How to See Ping in Overwatch 2

How to See Ping in Overwatch 2? Overwatch 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to Blizzard’s team-based competitive shooter Overwatch. The game is fast-paced and requires quick reflexes and low latency for optimal performance. Knowing your in-game ping is vital to gauge how responsive the gameplay feels and if you are experiencing any lag. Unlike other popular shooters, there is no always-visible ping counter in Overwatch 2. But the game does provide a way to enable ping display as needed. Here is how to see your ping in Overwatch 2 on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Ping Basics

Ping represents network latency, which is the time taken for data packets to transmit back and forth from your computer to the game server. It is measured in milliseconds (ms). Lower ping means lower delay, which gives you a responsive, lag-free gaming experience. High ping leads to delayed reaction times, rubberbanding and other issues. You want your Overwatch 2 ping to be as low as possible, ideally under 60ms.

Enable Performance Stats

Overwatch 2 has a performance stats overlay which can display real-time ping, framerate (FPS), GPU temps and more. To enable it:

Launch Overwatch 2 and press ESC to access the menu
Go to Options > Video > Scroll down to Display Performance Stats
Turn it On to show performance metrics on the top left corner of your screen

This will overlay basic stats like FPS and Render Latency. But it doesn’t show ping yet.

Display Network Latency

Now within the Display Performance Stats section, toggle the “Show Network Latency” setting to On. This specifically enables ping display within the performance overlay.

Your ping in milliseconds now appears in square brackets [] next to the FPS counter. Monitor this during games to track latency and any sudden ping spikes.

Network Latency on Consoles

The above method applies to the PC version. On consoles, access the Options menu, go to Controls > Advanced Controls > Display Performance Stats and toggle Show Network Latency to On. This displays ping in the top left corner on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch when playing Overwatch 2.

Interpreting Ping Values

With ping visible, you can better understand your network experience:

0 to 30ms: Excellent ping, extremely responsive
30 to 60ms: Good ping, minimal delay
60 to 100ms: Fair ping, occasional lag
100 to 150ms: Mediocre ping, reduced performance
150ms+: Poor ping, severe latency issues

If your Overwatch 2 ping is consistently over 100ms, you will face lag and should troubleshoot your network.

Connection Icons

In addition to numeric ping values, Overwatch 2 shows visual connection quality icons in-game:

Full bars: Excellent connection
3 bars: Good connection
2 bars: Fair connection
1 bar: Poor connection

So both the bars and ping values help assess your gameplay experience. Enable them both.

Causes of High Ping

Some common reasons for getting high ping in Overwatch 2 include:

Slow or unstable internet connection
WiFi instability causing lag spikes
ISP throttling bandwidth during peak hours
Server distance too far away
Background downloads and programs consuming bandwidth
Outdated network drivers causing packet loss
Faulty routers, modems or cables

Address these potential issues to lower Overwatch 2 ping.

Final Thoughts

Being able to view your current ping in milliseconds is vital to diagnosing latency and lag problems in a fast-paced competitive game like Overwatch 2. Thankfully, the game provides an easy way to overlay this metric. Just enable the performance stats, turn on network latency and you will be able to monitor your ping in real-time. Keep an eye on ping values and connection icons during play to react to any latency issues impacting your gameplay.