Subject: Severe Network Latency Spikes After 0.4 Update – Game Unplayable

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limityt#0828 wrote:
I am writing to report a critical and persistent network issue introduced with the 0.4 update that has made Path of Exile 2 virtually unplayable.

Since the 0.4 patch, my in-game latency, which is normally a stable 30ms, frequently and abruptly spikes to between 80ms and 200ms. These spikes last for a few seconds before instantly dropping back to normal, causing severe stuttering and freezing. This happens with alarming frequency and has directly resulted in multiple character deaths in the endgame, resulting in significant lost progress.

I want to be very clear: this problem is unique to Path of Exile 2. My network is stable, and I experience no such latency issues in other online games I play regularly, including Diablo 4, DOTA 2, CS:GO 2, and PUBG. The game was perfectly stable for me in version 0.3.

Troubleshooting Steps I Have Exhausted:

Adjusted all in-game settings (graphics, audio, network options) with no effect.

Tried connecting from different networks (home, mobile hotspot).

Used multiple different gaming VPN/accelerator services.

Ensured no background applications were consuming bandwidth.

None of these measures provided any relief, which strongly indicates the problem originates from changes in the game's code or netcode introduced in update 0.4. I am not alone; similar reports of network-related stuttering exclusive to PoE 2 are appearing on the forums.

This is not a minor inconvenience. The instability has a direct, punitive cost in a hardcore ARPG. I am requesting an immediate investigation and a clear explanation from the development team regarding what in the 0.4 update is causing these debilitating latency spikes and when a fix can be expected.


Try Exitlag. It works for me but I am not sure if it will work for you.

The downside is that Exitlag is not free and it costs a monthly subscription. It suxs greatly but I have no choice. If I want to play the poe2, then I am being forced to pay for the Exitlag subscription.
34pre98qua
I have pretty much never lagged at all in this game but the server lag since 0.4.0, specifically over the last 4 or 5 days or so has been god awful. I don't know what's going on but it's getting really annoying. Nothing I have done on my end has worked at all in the long term, and my internet connection has been fine (I have tested it MANY times to be sure). I have only had short term success when I create a new instance of an area if I am lagging and that takes care of it for that area at least. But that's obviously not an effective fix for maps and other areas. Hopefully this gets addressed soon. I mostly wanted to let anyone know that creating a new instance of an area can help in the short term.
It's been happening routinely every night. Just had a bout that lasted approximately 10 minutes, watching my in-game latency monitor bounce between 30 ms and 2,000 ms to the Texas server. It settled back on 32 ms after about 10 minutes and seems to be playable again, but it's been quite frequent.

Edit: and it came back an hour later, during a map boss. This has been my favorite season so far, but the game has become unplayable. I can't continue playing when I might hit a spike in the middle of a juiced boss at any moment.
Last edited by Galadyn#3879 on Dec 30, 2025, 10:32:47 PM
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Nazeal#2985 wrote:
I've encountered the same scenario. Random latency spikes up to 5-10k ms. I have fiber internet and getting 4ms on speed test. Something is definitely up on server side.

Please fix ASAP!


Still occurring for me. Today mine went up to 40,000 ms. Like everyone else has said, this issue for me is limited to PoE2 specifically. I have zero latency issues in ANY other game.

Verified integrity of game files, rebooted internet, tried different PoE2 servers (primarily play Texas). No luck.


Halp :(
I have the same issue... cannot do anything. I tried a couple of fixes, shader cache delete, different servers, windows optimisation and gfx settings. I have set the network settings to predictive. Nothing works.
I guess it is on GGGs side and probably there are too many players playing the game on Jan 1st, so the servers cannot handle it. I do not know but it sux and it was not there on many other days before... get some more servers in, GGG!
For me, this problem can occur randomly whenever entering a new map or instance. In one map, it's totally smooth, but in another it's so laggy to the point of being unplayable which goes away when I open another map. Whatever the problem is, it's on GGG's end.

I'll be most upset if this hits when I'm entering a Jade Isles map.
PoE players: Our game has a wide diversity of builds.

Also PoE players: The [league mechanic] doesn't need to be nerfed, you just need to play a [current meta] build!

And the winds will cry / and many men will die / and all the waves will bow down / to the Loreley
Last edited by Pizzarugi#6258 on Jan 1, 2026, 1:20:36 PM
Same issues here when using Frankfurt (closest) or London login servers.

Literally can not play between 19:30 and 23:30 local time as ping spikes between 8 and 400ms and often just keeps rising to 5 digits.

It's like German Telecom suddenly limits a net-route to 2800 bout modem speed or one of the instance-servers in Frankfurt/London dies as it's 50 simultaneous connections are used up.

GGG should have a real talk with their German server providers.



Funny part while leveling:
- start instance and can run the area with constant 8 ms ping.
- go to town, start new instance via STRG and the exact same area is unplayable
- go to town, start another instance and everything is fine again

>>> conclusion: one or more of the Frankfurt instance servers are BROKEN and need new hardware!

So not an big issue while playing campaign.
Mapping impossible as I would LOSE the broken map then!
I had this problem a week or so ago and shader cache delete fixed it for me. But I woke up today and it's fucked again; tried the same thing but it didn't do anything this time. I just don't get it.

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