Desync and lag issues are every game's nightmare. Here are a couple of tips on how to minimize them in Escape from Tarkov.
The introduction of the inertia system has removed most of the annoying desync issues specific to Escape from Tarkov.
Earlier, players used increased desync happening on moving players against static opponents. Running someone like a maniac used to be a better tactic than staying put because of that, and many players resorted to it even though that approach is somewhat in contradiction of the game's tactic-oriented style.
However, the regular lag issues still remain as in any online game. Here are a couple of tips you can try out to minimize your desync issues.
Select the best server for you
The Launcher for the game should select the best server for you automatically, but it is worth checking the options yourself as the game sometimes may not select the best option for you.
Every server has a current ping value next to it, so select the one with the lowest ping available. If you have a couple of options available with close ping, then we advise selecting the servers that would be least populated, as sacrificing a couple of milliseconds can be a good trade for a less populated server, as desync is not only caused by latency issues but also by overloading server requests.
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Use cable instead of WI-FI
This one is pretty basic, and it doesn't apply only to Escape from Tarkov. If you have noticed lag issues in every online game you play, then possibly the problem is with your internet connection.
If you have the option, always use a direct cable connection (Ethernet) to your router instead of WI-FI. Even though you may notice it in everyday use, the connection between your PC or phone to a WI-FI network is never as consistent as with Ethernet, not to mention that it is by default faster.
Those consistency issues may not be big enough for the game to kick you off the server, but can have you lag from time to time without even noticing until you interact with other players.
Plus you are adding another layer of latency, between your router and PC, and depending on what router you are using, that can be as much as the one you get from the game's server.
Menu and auto RAM cleaner
These two are oddly specific to Tarkov and do not have much sense until you try them out and find out that they did help.
Players have noticed that depending on what type of menu theme is selected, the game can stutter at the beginning of the raid more or less. Specifically, the Lab menu theme is known to cause lag and stuttering issues, while the Factory theme provides the best performance.
As to why the two things are connected, remains a mystery, but nevertheless, it's worth trying.
The other thing is enabling auto RAM cleaner in the options menu, which cleans your cache from the previous raid. This can sometimes lead to longer game loading time as the game has to load everything again, but if you have an SSD that shouldn't be a problem.
And some players have reported that it did, in fact, help them.
Get DualStack/ native IPv4 address
Depending on your region and internet provider, you may not be getting a native IPv4 address but a tunneled IPv6, which is a problem since Tarkov runs on IPv4 only, but you need to receive IPv6 packets.
When a user’s device sends an IPv4 packet to an external destination, DS-Lite encapsulates the IPv4 packet in an IPv6 packet for transport into the provider network.
This can take longer than Tarkov will allow you to, causing desync and ultimately disconnect if it takes too long.
Your options from here are to contact your internet provider and ask for a Dualstack instead of DualStack Lite. Based on your country and provider, that may or may not be possible, and may cost extra.
If your provider cannot do that, then you might try a VPN, and select the one with the lowest ping, either from the same country or nearby.
Note that setting exclusively IPv4 in your internet options will not do the trick, as the provider will still go through DS-Lite regardless of your local settings.
Desync issues in gaming will not be resolved any time in the future as it will require total restructuring of the way clients (your pc) and servers communicate. Until then, do everything in your power to minimize the issue and make your playing experience a tad better.
