Connecting Before Connecting: Does VPN Affect Speed While Playing OSRS?

As an MMO player, aside from knowing basic fixes on connectivity issues, you also need to know connection-related utility programs.  And if you are an Old School Runescape (OSRS) player that wants to try OSRS gold trading, there’s one you might be interested in: VPNs. Yes, the one that, in layman’s terms, lets you connect to another country’s internet. But there’s more to it than just that, especially when it comes to gaming!

To help you come up with an informed decision on whether you should use one or not, here’s more vital info about this popular tool, how it affects your gaming, and which one you should use if you decide to.

Connecting the Basics

VPN is shorthand for Virtual Private Network, a kind of connection that allows people in a private connection to join a private network. Those joining the private network in question benefit by having the security and access that private network has. Most of the time, those connecting to a VPN are looking for a way to get past the restrictions of their country’s internet. This is because those connecting assume the same location as that of the private connection, thus allowing them to bypass their country’s restriction, and have access to the websites available in the VPN’s location.

Other than the private connection’s location, you also get the connection’s IP address. In fact, a lot of OSRS players use VPNs for that very reason, as they use it to hide their location. Using bots to farm and sell OSRS gold that will be traded later on is illegal behavior, thus the use of VPNs. While their reasons for using VPN may be different, the principle is the same: the player’s connection assumes the location of the VPN’s, effectively hiding his whereabouts from IP tracers.

Finally, there are players that use a VPN for encryption. There are varying levels of encryption. The higher the better, but the slower the connection will likely be.

Never Faster, A Little Slower

Now that we’ve answered what a VPN is and why OSRS players use it, let’s now answer the question we’ve been waiting for: does VPN affect gaming speed? The answer is yes. The general notion is that it slows down internet speed, while the truth is that it’s not always the case and that there are many factors as to how a VPN affects internet speed.

The first would be the physical distance between you and the VPN you’re connecting to. It should go without saying that the longer the distance is, the slower the connection will be. Another would be the quality of the server, as well as if the server you’re connecting to have bandwidth limitations. The better the server is, the more easily it can process encryption and web traffic, which in turn means a faster connection.

Your firewall and CPU power can also have an effect on your VPN speed. While the former is self-explanatory, the latter determines speed because it affects encryption speed. Lastly, your physical setup can also be a factor in how fast your internet speed is while you’re connected to a VPN. According to some users, being connected to a LAN cable is better than a Wi-Fi connection. This is more of a general rule as, VPN or no VPN, this can apply to your setup. However, such a setup is only applicable to PCs, as a lot of laptops no longer have the need for a LAN cable for obvious reasons.

Hopefully, with everything we’ve mentioned, you’ll now be able to decide whether you should go for a VPN or not. Whatever your answer may be, the important thing is that you’re having fun in Gielinor.