Connectivity and FPS

Technical Support
1

Good Day All,

I’ll start by saying that I know that my PC is due for a bit of am upgrade but I would still like a definitive conclusion.

The issues started after the weather anomalies were introduced, FPS would frequently drop during game play to the point where it was virtually unplayable during some matches.
Since the anomalies were removed fps have improved but another issue arose. Whenever I’m connecting to the game for the first time I lose my connection.
Two days ago it took me 10mins to reconnect much to the displeasure of my team.
I deleted my battle.net folder following instructions from this forum, carried out continuous pings to the game server (which never showed packet loss) and also flushed dns.
I reran today and still lost my connection, but this time it took only 2min to recconect which still by gaming standards is a long time. After that the game ran fine. Any fps drops were short and minor. And all other matches connected as one would expect.
Any clarification as to what causes the disconnection for the 1st game of log in would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

2

Hey there! For Heroes of the Storm specifically, connection can impact the FPS due to how the game mechanics function. Whatever is causing the disconnections on the first game is likely persisting through and causing the FPS drop.

The first game disconnection issue could be the game trying to load assets but there’s an issue with loading the assets that it causes the disconnection on the first match. This is just one example of what could be causing the first game disconnections. There could be a variety of reasons, but we can help take a look for these concerns with a bit more information :slight_smile:

Let’s start off with checking a WinMTR test. Run the test on the first game while attempting to connect for 5 to 10 minutes. If you can run a second one on the second match, we can compare the two tests. Copy and paste the text file created and paste it between two ~~~ like so:

~~~
WinMTR Here
~~~

If you have issues pasting here, use Pastebin and post the end of the link. (ie. 123456 for pastebin.com/123456)

1 Like
3

Ok thank you. I will try this when next I log on.
I will say that I decided to let the game sit for about 10mins after logging in before connecting to a game and I did observe an improvement. There was no disconnection but there was some fps decline throughout the match, some times worse than others but it was still playable. The games that followed didn’t suffer any connection or fps decline.
I also do a flush dns before logging into the game now not sure if this has contributed but I will run the test suggested and post the results.
Thanks again.

4

Interesting, thank you for the details :slight_smile: Waiting an additional few minutes isn’t ideal, but its a workaround in the mean time until we can find the culprit. It definitely sounds like there’s some delays on the initial connection and over time the connection becomes a bit more stable once everything loads properly.

I am a bit concerned that one of the network devices might be faulting though. The connection tests should show us some more details over what’s going on during the first match.

5

Hi Caterpepi,

I ran the tests. Let me first apologize for having 6 of them lol; what happened was, I ran the first 2 tests for both North American servers, first game only for each, after which I noticed the request for a second test on the second game of the session.
As a result, I did 4 new tests. Two for each server 1st and 2nd game. I also let them run for the duration of the match as i do get FPS decline at times in the middle of games; hopefully this does not affect the data you need to capture. If so, feel free to let me know and I’ll gladly rerun the tests.

I’ll post the tests as follows:

1: 1st game US Central server (24.105.62.129) - no second game
2: 1st game US West server (24.105.30.129) - no second game
3: 1st game US Central server - second game to follow
4: 2nd game US Central server
5: 1st game US West server - second game to follow
6: 2nd game US West server

US Central Server (no second game played)

 Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  164 |    1 |    4 |    4 |    4 |    4 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  164 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 |  700 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    3 |  748 |  731 |    9 |   12 |  104 |   10 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    2 |  779 |  770 |    9 |   12 |   32 |   11 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -   10 |  596 |  541 |   57 |   62 |  142 |   63 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -   11 |  568 |  506 |   57 |   66 |  188 |   58 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -   12 |  559 |  494 |   58 |   66 |  159 |   61 |

|              ae1-br01-eqmi2.as57976.net -   68 |  222 |   73 |   88 |   94 |  121 |   88 |

|       xe-0-0-0-1-br01-eqat2.as57976.net -   68 |  221 |   72 |   89 |   95 |  149 |   92 |

|         et-0-0-4-br02-eqch2.as57976.net -   56 |  254 |  113 |   88 |  145 | 1057 |  496 |

|         et-0-0-1-pe02-eqch2.as57976.net -   59 |  246 |  103 |   88 |   93 |  169 |   92 |

|        chi-eqch2-ia-bons-02.as57976.net -   75 |  205 |   52 |   90 |   93 |  110 |   95 |

|                           24.105.62.129 -    0 |  814 |  814 |   88 |   91 |  110 |   89

US West Server (no second game played)

 Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  226 |    1 |    4 |    4 |    4 |    4 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  225 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 |  480 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    8 |  853 |  785 |    9 |   12 |   30 |   13 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    9 |  849 |  780 |    0 |   12 |   31 |    9 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -   64 |  317 |  115 |    0 |   64 |  121 |   58 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -    1 | 1085 | 1075 |    0 |   69 |  189 |   60 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -    2 | 1081 | 1070 |    0 |   63 |  139 |   58 |

|                           137.221.76.35 -   52 |  369 |  179 |    0 |  120 |  174 |  124 |

|       xe-0-0-1-1-br01-eqda6.as57976.net -   44 |  409 |  230 |  115 |  122 |  230 |  115 |

|        et-0-0-2-br02-swlv10.as57976.net -   46 |  401 |  220 |  115 |  121 |  177 |  120 |

|                          137.221.65.122 -   21 |  623 |  497 |  118 |  419 | 1148 |  421 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  225 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                           137.221.68.77 -   42 |  425 |  250 |  114 |  121 |  187 |  117 |

|                           24.105.30.129 -    0 | 1122 | 1122 |  114 |  117 |  141 |  116

US Central Server (1st game played; 2nd game test to follow)

Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  317 |    1 |    4 |    4 |    4 |    4 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  316 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 |  934 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    7 | 1270 | 1192 |    9 |   11 |   46 |   10 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    7 | 1270 | 1193 |    9 |   11 |   45 |   13 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -    6 | 1274 | 1198 |   56 |   62 |  172 |   58 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -    8 | 1222 | 1133 |   57 |   66 |  175 |   59 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -   81 |  373 |   71 |   57 |   68 |  205 |   81 |

|              ae1-br01-eqmi2.as57976.net -   30 |  726 |  512 |   88 |   93 |  248 |   94 |

|       xe-0-0-0-1-br01-eqat2.as57976.net -   38 |  637 |  401 |   89 |   94 |  207 |   94 |

|         et-0-0-4-br02-eqch2.as57976.net -   27 |  758 |  556 |   88 |  186 | 4521 |  114 |

|         et-0-0-1-pe02-eqch2.as57976.net -   26 |  781 |  581 |   88 |   93 |  154 |  103 |

|        chi-eqch2-ia-bons-02.as57976.net -   44 |  573 |  321 |   90 |   94 |  126 |   92 |

|                           24.105.62.129 -    0 | 1575 | 1575 |   88 |   91 |  131 |   93 |

US Central Server (2nd game played following first game)

Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  264 |    1 |    3 |    3 |    3 |    3 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  263 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 | 1125 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    3 | 1197 | 1168 |    9 |   12 |   39 |   18 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    3 | 1197 | 1168 |    9 |   12 |   70 |   11 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -   10 |  957 |  867 |   56 |   64 |  175 |   68 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -   11 |  917 |  818 |   57 |   68 |  170 |   60 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -   12 |  905 |  803 |   57 |   64 |  143 |   62 |

|              ae1-br01-eqmi2.as57976.net -   65 |  369 |  132 |   88 |   98 |  171 |  101 |

|       xe-0-0-0-1-br01-eqat2.as57976.net -   66 |  361 |  123 |   89 |   99 |  184 |   95 |

|         et-0-0-4-br02-eqch2.as57976.net -   54 |  414 |  191 |   88 |  201 | 3987 |  122 |

|         et-0-0-1-pe02-eqch2.as57976.net -   64 |  373 |  137 |   88 |   97 |  181 |   99 |

|        chi-eqch2-ia-bons-02.as57976.net -   66 |  365 |  127 |   90 |   95 |  175 |   99 |

|                           24.105.62.129 -    0 | 1311 | 1311 |   88 |   90 |  109 |   98 |

US West Server (1st game; 2nd game test to follow)

Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  408 |    1 |    4 |    4 |    4 |    4 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  407 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 | 1406 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    6 | 1676 | 1587 |    0 |   11 |   94 |   12 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    3 | 1847 | 1801 |    9 |   11 |   92 |   12 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -   22 | 1099 |  865 |    0 |   63 |  184 |   72 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -   27 |  995 |  735 |    0 |   66 |  197 |   73 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -   28 |  972 |  707 |    0 |   64 |  149 |   60 |

|                           137.221.76.35 -   77 |  502 |  119 |    0 |  120 |  200 |  118 |

|       xe-0-0-1-1-br01-eqda6.as57976.net -    4 | 1803 | 1746 |    0 |  119 |  271 |  116 |

|        et-0-0-2-br02-swlv10.as57976.net -   79 |  490 |  104 |    0 |  122 |  221 |  120 |

|                          137.221.65.122 -   24 | 1051 |  805 |    0 |  412 | 1154 |  251 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  407 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                           137.221.68.77 -   63 |  578 |  214 |  114 |  120 |  204 |  124 |

|                           24.105.30.129 -    0 | 2027 | 2027 |  114 |  116 |  200 |  119 |

US West Server (2nd game test)

Host              -   %  | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last |

|------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|

|                             192.168.0.1 -  100 |  250 |    1 |    3 |    3 |    3 |    3 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  249 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                     Packet was too big. -  100 | 1042 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                            200.1.107.80 -    3 | 1118 | 1087 |    9 |   12 |   26 |   10 |

|                            200.1.111.24 -    3 | 1118 | 1087 |    9 |   12 |   27 |   10 |

|                             63.245.70.9 -   20 |  694 |  557 |   57 |   64 |  159 |   63 |

|                           69.79.100.142 -   19 |  710 |  576 |   57 |   67 |  163 |   60 |

|                   eqix-mi2.blizzard.com -   27 |  598 |  437 |   57 |   65 |  137 |   60 |

|                           137.221.76.35 -   46 |  442 |  241 |  114 |  120 |  174 |  123 |

|       xe-0-0-1-1-br01-eqda6.as57976.net -   50 |  418 |  212 |  115 |  120 |  170 |  117 |

|        et-0-0-2-br02-swlv10.as57976.net -   51 |  410 |  202 |  115 |  120 |  156 |  120 |

|                          137.221.65.122 -   37 |  506 |  322 |  119 |  435 | 1163 |  337 |

|                   No response from host -  100 |  249 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |    0 |

|                           137.221.68.77 -   34 |  533 |  355 |  114 |  120 |  232 |  115 |

|                           24.105.30.129 -    0 | 1240 | 1240 |  114 |  117 |  207 |  115 |
6

Greatly appreciate all the details and all the connection tests, BrongBoy :slight_smile: All of the connection tests here aren’t looking too great. It definitely looks like there’s some home network issues comparing all of the tests.

Each of the connection tests are showing a 100% loss on the home network. These are not legitimate losses since you can connect, but it may be a sign that the firewall or security on the home or system network may be set too high. For example:

This is also showing in each of the connection tests:

The “Packet was too big” is an ICMP message. This could be related to the MTU size set on the router or the ping size on the WinMTR test is set too low.

Checking throughout the other tests, it’s showing packet loss after these “Packet was too big” messages. It’s showing 3 to 40+% losses throughout the test. The odd thing is that when it reaches the game servers, it shows 0% loss on all the tests. None of these appear to be legitimate loss, but it does indicate there’s likely some issues with one of the network devices in the house hold.

There’s a few things here that may help with the issue.

  • If you are wireless, try a wired connection.

  • Try resetting the Windows protocols and sockets.

    If you are on Windows 10, click here for the steps.
    1. Click on the Start Menu
    2. Select on the Settings :gear: option.
    3. In the Windows Settings, click on “Network & Internet”
    4. Near the bottom of the new window, click on “Network Reset”

    Try again, and if it persists, try rebooting to help with the changes made from the Network Reset.

    If you are on a different version of Windows, click here for the stesps
    1. Right click on your Windows Start Menu, and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” or just search for Command Prompt and right click, run as administrator.
    2. Now type in or copy and paste, “netsh int ip reset” Press Enter.
    3. Then do the same for “netsh winsock reset”
      Once it’s complete, you’ll need to restart the computer to complete the reset.

  • Reset the router and Windows firewall to factory default.

  • Check for the following settings in the router and disable any that are enabled:

    • QoS (Quality of Service)
    • WMM (Wireless Multimedia)
    • UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)

    The settings for these can vary from depending on the device model. It’s not something that we help with directly because the settings and locations can vary. The router manufacturer or Internet Service Provider (if the router/modem was provided by them) can help look for these settings.

If the problem does persist, I recommend to reach out to your ISP to see if they can send a technician out to check on the hardware and see if a replacement can be sent if needed.

As a possible workaround until the problem can be fully addressed, an alternative connection or possible a VPN may work. Note: A VPN may not work in this situation since it will not workaround the home network, but it can change somethings like the DNS and certain protocols.

Otherwise, it sounds like waiting a bit as you’ve done so far and maybe running through two training matches before jumping into regular or ranked might be something to try. Just think of it as a little warm-up for now :slight_smile: Hopefully, this is informative and helpful to resolving the issue!

7

Thanks Caterpepi. This was very helpful. I’ll try the suggestions listed and see if any thing changes.
I did notice that “100% packet loss” and definitely found that strange.

8

Hey there! Sorry for the delay! I was away for a few days. Hopefully, some of these suggestions did help with the connection issues :slight_smile:

9

Hey Caterpepi.
I disabled UPnP and it did make a difference for the first couple log ins. Today had considerable fps decline and a disconnection for the first game, so I reached out to my isp to hopefully resolve. Will test and fill you in.

10

Thank you for the update, BrongBoy! If you want us to check on a few connection tests while working with the ISP, let us know!

11

Hi Caterpepi,
I’m considering changing my ISP but I wanted to confirm that my hardware wasn’t a contributing factor to fps decline and disconnects. I’ve never had these issues before so I as stated just wanted to be sure as game updates were performed.
My machine specs are as follows:

CPU: Intel core i5-3317U @1.70GHz (4 core)
RAM: 4GB
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Display: Intel HD Graphics 4000
DirectX: DirectX 11, Shader 5.0
Free disk space: 387 GB
Dedicated video memory: 32MB

Thanks again.

[ this text has been included after running a game. I increased the dedicated video memory to 512MB and didnt disconnect on the first game and fps decline was minimal for the most part ]

12

Brongboy,

In terms of connectivity, it’s far less likely that this is the cause. Also keep in mind that the engine that Heroes of the Storm uses actually loses performance in situations where your connection is bad. Your machine isn’t exactly the newest one around, but presently we’re more concerned about your connection than your hardware. Did the VPN help at all with the issues, by chance? If so, that’d confirm that you need to continue working with the ISP or swap ISPs.

13

Hi Drakuloth,

Agreed, but the last thing I did after contacting my ISP to confirm 5G settings and ensuring the machine and drivers were all up to date was increasing the dedicated memory to video.
I did run another WinMTR test while playing and it did still show 90-100% loss on my end but strangely enough the game has been running way better.
After contacting Caterpepi, I ran some games later on and the first game did take longer than expected to connect but not as long as previous times. During the game I may have experienced minimal fps decline.
The games following that either didn’t have fps decline, long game connects or disconnections. I did get one or two lag spikes for one or two games which didn’t last long but for the most part the game has been running smoothly during game play. What hasn’t changed much is the time it takes to get back to the hero select screen after a game has completed. The time it takes from clicking the “Exit” button to get to back to the hero select screen does seem to take longer than it should.

14

Brongboy,

If you were truly getting 90-100% loss you wouldn’t be connected at all - that’s way too unstable. More likely you’re running into issues later down the line. If the problem comes back to the extent it was affecting you earlier, can you test what I mentioned above and create new winMTR for us if that fails? Hopefully things continue to run better for you, but if not, I always like a backup plan!

15

Hi Drakuloth,

As previously mentioned, the game has been running way better to the point that I returned to storm league today.
However, I’ll still set up a VPN and run the winmtr test as I do get some lag and fps drop at times.
Will post the results as soon as I have them.