Dota 2 Guides

How to Fix Dota 2 Server Lag (Heroes Shattering/Slideshow)

Because of frequent updates and very old Dota 2 servers, it is very common to have Dota 2 Server Lag. In this type of lag, your game works like a slideshow. It is very annoying to see your hero take a mini pause every 2 seconds. But thanks to a Reddit user we, now, have the solution to this problem. Let’s go step by step.

How to Fix Dota 2 Server Lag

  1. In your Steam client, right-click on Dota 2 and then click properties.
    Fix Dota 2 Server Lag
  2. Now, the properties window will open. In this window, click on “Set Launch Options“. See the image below for guidance.
    Set Launch Options in Dota 2
  3. Another small window will open. Type “-console” in the text area and then click OK. Remember, there is no space between the dash and console.
  4. Now start the game normally. Once you are in the game, click on Dota 2 settings button top left corner and the settings will open. In this setting panel, stay on Hotkeys window and click on “To Advanced Hotkeys” in the center bottom.
    Dota 2 Hotkeys settings
  5. Once the settings for Advanced Hotkeys are open, in the rightmost column, under “Interface“, bind a key to open Dota 2 console. In my case, it is “Keypad 0”.
    Fix Dota 2 Server Lag
  6. Now you have successfully bound a key for your console. Once you press the designated key (which in my case was Keypad 0) Dota 2 console will open. Type “rate 800000” in the text area. Press enter and you are good to go. Remember, there is a space between both words.
    Dota 2 console command
  7. Now, once you play the online game, your Dota 2 Server Lag problem will be solved. Your hero won’t shatter and it won’t have the slideshow animation.

Very Important: This setting is mostly good for relatively newer PC / Laptop users. However, if you have a vintage computer, increasing the value to 800,000 is not a good idea. If you increase the value so much on low-end computers, (like in this case we increased it by 10 times), you will notice a visible performance drop in form of FPS drop or more lag. In this case, start increasing the value by 20,000 and keep increasing it till your issue is fixed and there is no performance drop.

Why This Solution Work?

rate” is the variable that is responsible for minimum data (in bytes/sec) a Dota 2 host can receive from your computer. The default value for this variable is 80,000 (80 kb/sec). Increasing this value to 800,000 (basically to 800 kb/sec) will increase the amount of data your client can communicate with the Dota 2 server. Thus reducing the Dota 2 Server Lag. The higher the value you set, the more internet traffic your game will try to use for connection with the server.

However, on low-end computers, it might also decrease overall game performance. But, overall, if you have a stable and high-speed internet combined with a good computer, you have nothing to worry about. You can even increase the value more and more. In a nutshell, the higher this value, the more information your PC can receive from server in one tick (i.e. you will not get lag when getting into the Rosh pit when there are 40 PL illusions inside)

I hope this fix will solve your Dota 2 Server Lag problem once and for all. However, if it is still not fixed, maybe you have another issue. In that case, check out these guides below.

How to Fix Dota 2 Crashes

How to fix Connecting to Dota 2 Game Coordinator

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