When should/shouldn’t I use a VPN when gaming? I understand that it adds latency which is unadvised for online games, but when is it a good idea to use it? For instance, if a server is in another country, should I connect the VPN to that country? Could secure core and other settings in theory prevent/mitigate the chance of being DDOS’d?
If I enable split-tunneling for Steam let’s say, will the VPN not interfere with any games or do I need to manually check every game in my library?
Will port-forwarding either in the VPN or on my router improve latency? Doesn’t it reduce security though? Is that a good trade-off only when gaming?
Using a VPN while gaming can help with privacy, especially on public Wi-Fi or to avoid DDoS attacks. It might also improve ping if the game server is in another country, though it could add some latency. If you enable split-tunneling for Steam, only certain traffic will go through the VPN, which can reduce lag for other games. However, you’ll need to manually check which games are using the VPN. Secure Core features can protect against DDoS, but they might slow down your connection a bit. Whether or not to use a VPN depends on your needs for security versus speed
The answer is a solid it depends.
It takes everything lining up just so for a VPN to improve ping. 9 times out of 10 though it will make it worse by introducing extra routing.
name checks out i guess
so I check Steam for split-tunneling, would that only apply to it or all games? Is there a way I can bulk check for all online games?