Solving recent connection issues

Many of us, both in and outside of the United States, have been having serious connection issues with the game recently. Not only can we not connect to the game, but we can't even get on the main World of Warcraft website. This can be particularly infuriating because we can't go and find help. When I got dropped in the middle of Kael'Thas (the real fight, not the weeksauce one in Magisters' Terrace), I wanted to take my computer out to a field and yell obscenities at it about PC load letter.

WoW Insider feels your pain! After all, imagine having to write about WoW only to find out you can't get into WoW.

I wanted to answer a lot of the comments about what people can do. First and foremost, we're not Blizzard. So we can't really say for sure what's going on. We can make educated guesses through. Continue reading after the break for what you can do and where you can go to solve this problem.

My educated guess is that something is amiss with the Domain Name System (DNS). This is the software that lets your computer translate worldofwarcraft.com into numbers like 123.456.789.012, which the computer can understand and use. A lot of people suggest using OpenDNS. However, I agree fully when Blizzard CM Adams (no relation) when he says that to do this is at your own risk. Using other DNS servers allows for very easy spoofing of internet sites. People can steal your login information from this, your financial information, and your social security number. If you still want to try this, feel free to do so and check out https://www.opendns.com/start.

Another common solution has been to remove the fully qualified domain names from WoW's data files and put in the IP address instead. This is a safer way to do things, and is recommended in a pinch. However, if Blizzard were to ever change the IP addresses of their servers, which is most definitely their prerogative, you wouldn't be able to connect until you update your files. This might prove challenging. And as with all fixes, this could make your game unplayable if you do it wrong, so you do so at your own risk. To make the change, follow these steps:

1. Go into your WoW folder, and open the file "realmlist.wtf". Use a text editor. Save a backup copy of the file before you do anything to it.
   

2. Find the line "set realmlist us.logon.worldofwarcraft.com" and change it to "set realmlist 12.129.232.112"

3. Find the line "set patchlist us.version.worldofwarcraft.com" and change it to "set patchlist 66.45.252.236"

4. Save the file and enjoy.

Finally, the best thing to do when you're having issues is to call Blizzard directly. That sentence is in bold because it really is that best option. Getting help directly from Blizzard is the only method you can do without putting yourself at risk of corrupting your game files or getting your password stolen. You can reach Blizzard technical support at 1-949-955-1382 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Pacific Time. You can also email them at wowtech@blizzard.com.

Hopefully this answers some of your connection related issues. If it doesn't, at least you have a number now that you can get a hold of Blizzard.

Have any other tips for our connection challenged friends? Share and be loved!