Naoki Yoshida explains Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker server errors, queues, and potential fixes
Final Fantasy XIV's Endwalker expansion began its early access period just last week, but players are struggling to get in due to server congestion and a flood of errors. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida took to the official blog to explain some of those challenges, the plan to fix them, and what should work now.
If you tried to log in to Final Fantasy XIV over the weekend, chances are you waited in line for a long time. Yoshida acknowledged this is a difficult obstacle to address immediately, but the team is working to resolve frequent disconnects that cause players to lose their place in the queue. Going into launch, Yoshida explained some of the errors expected, but we've since seen plenty Square Enix didn't prepare us for.
One of those is the dreaded Endwalker Error 4004; it knocks you out of queue just as it's your turn to log in. Yoshida acknowledged this was "the most frustrating" of the disconnects, as it can remove you from the line after hours of waiting and not hold your place upon reconnecting. His explanation boils it down to the overwhelming amount of people trying to get in. The client allows 100 players in at a time, but around 25 of those players will receive this message and get kicked out when it's their turn in that batch of 100. Yoshida says this fix was added during December 7's emergency maintenance, but it may not be the end of the problem.
Error 3001 is another that hits right before logging in; it's due to some servers allowing people in when the infrastructure is already at capacity. It's another with a fix in the works, but they don't have a solution available just yet. In North America, Tonberry seems to be the server impacted the most by this one. The game's planned December 8 maintenance should address this error in some instances.
Finally, there's the one that haunts us all, Error 2002. The system in place that keeps login servers from crashing causes 2002, and Yoshida explained it triggers when more than 17,000 players try to log in to a data center at once. The plan to address this involves their backup development servers, which Square Enix will make available as public lobby servers to increase how many players can wait in line.
It's a pain for everyone involved, but it's not for lack of caring. Yoshida has often spoken to the challenges of improving server infrastructure during a global semiconductor shortage, and it's not a problem just limited to Square Enix. Around the world, industries are facing obstacles due to supply chain issues caused and exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It's not an easy fix, but Yoshida continues to apologize and ask for our patience as the team resolves what they can.