Specific source: ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3. net
Saw this problem get fixed before over the years by reporting to this forum, so hopefully I can fall in that category. Been having a consistent 500-1000 MS latency pinned down to this specific level 3 node internet highway. I use Century Link in the Denver area if that helps. This problem has been lasting for months and makes the game unplayable (I’ve been subbing in and out to see if anything changes, and unfortunately it hasn’t)
I would post your winmtr showing the problem.
Most of Level3’s nodes are designed to ignore ICMP requests, so you should ignore that hop and examine the ones before and after. But either way, this would be something you work with CenturyLink on resolving since they pay Level3 to route their traffic.
This.
ISPs don’t like game traffic due to it being a ton of small packets, sent in/out rapidly; which screws with server buffers. They tend to prioritize traffic for things like streaming. The backbones have all kinds of QoS-like rules for traffic priorities, not to mention, people can pay them for higher priorities. Lots of ISPs cheap out on peak hour premiums and almost all of the ISPs don’t really care about gaming traffic since it’s such a smaller percentage of the overall throughput.
There isn’t really much you can do other than complain and get others to complain with you. I went through this a few years back with Spectrum and it took them over a year to fix the packet loss issues on an L3 backbone. Oh and don’t think using a VPN will save you either, most ISPs and backbones have started deprioritizing VPN traffic packets, especially if they sense it’s a bunch of small packets with high transmission rates (online gaming bandwidth). Your speeds might look fine and dandy, but your ping jitter and packet loss will say otherwise (in most cases that I’ve seen).
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 2.243 ms 2.213 ms 2.210 ms
2 24.105.18.2 (24.105.18.2) 2.039 ms 2.041 ms 4.093 ms
3 137.221.105.10 (137.221.105.10) 2.188 ms 2.196 ms 2.220 ms
4 137.221.66.20 (137.221.66.20) 1.960 ms 1.982 ms 1.982 ms
5 137.221.83.84 (137.221.83.84) 138.991 ms 139.008 ms 320.252 ms
6 * * *
7 137.221.68.32 (137.221.68.32) 5.899 ms 5.911 ms 5.909 ms
8 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net (4.71.135.105) 5.973 ms 5.941 ms 5.710 ms
9 ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net (4.69.206.189) 52.044 ms 52.049 ms 52.036 ms
10 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 53.280 ms 53.201 ms 53.193 ms
11 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 52.973 ms 53.096 ms 53.103 ms
12 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 55.525 ms 55.651 ms 55.632 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:22 UTC
--------------------
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 1.676 ms 1.658 ms 1.665 ms
2 24.105.18.2 (24.105.18.2) 3.558 ms 3.557 ms 3.557 ms
3 137.221.105.10 (137.221.105.10) 5.917 ms 5.939 ms 5.940 ms
4 137.221.66.20 (137.221.66.20) 3.498 ms 3.499 ms 3.497 ms
5 137.221.83.84 (137.221.83.84) 319.732 ms 319.754 ms 319.792 ms
6 * * *
7 137.221.68.32 (137.221.68.32) 5.994 ms 6.040 ms 6.045 ms
8 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net (4.71.135.105) 5.447 ms 5.833 ms 5.811 ms
9 ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net (4.69.206.189) 52.063 ms 52.050 ms 52.190 ms
10 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 53.300 ms 53.272 ms 53.270 ms
11 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 53.022 ms 53.026 ms 53.009 ms
12 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 55.188 ms 55.347 ms 55.410 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:22 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=59.4 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=57.8 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=55.6 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=55.7 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2997ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 55.605/57.160/59.459/1.612 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:22 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=55.8 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=55.3 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=55.7 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=55.7 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2997ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 55.344/55.653/55.833/0.184 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:22 UTC
--------------------
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.277 ms 0.282 ms 0.284 ms
2 24.105.18.2 (24.105.18.2) 1.586 ms 1.587 ms 1.589 ms
3 137.221.105.10 (137.221.105.10) 1.109 ms 1.134 ms 1.236 ms
4 137.221.66.20 (137.221.66.20) 1.512 ms 1.525 ms 1.530 ms
5 137.221.83.84 (137.221.83.84) 226.759 ms 226.800 ms 226.804 ms
6 * * *
7 137.221.68.32 (137.221.68.32) 7.832 ms 7.843 ms 7.828 ms
8 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net (4.71.135.105) 5.776 ms 5.776 ms 5.855 ms
9 ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net (4.69.206.189) 52.259 ms 52.019 ms 52.085 ms
10 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 52.989 ms 53.027 ms 53.015 ms
11 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 52.842 ms 52.770 ms 52.769 ms
12 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 55.480 ms 55.501 ms 55.127 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:25 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=55.7 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=55.6 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=55.5 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=55.7 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2999ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 55.515/55.690/55.784/0.308 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:26 UTC
--------------------
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.452 ms 0.434 ms 0.432 ms
2 37.244.23.131 (37.244.23.131) 1.255 ms 1.264 ms 1.263 ms
3 24.105.62.148 (24.105.62.148) 0.986 ms 1.048 ms 1.062 ms
4 137.221.66.8 (137.221.66.8) 1.301 ms 1.333 ms 1.334 ms
5 * * *
6 137.221.69.32 (137.221.69.32) 1.928 ms 2.075 ms 2.457 ms
7 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net (4.7.196.133) 1.175 ms 1.244 ms 1.243 ms
8 * * *
9 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 26.424 ms 26.416 ms 26.403 ms
10 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 26.874 ms 26.881 ms 26.962 ms
11 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 29.136 ms 29.146 ms 29.143 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:27 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=29.0 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=29.2 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=29.1 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=29.1 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2998ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 29.006/29.145/29.262/0.195 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:29 UTC
--------------------
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.494 ms 0.473 ms 1.503 ms
2 37.244.23.131 (37.244.23.131) 1.513 ms 1.511 ms 1.508 ms
3 24.105.62.148 (24.105.62.148) 1.224 ms 1.236 ms 1.220 ms
4 137.221.66.8 (137.221.66.8) 13.673 ms 13.687 ms 13.688 ms
5 * * *
6 137.221.69.32 (137.221.69.32) 4.529 ms 2.516 ms 2.759 ms
7 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net (4.7.196.133) 1.319 ms 1.352 ms 1.355 ms
8 ae2.3502.ear2.Denver1.level3.net (4.69.207.53) 25.529 ms 25.540 ms 25.605 ms
9 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 26.461 ms 26.413 ms 26.404 ms
10 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 27.330 ms 27.339 ms 26.595 ms
11 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 29.155 ms 29.008 ms 28.983 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:32 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=29.3 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=29.1 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=29.1 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=28.9 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3001ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 28.919/29.144/29.375/0.162 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:34 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:22 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.0
2.|-- 24.105.18.2 0.0% 10 0.5 0.6 0.5 1.3 0.0
3.|-- 137.221.105.10 0.0% 10 0.8 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.20 0.0% 10 0.5 1.4 0.4 8.9 2.6
5.|-- 137.221.83.84 0.0% 10 355.9 691.6 51.1 1306. 506.3
6.|-- 137.221.65.68 80.0% 10 13538 13797 13538 14055 365.4
7.|-- 137.221.68.32 0.0% 10 5.9 16.8 5.9 62.2 20.1
8.|-- 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net 0.0% 10 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.7 0.0
9.|-- ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 60.0% 10 52.3 52.2 52.0 52.5 0.0
10.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 53.1 54.2 52.8 58.7 2.0
11.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 53.0 53.1 52.8 54.5 0.5
12.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 55.5 55.7 55.5 55.9 0.0
27/04/2022 02:57:22 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:23 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.0
2.|-- 24.105.18.2 0.0% 10 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.0
3.|-- 137.221.105.10 0.0% 10 0.7 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.20 0.0% 10 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.0
5.|-- 137.221.83.84 0.0% 10 1177. 785.6 139.7 1786. 533.3
6.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
7.|-- 137.221.68.32 0.0% 10 29.8 8.4 5.9 29.8 7.5
8.|-- 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net 0.0% 10 5.7 5.6 5.4 5.8 0.0
9.|-- ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 70.0% 10 52.0 52.0 51.9 52.0 0.0
10.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 53.1 54.1 52.9 60.0 2.2
11.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 52.9 53.2 52.8 54.7 0.5
12.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 55.6 55.7 54.9 57.3 0.5
27/04/2022 02:57:23 UTC
--------------------
TRACEROUTE:
traceroute to 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68), 15 hops max, 60 byte packets
1 Blizzard Blizzard 0.447 ms 1.630 ms 1.642 ms
2 37.244.23.131 (37.244.23.131) 1.627 ms 1.626 ms 1.614 ms
3 24.105.62.148 (24.105.62.148) 1.159 ms 1.160 ms 1.157 ms
4 137.221.66.8 (137.221.66.8) 1.251 ms 1.259 ms 1.257 ms
5 * * *
6 137.221.69.32 (137.221.69.32) 2.068 ms 2.139 ms 2.114 ms
7 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net (4.7.196.133) 1.230 ms 1.236 ms 1.239 ms
8 * * *
9 4.68.38.146 (4.68.38.146) 26.186 ms 26.305 ms 26.276 ms
10 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net (63.225.124.18) 26.853 ms 26.831 ms 26.892 ms
11 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net (71.211.168.68) 29.576 ms 29.575 ms 29.557 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:38 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:25 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.0
2.|-- 24.105.18.2 0.0% 10 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.0
3.|-- 137.221.105.10 0.0% 10 0.9 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.20 0.0% 10 0.5 3.8 0.4 32.8 10.2
5.|-- 137.221.83.84 0.0% 10 382.4 817.6 221.2 1452. 410.1
6.|-- 137.221.65.68 90.0% 10 13805 13805 13805 13805 0.0
7.|-- 137.221.68.32 0.0% 10 6.1 6.4 5.8 8.5 0.7
8.|-- 4-1-3.ear3.LosAngeles1.Level3.net 0.0% 10 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.7 0.0
9.|-- ae1.3501.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 60.0% 10 51.9 52.0 51.9 52.1 0.0
10.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 74.2 55.9 52.8 74.2 6.7
11.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 54.3 54.9 52.9 71.6 5.8
12.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 56.0 55.8 55.5 56.3 0.0
27/04/2022 02:57:25 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:26 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.0
2.|-- 37.244.23.131 0.0% 10 0.6 0.6 0.5 1.1 0.0
3.|-- 24.105.62.148 0.0% 10 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.8 0.0% 10 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.3 0.0
5.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
6.|-- 137.221.69.32 0.0% 10 20.8 6.4 2.0 20.8 7.1
7.|-- 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net 0.0% 10 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 0.0
8.|-- ae2.3502.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 60.0% 10 25.5 25.7 25.5 25.9 0.0
9.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 26.5 26.5 26.3 26.6 0.0
10.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 26.7 26.7 26.6 27.1 0.0
11.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 29.6 29.2 28.4 30.2 0.3
27/04/2022 02:57:26 UTC
--------------------
PING:
PING 71.211.168.68 (71.211.168.68) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=29.2 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=2 ttl=54 time=28.6 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=3 ttl=54 time=29.0 ms
64 bytes from 71.211.168.68: icmp_seq=4 ttl=54 time=28.9 ms
--- 71.211.168.68 ping statistics ---
4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 2999ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 28.633/28.974/29.289/0.314 ms
27/04/2022 02:57:38 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:29 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.0
2.|-- 37.244.23.3 0.0% 10 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.0
3.|-- 24.105.62.148 0.0% 10 0.9 0.9 0.6 1.1 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.12 0.0% 10 1.8 3.5 1.8 17.4 4.8
5.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
6.|-- 137.221.69.32 0.0% 10 2.3 3.3 2.3 9.3 2.1
7.|-- 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net 0.0% 10 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.9 0.0
8.|-- ae2.3502.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 40.0% 10 25.8 25.9 25.8 26.0 0.0
9.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 26.7 29.4 26.7 51.0 7.6
10.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 27.0 28.8 27.0 44.4 5.5
11.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 29.5 29.5 29.3 29.8 0.0
27/04/2022 02:57:29 UTC
--------------------
MTR:
Start: Wed Apr 27 02:57:38 2022 Blizzard 1.|-- Blizzard 0.0% 10 0.3 0.4 0.2 1.4 0.0
2.|-- 37.244.23.131 0.0% 10 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.0
3.|-- 24.105.62.148 0.0% 10 0.9 0.9 0.8 1.0 0.0
4.|-- 137.221.66.8 0.0% 10 1.3 2.3 1.0 11.8 3.3
5.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
6.|-- 137.221.69.32 0.0% 10 2.2 2.2 2.0 3.1 0.0
7.|-- 7-1-4.ear7.Chicago2.Level3.net 0.0% 10 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.5 0.0
8.|-- ae2.3502.ear2.Denver1.level3.net 40.0% 10 25.6 25.5 25.4 25.6 0.0
9.|-- 4.68.38.146 0.0% 10 26.5 28.9 26.3 46.6 6.2
10.|-- 63-225-124-18.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 26.9 26.8 26.7 26.9 0.0
11.|-- 71-211-168-68.hlrn.qwest.net 0.0% 10 29.0 29.2 29.0 29.5 0.0
27/04/2022 02:57:38 UTC
--------------------Hey there,
A Looking Glass test only measures our connection to you and some of our internal nodes (As well as some backbone nodes from various network providers) deprioritize connection tests request which make the response post no or extremely high numbers. That is not indicative of an issue. Especially if subsequent nodes appear normal. If data was really being delayed at that node, all nodes after it would show that same delay.
So as the looking glass test stands our connect to your ISP looks great. 0 data loss and latency ends at a solid 29 to 59ms.
This does not show your connection to our services however. To see that data, we recommend running a WinMTR as described here.
I recommend running it while in game/experiencing the issue and let it go for about 10 minutes to get a good data set. Post the results and the community can assist you better.
Thank you so much for the response! Is there a mac alternative for this? I’m only seeing windows instructions :3 (I know there’s a support forum for mac but I posted here assuming it wasn’t a mac problem)
So there used to be a Mac MTR but on newer versions of Mac OS you had to do all sorts of homebrew stuff to get it installed and working so we stopped recommending it.
The closest thing for Macs at this point I think would be Ping Plotter
You can use the same IPs listed in the WinMTR article for pingplotter.
It is best to run the test for about 10 minutes, while attempting to play and experiencing the issue.
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