Slow downloads can be caused by a wide variety of reasons. We've listed some of these below.
- Your wi-fi, mobile, DSL, cable, or satellite-based ISP (Internet Service Provider) is doing maintenance or had a system hiccup.
- Someone in your house, complex, building, or neighborhood is using up the bandwidth for the node or subnet that you are using. This can mean that certain times of day will be better to play than others.
- Your antivirus or firewall software is being too strict on scanning packets being downloaded, which slows the process. You can try temporarily disabling them to see if that improves it, and turning them back on later.
- Your ISP, university, or job throttles or blocks torrent traffic, or certain types of traffic. This means they give priority to more secure types of data being sent across the network, and game type data being low on their priority list. You can try using a different connection and see if that might help you.
- You may need to open certain ports on your router or modem for the game you are trying to play. You will need to research how to do that for you make and model of router. You can find out the ports and network info for Cryptic Games here.
- Your connection isn't that fast for certain types of traffic. You can try using a different connection, or you can test your connection speed and connection strength. Note that our servers are located in the US and Europe, generally, so to get a good idea of what your connection is like please select either Boston, MA (US) or Paris, France (EU) when you run your tests.
- You are in a geographically challenged network area. Australia, New Zealand, many countries in Europe and the Middle East, South America, and more, have various types of technology infrastructures that are not conducive to a smooth online gaming experience. You have to try and find the best connection that you can that works for you and your budget. Some games may run well when playing online, and others may not, even if their servers are in the same location. It all depends on how the traffic is routed across the Internet, which neither you nor PWE has any control over.
- Programs that you have installed on your computer may be eating up bandwidth and resources. Chat programs, VOIP, video conferencing, music or video streaming, torrent uploads or downloads, other games running in the background, malware or spyware, and more.
- PWE's servers or website may be experiencing heavy traffic, which often occurs after a major content or expansion release.
If you still need assistance, please contact Customer Support and fully describe your issue and what you have tried so far to fix it.