On and off bad lag and packet loss

[Krojack]

Over the past ~2 weeks I've been getting completely random packet loss and lag. It will last from 20 minutes up to an hour at times. Below is from today.

This is pretty calm though.


IGNORE HOPS 12 & 15! They are always like that and I never have problem!

So here hops 10 & 11 are having a little packet loss. This graph is over the past 30 minutes.

Last night while I was doing some e12s it got really bad. All hops from 10 on were losing at least 50% packet loss. Here's the kicker, if I turn my VPN on and go though the Denver Colorado connection, I get a completely different rout into the NTT.net network which doesn't lag at all. So this tells me something in there is having problems on and off.

Last nights graph. Date/time are at the top of the image. Eastern time.
This isn't even the worse I've seen.


I'll update with more when I have problems again.

[Thukoolo]

Good morning and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Forums. I apologize for the delay in response to this issue. If you are still experiencing this issue, please respond with the following:

Platform (Steam/Mac/Windows/PlayStation):
Any error message(s) received?
Wired or Wireless connection:
Other programs being used when running FFXIV:
When error occurs/How often:
Techniques used to solve problem:

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

[Dev]

NTT screwing up again I see. Same issues here soon as it hits any NTT server they drop the ball time and time again.

[changeXkendo]

Same issue here!

Platform for me is : Steam
Error: None
Connection : wired connection
Other programs : I have tried with both nothing running in the background and things running, issue persists.
How often : the lag will happen for me every few seconds. It is worse during combat.
Techniques : I have tried many things, but nothing has fixed the issue this far. Tried changing connection. Updated dns settings. Deactivated firewall, and many more.

[DrWho2010]

Sounds like it's NTT being NTT.

[changeXkendo]

Is there a fix for it, or are we just screwed?

[CyrillaQuill]

I posted the temporary solution I'm currently using as a reply to the post I made about this issue:
(Fare warning it's similar to a VPN so it will cost money past any free trials offered)

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...-Loss-%28NA%29

[changeXkendo]

Thank you, I appreciate the help! I just wish there was a better solution. SE needs to either find a new host or figure something out with NTT so that this doesn't happen. Seems it happens fairly regularly.

[Darneltia]

Greetings fellow Eorzean,

We understand the frustration this issue may cause and hope that this information can be helpful. If you are disconnected during play or logged out due to an unstable connection, please visit the World status page to see the status of your World.

https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/worldstatus/

If there is an ongoing maintenance or issue, we kindly ask you to wait for further updates.

If there is no ongoing maintenance or issue, it is possible there is a transmission or connection error. Please try these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

■ Restart communication equipment
Power off your communication equipment for 30 minutes to an hour. Unnecessary data accumulated on the equipment will be initialized, possibly allowing for smoother transmission.

■ Update firmware of communication equipment
Update your firmware, the program running your communication equipment. If the firmware is outdated, your communication equipment may not function properly, so please update your firmware before trying the version update again.

*Consult with the help manual of your hardware when updating firmware. Also, even if your firmware is up to date, rewriting the update may improve the situation.

■ Check settings for security programs and firewalls
There is a possibility that security programs and firewalls are interfering with files related to the game. Please disable these programs before attempting to run FINAL FANTASY XIV.

■ Check security services of your Internet provider
Depending on your Internet provider or service plan, there may be security services included. Please confirm that these security services permit online gaming. If they do not, or if you are unsure, contact your ISP for further details.

■ Close any running applications
Because other applications may interfere with your game, close all other running apps before running the installation file. You can perform a clean boot to ensure no other background programs are interfering with the installation by doing the following:

- Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. Disable everything here and restart the PC.

■ Remove routers
In order to further diagnose the issue, remove routers and hubs temporarily and connect directly to your modem.

*This may change your connection to a broadband connection. Please consult with your provider for connection settings.

■ Check router settings
Check the settings of security functions (such as SPI) for your router. Also, please forward the ports used for the game. The ports are listed below.

*For details, please consult with the manufacturer of your router.

▼TCP
54992～54994
55006～55007
55021～55040

Note that we can confirm that there are no current reported issues with the servers. If the issue is indeed involving the connection itself from your provider, we unfortunately cannot provide more than just general troubleshooting. We advise making a report with your ISP regarding the issue and requesting if they can provide a workaround or if they can possibly reroute your connection to another node to see if this will prevent the dropoffs from occurring. We apologize once again for the inconvenience and hope this information is useful.

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

[Krojack]

It's back and happening again today. Seems other topics about it as well.

The blue highlighted box at the bottom is where I was kicked out of the game.


FYI, all your suggested list are already clear. If I connect to my Private Internet Access VPN account and go though the Denver Colorado, it routes me though a whole new NTT route and I don't get these problems.

It appears to be problems at the NTT Chicago link. Please look into this.

P.S. I'm not bragging but I have 13 years experience working at an ISP NOC in the IT routing dept. I've spent years trouble shooting these exact problems.