Do you consider yourself the best of the best? Perhaps the “Top Gun” when it comes to gaming online? Gaming is a massive global business and many people are interested in it, not just for the joy of the game but for the income that it provides. These pro gamers are helping to drive games in new directions and while mobile gaming has seen the largest growth, console and PC gaming continue to grow in popularity also. With global games being worth an estimated $152 billion its critical for these pros to have the best tools and technologies when gaming.
What are the reasons to use a VPN?
When it comes to VPNs, there are really only a couple of different reasons you’d want to use one. VPNs stand for Virtual Private Network and it’s the middle word that is the key. VPNs provide privacy and security and help hide your online identity. You see, when you connect online your computer or device has a unique identifier that can be tracked and monitored. This is your IP (Internet Protocol) identifier, and it functions as your virtual, digital fingerprint. With a VPN in place, however, your IP address gets masked which helps hide your online identity.
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The second primary reason for VPNs is its ability to bypass censorship and geolocation restrictions. Many good commercial VPN providers have servers distributed around the world. By connecting to a server in one of these locations, it is possible to access content and information that would not otherwise be available to you. Now, do these two advantages imply that a VPN for online games is the right solution? Well, let’s talk about why you’d want a VPN for gaming and then we can see where a VPN helps.
Benefits of VPNs for Online Games
Privacy and Security
Sadly, when it comes to online gaming and the Internet in general to be honest people react quite differently than they would in person. It’s not unheard of for players that have lost online to react negatively. Unfortunately, some people take it quite a bit further. Gamers that are unable to be a good sport about losing have been known to become violent. You see, when they find your IP address, it is not too difficult for them to further trace your real-world identity.
Threats and harassment could be limited to your social media accounts or worse. Considering that this started from a simple online game, the consequences could be quite severe. Fortunately, VPNs are ideally placed to help with this issue as privacy is one of their key benefits. With a good VPN in place, the furthest that you can be traced back to is the VPN server itself.
Access to Restricted Content
It’s not uncommon to come across game titles and even game websites that are restricted to specific regions of the world. While there are legitimate reasons for this, as a gamer, it is quite restrictive. Luckily VPNs definitely help here and by using a VPN server in a location where the content is available you can quickly and easily bypass these restrictions.
Improve the Speed of Your Connection
As a professional gamer, it’s critical that your speed is as high as possible with as little latency as possible. VPNs when used correctly, can be of great benefit here. A VPN acts like a filter between you and the internet. While this is great from the point of view of privacy and access it can actually slow down your connection which is something you definitely want to avoid. However, if you connect to a VPN server that is in close geographic proximity to the gaming server, you can actually reduce the connection route. This can definitely reduce lag and improve your gameplay.
VPNs protect you from DDoS Attacks
As a professional gamer, the key requirement is that your connection not be interrupted in the middle of a game. If this were to happen, you’d quickly and decisively lose which can be financially crippling. In 2017, for example, Final Fantasy 14 was significantly impacted by exactly this type of attack which impacted thousands of players.
These attacks are not just restricted to the platform though – with high-stakes betting at the heart of many different games. There is a significant incentive for players to gain a competitive advantage. In fact, during a 2015 Dota 2 tournament, the winning team was disqualified after it was determined they had used a botnet against their competition. VPNs do provide protection against DDoS attacks, but these aren’t really a consumer solution. It’s important to understand your requirements. If you are actively running a dedicated gaming server then a VPN should definitely be something you consider.
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Get Access to Cheaper Games
Now pro gamers might not really worry about this. But, everyone had to start somewhere and sometimes the price of a game could turn you off from its purchase. However, it’s actually possible to save some money based on where you shop and game prices often vary in this manner also. By logging in and accessing the shop through a different location. But is possible to get the exact same game at a significant discount simply by using a VPN.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few different reasons to consider a VPN if you are a pro gamer. The best VPNs are available on a host of different devices. But ensuring that whether you’re gaming on your PC, your console or your smartphone you are consistently protected. Playing games for fun or profit is a great way to relax and recover and when you can do it in complete anonymity and privacy, the benefits are even greater.