Internet Speed for League of Legends — The Ping Guide for Challenger
League of Legends runs on Riot's own regional servers, and independent measurement has pinned the host's actual tick rate at exactly 30.30Hz — a tick every 33 milliseconds — even though Riot's own communications simply round this to "30Hz." As a MOBA rather than a twitch shooter, ping affects League differently than it does an FPS: it's less about split-second aim and more about ability timing, skillshot dodges, and reaction windows in fights. Test your baseline above, or run a full check at instantspeedtest.net.
League of Legends Network Requirements — By Rank Tier
| Rank Tier | Usable Ping | Competitive Ping | Jitter Max | Packet Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron – Silver | Under 100ms | Under 70ms | Under 35ms | Under 2% |
| Gold – Emerald | Under 70ms | Under 45ms | Under 20ms | Under 1% |
| Diamond – Master | Under 45ms | Under 25ms | Under 10ms | Under 1% |
| Grandmaster – Challenger | Under 30ms | Under 18ms | Under 5ms | 0% |
Tick Rounding — The Ability Timing Quirk Unique to League
League's server processes every ability, cast, and action on a fixed 33ms cycle, and anything that doesn't land exactly on a tick boundary gets rounded up to the next one — a mechanic the community calls tick rounding. A common example: the most frequent cast time in the game, 0.25 seconds, mathematically works out to 7.57 ticks, which the server rounds up to a full 8 ticks — meaning the actual cast takes slightly longer than the stated number implies. This is a server-side quirk baked into the game regardless of your connection, but higher, less stable ping compounds it further, adding real network delay on top of that rounding before your input even reaches the server. Lower and more stable ping won't change the tick math, but it does minimize everything stacked on top of it — which is exactly why competitive players still chase the lowest possible ping despite League's relatively modest 30Hz tick rate. See our full ping guide for how this compares across other titles.
Related Guides
- Gamer Hub — All Game Ping Tests
- Internet Speed for Valorant
- Internet Speed for Fortnite
- Internet Speed for Apex Legends
- Internet Speed for CS2
- General Server Ping Test
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ping matter as much in League of Legends as in shooters?
It matters differently rather than less. League doesn't require the split-second aim precision an FPS does, but high or unstable ping still delays how quickly your inputs — flashes, skillshots, ability combos — register on the server, which becomes very noticeable in close trades and when dodging enemy abilities. At high-elo play, where fights are frequently decided by who reacts and executes first, low and stable ping is just as valued as it is in shooters.
What is tick rounding and does it affect my ping?
Tick rounding is separate from ping — it's a server-side quirk where actions that don't land exactly on League's 33ms tick boundary get rounded up to the next tick, adding a small, fixed amount of delay regardless of your connection. Your ping is added on top of this, not instead of it, so lowering your ping still meaningfully helps even though it can't eliminate tick rounding itself.