So hows that server latency?

Technical Support
1

Anything new in the world of OW server hosts or does blizzard still provide less servers, further away than any other online only game host I know of?

Just wondering, because playing at a 1/4 or less of the actual tickrate cause massive lag spikes, rubber banding and full blown crashes, yet Blizzard thinks this is acceptable.

60ms was my previous average with jumps as high 800ms according to MTR’s, happening on a single hop while in the same family of ip addresses. This happens frequently since launch and I’ve reported it at least a dozen times. I’ve lived in two different provinces, with 3 different ISP’s, none of which have been able to help or provide a more stable connection.

So is it worth reinstalling to try out the new changes or is it just the same old sh1tty experience unless your playing from a sub 20ms connection from the states? Is every player that I spot and ask going to claim a latency impossible for me to achieve? What about the players that ignore clear hits and trigger client side hit fx but never show damage? How about DF? Is it even possible to hit something at 60 yet? I remember punching through a nearly still roadhog and not triggering a collision… Don’t suppose that’s still broken and latency biased as the rest of your netcode is it?

Edit:
Despite never getting any meaningful feedback from any one of my previous inquiries, I decided to run this test again. Maybe it’ll help you ensure that your connection is packed with as much artificial latency as you intended, seeing how it’s not getting any better…

TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to Blizzard Blizzard, 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.555 ms 0.553 ms 0.552 ms
2 24.105.18.3 (24.105.18.3) 1.562 ms 1.578 ms 1.581 ms
3 137.221.105.16 (137.221.105.16) 1.588 ms 1.590 ms 1.622 ms
4 137.221.66.18 (137.221.66.18) 12.297 ms 12.314 ms 12.314 ms
5 137.221.83.66 (137.221.83.66) 30.877 ms 30.893 ms 31.010 ms
6 137.221.65.68 (137.221.65.68) 99.606 ms 317.380 ms 317.456 ms
7 137.221.65.1 (137.221.65.1) 566.988 ms 566.269 ms 566.250 ms
8 137.221.65.7 (137.221.65.7) 30.169 ms 30.100 ms 30.077 ms
9 137.221.65.116 (137.221.65.116) 30.006 ms 30.023 ms 30.009 ms
10 137.221.65.41 (137.221.65.41) 30.101 ms 39.714 ms 39.708 ms
11 137.221.73.32 (137.221.73.32) 39.806 ms 38.151 ms 37.890 ms
12 154.11.2.144 (154.11.2.144) 37.726 ms 37.743 ms 33.311 ms
13 * * *
14 * * *
15 * * *

23/08/2019 14:29:32 UTC

TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to Blizzard Blizzard, 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.284 ms 0.288 ms 0.294 ms
2 24.105.18.3 (24.105.18.3) 4.334 ms 4.424 ms 4.514 ms
3 137.221.105.16 (137.221.105.16) 1.232 ms 1.265 ms 1.274 ms
4 137.221.66.18 (137.221.66.18) 1.293 ms 1.299 ms 1.306 ms
5 137.221.83.66 (137.221.83.66) 32.087 ms 32.114 ms 32.124 ms
6 137.221.65.68 (137.221.65.68) 464.809 ms 463.363 ms 463.345 ms
7 137.221.65.1 (137.221.65.1) 712.858 ms 712.863 ms 712.873 ms
8 137.221.65.7 (137.221.65.7) 34.741 ms 34.773 ms 34.778 ms
9 137.221.65.116 (137.221.65.116) 30.534 ms 32.123 ms 32.125 ms
10 137.221.65.41 (137.221.65.41) 31.495 ms 30.567 ms 30.621 ms
11 137.221.73.32 (137.221.73.32) 51.071 ms 51.100 ms 51.121 ms
12 154.11.2.144 (154.11.2.144) 29.958 ms 29.991 ms 29.986 ms
13 * * *
14 * * *
15 * * *

23/08/2019 14:29:32 UTC

PING:
PING Blizzard Blizzard 56(84) bytes of data.

— Blizzardping statistics —
4 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 2999ms

23/08/2019 14:29:32 UTC

PING:
PING Blizzard Blizzard 56(84) bytes of data.

— Blizzardping statistics —
4 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 3000ms

23/08/2019 14:29:32 UTC

MTR:
Start: Fri Aug 23 14:29:32 2019 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.4 0.4 0.3 1.4 0.0
2.|-- 24.105.18.3 0.0% 10 0.7 2.2 0.5 16.0 4.9
3.|-- 137.221.105.16 0.0% 10 1.2 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.18 0.0% 10 3.6 3.6 1.0 15.7 4.4
5.|-- 137.221.83.66 0.0% 10 30.3 38.4 30.0 79.0 17.7
6.|-- 137.221.65.68 0.0% 10 30.3 64.0 30.2 204.4 69.8
7.|-- 137.221.65.1 0.0% 10 30.2 154.5 30.2 997.2 301.7
8.|-- 137.221.65.7 0.0% 10 30.2 30.2 30.1 30.3 0.0
9.|-- 137.221.65.116 0.0% 10 30.3 30.2 30.1 30.5 0.0
10.|-- 137.221.65.41 0.0% 10 30.2 34.5 29.9 52.3 7.5
11.|-- 137.221.73.32 0.0% 10 30.7 35.2 30.3 75.5 14.2
12.|-- 154.11.2.144 0.0% 10 29.9 30.0 29.8 31.1 0.0
13.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

23/08/2019 14:29:31 UTC

MTR:
Start: Fri Aug 23 14:29:32 2019 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.7 0.0
2.|-- 24.105.18.3 0.0% 10 0.6 5.2 0.6 41.9 12.9
3.|-- 137.221.105.16 0.0% 10 1.0 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.18 0.0% 10 1.1 2.3 1.0 12.1 3.4
5.|-- 137.221.83.66 0.0% 10 30.3 33.6 29.9 63.5 10.5
6.|-- 137.221.65.68 0.0% 10 30.3 95.3 29.9 392.6 138.4
7.|-- 137.221.65.1 0.0% 10 30.2 153.9 30.0 897.7 276.9
8.|-- 137.221.65.7 0.0% 10 30.2 30.5 30.0 32.5 0.6
9.|-- 137.221.65.116 0.0% 10 30.1 30.5 30.0 33.2 0.9
10.|-- 137.221.65.41 0.0% 10 30.2 33.8 29.9 65.0 11.0
11.|-- 137.221.73.32 0.0% 10 88.1 36.3 30.2 88.1 18.2
12.|-- 154.11.2.144 0.0% 10 29.8 29.9 29.8 30.1 0.0
13.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

23/08/2019 14:29:32 UTC

2

same thing here, changed my internet for 120 mbps, new modem/router and still can’t play and it’ sdefinitly not from my ips now that everything is new

3

I wish you luck in sorting it out then.

Where are you connecting from? VPN’s don’t ever work for me, but I did get a bit of an improvement a few years back setting custom QOS and DNS settings on your network adapter.

I found Googles DNS worked slightly better than my default from telus at the time, though I removed all customizations shortly after due to the same experience killing, game breaking latency and inconsistancies that my defaults have.

I feel strongly that local changes wont solve any of these issues for me at least, but you might have better luck if your not in the same boat. I just want Blizzard to actually show some support for it’s player base instead of this clearly inadequate design that makes a good game into a terrible experience.

4

well the overwatch server redirect me in the montreal one when I play. I think we’re not the only ones having this issue, there’s a lot of post about pings and latency. I contacted blizzard and they said it was from my ips but now everything is new and the game isn’t working. I installed it back, still the same. However I don’t lag in any other games so it’s kind of weird.

5

Blizzard only has two servers in NA and they aren’t in Canada, I wish they had a Montreal server. That’s Epic who was awesome enough to put one on our side of the border.

I normally play on the LAX1 west coast server, I believe the east is Chicago.

Blizzard is always swamped with complaints about network routing, as ISP’s frequently have issues holding optimal routes open, for all kinds of reasons. A solid solution would be to make routes shorter by providing more hosts, they already use AWS so it’s literally a flip of a switch to oopen more. But I guess they just haven’t considered that, or the cost of additional servers are just too high for the billion dollar bonuses it hands out to ActiVive execs annually.

At least this is how it was last I checked and I can;t find any info on a canadian server that has been added. They gave brazil as new server though… XD

6

this is the result of my Winmtr test 2-2-8.bear1.Montreal2.Level3
I assumed it was a montreal server lol. but yes, they should try something new because it obviously doesn’t work for canada players these days. I had no problem running the game 4 months ago and now I just can’t run it. I’m guessing it isn’t a ISP issue this time considering all the complaints about it lately. I’m pretty sure i’m playing on the same server as you, I just don’t know where to find it

7

It looks like that’s on a hop, so your traffic is being routed through the montreal server, which would indicate you should be hitting the east coast server. However, on your other post with your MTR, I noticed that you connect to the same family of ip’s that seems to cause my latency spikes at 137.221.66.XX and on, which is just great.

Blizzard loves to point at ISP’s to fix the issue but really, the pressure is on them. Other dev’s haven’t held out on us. Why does Blizz? What are we paying for except for decent access to the servers, yet they want no responsibility over the issues that are a direct result of their actions. This is why I can’t support OW, Blizz, OWL or the parent companies that have literally gutted everything good about these games.

If I wanted to gamble I’d hit a casino, but Blizzard only wants the bring the casino to your kids.

8

Yeah don’t worry when Overwatch first came out I had 40ms and was a GM, now it’s so bad I can’'t even play the game. My ping is a stable 60-70ms with no fluctuations on my end but if I play a game my shots are delayed significantly. I’m in Alberta so apparently its some kind of routing issue between LA and Chicago like you mentioned. They told me if I want anything done about it I pretty much have to go door to door and find people with the same problems then they would consider patching it. And they did tell me it could be patched, its just not a priority until more people notice it. I have a video on my thread showing an issue that’s most noticeable on Genji’s right click; if you flick shot and right click the animation plays twice/rubberbands. On top of that intermittent input lag for shots and abilities. Out of curiosity are you in Alberta? I had assumed it was only Alberta affected.

Check out my thread, if you want something done about the issue post there. The more people we get the better :

9

Nice, I’m in Alberta now too and I’ve never heard about this. Absolutely ridiculous that they are still ignoring this.
Obviously it’s a big issue for a lot of people, begging ISP’s to solve the routing is doing no good for anyone, and even if every route was always perfect, it still wouldn’t solve the bigger issue of forcing us all to play at a inherent disadvantage with a connection that isn’t capable of 15 ticks let alone the competitive 60.

You’d think they’d at least put a bit of effort into this. Looking at the forums though, they are more focused on nerfing sym now… It’s almost like all their technical staff are no longer around and they are just pumping out cosmetic content, recycling their old work and ignoring anything that wont make them more money.

10

Yeah I’ve been opening tickets for 2 years now (probably more actually…) and the only solution that I myself can do is to move to BC or another province that routes differently. I’ve tested this on around 6 PCs now (3 being my own) Telus DSL, Telus Fibre, and Shaw, all have the identical problem. My streamer friend told me he has the same issue, and I’ve had a couple people contact me out of Calgary saying they had the issue.

Thing that bother’s me most is they told me they can patch it but won’t do it until I basically unionize Alberta’s OW players to force them to do it. If you find the time watch the video in my thread and test Genji out and flick right click, tell me if you manage to get that animation glitch even once. He’s not the only one affected but he’s the easiest to test and see the rubber banding animation.

Honestly with the amount of support tickets I’ve submitted it would’ve been less costly to just fix the issue.

If you find/know anyone else direct them to my forum post as blizzard is supposedly tracking it as the ‘main thread’ for this issue.

11

I feel for ya man, I posted a reply, though it’ll probably get me a temp ban for necro’ing like they did last time I reopened an old thread, and that one was way more polite… lol.

I can say for certain that Vancouver is only about 10ms better, which really doesn’t make sense. I’m nearly convinced that american ISP’s route all international traffic through a bank of servers that cause this latency… but who am I to say ¯_(ツ)_/¯

The only viable solution is to do what their competitors have done and actually provide a sensible amount of server hosts. I’m still shocked they are so far behind, this long after releasing so many online only games. It’s actually hilarious how bad they look to me. The biggest cringe though, is that they are owned entirely by vivendi activision now and because of which, all the people responsible for anything good they ever produced are now being gutted from the company while the company funnels more and more of its profits and funds into it’s parents.

12

Don’t worry they won’t ban you for necroing that post, they told me to direct anyone I find to that thread. I’ve been less than polite to them too, they’ve been blaming my ISP for years until I showed them video proof using 2 separate ISPs. Only then did they get their QA team to look into it, only to tell me ‘get more people, then we’ll patch it’.

To be honest the latency sucks but it isn’t really the main issue. 60ms in theory should be fine, but there’s some hidden latency spikes or packet loss happening behind the scenes that doesn’t display on the in-game net graph that causes the input lag on abilities and shots. It honestly feels like a 250ms delay, at times to the extent an ability won’t even fire at all but the ping doesn’t even fluctuate.

Glad I found another person in Alberta that actually noticed these issues. Most people don’t play anymore and those that do don’t seem to notice. Hell my streamer friend didn’t notice until I told him to test it for me and he lives two blocks from me with the same ISP.

13

it seems to be touching a lot of people right now, I don’t know why they don’t want to fix it at this point it sucks, we pay this game over 70 bucks when it was released and now we can’t even play it what’s the point

14

I spent an insane amount of money on this game because when it was working properly I thought ‘Oh I’ll just support the company since they’re giving me hours of gameplay instead of me buying another game’ so I went crazy on loot boxes since I thought I’d be playing this competitively for years. But right after I did that is when the issues showed up.

Just keep directing people to the thread I linked above and maybe they’ll take it more seriously.

15

There hasn’t been any official announcements about new Overwatch servers opening up. Anything like that would likely be posted on the main Overwatch news site and/or on the General forums where everyone can see it.

Something to keep in mind is that when you open new servers in different datacenters you effectively split the player population and that effects match making. As someone who works in Customer Support I don’t have the insight into all of the metrics that are used to determine server population and how that would affect match making, so we can’t really comment here on the forums about that.

Blizzard does not control the internet. We can deploy all of the servers we want, but if your connection route to that server is not optimal enough for the gameplay that you expect there isn’t a whole lot we can do in most cases. If there’s a wide-spread issue we will definitely work on narrowing down where the issue is, and if it’s within our network we can usually get it cleared up pretty quickly. Even if it’s not within our network we have been known to reach out to affected ISPs to help them pinpoint the issue and get it resolved for players.

It does seem like you’re not really looking do to any troubleshooting, which is the purpose on the Tech Support forums, so I’m not quite sure how we can help here. I will ask that you refrain from using masked profanity though, since that is a violation of the forums Code of Conduct.

Posting in the thread that VeiledFlame linked is a good suggestion, since if this is a shared issue amongs Canadian players we want to collect as much data as possible.

1 Like
16

Great I’m happy to respect that, and I’ve been more than forthcoming with trouble-shooting in the past. I’ve hung around here all morning to get some feed back on the MTR I posted… Care to comment on those numbers?

If you’d just deploy a number over server locations even somewhat comparable to your competitors, maybe the 90% of inactive users on my blizzards friends list would actually show up for once… Games like this were much better on LAN, and the limits on your network support are astounding… What would you have us do after years of trying to resolve this with our ISP’s, your support, and any player or creator offering advice?

At this point, I’ll try anything that isn’t a complete waste of time, like comparing geforce recordings to server replays…

17

Well he is trying to troubleshoot an issue. If you look at the thread I linked Jambrix, drakuloth already told me the issue is patchable, tech support told me the same thing. ISPs can be an issue but I personally have used every ISP in Alberta to troubleshoot the issue he’s talking about. So yes you guys don’t ‘control’ the internet but its clear there’s something influencing this issue on blizzards end otherwise why is your tech support informing me its fixable via a patch? If it was at all on our end support would be telling me to contact the ISPs myself as they have always done. QA has already looked into it and has been confirmed to have found the cause of the problem, or at least how to mitigate it.

And yes his thread is useful otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get more exposure for the issue your own support both forum and tech told me to do. I was told they won’t do anything until I find more people with the problem and I’m glad he made this post so I could redirect EpicGG to mine.

Also…no your own support told me to do all the work and contact the ISPs myself, I’ve never in the 3 years of dealing with your support have seen or heard of you guys contacting any ISPs. In fact many times I was told to do it myself and you guys wouldn’t lift a finger any time you suspected the ISP.

If you guys are volunteering to contact the ISPs by all means please do. This is affecting Telus Fibre, Telus DSL, and Shaw in Alberta at the very least, so if you’d like to help resolve this and suspect in any way all 3 ISPs/connection types are at fault of the same problem I would appreciate if blizzard would contact the ISPs in question and figure out the cause. I would be incredibly grateful if I was able to play Overwatch competitively again.

1 Like
18

EpicGG,

The Looking-Glass results posted appear fine actually. There’s some high latency in a couple of the hops, but we can see the latency goes back down in the next few hops. This is just caused by those routers de-prioritizing the ICMP packets used for the test, which is perfectly normal.

The kind of issue that you’re describing isn’t one that is likely to show up in a Looking-Glass test. If your latency in general is stable but you get brief spikes (up to 800ms like you mentioned) then this is something that is best captured by a WinMTR.

If you can capture a latency spike with the Network Graph open (Press Ctrl+Shift+N while in match) and screenshot it, that can be useful as well. You can post the screenshot to an image sharing website like imgur.com and share the unique link here.

19

I was more referring to the times when there’s a large widespread connectivity issue, like being unable to log in or getting disconnected frequently. Those types of cases are ones which we have reached out to ISPs in the past, and only when we have verifiable connection tests that show the issue. From what I’ve read about your case VeiledFlame, the issue doesn’t show up in connection tests and can’t be reproduced consistently. I didn’t get the impression that the issue was patchable from Drakuloth’s post, only the impression that the issue is very edge-case and would take a lot of manipulating the connection to get it to happen.

If it’s affecting all Overwatch players using the ISPs that you mentioned we should definitely see a lot more posts on the forums and tickets submitted about the issue, but we honestly haven’t seen that. We are definitely keeping an eye out though.

20

well, considering I upgraded my internet and it’s still doing the same, and did reach out to the tech team, and my game was perfectly fine a couple months back. I’m pretty sure my ISP is not the issue here. Did all my software upgrades, Nvidia too, uninstalled and installed back the game, changed my graphic standards on the game as well, still can’t play and I am 47 hours away from Alberta and have the same issue as VeiledFlame and EpicGG it’s kinda worldwide this latency issue about overwatch