Top 5 VPN to Fix Raft Multiplayer Lag & Make It Run Smoother
Using a gaming VPN to boost connectivity can reduce latency and lags
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Key notes
- Raft is a colorful and engaging oceanic survival game that you can play alone or with your friends.
- It's available on Windows, Mac, and Linux and you can find it on Steam.
- If you have Raft lag, high ping, and latency issues in multiplayer mode, use a VPN to speed up your network connection.
- To make your game run faster we recommend you read about the adjustments you can make in-game in this article.
If you’re experiencing Raft lag, you can use a VPN to fix it.
Raft is an oceanic survival game that you can play solo or with your friends in co-op or PvP mode. You can explore an open world and hone your crafting skills to build a floating home while steering clear of sharks. Play it on Steam.
Some users encounter Raft lag spikes in multiplayer mode, which can become really annoying. If you’re also facing this scenario, you can try to reduce lag in various ways, like downloading the latest hotfixes, minimizing your graphics settings, or using a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi.
However, if these fixes fail, you can use a VPN to improve your ping and make your game run faster. Raft doesn’t currently have dedicated servers, so it relies on a peer-to-peer network. That means you have to host a game server or join an online session hosted on someone else’s PC.
Why is Raft so laggy?
Raft multiplayer lagging issues could be the result of network congestion, incorrect IP configuration settings over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, jitter, bandwidth limitations, a poor distance between the host and client, double NAT, or ISP throttling.
- Raft stuttering, freezing, running slow is a result of poorly optimized PC specs like graphics card drivers and minimum requirements not met for the game:
- OS: Windows 7 or later
- Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual Core or similar
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 500 series or similar
- DirectX: Version 11
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Additional Notes: 64-bit operating system is required
- Raft lagging or showing lag spikes appear because of large rafts on survival mode so their servers are unable to handle it. You are however able to build much larger rafts on creative mode because the devs were aware that there would be large rafts built-in creative.
- Raft high ping in multiplayer mode is due to a bad server response. The easiest way to fix this is to use a VPN to change your location and try on a different server to connect.
While Raft may become more optimized in terms of connections in the future, there is no telling how far that optimization will be.
We recommend using a VPN with split tunneling or port forwarding under more server locations for Raft until they are able to optimize the connection or you are able to increase your internet strength.
You may not have as much lag in other similar games because they are all server-based, so each of your online friends is connected to a server. On the other hand, with Raft each of the people who join the world is connecting to the host of the world.
If the distance between your PC and the remote machine is too great, this can lead to Raft server lag. But if you connect to a Raft VPN server that’s closer to the remote PC, you reduce the distance and subsequently speed up your connection. It’s also possible to fix packet loss with a VPN.
Is Raft poorly optimized?
They do need to work on performance issues and optimization as they continue to add things to the game that require larger builds, but it’s slowed down horribly.
Currently, you can use a mod to effectively disable physics at the cost of some drawbacks, such as being unable to navigate islands with your raft, but it significantly improves FPS.
The reason Raft runs poorly with this is because the larger the raft, the more physics the game has to calculate, slowing down your system. It’s very unique in that regard, because in most other games, the structures you build stand still, rather than moving across a vast sea.
Do you go faster with more engines in Raft?
The speed of the Raft is determined by the number of engines and foundations. The theoretical speed increases as more engines are added to the raft, each engine adds the value 2.
However, because there is a hard cap, the speed will never exceed a cap of 2.5 and will never fall below the lower limit of 1.5. Only when the engines are overburdened will the speed be zero.
If the limit of 110 foundations per engine is exceeded, the engines become overburdened.
What are the best VPNs to fix Raft lag?
Private Internet Access – Best to fix packet loss
Fixing the lag in Raft is possible with Private Internet Access (PIA). Developed by Kape Technologies, PIA offers a huge network of servers. As such, you can connect to multiple countries until you find the best VPN server for Raft.
Private Internet Access is the only VPN on this list with native port forwarding, which is an essential feature for hosting game servers with a VPN. Plus, you can choose from static and dynamic IP addresses, as well as use private DNS servers.
PIA offers an easy Raft lag fix, whether you’re trying to play the game on Windows, Mac, or Linux. It provides you with high-speed VPN servers for Raft, together with excellent security features. You can also use it to fix Xbox packet loss.
More about PIA:
- +3,300 VPN servers in 48 countries
- Allows up to 10 simultaneous connections
- No logs
- 24/7 live chat support
- 30-day money-back guarantee (no free trial)
Private Internet Access
Quickly and easily fix Raft multiplayer lag with the help of this VPN.NordVPN – Best to use for the double VPN
NordVPN can easily reduce Raft lagging in multiplayer mode, thanks to its speedy VPN servers that can fix network congestion. It’s a VPN service operated by Tefincom & Co., which comes packed with numerous VPN servers.
With the help of NordVPN, you can minimize jitter and make your Internet connection faster. It gives you the possibility to configure custom DNS servers for Raft, secure your browsing sessions with CyberSec, as well as to access blocked sites by evading geoblocks.
If you’re having trouble trying to eliminate Raft game lagging because your VPN gets blocked by Steam, you can connect to NordVPN’s obfuscated servers to take care of this problem. Plus, it has a kill switch that turns off your VPN right away should you need it.
More about NordVPN:
- +5,100 VPN servers in 59 countries
- Supports 6 simultaneous connections
- No logs
- 30-day money-back guarantee (no free trial)
NordVPN
If your Raft game is laggy, use NordVPN to reduce high ping and speed up your connection.ExpressVPN – Best to bypass ISP throtling
It should come as no surprise that ExpressVPN one of our most tested VPN for gaming to fix Raft multiplayer lag and make it run smoother. It has the best combination of features, security, and speed, making it an excellent choice in almost any situation.
ExpressVPN’s apps are already configured to prevent DNS leaks, so you won’t have to worry about them. After you sign up for the service, you can also test for DNS leaks on the official website.
Low ping is essential for competitive online gaming. ExpressVPN can connect you to a server that is closer to your game’s servers for lower latency and smoother connections.
More about ExpressVPN:
- Speed test to find the fastest VPN server location
- Connect to over 3000 servers in 94 countries
- Unlimited bandwidth for never-ending optimal network speed
- Bypass internet throttling
- RAM-powered memory storage
- 30-day risk free money-back-guarantee
Indeed, the ability to change your virtual location is very useful in online gaming. You will be able to connect to foreign game servers that are normally inaccessible to you using ExpressVPN. But, if this provider is so popular in the gaming world, it is primarily due to its connection speeds.
ExpressVPN
Reduce high pings in Raft and connect to an optimal server to bypass ISP throttling.Surfshark – Best to use for DDoS protection
Surfshark is another great option for gaming VPN that supports Linux, Mac OS, and Windows on the desktop for Raft, with apps, plugins, and services for almost every piece of connected hardware you can think of to protect.
Android and iOS mobile devices, Xbox and PlayStation video game consoles, and Amazon FireTV and Apple TV smart TV platforms are also supported. Nonetheless, the service allows subscribers to protect an unlimited number of devices, making it a great value in a highly connected home.
Surfshark also includes a list of optimized servers for P2P, Gaming, MultiHop, allowing you to select one based on your needs rather than going on a wild goose chase. We tested their VPN app on both PCs and consoles, and it performed admirably.
More about SurfsharkVPN:
- Best protocols for gaming
- Strong encryption
- Multi-hop connections
- Extended servers worldwide
- Whitelister
- Camouflage Mode
- CleanWeb against trackers
Surfshark is also an excellent solution for players who frequently play on unsecured servers, particularly competitive multiplayer games.
It is far safer to play on such servers without revealing your IP address, and Surfshark provides you with complete anonymity in this case.
Surfshark
Stay under camouflage mode and get access to optimized servers for gaming to reduce lag in Raft.CyberGhost VPN – Best to use for the gaming servers
CyberGhost VPN is another excellent choice for fixing Raft game lag. Owned by Kape Technologies, this VPN service can fix Wi-Fi packet loss if you can’t switch to wired mode to improve your connection speed.
If your network bandwidth is limited and you can’t afford to redirect all network traffic through VPN, then you can turn to CyberGhost’s split tunneling feature to create whitelists or blacklists and route only Raft gaming traffic through VPN.
You can easily fix Raft lagging issues using the fast VPN servers provided by CyberGhost VPN. It also offers exclusive DNS servers, DNS leak protection, anti-hacker protection, and a malware blocker for browsers.
More about CyberGhost VPN:
- +6,500 VPN servers in 89 countries
- Up to 7 connections using the same account
- No logs
- Up to 45-day money-back guarantee (1-day free trial)
Cyberghost VPN
Eliminate Raft lag issues by turning to this fast and secure VPNMoreover, if you are still wondering how to make raft less laggy and run smoother and give Raft FPS boost you can adjust the graphics in Raft, and it doesn’t look too bad on the low settings. Increase FPS for Raft low-end PC by adjusting them and it will run better.
How to make Raft run better?
Firstly, make sure to download the official hotfixes and restart Steam before launching Raft. Secondly, lower your in-game graphics settings. Thirdly, use NVIDIA Control Panel to optimize your GPU for PC performance.
It’s important to remember that this is the very first release of Raft. As the Early Access period comes to an end, it’s likely that developers will continue to work on updates and optimization.
Head over to our VPN Troubleshooting area to quickly fix any VPN-related errors. To see how to reduce lag and packet loss in other games, join our Gaming VPN Hub.
To summarize, using a VPN is the best way to fix Raft lag and packet loss. You just need to connect to a VPN server that’s in the same region as the remote PC hosting the game server.
If you’re having issues trying to pick the best VPN for Raft, we suggest going with ExpressVPN.
