Gaming Through the Proxy: Steam Downloads and Online Play

The short answer first: getting games through a proxy practically requires TUN mode. Game clients never read system proxy settings; they open raw TCP/UDP connections. Here's the setup — and the cases where you shouldn't bother.

Base setup

1. Enable TUN per the TUN guide (service mode included);
2. Confirm your nodes pass UDP: online play is UDP-heavy. Look for a udp flag in node details on the Proxies page, or ask your provider. No UDP = guaranteed rubber-banding;
3. In Rule mode, add game-specific routing: send game domains/IPs to a low-latency group, leave the rest untouched.

Example: Steam split-routing

Prepend two rules in the Merge config:

prepend-rules:
  # Steam download CDNs often have local mirrors - keep direct
  - GEOSITE,steam@cn,DIRECT
  - GEOSITE,steam,Game Nodes

Steam's download CDN frequently has in-country mirrors that outrun any proxy, while the store, community and friends services are what actually need proxying. Split-routing beats全局 mode here — download speed and reachability at once.

Latency tuning for online play

• Build a dedicated url-test group holding only low-latency, UDP-capable nodes;
• Respect geography: JP servers want JP nodes, US-West servers want US-West nodes — no proxy beats the speed of light;
• Watch the Connections page to confirm the game's traffic actually uses the intended group.