Currently Unplayable...

[hynaku]

They really need to focus more on server security to block DDoS attacks instead of adding more servers. What good is adding more servers if one DDoS can just shut them all down.

[MistakeNot]

They really need to focus more on server security to block DDoS attacks instead of adding more servers. What good is adding more servers if one DDoS can just shut them all down.

SE has probably done all it can, but a normal company can't stop or handle a large DDoS attack by itself. They need help from their ISP to stop the attack before it even comes close to the servers.

Theoretically they could get much more powerful servers and a lot more network bandwidth so they could absorb a DDoS attack without problem - but then subscription prices would have to triple to pay for all the extra hardware that would just sit unused 99% of the time.

[hynaku]

Funny none of the other MMORPG's I play ever have them. I can't remember GW2 ever having one and it's free to play. This is only one I see them a lot on.

[Patesaupesto]

Yeah ok you're mad you can't play your game but this is a forum not a "let off steam", this post and many of the messages here are a bit childish, google "DDOS" and understand why you will have to be patient, like so many did tonight

[Kes13a]

Funny none of the other MMORPG's I play ever have them. I can't remember GW2 ever having one and it's free to play. This is only one I see them a lot on.

cant play that many other games online then. almost EVERY mmo I have ever played has had quite a few. even WoW... so its not the company... its the internet. nothing new to see here folks. just some sick people having their "fun"

[UkcsAlias]

so its not the company... its the internet

And this is realy what it comes down to. DDOS attacks remain normal as long as malware remains normal (probably forever).

DDOS attacks can have a lot of reasons to be performed. Its not always just an angry player. Those who want to sell those services often want a form of proof of capabilities and take a target that is at a decent scale, yet not disruptive to most people.

It then doesnt help when a game doesnt have good mitigation either (no idea if this is truly the case, but the first day of a ddos usualy doesnt give companies chances to properly mitigate things). This is again a thing those companies can use to show off their tools better. FF having shown to have problems at the login process can therefor be a reason why it was chosen to be attacked. And it being close to release time should on that normaly indicate that either they havent learned, or that the 'ddos tools' do their job well.

And its not like these 'demo ddos attacks' are made known by who they are performed, its most of the time a proof before selling the tool/service. ddos attacks at this scale are usualy not scriptkiddies. Its waaay to expensive for that.

That SE has problems mitigating it isnt strange here. The only protection you can do here is investing money into better mitigation (more servers to spread the load to which then can filter the spam, having more IPs in use to which users can connect, forcing the ddosser to spread the attack acros several IP groups enabling more servers to mitigate it again). And money isnt infinite and ddos attacks are nearly always cheaper than the mitigation costs, so its not a fight you normaly want to go for. The more you spend to defend, the more you become a target the next time (if showing poor defense, that proof becomes meaningless, making it nearly always a good thing to at least show you have problems)

[Sad-Panda]

Funny none of the other MMORPG's I play ever have them. I can't remember GW2 ever having one and it's free to play. This is only one I see them a lot on.

Veteran WOW players were used to it happening every couple of weeks. And it was the same group that was doing it too, they call themselves the lizard squad.
Not sure if they are still doing it, since I haven’t been back there for a few years now.
Although I have to say, Blizzard was pretty adept at their countermeasures and usually got things under control in a few hours. I’ve not seen a period of downtime as long as today ever in wow due to ddos. Hopefully the net department at SE learns a few things today to mitigate future attacks.