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 what makes the server reticle jump instead of following your aim. Every dropped packet is an aim update the server never received, so it keeps resolving shells against a gun position you left a moment ago.
Jitter (aim stability)
Jitter is why the blue reticle trails unevenly behind the white one. Since the shell uses the server's version, shooting while the two disagree is a coin flip regardless of how well you aimed.
Ping (latency)
Under 60 ms keeps the two reticles close enough to ignore. Above 100 ms you must wait for them to converge before every shot, which is a real handicap in a brawl.
What you see in game, and which number on this page explains it.
Most games hide the disagreement between what your client believes and what the server has recorded. World of Tanks draws it. Press CapsLock + 0 during a battle and a second, blue reticle appears alongside your normal one: the server reticle, showing the gun position the server currently holds on record. Your shell is resolved against that one. The white reticle is a local prediction.
Once you know that, a whole class of complaints becomes diagnosable. A fully aimed shot that scatters wildly was almost always fired while the two reticles disagreed - and every movement of your aim has to reach the server and be executed there, so the server version always trails slightly no matter how good your connection is. What separates a good connection from a bad one is not whether it trails, but whether it trails smoothly or snaps.
Smooth trailing is latency: predictable, and something you play around by waiting a beat before firing. Snapping and jumping is packet loss: the server received nothing for a while and then received everything at once. That is the pattern to look for on screen, and the red lines on this chart are the same event measured from outside the game.
Because World of Tanks is fully server-authoritative for aiming, there is no client-side compensation to fall back on. This makes it one of the clearest games in which to demonstrate why packet loss matters more than a headline ping number: a stable 90 ms produces a reticle you can work with, and an unstable 40 ms produces one you cannot.
If the chart above shows packet loss or high jitter, work through
these in order.
What is the server reticle in World of Tanks?
A second, blue reticle showing where the server believes your gun is pointing. Press CapsLock + 0 to display it. Shells are resolved against it, not against your client reticle.
Why do fully aimed shots still miss?
Because the server used a gun position that was out of date when the shell was fired. Watching the server reticle shows the gap directly, and packet loss on this chart explains where it came from.
What tick rate does World of Tanks use?
Wargaming does not publish one. This test sends 30 packets per second and labels that as an estimate.
Does high ping cause rubber-banding in World of Tanks?
Rubber-banding is packet loss, not ping. A high but steady ping delays your tank consistently; lost movement packets make the server snap you back to its last known position.