ZOS, Massive Spike in Ping/LAG in Recent Days - What Gives?

ZOS_Hadeostry · May 31

Greetings,

After removing some unnecessary back and forth from this thread, we would like everyone to keep posts on the subject at hand, civil, and constructive.

If there may be any questions in regards to the rules, please feel free to review them here

Photosniper89 · May 31

Next round of clips coming with performance overlay (cpu/gpu/fps, etc) on top.

I will say performance felt slightly better tonight. Def a small slightly there.. nothing to write home about but was a bit better.

fizzylu · May 31

Wasn't experiencing any major issues until my second vet dungeon of the night a couple hours ago now. On the first boss, the other DPS got booted followed by the healer. The DPS never logged back in, probably stuck in the whole "can't connect to server" loop or whatever, but the healer managed to get back in the game. After waiting a bit for the other DPS, we tried for the boss only for me to end up getting kicked to login. Safe to say we all just gave up after that.

Honestly, it concerns me that Gold Road will be launching and these issues seem to only be getting worse and affecting even more players.

fizzylu · May 31

@Mansquito
I mean.... other than the fact that TES is in the name, calling ESO a triple A game has been a reach for years now. I truly don't think this game would be around still if it wasn't for that title (and maybe housing).

ZOS_Icy · May 31

Greetings,

As a reminder we have removed some insulting back and forth that was disruptive. Please ensure you are treating others with respect on the forums even when they have views that differ from your own.

Thank you for your understanding.

Seravi · May 31

So going through my tickets I submitted in game, they all now say closed as duplicate.

They are not duplicates so not sure why they were closed this way.

240529-002857
240530-001812
240529-002379
240529-003331

furiouslog · May 31

manukartofanu wrote: »

[snip]

Have you ever considered the resources needed to launch a DDoS attack against such a large company? This isn’t a tiny indie project with just a few servers; we're talking about a massive infrastructure with dozens of servers capable of handling hundreds of thousands of users simultaneously. The login servers are separate from those that manage game sessions. Yet, we're not seeing issues at login, where DDoS attacks would most likely occur, but rather during gameplay. Moreover, these problems have been ongoing for weeks, and the longer a DDoS continues, the more expensive it becomes—costing millions, not just thousands of dollars. It’s laughable to read about some suggesting that disgruntled players could orchestrate such a DDoS to disrupt others.

[snip]

I completely and politely disagree that I'm gullible, and I also resent the implication that ZOS is being deceptive about the extent of the DDOS attacks. This inflammatory post has no place in this civil discussion.

[edited to remove quote]

manukartofanu · May 31

Seravi wrote: »

So going through my tickets I submitted in game, they all now say closed as duplicate. They are not duplicates so not sure why they were closed this way.

240529-002857
240530-001812
240529-002379
240529-003331

I can suggest why, from my own experience. User tickets might be marked as duplicates if they describe the same issue as another ticket that's currently being worked on. This is done to make developers' tasks easier. The main ticket might include a link to this closed duplicate if there's a need to look something up. Basically, it's important to understand that the developers' task is to fix bugs, not to manage tickets. If they manage tickets, there won't be any time left to fix bugs.

TaSheen · May 31

Customer service reps manage tickets. Devs don't do stuff like that. Devs code the game.

Seravi · May 31

manukartofanu wrote: »

Seravi wrote: »

So going through my tickets I submitted in game, they all now say closed as duplicate. They are not duplicates so not sure why they were closed this way.

240529-002857
240530-001812
240529-002379
240529-003331

I can suggest why, from my own experience. User tickets might be marked as duplicates if they describe the same issue as another ticket that's currently being worked on. This is done to make developers' tasks easier. The main ticket might include a link to this closed duplicate if there's a need to look something up. Basically, it's important to understand that the developers' task is to fix bugs, not to manage tickets. If they manage tickets, there won't be any time left to fix bugs.

True. They are all submitted with the same reason from the drop down.

Photosniper89 · May 31

Tickets w/ videos from last night.

240531-003078
240531-003083
240531-003085

Specs prior to lock up

Specs 1-2ms before lock up

Specs 1-2ms after lock up

The rubber banding usually would happen for 1-2 seconds right after the lock up.. basically if you froze for 2-3 seconds you'd rubber band for about the same amount of time. @ZOS_Kevin

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

reazea · May 31

ZOS_Icy wrote: »

Greetings,

As a reminder we have removed some insulting back and forth that was disruptive. Please ensure you are treating others with respect on the forums even when they have views that differ from your own.

Thank you for your understanding.

Legitimate criticism of what has been very significantly bad performance most of this last month is not disrespectful. It's feedback, and that's one the primary reasons this forum exists.

RicAlmighty · May 31

[Removed]

Sakiri · May 31

Photosniper89 wrote: »

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

That's odd, because I can get 100+ on max graphics with my AMD card. It's a radeon 6700XT.

Very odd indeed. Granted I do not run 4k, I don't have a 4k monitor.

Photosniper89 · May 31

RicAlmighty wrote: »

Photosniper89 wrote: »

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

There is something seriously wrong with your config or drivers then. I have a 4070 Super and I play at 4k Max settings and get over 100fps in this game. I would double check your system if you're seeing performance like that. According to the screen shots you posted it looks like you are seriously CPU bottlenecked. Your GPU utilization is reading as 0% while your CPU is 60%, that's highly unusual for this game.

In PvE it's a lot better but when I go to PvP everything tanks. In the group of people I regularly play with I always have the highest fps but good to know that I can do some things on my side to improve the fps.

Aurielle · May 31

RicAlmighty wrote: »

Photosniper89 wrote: »

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

There is something seriously wrong with your config or drivers then. I have a 4070 Super and I play at 4k Max settings and get over 100fps in this game. I would double check your system if you're seeing performance like that. According to the screen shots you posted it looks like you are seriously CPU bottlenecked. Your GPU utilization is reading as 0% while your CPU is 60%, that's highly unusual for this game.

Yeah, I easily get 100+ FPS at 1440p on a 3060-equipped laptop with everything maxed… I cap frame rate at 60 FPS to keep the temps down and the fans quiet. Something is definitely wrong on that person’s end if they’re getting 30-50 FPS on a 4090.

Never confuse GPU/CPU issues with server lag/latency. When I get my 400-999+ ping spikes, I seldom experience a significant drop in frame rates — not even in Cyrodiil.

madman65 · May 31

Photosniper89 wrote: »

Tickets w/ videos from last night.

240531-003078
240531-003083
240531-003085

Specs prior to lock up

Specs 1-2ms before lock up

Specs 1-2ms after lock up

The rubber banding usually would happen for 1-2 seconds right after the lock up.. basically if you froze for 2-3 seconds you'd rubber band for about the same amount of time. @ZOS_Kevin

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

This really got my FPS where I like and the game performs better, you just go into the user settings in your Documents-Elders Scrolls Online-Live. You will see a document called User Settings and the follow this guide: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en-GB/discussion/173780/quick-dirty-guide-tech-explanation-how-to-limit-your-framerate-in-eso-for-g-sync-anything-else

madman65 · May 31

madman65 wrote: »

Photosniper89 wrote: »

Tickets w/ videos from last night.

240531-003078
240531-003083
240531-003085

Specs prior to lock up

Specs 1-2ms before lock up

Specs 1-2ms after lock up

The rubber banding usually would happen for 1-2 seconds right after the lock up.. basically if you froze for 2-3 seconds you'd rubber band for about the same amount of time. @ZOS_Kevin

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

This really got my FPS where I like and the game performs better, you just go into the user settings in your Documents-Elders Scrolls Online-Live. You will see a document called User Settings and the follow this guide: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en-GB/discussion/173780/quick-dirty-guide-tech-explanation-how-to-limit-your-framerate-in-eso-for-g-sync-anything-else

You will need to know the Mhz of your monitor/TV though.

Tsuriel · May 31

I rarely get lag/disconnect issues in PvE but it's a nightmare in PvP (Cyrodiil) when ballgroups run about spamming their spells and generally causing issues from casting spells to outright disconnects. Strangely enough or not, most server/login crashes I've witnessed happen during prime time when up to 5-6 ballgroups are running about in Cyrodiil doing exactly the same thing; endlessly spamming spells to the point nobody being able to properly fight.

edward_frigidhands · June 1

Any recent updates regarding this matter?

fizzylu · June 1

@Tsuriel
It was just terrible in BGs too. I thought I'd do some for the first time in a couple of days for some transmute crystals and that was a mistake. It legitimately felt worse than the last time I was in Cyrodiil (maybe was earlier this week or late last week). There was audio lag, abilities weren't firing, it was acting like I wasn't aiming directly at someone when I was, wasn't letting me break free/dodge, bar swapping was delayed or failed entirely.... the basics, you know. Weirdly all night I've been playing I haven't had any disconnecting issues after having them pretty consistently for the last week or two, just some longer loading screens.... but honestly I'd take some random DCs here and there over the terrible combat experience that I'm currently having in BGs.

Kartalin · June 1

I was having some lag spike/crash issues this evening in grey host (and last night in blackreach) -- three or four times over about 4 hours. One solution that I have found that works to quickly get me back in game is as soon as I get kicked to load in, I hit quit and close it entirely.

From there I open a windows command console (command.exe) and enter:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Then I log back in and am immediately allowed back into Cyrodiil. Notably, I do not even have to be removed from group for this to work, which is typically part of what we have traditionally done to be able to get back in.

Probably this works along the same lines as what @Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO mentioned about changing the DNS.

@ZOS_Kevin

Just_Attivi · June 1

Just personal observations here:

the past 2 days have been /better/ than the prior weeks, but still have seemingly large amounts of lag/skill delays, even in unpopulated areas. Game has been playable, but any serious sweating in pvp really results in who won the Lag RNG Lottery. It comes and goes, regardless of how many players are around (obviously performance sucks when the entire server is at one keep, im talking about smaller fights, not zergs). Even 1v1 on a resource results in periods of time that youll get 2-3 seconds of playable combat, then 2-3 seconds of nothing firing, repeat. These surges of lag ,again, seem to come and go regardless of whats going on around you. Really happened throughout the day, not a particular time nor location. The majority of my time was in PC NA Grayhost, but issues persisted outside of Cyrodiil when they were happening, and judging from conversations with Allies and enemies, the lag was felt by all when it was happening.

not the most informative/detailed summary, I am aware, as I said, just my observations. My drive to go all out reporting stuff for this game at this point is pretty low.

edward_frigidhands · June 1

Kartalin wrote: »
I was having some lag spike/crash issues this evening in grey host (and last night in blackreach) -- three or four times over about 4 hours. One solution that I have found that works to quickly get me back in game is as soon as I get kicked to load in, I hit quit and close it entirely.

From there I open a windows command console (command.exe) and enter:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Then I log back in and am immediately allowed back into Cyrodiil. Notably, I do not even have to be removed from group for this to work, which is typically part of what we have traditionally done to be able to get back in.

Probably this works along the same lines as what @Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO mentioned about changing the DNS.

@ZOS_Kevin

Are things better in terms of lag and skill delay after you log back in? At least temporarily?

Seravi · June 1

PC NA PVE

Yesterday was much better as well as this morning doing daily writs. I only had a couple of non responsive issues questing in The Deadlands yesterday and one today doing daily writs.

Kartalin · June 1

edward_frigidhands wrote: »
Kartalin wrote: »
I was having some lag spike/crash issues this evening in grey host (and last night in blackreach) -- three or four times over about 4 hours. One solution that I have found that works to quickly get me back in game is as soon as I get kicked to load in, I hit quit and close it entirely.

From there I open a windows command console (command.exe) and enter:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Then I log back in and am immediately allowed back into Cyrodiil. Notably, I do not even have to be removed from group for this to work, which is typically part of what we have traditionally done to be able to get back in.

Probably this works along the same lines as what @Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO mentioned about changing the DNS.

@ZOS_Kevin
Are things better in terms of lag and skill delay after you log back in? At least temporarily?

Generally, but it's more like it goes back to normal until it happens again...randomly. One of my crashes happened after a short break after a keep defense with the rest of the defenders moving forward to a different keep, so it wasn't at all laggy where I was at the time.

Ulvich · June 1

Yesterday I war running a random with a group through Arx and our tank kept lagging and disconnecting. We did finish the run without him, but we kept his slot open in case he returned. He never did.
I am seeing more and more of this going on. TONS of complaints in guild chat and zone chat. Something really needs to be done.

Photosniper89 · June 1

Just_Attivi wrote: »

Just personal observations here:

the past 2 days have been /better/ than the prior weeks, but still have seemingly large amounts of lag/skill delays, even in unpopulated areas. Game has been playable, but any serious sweating in pvp really results in who won the Lag RNG Lottery. It comes and goes, regardless of how many players are around (obviously performance sucks when the entire server is at one keep, im talking about smaller fights, not zergs). Even 1v1 on a resource results in periods of time that youll get 2-3 seconds of playable combat, then 2-3 seconds of nothing firing, repeat. These surges of lag ,again, seem to come and go regardless of whats going on around you. Really happened throughout the day, not a particular time nor location. The majority of my time was in PC NA Grayhost, but issues persisted outside of Cyrodiil when they were happening, and judging from conversations with Allies and enemies, the lag was felt by all when it was happening.

not the most informative/detailed summary, I am aware, as I said, just my observations. My drive to go all out reporting stuff for this game at this point is pretty low.

@ZOS_Kevin Agree with this comment here. The last two days have felt much smoother than the previous weeks but the freeze up for 2-3 seconds followed by fast forwarding x10 for 2-3 seconds is still happening.

Has anyone noticed if its happening at similar time intervals? I know it's happening server wide so it's not a pc issue. I'll see if I can time them or something moving fwd.

Photosniper89 · June 1

madman65 wrote: »

Photosniper89 wrote: »

Tickets w/ videos from last night.

240531-003078
240531-003083
240531-003085

Specs prior to lock up

Specs 1-2ms before lock up

Specs 1-2ms after lock up

The rubber banding usually would happen for 1-2 seconds right after the lock up.. basically if you froze for 2-3 seconds you'd rubber band for about the same amount of time. @ZOS_Kevin

The fact I can't really get above 50fps in this game with a 4090 is very depressing lol.

This really got my FPS where I like and the game performs better, you just go into the user settings in your Documents-Elders Scrolls Online-Live. You will see a document called User Settings and the follow this guide: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en-GB/discussion/173780/quick-dirty-guide-tech-explanation-how-to-limit-your-framerate-in-eso-for-g-sync-anything-else

Good info thank you! I'll give it a shot.

Desiato · June 1

Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin if it helps changing DNS has seemed to help a number of people. Generally going to 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 has almost solve all the 'crashes' just the slower general performance remains. A lot of this is quite commonly also seen when PTS is up on PCNA - I wonder if the engineers could check if the PTS servers are stealing resources from Live?

This shouldn't have anything to do with ZOS. The IPs you listed are public DNS servers that replace the ones offered by ISPs. If changing the dns server solves the problem, that probably indicates an issue with the dns servers one's isp offers or possibly an issue with a home router.

It's possible ZOS changes routing tables in response to a ddos (just a guess) and the public dns servers are more responsive to the change. In the case of the home router, often integrated in modems, it may have that information cached; using an alternate dns server bypasses the dns functions of a home router entirely.

Our PCs also cache dns information which I think would be flushed when changing dns settings, but I don't recall for certain.

Kartalin wrote: »
I was having some lag spike/crash issues this evening in grey host (and last night in blackreach) -- three or four times over about 4 hours. One solution that I have found that works to quickly get me back in game is as soon as I get kicked to load in, I hit quit and close it entirely.

From there I open a windows command console (command.exe) and enter:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
Then I log back in and am immediately allowed back into Cyrodiil. Notably, I do not even have to be removed from group for this to work, which is typically part of what we have traditionally done to be able to get back in.

Probably this works along the same lines as what @Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO mentioned about changing the DNS.

This would only help if your ISP changes your dynamic IP with every DHCP release/renew. Many ISP's will provide the same IP on a release/renew. For example, my ISP will only provide me with a new IP if I powercycle my modem or connect with a different MAC address.

This bypasses a temporary IP lockout on disconnects that ZOS must have reasons for implementing. I don't know what their reasoning is.

I don't think it's related to dns in this case because releasing/renewing IPs didn't used to flush the dns cache. Though it's possible it does now, that shouldn't solve such a short term issue.

I used to troubleshoot networks a long time ago, so my memory may be off in some cases and there could be new ways of doing things I'm unaware of, but I think what I've posted is generally accurate. I would love it if someone with contemporary expertise would correct me if I'm wrong!