It's been almost a month that Diablo 4, the fourth installment of the beloved role-playing game series created by Blizzard Entertainment, was finally launched worldwide.
Yet, bad actors have been targeting the multiplayer-only game recently with a series of DDoS attacks by sending a massive influx of data into the game's servers. The result? The performance hit was so bad that many gamers are now struggling to log in to the game—especially those based across North America, Europe, Australia, and some Asian countries.
Blizzard officials are now recommending using a VPN service to help mitigate the impact and enjoy a more stable as well as secure gaming experience overall. Our experts show you how a virtual private network (VPN) can keep your games uninterrupted, and reduce lag with a VPN for Diablo 4.
Why use a Diablo 4 VPN
"We are aware of an issue with players that are not able to connect to battle.net. This seems to mostly be affecting players in the North East of the US. If you are impacted a VPN might assist if you feel comfortable using one," wrote Blizzard on its technical support page on June 17.
A reliable gaming VPN can, in fact, boost up gaming performances while shielding gamers from further external attacks. That's because a virtual private network (VPN) is a security tool that both spoofs users' IP addresses and encrypts their connections to hide their presence online.
As we mentioned, cybercriminals carry out DDoS attacks by overwhelming the game's servers and, ultimately, making this unable to respond. However, when your IP address is hidden, attackers cannot locate their network. Making it nearly impossible for them to DDoS you.
Turning on a VPN when you're gaming online can boost your performance, too—even without having to deal with DDoS attacks. That's because it also prevents you from being affected by what's known as ISP or bandwidth throttling. You can enjoy more stable and faster online connections, without having to worry about your internet bandwidth.
How to avoid Diablo 4 DDoS attack issues with a VPN from r/diablo4
How to choose a gaming VPN
VPN services aren't made equal, though. Choosing the best service is especially important for gamers, where poor speed results will make using such a service more of a pain than an added value.
TechRadar has 15 years of experience online, and our VPN experts aren't just industry professionals, most of them are gamers, too. Check our list of the best gaming VPNs to find out more—our favorites right now are, in order, ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend you avoid using a free VPN. Most free VPNs are often dangerous to use in terms of privacy and security, but even the best ones come with limitations, like data caps and slower speeds.
The best VPN services are all available with a minimum of 30-day risk-free trial, though. You'll need to invest the money up-front, but you can get a full refund before the end of the guarantee period.
We recommend Diablo 4 gamers, looking to invest in a reliable service, to look out for the fastest VPNs for lower latency and ping while you play.
Make sure your chosen service offers the speedy and more secure WireGuard protocol. Some providers have even developed their own version inspired by it, namely ExpressVPN's Lightway and NordVPN's NordLynx.
NordVPN's new feature, Meshnet, is also a big plus for multiplayer online gaming, making it one of the best VPNs for Diablo 4. Powered by NordLynx, you can link up to 60 devices regardless of their location, allocating each a special IP address that will work only with Meshnet. Put simply, Meshnet works like a virtual Local Area Network (LAN), enabling friends to play together without being reliant on online servers or a game needing you all to be in the same house. No more duct-taping yourself to the ceiling to play with your friends.
Other important features to look out for are a broad network of servers strategically located worldwide for better performance, split tunneling to exempt chosen apps from the VPN tunnel as well as responsive customer support.
Diablo 4 is available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. Since the last two devices don't support native VPN apps, we suggest considering a service that supports router configurations. All the services mentioned above have useful tutorials to help users in the process, with ExpressVPN even offering its own router with a built-in VPN, Aircove.
