Known Lag Problems
These problems are reported by real players. If your region or ISP is listed, a network optimizer is likely to help.
Southeast Asia
- Unlike Dota 2 (which has a dedicated Singapore server), Deadlock's Asia server is in Hong Kong — adds 30-60ms extra for SEA players compared to what they're used to in Dota 2
- Philippine ISPs (PLDT, Converge) often route poorly to Hong Kong, adding additional latency on top of geographic distance
- Indonesian players (Telkom, Indihome) report 80-120ms to the Asia server
South America (Brazil)
- Unlike Dota 2 (which has a dedicated São Paulo server), Deadlock only has a South America server in Santiago, Chile — adds 30-50ms for Brazilian players
- Brazilian ISPs (Claro, NET Virtua, Oi) route to Chile with varying efficiency
Middle East / South Asia
- No dedicated Deadlock server in the Middle East or India — unlike Dota 2 which has servers in Dubai and Mumbai/Chennai
- Players must connect to Europe (Stockholm) which adds significant latency for India (150-200ms) and Middle East (100-150ms)
How to Fix It
Try these first — they're free and solve the problem for most people.
01 Check your ping with net_graph in the console
1. During a match, press F7 to open the developer console 2. Type: net_graph 1 and press Enter 3. A small overlay appears showing your current ping in ms, packet loss %, and interpolation info 4. Watch it during an intense fight — spikes in ping during action confirm a network bottleneck 5. If ping is stable but performance is bad, the issue is hardware not network
Diagnostic only — confirms whether your problem is network latency vs. hardware performance. Essential first step before any other fix.
02 Lock your region to test ISP routing
1. Press F7 to open console 2. Type: citadel_region_override 0 (then test ping in a match) 3. Try each region: 1 for Europe, 2 for Asia, 3 for South America, 5 for Oceania 4. Note your ping with net_graph for each region 5. Use the one with lowest stable ping — your ISP may route better to a different datacenter 6. Type: citadel_region_override -1 to return to automatic
May lower observed ping by 20-80ms if auto-selection picks a suboptimal server for your ISP (community measurement, varies by ISP path; gearupbooster.com/blog/best-ping-for-deadlock.html).
03 Set max network rate in autoexec.cfg
1. Navigate to: steamapps/common/Deadlock/game/citadel/cfg/ 2. Create a file called autoexec.cfg (or edit if it exists) 3. Add these lines: rate 786432 cl_updaterate 64 cl_interp_ratio 1 4. Save the file and restart Deadlock 5. These settings maximize data throughput between client and server
Improves hit registration consistency and reduces interpolation lag. Most impactful on connections faster than 6 Mbps.
04 Switch to Ethernet if on WiFi
1. Connect PC to router with an Ethernet cable 2. Open Windows Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced Network Settings 3. Disable your WiFi adapter while playing 4. Restart Deadlock and check ping with net_graph — should be lower and more stable
Eliminates WiFi-induced jitter (2-10ms extra) and removes wireless packet loss. Most impactful single change for WiFi users, especially for hit registration and parry timing.
05 Display your ping in-game using the console
Press F7 to open the console, then type: cl_showpos 1 or net_graph 1. The net_graph overlay shows your current ping, packet loss %, and interpolation data in real-time during a match.
Diagnostic — lets you confirm whether lag is network-related or performance-related before trying any fix.
06 Lock your server region if auto-selection picks a distant server
Press F7 to open console, then type: citadel_region_override 0 (NA Central), 1 (Europe), 2 (Asia), 3 (South America), 5 (Oceania), or -1 to return to automatic. Test your ping to each region and use the one with lowest latency.
May lower observed ping by 30-80ms if auto-selection routes you to a suboptimal region (community measurement, varies by ISP path).
Deadlock uses Steam Datagram Relay. PingAim optimizes the path your ISP controls.
General network tips (not Deadlock-specific)
07 Flush DNS and reset Windows network stack
1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator (Win+S → 'cmd' → right-click → Run as Administrator) 2. Run: ipconfig /flushdns 3. Run: netsh winsock reset 4. Run: netsh int ip reset 5. Restart your PC 6. Launch Deadlock and test ping
Fixes sudden unexplained ping increases caused by stale DNS cache or corrupted network configuration. Quick 2-minute fix worth trying before deeper investigation.
08 Close bandwidth-heavy background apps before queuing
Pause downloads (Steam, Windows Update, torrent clients), close streaming apps, and disable cloud sync (OneDrive, Dropbox) before starting a match.
Prevents bandwidth competition that causes sudden ping spikes during fights.
Still lagging? The problem is likely your ISP's routing to the game servers.
PingAim detects Deadlock automatically
No manual config. PingAim identifies Deadlock by process name and routes it through your fastest connection using a kernel-level WFP driver.