How Wi-Fi is Bad in Fighting Games

The majority of the FGC has a strict no Wi-Fi policy to ban users from their online casuals and tournaments. It's because Wi-Fi is less stable than wired. So this is something to get off my chest, so let's jump right in.

I am here with a post I felt passionate about doing. You see, I was surfing on the Internet for interesting things. Then there is something that caught my eye to hold on, so let's dive into the post.

One of the biggest conflicts in fighting games is Wi-Fi, which is less stable than wired on fighting games. There is a majority of people who have a strict no Wi-Fi policy to ban Wi-Fi users from their online lobbies since they wanted online sessions to have players who are using a wired connection. The Wi-Fi indicator is shown on fighting games with rollback netcode. It represents that players are using Wi-Fi. If the Wi-Fi indicator is not shown, they are using a wired connection.

I know that some people would use Wi-Fi as long as they check their connection and make sure that it doesn't go bad. But McDonald's Wi-Fi is not just a meme. It's also real and it is not stable enough. It produced a slideshow and I don't think someone who wants to play Smash Ultimate would bring their Switch to McDonalds and use its Wi-Fi there. It is a different story that Wi-Fi can kill the magic in playing online.

I was able to get my LAN adapter because my laptop lacks a Ethernet port. I got one from Best Buy over a year ago and I was intrigued by its speed. Not allowing Wi-Fi on online tournaments and casuals is because of the fact that it is less stable. That's why the majority of the FGC had to ban Wi-Fi from their online casuals and tournaments. What is really cool is that in Skullgirls, it has a tiny red dot on the upper left hand corner of the lobby screen to represent that you are using Wi-Fi. Now, if I enter a lobby with a Wi-Fi indicator on my name, I will be kicked out because of the strict no Wi-Fi policy they enforced on, so I must plug in an Ethernet cord so that I wouldn't be kicked out of lobbies.

But fighting games in general aren't the only thing Wi-Fi is bad on. There are other genres where Wi-Fi is bad on like hero shooters, MOBAs and others That also goes to Remote Play and cloud streaming. Doing Remote Play and streaming while using Wi-Fi is much less stable. It can lead to lag and problems no matter how close to the router. But plug in an Ethernet cord on the PlayStation 4 or 5 and Remote Play and streaming are stable. Same with livestreaming and browsing on the Internet.

Honestly, I think what is really interesting is that if they came across a player who is using Wi-Fi, they can kick them out until they invest in an Ethernet connection. That's one of the coolest things about players having a strict no Wi-Fi policy on fighting games. But for me, the casual I'm running will allow Wi-Fi players into my lobby, but I do have one rule for them. They must check and make sure that their connection is good before they ready up. I have finished setting up my server on Discord, but I can't share it to anyone yet. I need to do some final checks on the rules and format first. It might be a while.

Some tournaments and casuals allow Wi-Fi, but online circuits don't. If they want to participate in a online circuit, they must plug in an Ethernet cord so that they can have a stable online experience, especially when it comes to performing combos. If the tournament organizers find out that if they are using Wi-Fi, they'll be disqualified until they plug in an Ethernet cord.

To sum it all up, Wi-Fi is less stable on not just fighting games, but also non-fighting games, Remote Play, cloud streaming, livestreaming. It is important to invest in an Ethernet connection so that you would have a stable experience and not get kicked out of online lobbies, have problems and experience all that lag.