The group ping test finds the single server region that is fairest for a whole group of friends, even when you are spread across cities or continents. This guide explains what it measures, the maths it uses to pick a region, and how to read the map. It covers all 42 regions.
What it measures
Ping (latency) is the round-trip time between you and the server, in milliseconds. Lower is better: under 30ms feels like LAN, 30-60ms is comfortable competitive play, and over ~100ms starts to feel unfair in a 5v5. When you open the test, your browser times a tiny request to a host in each region and records the round trip. Every member does the same, so the pool ends up with a full matrix: every player's ping to every region.
This is measured, not guessed. Internet routes are not straight lines, so geography can lie, a player in São Paulo can reach Madrid faster than parts of Argentina. Real measurements beat eyeballing a map.
The fairness maths: lowest worst ping (minimax)
For each region the test looks at the group's pings and takes the WORST one, the unluckiest player. The fairest region is the one where that worst ping is as low as possible. Mathematicians call this minimax (minimise the maximum). It is the fair choice because the person with the worst connection feels every disadvantage, so you protect them first.
A concrete example. Three friends, two candidate regions:
- Region A: pings of 20ms, 25ms, and 130ms. Average = 58ms, but the worst is 130ms.
- Region B: pings of 55ms, 60ms, and 65ms. Average = 60ms, but the worst is only 65ms.
Region A has the lower average, but Region B is fairer: nobody is above 65ms, while Region A leaves one player at a rough 130ms. The ping test picks B as the fairest. A tie on the worst ping is broken by the lower average.
Fastest on average, and the trade-off
The test also shows the fastest-on-average region (lowest total latency). Often it is the same as the fairest. When it differs, choosing the fastest-average region shaves a few milliseconds off the majority but pushes one player higher, so the test spells out the cost, e.g. "+7ms to Diego versus Tel Aviv," and lets you decide.
Who is pulling the group
At the fairest region, one person owns the worst ping, the constraining member. The test names them and shows how much tighter the group would get if they sat out ("without them the pool tightens by −41ms"). That is not a callout to bench anyone; it is there so a far-away friend knows to take turns hosting, or so you understand why no region is great for everyone.
Reading the map
- Coloured dots are regions, coloured by YOUR ping: green under 60ms, yellow under 200ms, red above. So the map reads as a personal "how far is each region for me" gradient, greenest near you.
- Faint grey dots are regions nobody in the group could reach a reading for, shown for completeness, not a ping level.
- Avatar pins mark where each player sits (their closest region is used as an honest stand-in, we do not track real locations). Hover a pin for the name.
- The pulsing white ring marks the fairest region; thin arcs curve from each player toward it.
You can zoom (scroll or pinch) and drag the map. It opens fitted to your group so you can pan around straight away.
Live, solo, and deploying
- Live: the pool refreshes about every 5 seconds, so joins and re-pings update the recommendation on their own.
- Solo: on your own it shows your closest regions instead, still useful, and it hints at inviting friends to find a fair middle.
- Deploy: one click takes you to pick a game with the fairest region already selected.
A note on trans-continental groups
If your group spans, say, Brazil and Germany, there is no perfect answer, someone always carries ~150ms. The fairest region is the least-bad middle (often Madrid or Miami). The honest thing is to take turns hosting from each end so the same player is not always the high-ping one.