Hytale: Slow Connection / World Not Loading
This guide was created with the following products:
(Details may vary with products from different providers but the main concepts remain the same)
Introduction
When connecting to a Hytale server, issues such as extremely slow connections or worlds that never fully load can be frustrating. These problems are often assumed to be server-related at first glance. However, in practice, they can originate from both server-side conditions and client-side network behavior.
In many cases, the server itself is running correctly, while the client struggles to properly establish or maintain the connection required to receive world data. Understanding this distinction is important before attempting further troubleshooting.
Hytale released on January 13th, 2026 and is currently available in Early Access. As the game is still in an active development phase, server software, configuration files, modding support, and installation workflows may continue to change over time.
Symptoms
Affected players usually report that their internet connection appears to be stable and fast in general. Activities such as streaming videos, browsing the web, or downloading files work without any noticeable issues. Singleplayer worlds in Hytale also load and function normally.
The issue becomes apparent only when joining a multiplayer server. Connecting may take an unusually long time, and the world may never finish loading. In some situations, other players on the server can see the affected player moving, while the affected player is unable to interact with the world. These symptoms have primarily been observed on Windows systems.
Background and cause
While the described behavior can resemble server performance issues, investigations show that a common cause lies on the client side. Certain network adapters, particularly Intel and Realtek chipsets, have rare driver incompatibilities with the network protocol used by Hytale.
Hytale relies on the QUIC protocol, which is a modern networking technology. Not all network drivers fully support this protocol, which can lead to situations where a connection is technically established, but world data is not transmitted correctly. This behavior can occur on both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections.
Verifying the cause
To determine whether the issue is related to the local system, an external USB Ethernet adapter can be used for testing. By connecting through this adapter and attempting to join the server again, it becomes possible to isolate the problem.
If the connection works correctly when using the USB adapter, the issue can be attributed to the original network adapter or its driver configuration.
Resolving the issue
In confirmed cases, adjusting advanced network adapter settings on the client system resolves the problem. These adjustments focus on disabling certain optimization, power-saving, and offloading features that interfere with modern network protocols.
Typical changes include disabling Priority and VLAN handling, Receive Segment Coalescing for IPv4 and IPv6, as well as various energy-related features such as Energy-Efficient Ethernet and Green Ethernet.
If these changes do not resolve the issue, a more extensive configuration can be applied that modifies a wide range of advanced adapter settings. Due to its invasive nature and the difficulty of reverting all values, this approach should only be used as a last resort.
Disable Priority and VLAN
In some cases, network prioritization features can interfere with the way Hytale establishes and maintains its connection. Certain network drivers handle Priority and VLAN tagging in a way that is incompatible with modern transport protocols.
Disabling the Priority and VLAN feature on the affected network adapter has been shown to resolve connection issues where the world fails to load or the connection stalls during join.
After applying this change, the network connection will briefly reset before becoming available again. The server connection should then be tested to determine whether the issue has been resolved.
Disable Receive Segment Coalescing
Receive Segment Coalescing is a network optimization feature designed to improve performance by combining multiple packets into larger segments. While generally beneficial, this feature can cause issues with applications that rely on real-time data transmission.
Disabling Receive Segment Coalescing for both IPv4 and IPv6 can improve compatibility with the QUIC protocol used by Hytale. This adjustment has resolved slow connections and incomplete world loading for many affected systems.
Once disabled, the network connection should be tested again to verify whether world data now loads correctly.
Disable energy and power-saving features
Many network adapters include aggressive power-saving and energy-efficiency features that can negatively impact connection stability. These features may interrupt or delay network traffic in situations where continuous data flow is required. Disabling options such as Advanced EEE, Energy-Efficient Ethernet, Green Ethernet, ARP Offload, and Flow Control can significantly improve connection reliability.
This solution is especially relevant for systems where the issue occurs inconsistently or only after some time connected to the server. After applying these changes, the network adapter will operate in a more stable but less power-optimized mode.
Advanced adapter configuration (last resort)
If none of the previous solutions resolve the issue, a more comprehensive configuration of the network adapter can be applied. This approach disables a wide range of offloading, optimization, and power-management features while adjusting buffer sizes and queue handling.
Because these changes significantly alter the adapter’s behavior and may not preserve default values, reverting them can be difficult without reinstalling the network driver. This solution should therefore only be applied as a last resort when all other adjustments have failed.
It is strongly recommended to document all original adapter settings before applying this configuration.
Conclusion
Slow connections and worlds not loading when joining a Hytale server can originate from both server-side and client-side factors. When server-related issues have been ruled out, client-side network driver incompatibilities are a known cause.
By adjusting specific network adapter settings, affected players can restore proper connectivity and successfully load multiplayer worlds without requiring any changes to the server itself.
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