Post
How many times per second the server bothers to check what is actually happening in the game.
Tick rate is how frequently a game server updates the game state -- measured in ticks per second (or Hz). A 64-tick server processes inputs and recalculates positions 64 times per second. Higher tick rates mean more granular simulation and fewer moments where two players disagree about what happened. Counter-Strike famously ran community servers at 128-tick while Valve's matchmaking stayed at 64-tick for years, spawning endless debates. Overwatch runs at 63-tick. Valorant launched at 128-tick specifically to attract competitive players who cared about this number.
Example
Counter-Strike 2 finally moved to a sub-tick system that processes player actions between ticks, effectively ending the decade-long 64-tick vs 128-tick debate by making the tick rate less relevant to hit registration.
Why it matters
In competitive games where milliseconds decide fights, tick rate directly affects whether the server agrees with what you saw on your screen. It is the difference between a shot that registers and a shot that vanishes into the netcode void.
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