# Understanding Lag Spikes

**Lag spikes** occur when one or a few game ticks take significantly longer than average to execute. They might:

<div class="cl-preview-section" id="bkmrk-happen-frequently-%28e">- Happen frequently (e.g., once every 20 ticks).
- Occur rarely (e.g., once every minute).
- Be tied to specific player actions or server events.

</div>Lag spikes can be challenging to diagnose because typical profiling averages out the data, masking the spikes. However, Spark offers tools like `/spark tickmonitor` and `/spark profiler` to pinpoint these issues effectively.