Random lag during "peak" hours after Feb 20th DDOS recovery on NA?

Am I crazy? Ever since the last DDOS recovery on the 20th, it feels like during later hours in the day (I hop on around 9PM EST and onward), there is random lag that makes playing the game more difficult. GCDs proc late, any double weaving causes clipping, GCD input delay. Earlier in the day everything runs fine with no issues, my own internet speeds and connection are fine throughout the whole day, and it only happens during FF14 play. I can hop on Monster Hunter Wilds for example around these times, and everything is fine, but FF14 has these issues.

I guess a general locations matters for some context, I am East Coast, and I also hear the NA servers are full West Coast?

Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

We apologize for any inconvenience experienced when trying to play Final Fantasy XIV. For us to better assist you, please respond with the following information:

Please provide:
- Wired or WIFI connection?
- How often do you experience lag?
- Are there any specific locations that you notice more lag?
- Is a VPN being used when this occurs?
- What ISP Is being used?

Additionally, our team would like to suggest the following troubleshooting:

Open the control panel of the PC and go to ‘Network and Internet’. Once there select ‘Internet Options’
- Under the "General" tab, please delete ALL browser history.
- Under the "Security" tab, please move the slider to the lowest possible settings or no higher than "Medium"
- Under the "Privacy" tab, click “Advanced” and select ‘Accept’ under both First Party and Third Party Cookies.
- Under the "Advanced" tab, please make sure that "Allow software to run or install even if signature is invalid" is CHECKED.
- Make sure that all SSL and TLS (EXCEPT SSL 3.0) are CHECKED. [SSL 3.0 should be UNCHECKED]
- Hit "Apply" to save the settings, and then "OK, to close the Internet Options menu.
- Right-Click on the FFXIV launcher icon and select "Properties"
- Hit "Apply", then "OK" to save the changes.
- Please RESTART your PC now. Once your PC has been restarted, Right-Click the FFXIV launcher icon once more and select "Run as Administrator"
*Make sure your fire wall or antivirus program is not interfering with the game


Lastly, check to see if the following port ranges are opened on your router. You can contact your ISP and request they open them for you.
▼TCP
54992 through 54994,
55006 through 55007,
55021 through 55040
Try disabling background applications and do a clean boot by opening the task manager and selecting the “Start up” tab. Disable everything and then restart the PC.
Lastly, we suggest to power cycle the console and router by shutting down the Router and leaving the power supply unplugged for 5-10 minutes.
 

- Flush DNS: Within the "Command Prompt" of the device, please type the command "ipconfig /flushdns".
- Reset TCP/IP: Also within the Command Prompt, type the command "netsh int ip reset" and then restart the computer.
- Delete the Patch Folder: Navigate to the folder using this path This PC > Docs > My Games> FFXIV ARR > Downloads > FFXIV patch (Use for either the version update error or cannot download patch files error)
Then either rename or remove the folder, the next time FINAL FANTASY XIV is launched, the client will repair the folder.
- Change local DNS: Please try changing the local DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
- Delete local files with corrupted character data, please note this will not delete the associated characters.

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!