SOCKS5 UDP Proxies for Game Automation

A certain class of game automation software requires a proxy capable of carrying UDP traffic in addition to the TCP traffic that ordinary web browsing relies on. Many proxy providers do not support it, and a game client that refuses to connect through an otherwise working proxy is more often than not running into exactly that.

Who needs it

Games tend to send their real-time data over UDP, which trades the delivery guarantees of TCP for lower latency. Automation clients for commonly botted games such as RuneScape and Growtopia are built to operate through a SOCKS5 proxy and expect that proxy to handle UDP, as do other tools that talk to game servers directly instead of loading web pages.

Paired with a TCP-only proxy, such a client either fails to connect or, worse, lets its UDP traffic leave directly from your real IP while everything else goes through the proxy.

Why many providers don't offer it

HTTP proxies cannot carry UDP at all. SOCKS5 can, by way of a command called UDP ASSOCIATE, but it is an optional part of the protocol that the proxy software has to implement explicitly.

A good number of providers do implement it, and they are generally the ones running proxy software of their own. Where support tends to be missing is among providers that resell someone else's network or run off-the-shelf servers, since that software mostly handles TCP alone and leaves them with no practical way of adding UDP. It is worth confirming before you buy, because "SOCKS5 supported" on a pricing page does not by itself tell you whether UDP is included.

What the game sees

With UDP support in place, the game server sees one address for everything the client sends: the same static residential IP that is assigned to you and that you would use for ordinary web browsing through the proxy. Nothing leaves from your own connection, and the client handles the rest by itself once the proxy has been entered as SOCKS5.

What to look for in a proxy

• UDP support, stated explicitly. Ask for "SOCKS5 with UDP ASSOCIATE". A provider unable to give a straight answer does not have it.
• A static IP. A game account logging in from a new address every few minutes gets flagged, which makes one fixed address per account the standard setup. It is the same principle as one profile, one IP.
• A residential address. Game publishers filter hosting ranges like everybody else, whereas a static residential IP passes for a player at home.
• Low latency. A slow relay renders any real-time client unreliable.
• No traffic limits. Game clients hold connections open for hours on end, and plans that bill per gigabyte or cap connections quickly become a hindrance.

Setting it up

• Enter the proxy in your client as SOCKS5, not as HTTP.
• Assign one proxy to each account and avoid swapping them around.
• Should the client connect while the game itself fails to load, UDP is not getting through, and that is worth raising with the provider before changing anything else.

UDP on Leastslow

We run our own proxy software, so UDP is part of the product on every plan. Every Leastslow proxy supports UDP through SOCKS5 on the same port as HTTP, from the same static residential IP, with no fees on bandwidth or connections. See the price list.