2002 unless I use a VPN.

So, I decided to come back to Final Fantasy last weekend, but was totally unable to play, since any time I tried to connect to a data center it would time out and close the game. I talked to FFXIV support, and they said there's an issue with the connection. I talked to Comcast support, and they said there's nothing that should be causing issues in my area, but my modem is a little on the fritz (no issues anywhere else but FFXIV though).

Went to Reddit asking for help, and they said to try using a VPN, and see if I could go around the issue. If I connect to the LA server, I still have the issue. But if I kick my signal way out to Chicago, I can connect just fine.

Thing is, I don't want to pay both a VPN and my subscription. Is there anything I can do to fix my issue? Can Comcast reroute my connection? Is there a free VPN (I doubt it)?

I do know that I have connection issues when running through standard cable modems provided by ISPs, including Comcast specifically. It was resolved by connecting through a dedicated router. That said, I never had a 2002 error connecting to the data centres themselves; my problems were 90k errors after I was already in game a few minutes.

That said, from what I can tell, the absurdly bad net code supporting FFXIV often either works for people, or it doesn't. I know when I was searching for a way to resolve errors when updating the game after a fresh install, the only solution that came up was to use a VPN. Given that it was a one-time deal, a free VPN wasn't a huge issue for me, but the free ones are far too slow for routine gameplay, and there were no other solutions that I found from other players or SE. Similarly for the 90k errors, the solution has to involve an outside purchase; switching ISPs, or buying a router, or subscribing to a VPN.

None of these things should be necessary, of course, but SE seems to have a stubborn refusal (or technical inability; they are a console-first company, after all) to rework the net code so that it's more robust. So I haven't really seen many solutions offered by them. I'd look into setting up a 3rd-party router if you can, maybe borrow one from a friend to test it out, and see if that works. If not, it might well be VPN or nothing.