your network issues are unrelated to the server you are playing on. On this page, you can preview the server status for the four server locations and if the server is operational, busy, full or in maintenance.

Test your Network Connection

If you feel like the issue is related to your network connection, test your connection by visiting Speedtest.net. A normal Up & Download speed, without interruption, is essential for a stable gaming experience. Especially your Ping should remain below 100ms.

Test your internet connection speed and latency

Disable VPN or Proxy Connection

Account for any VPN service which could be running on your system. Or turn off your VPN while in-game. Use an ethernet cable to ensure the best possible connection. If you have to use a Wifi connection, then make sure to restart your router or modem if you haven't done this in a while, and reduce the number of devices connected to the same network.

End Network-Intensive Tasks

Open up your Task Manager by searching for it in your Windows start menu search. In the Performance tab, click on Open Resource Monitor.

Task Manager > Performance > Open Resource Monitor

In the Network tab, open the Processes with network activity, and after a few seconds, you will see every process using your network connection. This might be your browser running in the background, steam or a download bottlenecking your connection. I suggest you only end the processes you know won't break your operating system.

Resource Monitor > Network > Processes with Network Activity

Command Prompt

Open up your Command Prompt, by searching for CMD and hitting enter. Use the subsequent commands:

ping google.com

This command will check your latency and packet loss to google's servers. If your ping is higher than 100ms, or if you encounter any packet loss, you should make a few changes to your connection and follow the subsequent tweaks.

ipconfig /flushdns

This will flush and reset the content of your DNS resolver cache. Using this command can, in some cases, fix network-related issues with Lost Ark.

Verify Connection to ISP

If you still have latency and lag issues, verify your connection to your ISP and ensure you are using a decent data plan. You can troubleshoot this step by switching your connection to your hotspot, for example.

Change DNS Server Address

Change your DNS server address, in case your network connection still causes the problem. Open your Control Panel by searching for it in your start menu search. Make sure to View by: Category, and click on Network and Internet.

Click on Network and Sharing Center, and select your connection. This will open up this window, containing some general information about your connection. Navigate to Properties, and lastly, double-click the Internet Protocol Version 4.

Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Centre

Select to Use the following DNS server addresses option. As your Preferred DNS server, use: 8.8.8.8, and as your Alternate DNS server, use: 8.8.4.4. This will for a lot of users fix network-related issues when playing Lost Ark, as these are the official public DNS server addresses from Google, which are safe to use.

Update your Network Adapter Driver

To further troubleshoot network-related problems, I suggest updating your Network Adapter’s driver. To do so, search for Device Manager in your start menu search to open it up. Expand your Network Adapters, right-click the one you are using, and select Update Driver. Finally, click on Search automatically for drivers. This will take a second to download and install the latest Network Adapter driver.

Device Manager > Network Adapters > Update Driver

Windows Operating System Update

Ensure your Windows 11 version is up to date. Search for Update to open up your Check for Updates system settings window. Your settings will open up. Click on Check for Updates, Download or Install Now, and restart your PC after making all of these changes to your OS.

End Resource-Intensive Tasks

If you still experience network-related issues when playing Lost Ark, then you most likely have software running on your system which is hindering you from playing Lost Ark. To fix this, I suggest ending processes from running in your Task Manager of recently installed programs that can change your files, or use up your available resources, such as OBS, Shadowplay, CCleaner or Adobe applications to troubleshoot which program is causing the issue.