Why is my server lagging? A step-by-step troubleshooting guide

First: what kind of lag is it?

"Lag" is used for completely different problems. Before fixing anything, find out what players actually feel:

• High ping: players see 100 to 200 ms. It is a network problem between them and the server.
• Server lag: normal ping, but everything stutters, players rubber-band, enemies teleport. The server cannot keep up.
• Low FPS on the player's side: the game only runs badly on their computer. The problem is theirs, not the server's.

The simplest question: do all players feel it, or only one? If only one, the problem is almost certainly on their side.

Step 1: check ping and packet loss

If every player gets high ping at once, it is a network problem or an attack. Check:

• in-game ping (scoreboard) for several players;
• packet loss: with ping or, better, mtr or WinMTR from a player's computer to the server's IP.

If you see heavy packet loss at a certain hop, the problem is with that network provider. If all traffic suddenly drops for everyone, it may be a DDoS attack.

Step 2: check server resources

If ping is normal but the server runs badly, check CPU and RAM in the panel at peak hours:

• CPU above 80 to 90%: the server can no longer keep up with the work;
• RAM almost full: the server starts using disk as memory, which is far slower;
• lag on saves or when new areas load: the disk is too slow.

Step 3: check tick rate or TPS

Every game has an indicator that shows whether the server keeps up:

• Minecraft: the /tps command (on Paper). 20 is perfect, below 18 means server lag.
• CS 1.6: the stats console command shows the server's real FPS.
• Rust: the fps console command.

If the indicator drops only at certain moments (a specific area, an event, many entities), that is where the cause is.

Step 4: find the guilty plugin or mod

Most lag on modern servers comes from plugins, not hardware:

• Minecraft: use a profiler like spark (/spark profiler). It shows exactly which plugin or part of the world uses the most.
• Other games: remove plugins one at a time, especially recent ones, and watch whether the lag disappears.

One badly written plugin can make a powerful server run badly.

Step 5: server settings

A few settings that matter a lot:

• Minecraft: view-distance and simulation-distance. Lowering them from 10 to 6 or 8 cuts usage a lot without players noticing much.
• Entities: huge animal farms, hundreds of items on the ground or vehicles left everywhere (in FiveM, Rust or Garry's Mod) load the server. Clean them up regularly.
• Daily restart: some memory problems build up over time. A scheduled restart at night clears them.

Step 6: only now, upgrade

If you have checked everything and lag grows with player count, your server has grown and the plan is no longer enough. Only now does an upgrade fix the problem. Details in our guide: how to know when it is time to upgrade.

Wiptor game servers

Our game servers run on high-frequency AMD and Intel CPUs and NVMe storage, with DDoS protection included. The panel shows live CPU and RAM usage, so you quickly see where lag comes from. If you cannot work it out, message us on live chat: we will look at it together.

See the game servers