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Why is my ping high in Dota 2?

Valve names 13 Dota 2 server locations, not a full list. Our test times 12 of the 13 areas they sit in from your browser.

Updated

Test your ping to Dota 2 regions

Dota 2 at a glance

Publisher
Valve
Platforms
PC
Servers
Client and server: the publisher runs the game servers
Server choice
You pick the server
Server list
13 locations named, not a full list
Measured by our test
12 of 13 areas
Status page
Not published
Checked
October 18, 2026

Dated or thin source

What Valve publishes about Dota 2 servers is dated or thin. Check the game's own menus before you rely on this page.

How to see your ping in Dota 2

Valve says that when your match runs over its Steam Datagram Relay, the Steam overlay shows your ping and the route the relay network gives you.

How to change server in Dota 2

Before you queue, pick one or more matchmaking regions in the game's region selection. Valve's notes show you can tick low ping and higher ping regions together. In April 2017 Valve removed ranked matchmaking from South Africa, India and Dubai and told ranked players there to queue on a nearby server; Valve has not said whether that still applies.

Where the Dota 2 servers are

Valve does not publish a full, current list of Dota 2 server regions. The names here come from Valve announcements between 2014 and 2017, so check the region list in your own game client. You choose your matchmaking regions yourself, and playing on a far region adds latency to every match.

The labels are as named in Valve's posts from 2014 to 2017, not read from the game client. Source: World Leaderboards (Dota 2 announcement, March 2014).

Dota 2 server locations from Valve, with the test point we time for each
LocationCityCountryOur test point
US WestNot publishedNot publishedNorth America West: N. California and Oregon
US EastNot publishedNot publishedNorth America East: N. Virginia
South AmericaNot publishedNot publishedBrazil (Sao Paulo): Sao Paulo
Europe WestNot publishedNot publishedEurope West: Ireland, London and Paris
Europe EastNot publishedNot publishedEurope Central: Frankfurt
RussiaNot publishedNot publishedNo test point yet
South AfricaNot publishedSouth AfricaSouth Africa: Cape Town
South KoreaNot publishedNot publishedKorea (Seoul): Seoul
SE AsiaNot publishedNot publishedSoutheast Asia (Singapore): Singapore
AustraliaNot publishedNot publishedOceania (Sydney): Sydney
Japan (Tokyo) (our name, no label published)TokyoJapanJapan (Tokyo): Tokyo
India (Mumbai) (our name, no label published)Not publishedIndiaIndia (Mumbai): Mumbai
Middle East (Gulf) (our name, no label published)DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesMiddle East (Gulf): UAE

Valve names these locations only, not a full list. A city it does not name prints as not published, and an area folded onto a test point never borrows that test point's city.

What Valve says about ping

Valve publishes no ping figure or advice for Dota 2.

Our test reads its own bands next to that: Excellent under 40 ms, Good 40 to under 80 ms, Playable 80 to under 130 ms, Poor 130 ms and above. These are our lines, not Valve's.

What our test reads for Dota 2

  • Valve names some locations only, so the test compares every region. The result is general unless you pick the region you play on.
  • Russia has no test point yet, so the test cannot read it.
  • The South Africa test point is in Cape Town. Valve gives no city for South Africa.
  • The Middle East (Gulf) test point is in UAE, standing in for Dubai.
  • AWS reports its UAE region as damaged, so treat Gulf figures with care.

Fixes that fit your Dota 2 result

Test your ping to Dota 2 regions

Dota 2 ping questions

Where are the Dota 2 servers?
Valve names 13 locations, not a full list: US West, US East, South America, Europe West, Europe East, Russia and 7 more. The table on this page shows each one with the test point we time for it.
Can you pick your server in Dota 2?
Yes. You pick it yourself. The steps are under "How to change server" on this page.
What is a good ping in Dota 2?
Valve publishes no figure for Dota 2. Our own bands, which are not Valve's: Excellent under 40 ms, Good 40 to under 80 ms, Playable 80 to under 130 ms, Poor 130 ms and above.
Does the test measure the Dota 2 servers themselves?
No. It times public test points in 12 of Dota 2's 13 areas, from your browser. That shows network distance in tens of milliseconds; the number Dota 2 shows you decides.
Which Dota 2 regions can the test not measure?
Russia. No public test point sits close enough to stand in for it yet.

Sources

The Dota 2 facts on this page come from Valve's own pages, read on the dates shown.