Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 brings massive upgrades like a new map and DMZ mode, but also weighs in with a beefy 100GB+ install. For many players, the excitement of boots on the ground in Al Mazrah is dampened by crawling download speeds getting the game set up.
Whether your internet connection is capped, shared with family members, or you‘re gaming on a rural network, downloading this digital behemoth can be a test of patience. But with the right optimizations, troubleshooting, and tools, you can drastically improve sluggish Battle.net speeds to play Warzone 2 sooner.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover all the steps for reducing friction between you and Activision‘s servers. By adjusting settings across your network, Battle.net client, and physical setup, you can shave hours off the download time even on mediocre connections. Let‘s optimize your system and finally parachute into Warzone 2!
Factors Affecting Download Speeds
Before fixing slow speeds, it helps to understand exactly what‘s impacting performance in the first place. The time to siphon 100GB from Battle.net servers depends on several key factors:
Internet Bandwidth
This determines your download data rate ceiling, typically 25Mbps to 100+Mbps for most home connections. Upgrading to faster broadband directly correlates to faster game downloads.
| Connection Speed | Download Time (100GB) |
|---|---|
| 25 Mbps | 5 hours 20 minutes |
| 50 Mbps | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| 100 Mbps | 1 hour 20 minutes |
| 500 Mbps | 20 minutes |
WiFi vs Ethernet
Gaming over WiFi introduces latency and overhead vs more reliable ethernet speeds. Running ethernet to your gaming device avoids these penalties.
Battle.net Server Loads
At launch, Activision intelligently throttles speeds, preventing outages from peak demand. This intentional limiting drastically slows downloads during the initial rush.
Geography and Routing
Your proximity to Activision‘s servers plus routing paths across internet backbones impacts sustained speeds. Using a VPN can optimize your virtual location for throughput.
Network Congestion
Other household activities eat up precious bandwidth. Downloading Hulu shows in the background while installing Warzone cripples speed.
Storage Drive Type
Your drive‘s write speed caps how fast it can save data to disk. SSD offers much faster write performance than traditional HDD.
Optimizing Your Network Settings
Before adjusting anything on Battle.net itself, it‘s worth optimizing your home network settings and equipment to ensure maximum throughput to your gaming device:
Use QoS To Prioritize Gaming Devices
Quality of Service settings in most commercial routers allow explicitly prioritizing traffic to a particular machine. Ensure your gaming PC or console gets top billing.
Leverage Ethernet Over WiFi When Possible
The convenience of wireless comes at the cost of speed. If your gaming device has access to your router via ethernet, choose this for reduced latency and overhead. For the PS5, the official ethernet adapter unlocks full broadband speeds.
Eliminate Bandwidth Caps
Log into your router settings and remove any explicit caps or limits set lower than your broadband plan‘s maximum speed, commonly found in traffic shaping or firewall sections.
Forward Ports
Opening Blizzard‘s recommended TCP/UDP ports in your router reduces NAT issues and improves routing efficiency. This is crucial for peer-to-peer downloads.
Reboot Your Router
Over time router performance can degrade. A restart helps clear any memory leaks or bloated caches that may be hindering speed. For leased ISP gear, upgrade to a quality third party router.
Upgrade Outdated Ethernet Cabling
If relying on ethernet, ensure your cables are Cat 5e or Cat 6. The wiring speed caps throughput. Cat 6 supports up to 10 Gbps for future proofing.
Consider Third Party Firmware
For advanced users, open source firmware like DD-WRT adds functionality for fine tuning connection performance on supported routers. Useful for squeezing every byte.
These network-level improvements reduce friction broadly before even touching Battle.net. But optimizing settings within Blizzard‘s gaming client itself can also help speed Warzone 2‘s long-awaited install.
Adjusting Battle.net Settings
Beyond networking gear, Battle.net includes a few arcane options that can help accelerate downloads when connections falter:
Limit Download Rate
Ironically, capping the client‘s maximum bandwidth use can help allocate bandwidth when fully saturated. Try limiting to 80% of your rated speed e.g. 40 Mbps on a 50 Mbps connection.
Change Download Region
Manually selecting a download region can improve routing if automatic selection connects you to distant or congested servers. Choose endpoints geographically nearer to you.
Disable Peer to Peer Downloading
With P2P enabled, clients also download files from other users‘ computers. This helps distribute server load but can have privacy implications.
Restart and Resume Download
Network connections can sometimes stall but remain open, pausing the download at a crawl. Try restarting the Battle.net client and resume download to refresh the pipes.
Delete Cache Files
Over time, cached data can bloat the client. Clearing the Battle.net cache folder forces re-downloads but can fix stalled connections.
Battle.net‘s cache folder will be in your user folder under AppData > Roaming
These Battle.net client tweaks might help eke out extra throughput when connections falter, but physical location and back end infrastructure largely dictate maximum speeds. When Activision throttles downloads to prevent server meltdown, more creative solutions become necessary…
Bypassing Throttled Speeds
During launch windows, Activision intelligently throttles download speeds to prevent overloading data centers. This means your perfect home network and tuned Battle.net client can only do so much against the dictated slow lane.
When this intentional throttling happens, a few sneaky workarounds can help bypass the congested routes:
Use a Download Manager
Software like BitTorrent and aria2 split up downloads across threads and connections, allowing simultaneous partial downloads to bypass caps.
Connect through a VPN
Connecting to a VPN masks your geographic location, allowing access to game files through uncongested network endpoints. Try servers in less overloaded regions like Japan.
Schedule Off-Peak Downloads
Late night and early morning tend to see less network congestion as fewer gamers are actively hammering servers. Capitalize on lower demand windows.
Pause and Resume Frequently
Again, this simple tip can help re-establish stalled connections during periods of intentional throttling. Don‘t be afraid to constantly pause and restart 25 KB/s crawls.
While frustrating, remember launch throttling is temporary. Within a few days, speeds should stabilize, allowing unrestricted piping from Activision‘s content servers.
Isolating Intermittent Speed Problems
For connections suffering intermittent drops or wavering throughput, targeted troubleshooting can help identify the culprit:
Check Connection Strength
Log into your router to view signal strength and connection error rates. High interference or a weak signal indicates possible router placement or antenna issues.
Contact Your ISP
Confirm your ISP isn‘t throttling based on bandwidth usage quotas or peak hour traffic shaping policies. Ensure your plan‘s speeds are provisioned correctly.
Compare Speeds on Other Devices
Run speed tests on phones or laptops connected to the same network. Dramatically slower speeds indicate an issue with the local environment versus your ISP.
Scan for Malware
Run scans with tools like Malwarebytes to check for viruses, bots, or spyware running in the background that could be consuming resources or bandwidth.
Reinstall Battle.net
As a last resort, completely uninstalling and reinstalling Battle.net can help eliminate any corrupted files or buggy configurations degrading performance.
Methodically eliminating possible points of failure helps narrow in on the true culprit, be it environmental interference or a system misconfiguration. Rarely is the issue fully unsolvable.
Gaming Offline: Laptops, Mobile Networks, Data Caps
For gamers relying on capped connections, mobile hotspots, or gaming on the go, downloading 100GB games poses a unique challenge requiring careful bandwidth management:
Eliminate Background Apps and Processes
Silence auto updates, syncing, streaming music, and any other bandwidth leaching apps in the background. Disable start up programs eating precious megabytes.
Adjust Power Settings
On laptops, switch to "High Performance" modes in control panels. This allocates maximum power to network adapters and reduces interface bottlenecks.
Avoid Multitasking
Prevent network competition by not downloading games or streaming video simultaneously. Pause OneDrive and iCloud syncing across devices if possible.
Lower Ingame Graphic Settings
Before installing, tweak game visuals to their lowest setting. This significantly reduces required textures, models, and other assets lowering overall download size.
Delete Unneeded Game Files
Previously downloaded high-res packs, alternate languages, or single player campaign files all add bulk. Remove them for a tighter online focused install.
Disable Metered Connection Downloads
In Battle.net settings, disable downloads over metered connections like hotspots to prevent unwanted installs chewing through your capped data.
While limited bandwidth can make massive downloads painful, diligently eliminating bloat and bottlenecks helps optimize precious megabytes.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, precisely diagnosing and solving download speed bottlenecks depends on your specific connection and environmental factors. But methodically applying optimization tips, modern hardware, proper tools and troubleshooting techniques can help slash your wait time downloading COD‘s latest 100GB beast.
While physical and technical barriers inevitably cap speeds, the gratification delay downloading games over home broadband will incrementally improve over time. More localized content delivery networks, ever expanding backbones, and the march of consumer ISP speeds should gradually ease large install friction.
But for now, stays engaged throughout your Warzone 2 download session. Pause and restart stalled connections, monitor routing paths, and stay vigilant for any background bandwidth vampires. Running a tight ship maximizes throughput within your network‘s constraints.
Before you know it, with the right optimizations, you’ll be jumping into Caldera and finally enjoying next-gen Warzone. Now take these tips, finesse your network’s settings, and get that download counter rolling!
