Why is Warzone 2 so laggy? How to fix the lag in Season 3

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 players have recently reported severe lag and other network problems after the Season 3 update was released. Complaints from players include desync, packet loss, and high latency, which can significantly affect gameplay, particularly in a first-person shooter title. While developers have acknowledged the problems, they are yet to be fixed.

Warzone 2, ever since its launch, has been criticized for its poor server performance. While the Season 2 update remained stable for many players, the Season 3 update seems to have broken the game for most, resulting in a significant loss of its player base. Although these issues are mainly on the developer's end, some can be resolved by the players to an extent.

This guide will take a closer look at the reasons for these issues and a few possible fixes to ensure a stable and smooth Warzone 2 experience.

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Everything that Warzone 2 fans need to know about the laggy servers in Season 3

Popular Call of Duty content creator TheTacticalBrit had previously unveiled the major issue behind Warzone 2 being laggy. Based on his findings, the game's servers tend to average at a tick rate of around 20 Hz, although they are 60 Hz on paper, which is extremely low for an FPS title. In comparison, shooter games like Valorant use servers with a tick rate of 128 Hz. As a result, desync and super bullets have become a common issue in the title.

Furthermore, he found that the player's latency to the server was far higher when more players were alive in the lobby. However, this latency value drops late into the game when the number of active players in the lobby decrease. To test this theory, he tried game modes with fewer players or no AI soldiers and noticed that his ping remained relatively stable.

Hence, he concluded that the servers were just not well equipped to handle the load that a typical Warzone 2 lobby demands. This results in the previously mentioned issues of high latency, desync, packet loss, and more. Fortunately, Call of Duty has acknowledged these issues and is working to resolve them.

While these issues certainly result in a poor gameplay experience, they can be mitigated to an extent. The section below covers some of these possible fixes. However, it is worth noting that these solutions will merely assist in fixing the issues on the users' end and are not be-all-end-all solutions to the server issues in Warzone 2.

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Possible fixes to reduce lag in Warzone 2

The following are some of the solutions that will help users overcome lag in Warzone 2 as of Season 3:

1) Turn off On-Demand Texture Streaming

This is one of the easiest fixes to avoid lag in the battle royale title. On-Demand Texture Streaming downloads textures in the background as you play the game. While this might improve the game's visual quality, it can lead to issues like packet loss and high latency, especially if users have fairly limited bandwidth.

To turn it off, head to the game's Graphics settings, and under Details & Textures, toggle the On-Demand Texture Streaming to Off.

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2) Flush DNS Cache (Windows PC)

If you are using a Windows PC, this might help resolve numerous errors and lag in the game. To clear the DNS cache, simply head to the Start Menu and lookup 'CMD.' Right-click on Command Prompt and select 'Run as administrator.'

Now, type in the following and press 'Enter':

ipconfig /flushdns

If the process were successful, you would be greeted with a message: "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache."

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3) Use a VPN

Not the ideal solution, but some gaming VPNs come with game-optimized profiles with custom routing tables. They help reduce lag and, in some instances, can help eliminate packet loss. However, most of them are rarely free. It is advised to connect to servers of your region to maintain integrity and fairness for all.

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This is all there is to know about fixing the lag and other network issues in Season 3 of Warzone 2. If the game is lagging despite trying these possible solutions, contacting the Activision support team for further assistance is recommended.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 Season 3 Reloaded will arrive on May 10, 2023. The update will be released on PC (via Battle.net and Steam), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.