Often disconnects - PvP server

[Corptitanf]

Hi,

I'm experiencing strange disconnects.
I'm playing on PvP server and then suddenly screen gets frozen, nothing moves, just an static image(only thing moving on the screen is NVidia overlay showing FPS, CPU usage, ... and mouse cursor).
After ~7s of this freeze, I'm thrown to the game login screen(where in username box I have some letters - usually some form of WSAD - last keys I pressed before disconnect).

I don't get any error message(except from "Disconnected from sever"), game does not crash, I can then reconnect and continue playing.

List of DDLs loaded(from file dlls.txt)
SuperWoWhook.dll
ClassicAPI.dll
nampower.dll
transmogfix.dll
UnitXP_SP3.dll
VanillaHelpers.dll

I don't think it is network related(on my side) since, I can run continuous ping to 8.8.8.8(I know it is different IP than Octo server), and not single packet is lost with <5ms latency. Normally if it would be network issue(like disconnected cable) screen would not be frozen, game would be still moving...

Any idea what it can be or how to fix it?

Thanks!

[Nseternal]

they are slowly killing the pvp server since they can't handle giving a proper pvp experience.

[Corptitanf]

Still on verge to fix this without any luck so far.

I have:
- Disabled all DLLs in Vanilla fixes. => Still was disconnected.
- Disabled all Addons. => Still was disconnected.
- Removed whole WOW installation and re-downloaded => Still was disconnected.
- In nVidia App, disabled InstantReply + Overlay(with FPS and stats) => Still was disconnected.
- Goes without saying: Rebooted PC more than once. => Still was disconnected.
- Windows 11 is up-to-date and also graphic drivers...

[Holydruid]

they are slowly killing the pvp server since they can't handle giving a proper pvp experience.

what? dude is having tech issues that barely anyone has, and your blaming the "pvp experience" XDD

And maybe to try and help. Are you running any special patches? Like Patch-0 for example.
Also check in your OctoWoW Folder, if there is an error folder and if there is any files in there.

[Corptitanf]

And maybe to try and help. Are you running any special patches? Like Patch-0 for example.
Also check in your OctoWoW Folder, if there is an error folder and if there is any files in there.

No extra patches. I even removed whole OctoWoW and downloaded it again, and started it(no addons, no customizations, just plain WoW as it was downloaded by OctoLauncher).

Also restarted ISP router

[Holydruid]

And maybe to try and help. Are you running any special patches? Like Patch-0 for example.
Also check in your OctoWoW Folder, if there is an error folder and if there is any files in there.

No extra patches. I even removed whole OctoWoW and downloaded it again, and started it(no addons, no customizations, just plain WoW as it was downloaded by OctoLauncher).

Also restarted ISP router

Is there any crash or errors logs in your folder?

[Corptitanf]

Is there any crash or errors logs in your folder?

Nah, it is empty. Game is not crashing. It is "just" disconnected.

Did packet capture for WoW process and I can clearly see that remote side is closing connection. It is not timeout, it is active TCP RST from other end(in theory can be OctoWoW server, but more likely some network device). I don't think it is server as such as there would be most probably more ppl with some issue. I have even tried to create new account and that one has same issue...

So as next step, I will try connection from different ISP(mobile hotspot), then from different PC, to rule out network and individual PC...

Also noticed that most of the time disconnect came after exactly 5m, that is as far as I know default TCP session tracking timeout on many network devices...

[Holydruid]

Is there any crash or errors logs in your folder?

Nah, it is empty. Game is not crashing. It is "just" disconnected.

Did packet capture for WoW process and I can clearly see that remote side is closing connection. It is not timeout, it is active TCP RST from other end(in theory can be OctoWoW server, but more likely some network device). I don't think it is server as such as there would be most probably more ppl with some issue. I have even tried to create new account and that one has same issue...

So as next step, I will try connection from different ISP(mobile hotspot), then from different PC, to rule out network and individual PC...

Also noticed that most of the time disconnect came after exactly 5m, that is as far as I know default TCP session tracking timeout on many network devices...

Test on a phone hotspot instead of home WiFi, if disconnects stop, it confirms it's your home network, not the game.

Try a VPN if you have one, often "fixes" this exact issue because it hides the problem from the misbehaving router.

Check your router settings for anything called "SPI Firewall," "NAT timeout," or "connection tracking" and try increasing the timeout or turning it off temporarily.

[Corptitanf]

Now I have some progress!

When connected my PC via the phone(via BT :O) to the internet, connection was stable and I was able to play 1h+ without any disconnects. Only ping was poor - ~120-150ms...

So this ruled out settings on my computer.

Then I have installed on one of my servers in datacenter(=different ISP) WireGuard, and routed OctoWoW traffic via this WG tunnel. And it also worked, playing 1h without any disconnects, with even decent ping - 50ms.

At this point, I'm not 100% sure where the issue is. Using WireGuard means traffic is traveling via UDP, not TCP anymore, so issue can be still on my part of network,(I have 2x switch and one ISP router in path) or issue can be on ISP side. Since this issue started happening ~2weeks ago, and I did no upgrades/config changes to my network infra, and since I have restarted all 3 services, I think ISP is here to blame...

But as least I have usable workaround :]

[Holydruid]

Now I have some progress!

When connected my PC via the phone(via BT :O) to the internet, connection was stable and I was able to play 1h+ without any disconnects. Only ping was poor - ~120-150ms...

So this ruled out settings on my computer.

Then I have installed on one of my servers in datacenter(=different ISP) WireGuard, and routed OctoWoW traffic via this WG tunnel. And it also worked, playing 1h without any disconnects, with even decent ping - 50ms.

At this point, I'm not 100% sure where the issue is. Using WireGuard means traffic is traveling via UDP, not TCP anymore, so issue can be still on my part of network,(I have 2x switch and one ISP router in path) or issue can be on ISP side. Since this issue started happening ~2weeks ago, and I did no upgrades/config changes to my network infra, and since I have restarted all 3 services, I think ISP is here to blame...

But as least I have usable workaround :]

Happy to hear!

If you want to nail down whether it's really your ISP (e.g. to make a case to their support), the cleanest test would be:

Put your modem into bridge mode (if your ISP allows it) and connect your PC directly to it
skipping your own router/switches, then try OctoWoW over a normal connection (no VPN, no phone).
Still disconnects → points to something on the ISP's side
Stops disconnecting → points to your own router or one of your switches