Horrible lag Spikes

[Raist]

Please fix, This lag is horrible...

Server: Coeurl
ISP: ATT Uverse

well... AT&T is no stranger to having issues with it's internet service, likely due in part to issues with their partners just like everyone else.

http://downdetector.com/status/att
(status graphs, maps, and comments update periodically, so you can bookmark it and check it at different times)

Status at time of this post shows issues in areas that frequently show up with various services having problems, some areas are major hubs for a lot of ISP's:

Recent reports mainly originated from: Chicago, Costa Mesa, New York, St. Louis, Roebuck, Lilburn, Columbia, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, and Saint Albans

Here's a map with the reportings plotted out:
http://downdetector.com/status/att/map/
(again, it updates periodically, so you can bookmark it if you want to check it at other times)

Anyone who has been tracking the lag issues since Beta4 will recognize some of the corridors showing up right now as I type this: Southern California, St. Louis, Chicago/Milwaukee, Ohio, Charlotte/Raleigh---these corridors have been frought with problems off and on for years because of problems with Level3, Cogentco, and TATA partners not being able to handle the load they are asked to carry from our ISP's.

So if you are having issues in the general world, there may be something going on somewhere along your route to Ormuco (SE's ISP). If it's just in instances, SE is aware there are problems specifically with their instancing system and is currently investigating according to the notices in the Lodestone. They've been researching it since March 5th and are still trying to address it. Here's the latest notice:

Currrent Known Issue Regarding the Delay Experienced in Certain Instances (Mar. 29)

After the release of patch 2.2, we have confirmed an issue wherein players experience a huge delay in their character’s actions while in certain instances.

We understand that this issue needs to be addressed with priority so we are currently working around the clock to investigate and address this matter.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

Keep in mind that there have been big increases in traffic in the last few months... and not just for XIV either. They did recently announce big numbers for subscriptions... what was it.. the 1Mill mark or something? Couple that with all the cord cutters now streaming content more than ever, increased social media usage, more retail traffic over the web (had a HUGE spike during the holiday season, and it still hasn't settled back to last years average numbers for this time of year). It is just further burdening an already strained infrastructure and making what might normally be manageable very problematic in some regions.

Here's some more links to data on internet usage in general and categorized by industry.

http://www.akamai.com/html/technology/dataviz1.html
http://www.akamai.com/html/technolog...try/index.html

It can be a real eye opener during peak times for some regions. For instance, California is currently up ~10% in usage, and Australia is slowly creeping up toward 4% over average usage. Though it may not be prime time for gaming in some markets, it may be prime time for other industries. AU is currently up 36% for Retail, +60% for Media/Entertainment, +83% for Finance, etc. Increased congestion in higher priority markets can impact other less important traffic. This is governed by the shaping rules put in place by the ISP's and not under SE's control, nor do they have any influence on those policies.

Simply put, when such congestion shoots up in the regions you are going through, world service in general may suffer in XIV. If instance content is already "iffy", it can get downright ugly.