Hello everyone, with the introduction of the Global Play initiative for Battle.net, connecting to datacenters in different parts of the world is happening a lot more on the PC platform. I am hoping to get information to how much players encounter this and could use your help.
If you noticed increased ping in your game, it may be because you are on a different server. So that being said here is how you can look up your datacenter location code.
- During any game (not when in the matchmaking lobby), press Ctrl+Shift+N to open the NetGraph.
- Next to the IP address on the top left of the NetGraph, look at the four letter+number code in brackets.
- Compare that code to the list below to known which datacenter you are being connected to geographically. Note I listed the server name and the major city I believe that server is based in (actual location may slightly vary).
| CODE | Datacenter Location |
| LAX1 | US West - Los Angeles |
| ORD1 | US Central - Chicago |
| GRB1 | Brazil 2 - Rio De Janiero |
| SYD2 | Australia 3 - Sydney |
| GTK1 | Japan 2 - Tokyo |
| GSG1 | Signapore 2 - Signapore |
| ICN1 | South Korea - Seoul |
| CDG1 | France - Versalles |
| AMS1 | Netherlands - Amsterdam |
| MES1 | Bahrain - Manama |
FAQ
Q. I selected the Americas region in the BattleNet app launcher, but I am connecting to European servers? What gives?
A. Since the recent Global Play update that rolled out with Crossplay Beta, players on the PC platform are no longer restricted to which servers they connect to based on general region.
Q. Can I manually choose which data center I connect to in matchmaking games?
A. No. The matchmaker will sometimes put players in datacenters farther away in order to accommodate certain aspects of matchmaking such as group combinations, hidden matchmaking rating (skill rating), or low-peak times for a certain datacenter. You can specify the datacenter only in a custom game.
Q. I play with friends from another region. Which datacenter will be connected to if we play together?
A. It’s a little difficult from the player perspective to give a specific answer for any given combination of players. However, it is more likely to jump from datacenter to datacenter when you a grouped with a player not in the same region as you which can result in larger ping for one or more players in your group.
Q. Isn’t there a way to block IP addresses so that I don’t have to play on a specific datacenter?
A. There is, but you risk technical malfunctions, leaver penalties, and connection issues. It is also not entirely effective as they change IP addresses on these datacenter servers periodically. If you do so, you do it at your own risk.
Q. Would a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service help?
A. It can have a better influence to which region you prefer to play on but it will not guarantee that you will only play in that location’s nearest datacenter. Use a VPN at your own risk.
Q. I am on my home server, but I have a lot of latency! What is going on?
A. This may be a connection issue not related to geographical distance. Click here for troubleshooting possible issues that may be happening on your end that can cause this. There can also be connection issues between you and that given datacenter in which a WinMTR test (click here) is the best way to figure out what is going on.
Blizzard has been making updates to improve better server selection for most players. Details here:
