How to reduce lag in Elden Ring

Elden Ring, like any online game, is bound by a few factors when it comes to connection speed, and you can only control a handful of them on your end. Obviously, the answer to reducing your lag can’t always be “just get faster internet.” If you’re having trouble with lag, there are a handful of things you can do to remedy the issue.

Hardware fixes

The first thing you should always check when you’re on the road to an optimal online experience in any game is your device’s connection to the internet. If you’re on wi-fi, do everything you can to make sure the setup in your home is free of obstacles between your router and device, investing in a wi-fi signal extender might be your best option if you can’t get closer to your router. 

Ideally, however, you should be hard-wiring your device to the internet with an ethernet cable. Ethernet cables are going to be more consistent, harder to interfere with, and less bothersome than dealing with a wireless connection.

In-game fixes

In-game, we need to grapple with physics. The internet is quite literally a network of light transmitting information as quickly as possible. That reality means that your connection with another player is going to be bound by distance in a very meaningful way. That means hopping into a game with someone on the other side of the world is going to tank the connection speed of your session.

Luckily, FromSoftware has a built-in consideration for that. Check the Cross-Region Play option in the network settings menu within the game. If you’ve done all you can to ensure your internet connection is behaving and you’re still having lag issues, make sure you’ve disabled cross-region matchmaking.