Serious Performance Issues (latency/server response time)

[Raist]

That trace was to a WoW server... not an FFXIV one.... not seeing where your route for XIV is performing any better. In fact, haven't seen a trace from you to an FFXIV server at all.

The game automatically polls multiple times per second...every 300ms in overworld, forget what it was in instances but do recall something about they were going to increase the frequency during instances a while back. It also sends positional updates when you submit actions as well.

The reason stutter stepping works is we are sneaking between the automatic updates. Once you submit an action, the server is sort of on auto-pilot for that action until something happens server side to interrupt it--be that something calculated server-side, or something that happens in our client (positional update shows we moved, submit an action from another location that hits the server before the casting finishes on the server side, etc.). If you get in synch with the delays, you can pull off some crazy stuff. Not only does it allow us to cheat on our movement...it also affords us a means to force awareness of our movement as well.

The reason why it might be a latency issue is that if you feel you are in synch with the delays but are still getting hit, then your latency may be worse than you thought. If you consistently clear the target area 50% through progress just fine, but do not when it is 75% through... then you have unwanted latency. In a more perfect world, you would likely be able to stay in the target area on up to 90 or even 95% (have to allow for a slight bit of input and processing lag still). The trick is figuring out just where that threshold is and adjusting to it if the window is really tight...which is what a lot of people had been failing to do. Many weren't even paying attention to the cast bar...they were talking just like you were earlier and judging it by the animations or the state of the marker, either one of which can be out of synch by varying degrees under different conditions---the progress bar is a much more consistent item to synchronize with.

And as I have stated multiple times...I don't experience these performance issues like you do. Yes, there can be a noticeable delay from hitting a button and seeing the feedback on the screen---but that can happen with any service that is relying on a response from a server. Heck, you can even feel it sometimes in a standalone environment that doesn't involve sling-shotting to a server and back. An eye blink takes right under 1/3 a second on average. 125ms is 1/8 a second...so it would require extremely low latency for a more true instant response feel from a server nearly 900+ miles away. What little delay that is perceptible to me simply is not game-breaking for me. I can dodge AOE's and keep Eno up just fine in all kinds of crazy situations--even in the expert roulettes. When I do start to actually "feel" any real lag, it often is hardly even annoying really until I start crossing about the 200ms mark a lot if any issues start creeping up (by the time I start crossing that line though, my ISP is usually on it and things get changed---sometimes my modem reboots mid-instance even, but it happens so quick I manage to get back in quickly and finish).

Basically, again as was stated earlier, typically when the route is good... the game tends to be good. This has been shown to be true many times for others as well. So, all things being "equal" at the other end (same network, same hardware, same software, etc. on their end)---if a lot of people are having it good, and you are not, what is the difference? In a LOT of cases we have seen issues present in the routes for the troubled players that simply do not exist for those that are not having a hard time.

At that point, it seems pretty elementary my dear Watson. Focus on the signs of smoke to see if there is fire, and if found snuff it out...get the route stabilized and see if game play improves. For many, the quick and dirty fix was testing a VPN...when that resolves it, it pretty much clenches it that something within the networks between the user and the server is causing issues. Knowing that, you have a starting point for investigation....once one can rule out their local hardware, that should involve one's ISP as they are the ones that first take over on the other side or your private network.

Many have followed such logic and pushed for the escalation, gotten it, and have been met with success. Regardless if it makes sense or not, it sets a precedent of sorts. Bad routing negatively impacts gameplay. As long as that condition persists, gameplay will be negatively impacted. Thus...it needs to be investigated and flushed out if suspected.

Oh yeah... also.... Fuse.net, Cincinnati. Ohio has been shown in the past to run into issues with congestion and various other issues in the past---circular routing, bad channel alignments and signal ingress, screwy weather patterns---you name it, they have likely experienced it if it can negatively impact a network. And it tends to get progressively worse the closer you get to the lake. Cleveland has had it's share of nightmares in recent years. Just saying, there is a lot of history for your region...and not all of it favorable for getting to the other side of the lakes.

Looked them up...appears to be Cincinnati Bell under the hood:
Cincinnati Bell downdetector page
(among other things, has links to their social media, main website, etc. in case support is needed)