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

sshogrin

silky_soft wrote: »

First try into new life gateway. Disconnect.

Edit 1:
Did some of the event, teleport back to eastmarch, disconnect.
1a:
Disconnect second try.

Over in EU it didn't matter which account I was using (I have 3 full ESO accounts), I couldn't use the New Life Festival portal near the Impressario without timing out and getting kicked from game back to the Login screen. I ended up just using the Wayshrine and that worked just fine.

LadyGP

Doing a quick search on reddit it looks like the timing of this thread lines up with peoples experiences there too.


Tons of comments in this thread... basically the same as here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/1dqi480/am_i_the_only_whos_getting_massive_lag_spikes_im/

@ZOS_Kevin really hope the team can narrow in around this time frame and see what changed.

LadyGP

I'm gonna be that person. I put a ton of responses in here, Richs feedback, other dev comments, took information from Reddit and told ChatGPT to analyze all of the available information. I'm sure someone at ZoS has already done this and their team knows more about this issue than ChatGPT but none the less I'm going to put it here in the 0.5% chance it sparks something to help solve the problem.

The issue appears to be tied to a recent client or server-side update that introduced a new network handling regression. This regression is causing the client to block while waiting for server responses, leading to frequent "stalls" (high ping, freezing) and then sudden bursts of updates once the server data arrives.

Detailed Analysis:
Based on the additional user report and eliminating the Bandits UI add-on as a factor, we need to refocus on what could be causing network stalls that affect all players, regardless of their hardware, ISP, or installed add-ons.

Key points from the user’s comments:

1. Wait Chain Analysis Shows Network I/O Blocking:
The user notes that Windows’ built-in wait chain analysis shows the game’s threads waiting on network I/O. This suggests that the game client’s thread(s) responsible for networking are blocked, waiting for a response from the server. The client may be making synchronous network calls or is otherwise unable to proceed with normal rendering and logic updates until it receives needed data packets. As a result, the entire game "feels" frozen because the main loop or critical update thread is stalled.

2. Cross-Environment Consistency:
The user reinstalled Windows, refreshed drivers, and still experiences these issues exclusively with this game. Other AAA titles run smoothly on the same system, with no spikes in latency or frame drops. This eliminates local hardware, drivers, and ISP as the cause, reinforcing that the problem is external.

3. Coincidence with the Most Recent Client Update:
The issues began following a recent client patch or update. Such timing strongly suggests a code change—possibly a new feature or optimization gone wrong—that introduced a more synchronous or less fault-tolerant network path.

4. Global, Not Add-On Dependent:
Initial suspicions pointed towards add-ons like Bandits UI exploiting map pings and causing a network message flood. However, reports from users without any add-ons and across various hardware configurations indicate that the problem persists. This points to a more fundamental network or server-side code issue.

5. Similar Symptoms, Multiple Users:
Players report skill delays, high ping, and periods of "no movement" followed by rapid catch-up. This pattern indicates that the server is not delivering updates steadily. Instead, the client starves for data, then receives a sudden burst of packets once the server "catches up." The root cause could be an overloaded server process, a network queue backlogging, or a newly introduced logic path that locks the server’s response temporarily.

Likely Root Cause:
The most probable cause is a server or client-side network handling regression introduced by the recent update. On the server side, there could be a message queue buildup or a bottleneck in message processing, causing delayed responses. On the client side, there could be a newly introduced synchronous wait for server data—perhaps a previously asynchronous call is now blocking the main thread. When the server finally sends the data, the client rushes to process everything at once, causing the "speed-up" effect.

Conclusion:
Even if add-ons were initially suspected, current evidence points more clearly toward a systemic issue introduced by recent code changes. The client is being forced into synchronous waits for server responses, and when combined with server-side delays, this results in the freezing and catch-up behavior observed. The root cause is most likely a network processing or code regression on the server or client side (or both) introduced during the recent patch, rather than user hardware, ISPs, or add-ons.

Quackery

For the love of God, the performance is so bad on PC NA-server that I can't even login to do ONE QUEST and get my event tickets! New Life event POOF!

Sakiri

sshogrin wrote: »

Sakiri wrote: »

sshogrin wrote: »

@KaironBlackbard

BanditsUI has removed their map pings for now and will be investigating using LibMapPing like all addons should be using which shouldn't cause an overload of the MapPing function.

What map pings dies it even use? Like what functionality. Because mines never pinged my map that I'm aware of.

the addons that use data sharing for things like dps and ultimates use a function within LUA called MapPing.
There is a Library called LibMapPing that the developers of addons should be using so all those data shares and calls are handled by that Library. That Library would actually use just one call per data type for all addons you have installed that are wanting to share or use that data so you don't have 2 or more addons trying to make the call or share for the same thing.
This is something that was referred to in an earlier comment as a "back channel" use.
To equate this to graphics, in an RGB image, the user can only see those 3 channels R, G, B, if you add an alpha channel for something like masking, that alpha channel would be like a back channel, something going on behind the scenes. I hope I'm explaining that well enough.

Ah okay.

I know wow uses lua for it's stuff but all the libraries are NOT separate addons which is why modding the stuff here was just...weird.

LadyGP

Quackery wrote: »

For the love of God, the performance is so bad on PC NA-server that I can't even login to do ONE QUEST and get my event tickets! New Life event POOF!

Yeah I agree... it's been really rough for me tonight too. I just ran a wireshark and trying to analyze everything now. Maybe I can find something that jumps out.

sshogrin

@Sakiri
"Ah okay.

I know wow uses lua for it's stuff but all the libraries are NOT separate addons which is why modding the stuff here was just...weird."

The use of a Library consolidates those functions to streamline the addons. Having multiple instances of the same library just makes the LUA side more bloated and can cause issues because you have multiple of the same addon running.

Technically a Library really isn't an "addon" perse, but it's a Library of functions for the LUA language to lookup those functions with. Yes, in laymen's terms it's and addon, but it's function is "different" than an addon. The Library itself doesn't work as an addon, but more like knowledge for addons to use...it's like telling the addons that 255R, 255G, and 255B= "white" and to 'print' "white" to screen, and that all other addons that will tell the game to say "white" on screen would use that library and not have multiple instances of the same information or function running.

Rkindaleft

PlayStation NA.

Performance has been really inconsistent since the servers went down a week or so ago. Tonight was the worst I've seen in a while.

Below is a clip of our Unstoppable group running approximately 1-2 hours ago from posting. The first half of the clip is an example of how bad the rubberbanding was (freezing for several seconds and speeding up) and the second part of the clip was literally 4 players getting kicked at the exact same time. I also disconnected tonight but I didn't save the clip. I will state these players are from different continents, so the fact they all got kicked at the same time has nothing to do with their own connections.

Edit - it keeps giving me an error saying the file size is too large so I'm going to post the link to the YouTube video below.
https://youtu.be/Md7ZrI7o_nU

M0ntie

PC NA performance is the worst it has been in ages. (I usually have decent performance.) The laaagggg of visuals is just horrible. My vpn is saying about the same ping it usually does, so I'm putting this down to ZoS' servers not coping with the New Life Festival. My in game ping is consistently high. The lag is giving me a headache.

FFS ZoS you know there will be more people on for an event.

TX12001rwb17_ESO

I just brought 21,000 crowns and what happens next? my game crashes and I cannot log back in.

TX12001rwb17_ESO

I have had enough; I cannot even stay logged in long enough to buy the new house.

I am getting kicked within less then 20 seconds, is it too much to ask to beable to play the game I paid for?

silky_soft

couple of bg, lag to the point my game was stalling. some players on the other team definately not feeling any lag as they could take on 6 people no worries.

what happened in this recent patch?

Aurielle

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

I have had enough; I cannot even stay logged in long enough to buy the new house.

I am getting kicked within less then 20 seconds, is it too much to ask to beable to play the game I paid for?

If this were me, I would personally be asking for a refund.

silky_soft wrote: »

couple of bg, lag to the point my game was stalling. some players on the other team definately not feeling any lag as they could take on 6 people no worries.

what happened in this recent patch?

I still want to know what happened with the patch in May.