Guild Wars 2

Hello,

Since yesterday I noticed that my skills took sometime to activate from the moment I was clicking them, something like a skill lag issue.

I searched a bit and learned that you can see your ping from the options menu and I see values from 100 up to 250 for the most time and some spikes up to 500 and even 1500.
I carried out an internet speed test for my connection and it calculates 25 ping.

I also tried to shut down my antivirus (Avast Internet Security) but that didn’t change anything.

Finally I did the -diag test that GW2 suggests and I attach the results below.

I play GW2 for almost a year and half and never had a network issue with it, so i find it weird that this thing started yesterday.

At next post I will try to attach the diag log file if it’s not too long.

I can see some 50% and 70% packet loss data towards the end if I read it correctly, but I would be very grateful if anyone could help me with this issue.

Thanks you in advance!

I couldn’t copy paste the log here due to high length so I post below a dropbox link for anyone wanted to see it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4yo034dnwd43pn/NetworkDiag.log?dl=0

I wait impatiently of any replies as I want to continue playing this fantastic game fluently and flawlessly!!!

first it is not weird that you are suddenly getting issues. that is what happens when something stops working properly ;P

the IP 206.127.157.86 (ncsoft.com) which has the 100% packet loss i would put down to the server not responding to pings.

however, as you are getting packetloss over multiple hops i would assume that it is probably not the servers themselves and either your end or your ISP (maybe even whoever owns the phone line – but you still will need to go through your ISP for that anyway).

try a pathping to other places. bring up the command prompt by typing “cmd” (without the quotes) into the box on the start menu.
in the command prompt type in…

pathping www.google.com

after that is done, try

pathping www.bing.com

in the command prompt window you can right click to get a menu and “Select All” then press “Enter”. that will copy everything that is selected. paste it into notepad to remove any surplus information.

my results to the IP you tested are…

Tracing route to 206-127-158-1.ncsoft.com [206.127.158.1]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 *********
1 *********
2 *********
3 *********
4 *********
5 xe-8-2-2.lon10.ip4.gtt.net [77.67.66.225]
6 xe-11-3-0.fra23.ip4.gtt.net [141.136.110.113]
7 89.149.164.42
8 206-127-157-86.ncsoft.com [206.127.157.86]
9 206-127-158-1.ncsoft.com [206.127.158.1]

Computing statistics for 225 seconds…
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 *********
0/ 100 = 0% |

1 9ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% *********
0/ 100 = 0% |

2 22ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% *********
0/ 100 = 0% |

3 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% *********
0/ 100 = 0% |

4 22ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% *********
0/ 100 = 0% |

5 27ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% xe-8-2-2.lon10.ip4.gtt.net [77.67.66.225]
0/ 100 = 0% |

6 37ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% xe-11-3-0.fra23.ip4.gtt.net [141.136.110.113]
0/ 100 = 0% |

7 42ms 53/ 100 = 53% 53/ 100 = 53% 89.149.164.42
0/ 100 = 0% |

8 —- 100/ 100 =100% 100/ 100 =100% 206-127-157-86.ncsoft.com [206.127.157.86]
0/ 100 = 0% |

9 51ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 206-127-158-1.ncsoft.com [206.127.158.1]

terrible formatting in this tiny edit box. but anyways… you can see i get some packet loss on hop 8 which could mean that particular hop is busy and so the server is not responding to all ping requests. hop 9 is 100% loss so i think it does not respond to pings at all. all others are 0% packet loss. compare these results to yours where there is consistent packet loss on every hop.

if you have the same issues when doing a pathping to google, yahoo, microsoft, bing, theregister etc. then the issue is most definitely not with Anet or NCSoft.

the problem with packetloss issues and these tests is that all it shows is that some servers are not responding. it does not show the reason for it. it could be simple DNS issue or MTU or something else. even the simplest thing can cause bizarre and seemingly unrelated issues. i worked for an ISP in tier1/2/3 support for a while and a simple DNS issue denied a customer access to most POP3 email servers.

if packetloss is on all other pathping tests, then you need to work out why. depending on the type of broadband you have the tests will be different. but i can see your ISP is Hellas Online (HOL Network Operations). might be an idea to contact them and ask them if there are any known issues or work being carried out which might cause packetloss. they might have access to tools which they can use to help – such as a line test or profile checking or whatever. no idea, each ISP makes or has access to different tools.

to rule out issues on your side of the setup you need to find out if you are on cable/fiber optic or ADSL. or even SDSL. next what router you have specifically and if you are using a cable to connect your computer to the router or if you are using wireless. i can see that your brand of router is broadcom.

hope that helps and if you can provide more information about your setup then hopefully either i, or others, can give you some troubleshooting assistance.

First of all thank you for your thorough reply, it was really helpful to understand the whole subject. If I get ir right you meant to check the ping response with other internet servers too in order to exclude that it is an issue with arena’s server.
So below I post the test results with google, bing and yahoo respectively:

Google:

Computing statistics for 325 seconds…
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 LefterisDell.Home [192.168.2.3]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 1ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% Broadcom.Home [192.168.2.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% loopback2004.med01.dsl.hol.gr [62.
38.0.170]
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 26ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.40.217
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 30ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.97.145
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 26ms 4/ 100 = 4% 4/ 100 = 4% 62.38.94.110
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 26ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 79.140.91.2
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 38ms 9/ 100 = 9% 9/ 100 = 9% xe-1-0-0.sofia1.sof.seabone.net [2
13.144.178.73]
0/ 100 = 0% |
8 38ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 72.14.215.104
7/ 100 = 7% |
9 54ms 15/ 100 = 15% 8/ 100 = 8% 209.85.253.114
0/ 100 = 0% |
10 —- 100/ 100 =100% 93/ 100 = 93% 72.14.234.11
0/ 100 = 0% |
11 70ms 7/ 100 = 7% 0/ 100 = 0% 216.239.40.178
93/ 100 = 93% |
12 —- 100/ 100 =100% 0/ 100 = 0% 74.125.37.101
0/ 100 = 0% |
13 —- 100/ 100 =100% 0/ 100 = 0% 209.85.249.14

Trace complete.

Bing:

Computing statistics for 175 seconds…
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 LefterisDell.Home [192.168.2.3]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 1ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% Broadcom.Home [192.168.2.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 24ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% loopback2004.med01.dsl.hol.gr [62.
38.0.170]
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 27ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.40.205
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 29ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.97.141
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 26ms 7/ 100 = 7% 7/ 100 = 7% 62.38.94.110
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% microsoft.gr-ix.gr [176.126.38.18]

0/ 100 = 0% |
7 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% tor1.ath01.msedge.net [131.253.6.2
31]

Trace complete.

Yahoo:

Computing statistics for 175 seconds…
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 LefterisDell.Home [192.168.2.3]
0/ 100 = 0% |
1 1ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% Broadcom.Home [192.168.2.1]
0/ 100 = 0% |
2 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% loopback2004.med01.dsl.hol.gr [62.
38.0.170]
0/ 100 = 0% |
3 26ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.40.205
0/ 100 = 0% |
4 29ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% tengigaeth00-00-00-01.adr00.ccr.ho
l.gr [62.38.97.81]
0/ 100 = 0% |
5 25ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 62.38.97.114
0/ 100 = 0% |
6 27ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% tengigaeth00-07-05-00.adr00.brd.ho
l.gr [62.38.97.26]
0/ 100 = 0% |
7 67ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% 212.162.9.9

Trace complete.

Theorl.3491:

5 xe-8-2-2.lon10.ip4.gtt.net [77.67.66.225]
6 xe-11-3-0.fra23.ip4.gtt.net [141.136.110.113]

I see London, I see France …

I couldn’t help it. It just popped in there.

thank you for running those tests. i can still see some (though minimal) packet loss. sadly i could only find one online tool which does a pathping. i done some to the IPs starting with 62.38. as those belong to your ISP. and there was no packet loss. i had to run it several times as it only sent 5 packets at a time.

i have also run some pathpings to the addresses starting with 62.38. (your ISP owns these) and apart from a couple of hops that do not respond to pings i got no packet loss.

ideally, run these tests at different times of the day and see if the time of day shows any pattern.

from the log file you posted it looks like you are using a cable to connect to your router. is this correct? have you got another network cable in case the one you are using has degraded or become damaged somehow.

do you have ADSL? if so, swap out the filter/splitter and remove telephones from the phone line. if you have digital phones then unplug them from the mains power as well.

if you have SDSL then the filters are likely built in to the phone socket and are usually tougher than tanks. no idea who is responsible for the built in filters in Greece.

if you have cable/fiber optic… then… little you can do other than swapping out the router.

turn your router off for a few minutes and back on. this will clear its cache and give it a little time to cool down if it is getting hot. cats have been known to sleep on routers because they can get rather warm. do you own a cat? fur really clogs things up.

do you have another router? or modem? if you do, test with a spare one. maybe a friend has one collecting dust that you can swap out for a little while to test.

i never have liked packetloss and speed issues. they are a royal pain.

are there other computers connected to the network that are turned on? turn them off and retest.

is your computer downloading or uploading anything? even without you knowing about it?
i would ask you to boot into safe mode with networking enabled to rule out any malicious programs running in the background (not necessarily a virus) but… can try it – i assume its simple. but does not look as simple as i expected.

http://www.howtogeek.com/107511/how-to-boot-into-safe-mode-on-windows-8-the-easy-way/

do you have another computer you can test? a friend with a laptop who can come over and do some pathpings? give him/her lots of coffee and cake!

to rule out any bizarre DNS things….
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/fl/change-dns-servers-windows-8.htm

for the primary and alternate DNS try…

(Comodo free DNS servers)
8.26.56.26
8.20.247.20.

or

(OpenDNS free DNS servers)
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

can always set it back to get dynamically again after retest with either pathping or playing GW2.

MTU is next if all the above does not work… far too late at night for me to type MTU things. if you STILL have issues. you have proven that it is not your side of the setup. it is either your ISP or ANet.

the first thing any employee in tech support will do is get you to run tests on your end. because it is easier (and cheaper) for them to get you to test your equipment before they start to faff about with theirs.

i could be really wrong though. and i am asking you to do things unnecessarily… i might be missing something. but… it gives me something to do and keeps me out of trouble

Behellagh.1468:

I see London, I see France …

I couldn’t help it. It just popped in there.

shhhh dont let them know. they will boycott my ICMP packets!

Thank you a lot, you remembered me the splitter change, I should have thought of it since I have already changed 2 splitters in 4-5 years period.

So for now I removed it and the game has become smooth again. I wait for one more day to pass to guarantee that this was the problem.

have a look for faceplates with built in filters if your phone company allows it. they tend to be far more reliable. or try alcatel filters as they tend to be well made. alcatel also make the speedtouch range of routers and modems – but i would not recommend one of their routers/modems unless you had a very bad ADSL signal. alcatel supply a lot of the DSL equipment to other companies for use at telephone exchanges.

and fingers crossed that the issue is sorted! nor more pathpings ;D