TwistingSpells's profile

Frequent Visitor

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16 Messages

Thursday, April 8th, 2021 4:53 AM

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Lag issues playing Final Fantasy XIV affecting Xfinity customers

For the past few days, I've been having lag issues while playing this game.  This has been an issue before: a few years back, there were issues with the route through Level3 causing issues for anyone going through that particular route (at the time, XFinity and Verizon were affected).  After doing the usual troubleshooting (checking connections, resetting modem/router, and rebooting), I confirmed other people using Xfinity were also having problems, and found posts on reddit and the FFXIV forums further confirming the issue.  Here is a traceroute, trimming the first few nodes for privacy:

  6    19 ms    25 ms    23 ms  162.151.95.117
  7    29 ms    28 ms    28 ms  be-33122-cs02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.42.229]
  8     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  9    32 ms    28 ms    30 ms  ae-3.r08.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.8.65]
 10    33 ms    35 ms    30 ms  ae-4.r23.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.205]
 11    76 ms    76 ms    78 ms  ae-1.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.5.17]
 12   112 ms   108 ms   114 ms  ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.7.57]
 13   114 ms   106 ms   113 ms  xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net [192.80.16.2]
 14     *      116 ms   105 ms  204.2.229.234
 15   109 ms   112 ms   106 ms  204.2.229.10

Trace complete.


 The problem starts at the last hop on Comcast's network (when I manage to get a response, it shows up as be-2211-pe11.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net).  When it's happening, the only other people that are having problems are also Comcast customers (the rest of my raid doesn't use Xfinity and I've been the only one rubberbanding for the past few nights, for example).  It may not do any good to post here, but I'm hoping one of the employees who watch the forums can respond if there's any way to escalate this and find out what's going on here.  It always feels like a lost cause calling tech support on an issue further up the network like this.

Official Solution

Problem Solver

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788 Messages

4 years ago

@user_9749f2 Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us regarding your issues accessing Final Fantasy XIV. I am so sorry to hear that you are having this issue. It appears that there is a server issue with the game itself and this is not an issue with your internet services. Should you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time. 

This comment was created from this reply

Frequent Visitor

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16 Messages

4 years ago

Here is a post from the FFXIV forums on this issue. https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/434704-Unbearable-server-lag-since-yesterday

Official Employee

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974 Messages

Hello, @, thank you for taking the time to reach out to us. I am sorry to hear of the service issues you have been experiencing especially while gaming. I would like to review this issue further with you. Please use the chat icon in the top right corner of the page and select Xfinity Support to send us a private message with your full name and service address. 

I no longer work for Comcast.

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Visitor

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3 Messages

4 years ago

Can confirm this has been a continuous issue *at night time PDT*.  Consistently starts between 7~8pm PDT and continues for hours until traffic likely lightens up around midnight. Up until this week this has *never* been a problem. This is a new problem as of this week (4/5 Monday)

2 sample tracert below...

1st tracert:

  6    15 ms    18 ms    15 ms  be-1112-cr12.sunnyvale.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.46.6]
  7    17 ms    19 ms    23 ms  be-303-cr01.9greatoaks.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.37.178]
  8    14 ms    18 ms    13 ms  be-2412-pe12.9greatoaks.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.33.46]
  9     *       46 ms    43 ms  50.208.234.10
 10    25 ms    16 ms    26 ms  ae-11.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.3.120]
 11    53 ms    43 ms    50 ms  ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.7.57]
 12     *       49 ms    51 ms  xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net [192.80.16.2]
 13    51 ms    56 ms     *     204.2.229.234
 14    50 ms    48 ms    53 ms  204.2.229.10

2nd tracert:

  6    15 ms    13 ms    18 ms  be-1112-cr12.sunnyvale.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.46.6]
  7    15 ms    16 ms    15 ms  be-303-cr01.9greatoaks.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.37.178]
  8    12 ms    21 ms    17 ms  be-2412-pe12.9greatoaks.ca.ibone.comcast.net [96.110.33.46]
  9     *       47 ms    52 ms  50.208.234.10
 10     *       20 ms    24 ms  ae-11.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.3.120]
 11    49 ms    52 ms    51 ms  ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.7.57]
 12    51 ms    50 ms    53 ms  xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net [192.80.16.2]
 13     *       50 ms    56 ms  204.2.229.234
 14    54 ms    48 ms    49 ms  204.2.229.10

The lag is only observed for this particular game. The game has multiple servers associated with it and it seems to be prevailing issue that only Comcast users are affected by this lag. In the other link posted by the opening poster, there is verification that using a third party VPN to circumvent the normal routing done by Comcast fixes the issue.

Visitor

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3 Messages

4 years ago

Investigated further and saw this may have been a similar issue a couple years ago; it seems to be related to Comcast's hand-off to NTT. Anything that can be done to add this as a repair ticket of some sort? Calling Customer Service seems fruitless when it's a network infrastructure issue, not a customer-isolated problem.

Official Employee

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800 Messages

Hi @user_9b80d5 and thanks for adding your input to this discussion, sorry to hear that you're having issues too! Are you also connected directly via modem and what is the gaming console that you are using? 

I no longer work for Comcast.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick
I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

Yeah 25-50% dropped packets, So bad. A lot of people are using VPN just to play. Don't really want to pay VPN. Feel sorry for SE for getting trashed talk when its really the isp problem.  

Frequent Visitor

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16 Messages

4 years ago

Sharing my most recent FFXIV forum post: 

Here are my results from both WinMTR that I left running for quite a while, and mtr running for a few minutes, with the first few hops removed for privacy:

Code:
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                      WinMTR statistics                                   |
|                       Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |
|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                          162.151.95.117 -    1 | 21276 | 21275 |   10 |   19 |   71 |   25 |
|be-33122-cs02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net -    1 | 21268 | 21265 |   23 |   30 |  136 |   28 |
|be-2211-pe11.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net -    1 | 20802 | 20675 |   23 |   30 |  125 |   29 |
|     ae-3.r08.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net -    0 | 21279 | 21279 |   23 |   30 |   59 |   29 |
|     ae-4.r23.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net -    1 | 21255 | 21249 |   23 |   31 | 3630 |   30 |
|     ae-1.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net -    4 | 18451 | 17714 |   71 |   79 |  140 |   80 |
|     ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net -   11 | 15206 | 13654 |   78 |  110 |  188 |  109 |
|xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net -   10 | 15297 | 13768 |   78 |  110 |  159 |  110 |
|                           204.2.229.234 -   35 | 8936 | 5810 |   76 |  110 |  147 |  118 |
|                            204.2.229.10 -   11 | 15177 | 13618 |   78 |  109 |  171 |  109 |
|________________________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______|

I'm getting 35% packet loss on the hop before Primal, with 10% and 11% on the two hops before. In this one, I see no noticeable lag on Comcast's side, but here's the mtr done just now, done a while after the previous:

Code:
 7. 162.151.95.117                                                            0.0%   277   28.1  18.7  13.5  48.2   4.9
 8. be-33122-cs02.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net                             0.0%   277   40.6  29.6  23.5  45.0   2.5
 9. be-2211-pe11.350ecermak.il.ibone.comcast.net                              7.9%   277   27.8  29.9  24.8  43.0   2.3
10. ae-3.r08.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net                                       0.0%   277   31.1  30.0  23.5  44.6   3.2
11. ae-4.r23.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net                                       2.2%   277   30.3  32.5  25.4  48.0   3.3
12. ae-1.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net                                      44.8%   277   76.9  78.2  74.9  90.8   2.7
13. ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net                                       3.2%   277  108.6 105.2  94.9 125.0   5.4
14. xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net                               0.4%   277  107.4 105.2  92.5 129.6   5.7
15. 204.2.229.234                                                             9.0%   277   98.4 105.6  94.5 130.8   6.1
16. 204.2.229.10                                                              0.4%   277   98.2 105.2  92.6 127.0   6.2

Here, the packet loss from the last hub on Comcast's end is showing its ugly head. The issue seems to be both on NTT's side, intermittently made worse by the last hop on Comcast's side.

(edited)

Official Employee

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2.3K Messages

Understood, thank you for confirming those details and providing those results, it all helps a ton to make sure we're on the same page. I'm running through some remote troubleshooting steps on my end, but I promise I'll keep you in the loop as we go along. Are you by chance using a standalone/personal router along with your modem? 

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We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

Hi, just chiming in, the lag issues have started again in FFXIV.

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

Same issue, of course. I was speaking with a few people I was playing with about half an hour ago, one also a Comcast customer who was having the issue in tandem with myself. Another who said a few people in his friend group have been having this issue on and off the past couple weeks. I recall this happening years ago as well. Need's a more permanent solution. Preferably one that isn't paying a third party for a VPN.

Visitor

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3 Messages

4 years ago

Hello @ComcastGina

I am not using any gaming console aside from the PC itself. I am playing on a laptop with Windows OS, connected over WiFi (5 GHz) to a personal router (Netgear NightHawk AC2400) which is connected to a personal modem (Netgear CM500 High Speed). I can confirm that if I use a free VPN, the problem is gone, but that's not an ideal solution and would prefer to stay solely within the Comcast network.

Official Employee

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800 Messages

Ooh, that's really good information! We definitely want your gaming to be convenient and the lag sounds like it's new and frustrating. We'd be glad to look into this further, if you'd be open to it. If so, please click on the little chat message bubble icon in the upper right and send a private chat to "Xfinity Support" with your name and the service address to start. 

I no longer work for Comcast.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick
I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer.tick

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

VT comcast user here, same issue, lag playing ff14 for the past three days.  Fastest home internet provided, no problems to any other platform.  Using nothing provided Comcast equipment, PC gamer.  Results pasted below:

  5    17 ms    18 ms    15 ms  be-325-ar01.needham.ma.boston.comcast.net [162.151.149.153]
  6    16 ms    15 ms    25 ms  be-1003-pe02.onesummer.ma.ibone.comcast.net [68.86.90.173]
  7    19 ms    17 ms    20 ms  50.208.232.122
  8    39 ms    39 ms    38 ms  ae-2.r23.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.4.102]
  9    86 ms    85 ms    86 ms  ae-1.r24.snjsca04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.5.17]
 10   131 ms   119 ms   124 ms  ae-4.r00.scrmca02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.7.57]
 11   124 ms   122 ms   121 ms  xe-0-1-0-1-1.r00.scrmca02.us.ce.gin.ntt.net [192.80.16.2]
 12   120 ms   122 ms   120 ms  204.2.229.234
 13   120 ms   121 ms   128 ms  204.2.229.9

(edited)

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

We moved into our new apartment last Monday, and we decided to get Xfinity. We are getting great speeds, but I noticed that I was lagging in FFXIV and thought it was the Wifi. During the day it seemed fine, but it was until the evening that I noticed that major lag spikes, even while connected with LAN. I do hope they have this resolved, since I do rely on playing in the evenings to do a lot of the content as well as play with my friends. I know this isn't SE fault, and I can't set up a VPN on my PS4, not with my current set up in my household. 

Problem Solver

 • 

788 Messages

@user_9749f2 Thanks for taking the time to reach out to us regarding your issues accessing Final Fantasy XIV. I am so sorry to hear that you are having this issue. It appears that there is a server issue with the game itself and this is not an issue with your internet services. Should you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time. 

This reply has been converted into a comment

I no longer work for Comcast.

Visitor

 • 

1 Message

4 years ago

I also have been having issues. Using a VPN like Mudfish or Exit Lag has been helping but I hate that I have to pay for another service, just to use a service I pay monthly for already, on top of the monthly sub for the game. This is not the first time this has happened either it’s getting old it’s every other month there is some node issue that Xfinity players have to play around

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

I was a past Comcast customer until I moved recently to an area that Comcast did not cover.  This is not just a Comcast issue, as much flack against Comcast is in relation to their acquisition of smaller ISP in years past and having to clean up the messes they had.  This has been a persistent reoccurring issue every 6 months or so for me, "time stop lag" where the game stops moving then speeds ahead or consistent 90k disconnects.  NTT.net is a Japanese owned company that was borderline bankrupt when Square Enix was shopping around for a datacenter move, years back.  NTT.net was saved by this deal, unfortunately the poor management and policies continue to affect customers.  This is a cultural issue, and has been suspected as being a dated & culturally motivated deal that won't be fixed.  What can we do? Use a VPN that you have to pay for or drop the service.  Unfortunately for long-standing fans of the Final Fantasy franchise, there are not even half decent alternatives.  The blame goes SQUARELY on Square Enix.  Their policy of "wait and see" is precisely what caused them to lose 2 million veteran subscribers at the release of the Stormblood expansion in a few days.

It's not just Comcast, although it seems to affect those on the eastern half of the US more than western half.

Visitor

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1 Message

4 years ago

FF14 is unplayable. I'd rather change ISP than get a VPN for a video game.

Expert

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110.1K Messages

@Rammbone 

Please create a new topic of your own here on this board detailing your issue. Thanks.  4 month old dead thread now being closed.

I am not a Comcast Employee.
I am a Customer Expert volunteering my time to help other customers here in the Forums.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.

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