If you love gaming and have great fun when doing it, but the term “port forwarding” bugs your mind, worry not. In this article, we will look at what does port forwarding do for gaming and how you can utilize this option to enhance your gaming experience and take it to the next level.
Therefore, if this sounds like something you have been looking forward to finding an answer to, make sure to keep reading this article to the end and upgrade your gaming experience to the highest quality possible.
What Does Port Forwarding Do for Gaming?
As we believe you already know, port forwarding is one of the trendiest things most gamers do to enhance their overall gaming speed and quality. But, although this has become an increasing trend, many people still are not quite sure of what does port forwarding do for gaming and how to benefit the most from this option.
In addition, we must mention that port forwarding many times is not an optional choice but is required so that you can play a particular game, especially when it comes to multiplayer games.
That being said, port forwarding actually helps your network router follow a specific path, reducing the time the connection needs to find its final destination. When talking specifically about gaming, instead of your connection to look for the gaming server, it will have an already predefined route and will know exactly where to go, resulting in improved game performance and faster-loading processes.
Does port forwarding make gaming faster?
After we have established the overall advances of port forwarding for gaming, another big question is whether this process makes gaming faster. And the answer is, most of the time, yes. Thanks to the fact that the port forwarding helps in achieving open NAT status, this option can significantly improve and enhance gaming speed.
The reason behind that is because of the open NAT status, your connection turns into a P2P connection, resulting in improving the voice chat and latency, allowing you to host a particular server, etc.
On the other hand, using port forwarding on games that are model-based, client-server, and use NAT to establish a connection, there is really no sense in using the port forwarding as it would have zero effect.
That being said, port forwarding can indeed make gaming faster, but only those games that do not use the client-server setting.
What Are the Benefits and Risks of Port Forwarding for Gaming?
Benefits of port forwarding for gaming
Security level
The first and most loved reason why an increased number of people turn to port forwarding is that this option basically adds an additional level of security to the networks. In other words, port forwarding in gaming protects the clients and servers from unwanted third-party access and hides the servers and services that are available on the network.
Limited access to a particular network
The port forwarding benefits for gaming are also reflected through this option’s power to limit access from and to a particular network. By doing so, the user can unrestrictedly play games at full speed without wasting time on loadings or searching for game servers.
Read more: How To Get Port Number From IP Address
IP address & internal tasks
Additionally, as port forwarding’s biggest, strongest, and main feature is keeping unwanted traffic off networks, it automatically allows the users to pick and use one IP address for all possible external communications on the Internet. At the same time, it allows the multiple servers that come with various ports and IPs to be able to do their tasks internally.
Gaming speed and performance
Lastly, by using only one IP address to fulfill and accomplish various tasks and by dropping the unnecessary traffic that is not directly related to the provided services at the firewall, port forwarding enables the user or, in this case, the gamer to ‘hide’ from the outside world and maintain a full gaming speed and performance.
Risks of port forwarding for gaming
Open port
The first and foremost risk we want to mention is that once you forward a port, keep in mind that that particular port will stay open regardless of whether your game is running or not. This can make your network vulnerable and a target for hackers or attackers.
Some routers have the option and advanced settings for the ports to be only open while gaming, so make sure that you get this kind of router if you want to stay safe.
Malware on device
Another risk of port forwarding for gaming is if you have some malicious software, virus, or malware on your device. Therefore, you need to ensure to run a virus and malware check before you do port forwarding so that you eliminate or remove any potential virus that might harm your computer when you do the port forwarding.
Giving access to people outside your network
Finally, before you use port forwarding, keep in mind that after you do this, you basically give access to your computer to people who are outside of your network. Accessing unsafe ports or, even worse, giving access can be extremely risky as people with malicious intentions and hackers can easily take control of your device.
Does Gaming Actually Require the Use of Port Forwarding?
Although many people think that port forwarding is absolutely necessary for gaming, the reality is that only some games require this setting. To be more specific, if you want to host multiplayer modes that would connect to your network, you will most certainly need to activate the port forwarding. By doing so, you will be able to connect directly with other players and enhance the overall quality and speed of your gaming.
Another scenario when you will need port forwarding is if you want to host a game server. As port forwarding is the way to do that, this is one of the biggest advances that port forwarding provides for gaming.
Also read: How to Control Devices Connected to Your WiFi
Conclusion
In this article, you could have read what does port forwarding do for gaming and what are the benefits and potential risks of activating this feature. Moreover, we have included some useful tips on when you need to use port forwarding and when you do not so that you can stay safe and protected while online gaming.