Run the test above for at least 60 seconds. Here is what each
number means for this game specifically.
Red lines (packet loss)
Loss is the part of desync you can own. If this chart is clean while raids still desync, the cause is not your connection - and no router setting or VPN will change it.
Jitter (stability)
Uneven arrival makes ARC machines and other raiders move in steps. Since much of the game is about reading movement before committing, jitter costs more here than a slightly higher steady ping.
Ping (latency)
Under 50 ms is comfortable. Above 100 ms, close-range encounters resolve against you, and the extraction timing that the game is built around gets unreliable.
What you see in game, and which number on this page explains it.
ARC Raiders came out of launch with a public argument about its netcode attached, and it is worth stating the shape of that argument honestly rather than picking a side. Players reported severe desync from the start. Some reports quoted a server tick rate of 20Hz; third-party testing measured something closer to 90 ticks and concluded the desync had to come from the netcode rather than the update rate. Embark has published no figure that settles it.
When the server side of a question is contested and undocumented, the only responsible thing a test like this can do is establish the part that is not in dispute: your own connection. That is a smaller claim than "we will fix your desync", and it is the one that is actually true. A clean chart during a desynced raid tells you that nothing you buy, configure or subscribe to will help - which is worth knowing before you spend money on a gaming VPN.
It also tells you when the answer is simply patience. The launch period produced matchmaking queues, mid-match disconnects and unwanted party joins, all of which are capacity problems on the operator's side. Those look identical to a network fault from inside the game and completely different from outside it.
The part that remains yours is loss and jitter, and the extraction format makes both unusually costly. A run you cannot repeat, with a loadout you lose on death, means a single burst at the wrong moment is not a rounding error in your evening - it is the evening.
If the chart above shows packet loss or high jitter, work through
these in order.
Is ARC Raiders desync my internet?
Sometimes, and this test tells you which. A clean chart during a desynced raid means the fault is on the server side, where the tick rate is disputed and no official figure exists.
What is ARC Raiders' server tick rate?
Unresolved. Launch reports quoted 20Hz, third-party testing measured roughly 90 ticks, and Embark has not published a number. We send 60 packets per second and mark the figure as an estimate.
Why do I lose fights I clearly won on my screen?
Because the server resolved the exchange against positions that differ from yours. Packet loss on your side makes that worse; if your side is clean, the gap is in the game's own synchronisation.
Does a VPN help with ARC Raiders desync?
No. A VPN adds latency and cannot recover lost packets. It helps only in the specific case of a badly routed ISP path, which this test would show as a high but stable ping.