Home Gaming Are you considering getting a refund on Advanced Warfare due to lag?

Are you considering getting a refund on Advanced Warfare due to lag?

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare released just under a fortnight ago to much fanfare and a great reception. The single player is excellent (apart from that ending) and the multiplayer is as tight and well tuned as ever with the awesome addition of the exosuit.

In my mind the multiplayer, which is the obvious mainstay of the title, is easily the best multiplayer since Modern Warfare 2 and has taken the aging franchise into a whole new and healthy direction. But I’m on the edge of thinking that people should start demanding refunds from Sledgehammer Games and Activision.

Last night I decided to give the game another go and I jumped into a Big War game and the lag was finally resolved. I had a great game and ended up in the top 3 or so of the match. I got so excited that I then invited a bunch of other people so we can start having proper COD games again but as soon as we started the next match it all went south.

We were all on a minimum of 10mb lines with some on 20mb lines and yet the lag was absolutely unplayable. People were warping over the map, bullets were virtually a second late in hitting their targets and all in all it was just an entirely frustrating experience. The next round I tried a smaller game mode, Kill Confirmed, and while the experience was better it was still totally unplayable and not what I would expect from a Call of Duty title.

After attempting a few more modes I eventually went to free for all which was playable. Which leads me to believe it’s not even the net code that’s the true problem but rather how the net code handles teams and voice communications. Though I think the single biggest problem right now is that the matchmaking doesn’t appear to take any geolocation data into consideration which means anyone outside of America is more often than not thrown into games with Americans which instantly ruins the experience for both sides.

I don’t know why Sledgehammer are ignoring regional matchmaking but we need it back because without it the game is unplayable outside of America and Western Europe and we have paid for an experience we aren’t getting. If you are having the same problem and are getting as frustrated as I am help the cause by slamming the button below and letting them know.

My experience is on the Xbox One but apparently this issue is across all the platforms so come on guys, help the non-Americans out.

Last Updated: November 19, 2014

85 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief Wang

    November 19, 2014 at 10:06

    Must be the eierdoos running out of ram or something
    😛

    Jokes aside, would they actually give a refund?

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 19, 2014 at 10:09

      I’d bet on no & the reason provided would have something about you having a crappy line.

      Reply

    • ReaperOfSquirrels

      November 19, 2014 at 10:16

      I doubt it because the game itself works, I don’t think lag is considered a valid reason for a game to be returnable.

      Reply

      • Mason Rieber

        November 19, 2014 at 23:24

        game wouldn’t be returnable regardless but idk…. id say in a game thats bought by most for the online play lag would be the #1 reason if returns were accepted…. i mean im getting 51mbs internet (ethernet) and in my room via wireless i still get 26mbs and the lag is god awful, im generally shooting about 8 – 9 shots to come and find out ive only shot one or sometimes none on the killcam… but when i switch connections to my other router i only get 7.5mbs and it works great, where and when i shoot on the killcam is exactly how it happened and tbh it baffles me. I know there is lag comp but in theory I would think if lag comp was favoring me then the kill cam and my version still wouldnt line up right but who knows.

        Reply

        • Nicholas Christian

          December 6, 2014 at 09:52

          If you bought the digital game with a paypal account you can get a refund, it only takes 11 days I’ve already received a refund as the game did not function as promised, and if you don’t go through xbox live you get to keep the game.

          Reply

        • beastmode

          January 16, 2015 at 04:03

          lag compensation. they take the stronger internet and divide it which makes the person paying top dollar for fast internet the guinea pig. they were supposed to have dedicated servers but they lied

          Reply

    • Nicholas Christian

      December 15, 2014 at 20:55

      I received refund, you have to have the digital copy and dispute it through papal for game design and you get a refund and you get to keep the game.

      Reply

  2. Aries

    November 19, 2014 at 10:08

    Oh its still broken

    Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    November 19, 2014 at 10:09

    It’s because they plan the MP portion with this world map. It sucks but it’s true.
    https://interculturalmeanderings.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/the-world-according-to-america-2.png

    Reply

    • Sir Rants A Lot is a DADDY

      November 19, 2014 at 10:48

      They forgot ebola

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 19, 2014 at 10:58

        The map is as dated as the series

        Reply

        • Skyblue

          November 19, 2014 at 14:05

          Lol!

          Reply

  4. Hammersteyn

    November 19, 2014 at 10:15

    I think if enough of an uproar is caused then they would give refunds, or at least fix the problems. Thing is do we really matter as a market? EA decided not to launch Titanfall here because one person raised the local server issue.

    Reply

    • HairyEwok

      November 19, 2014 at 10:16

      Iv’e read somewhere that CoD: AW will be getting dedicated servers, so if that rolls in it should fix the enitre lag problem right?

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        November 19, 2014 at 10:18

        If they localize the South African players to the servers and exclude non SA players yeah, it should.

        Reply

      • R4ziel

        November 19, 2014 at 10:18

        They said the same about COD ghosts a while after release as well, promising dedis in all major regions, but that still has not happened, and I dont think it will

        Reply

  5. R4ziel

    November 19, 2014 at 10:17

    Well I dont think the matchmaking should be there to begin with, i think they should just give us dedicated servers.
    I wanted the other night to try some other game modes with a couple of friends, but could not find anything other than TDM or the occasional Domination. Ive found KC once, and that legged so bad I think I was playing against americans at the same Lan because they were totally fine.

    The lag sucks, and its a pitty, because the game itself is pretty awesome, if this had dedicated servers, it would for the first time in a very long time again be a real COD.

    Reply

    • Guild

      November 19, 2014 at 10:18

      Which platform you playing on?

      Reply

      • R4ziel

        November 19, 2014 at 10:20

        Im on PC, i see in a previous comment your on PS4 and found plenty games, that must be nice.

        Ive not been that lucky, everything else is just “no games found”, not even over seas ones

        Reply

        • Guild

          November 19, 2014 at 10:23

          I dunno what is up with the PC and Xbox lobbies since I haven’t experienced them. I’m sure it’s frustrating as hell. There plenty of PS4 lobbies which makes it much easier to find games. Generally, if we want to play a specific lobby we spam invite to others we know playing. At the moment we play ranked almost every night since there is more than enough of us and the game mode rotation makes it more entertaining.

          Reply

          • R4ziel

            November 19, 2014 at 10:28

            For PC its horrible, I have 5 friends that play COD :AW (used to have over 500 playing COD 4) and Spamming them doesnt really work because the you need the other 4-6 people to fill up the game.
            What happens is I go into COD, chose a gametype and wait about 10 minutes every time for it to find a game, if it hasnt found anything by 10 minutes I try another game mode, if this gets too annoying I go to TDM, which also takes a minute or two sometimes.
            I dont know what is wrong but it seems that I cant even find international lobbies if I wanted to.

          • Guild

            November 19, 2014 at 10:41

            That’s bullshit and I would be spitting blood and probably toss the game by now.
            At most I wait a minute to be put into a lobby if not almost instantaneously thrown into a game. If I am looking late at night and I know there not many people on I fall back on TDM since there is always a game going.

          • R4ziel

            November 19, 2014 at 10:44

            If thats the way matchmaking worked on PC and I could play any game mode I wish at any time, I would definitely have played more since release, at the moment though I only play a bit every now and then as TDM gets stale very quick.

            At least I have modded Minecraft to keep me going, and Dota to break that calmness

          • Guild

            November 19, 2014 at 10:52

            I think they screwed up heavily it seems with the PC and XBox some how. If I still had my PC I would be playing Dota and Loadout. I just started getting into PC gaming again when it got stolen.

    • Matthew Holliday

      November 19, 2014 at 10:25

      we’ve been asking for dedicated servers since they were first taken away from us in MW2, face it, we arent going to get them back.

      Reply

      • R4ziel

        November 19, 2014 at 10:25

        I also dont think well ever see them again in COD, and i am starting to doubt all the other franchises as well, we just really need something new to come along.

        Reply

  6. Guild

    November 19, 2014 at 10:17

    I wouldn’t say the issue is across all platforms. I’ve played a total of 18 hours on the PS4 and so far only found one international lobby in a domination game where I lagged. Otherwise all my other games have been SA lobbies. I’ve played TDM, Domination, Momentum, Uplink, CTF, SnD, hardpoint and the ranked playlist with no issues.

    Reply

    • Uberutang

      November 19, 2014 at 10:30

      That is the problem though. You are forced to only play what the locals play. Oh you want to play something else? Tough luck.
      For me this is easy: no servers, no buy.

      Reply

      • Guild

        November 19, 2014 at 10:35

        I wouldn’t say it’s a problem since it’s easy enough to get whichever game mode you want going by inviting people to the lobby. Generally I’m finding that there is at 2 or 3 lobbies going for each mode at the moment so it’s not necessary. Only really becomes an issue late in the morning when there aren’t many people online.

        Reply

        • Matthew Holliday

          November 19, 2014 at 10:43

          2 or 3 isnt enough, CoD isnt a long lasting game anymore, the active players drop by half after a month or two.

          doesnt phase me, i dont play CoD for the fancy game modes, i play it for casual shooting, so TDM is fine for me.

          Reply

          • Guild

            November 19, 2014 at 10:48

            The PS4 COD community seems to last a bit longer and it is really easy to organize different game modes. I was still finding different game modes for Ghosts before I deleted it. TDM is my fallback to if there no other game modes. I prefer the objective orientated modes.

  7. Corrie

    November 19, 2014 at 10:24

    I have the solution: Don’t buy Call of Duty be it Advanced or Modern or a ghost just don’t buy a Call of Duty

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Wang

      November 19, 2014 at 10:25

      This is a pretty schweet solution!

      Reply

      • Corrie

        November 19, 2014 at 10:41

        Sadly no one will take the advice because OMG is that a exoskeleton wooooooow thats like the most awesome thing in any Military FPS while chowing down on Mountain Dewritos

        Cough Battlefield Jets,boats,vehicles cough

        When COD decides to implement a vehicle watch how everyone slates it to be revolutionary and day one and season pass awesome it is

        Reply

        • Guild

          November 19, 2014 at 10:45

          I really hope they don’t bring vehicles into COD, it would ruin it. I like COD for quick, fast paced games that last at most 10 mins. I can jump on play 1 or 2 games then jump off if I need.
          If I’m more in the mood for longer, tactical games I’ll play BF since on average I seem to play games that last 30 min and up. Longest one I played was over an hour which got a bit much after awhile.

          Reply

          • Corrie

            November 19, 2014 at 10:57

            Ahhh especially when there’s only a few on a TDM Noshahr Canals match now that is long but still fun

            But seriously how can people play COD? its the same thing over and over and over go here shoot so many enemies, advance, meet villain,EXPLOSIONS(Torgue Voice) escape barely,more worthless stuff rince and repeat until they decide that’s enough, multiplayer: have to play with 13 year olds who shouldn’t have the game , I know Battlefield 3 has been infested since I returned to it with kids.

            Hardline has peaked my interest since I skipped Battlefield 4

          • Guild

            November 19, 2014 at 11:06

            Dunno, for me COD is always different. It’s never the same enemies and the element of gameplay constantly changes to how your opponent is playing. I enjoy COD because it’s fast paced and always feels different. If there are 13 year olds playing, I don’t hear them since I’m always in party chat.

            I’m waiting for reviews on Hardline. The beta didn’t impress me and it felt exactly like BF4. BF4 is the only BF I have played and I was originally disappointed with it but it got better after a few patches and was fun to play and I really suck at flying. I definitely preferred BF4 to Ghosts at the time.

        • Alex

          November 20, 2014 at 16:02

          CoD implemented tanks in WAW years before Battlefield. omg there’s jets, boats, vehicles woooooow this like the most revolutionary thing to ever happen in any FPS like ever in the realm of forever.

          Reply

          • Corrie

            November 20, 2014 at 17:25

            Uhhhh battlefield had tanks since the 1st game (battlefield 1942) so yeah, also jets, boats, vehicles do provide a different type of FPS beats super jump or whatever it is that COD seems to be trying to do

            Don’t believe me, google it

    • ThatLethalKush

      November 20, 2014 at 11:50

      In my own opinion bf is terrible. I only played the first 2 and with my arms wiggling around like wet noodles when I turned left or right I said screw this and never played it again. In all reality when you think about it though both games are similar in the sense of who plays and campers and bs over powered guns. That’s just part of playing a FPS.

      Reply

  8. RedRover

    November 19, 2014 at 10:26

    And this is why regional dedicated servers that are selectable via a browser is a must for FPS games

    Reply

  9. Matthew Holliday

    November 19, 2014 at 10:37

    my ping has been 100% on PC over the past week, on a 2mb line.
    there are some consistancy issues, with the way the game loads maps, physical lag at the start of a match is pretty severe, but smooths out once everything is ready.

    as for the singleplayer being “excellent”, i disagree, the singleplayer is ok, the main character is tolerable, there are more plot holes in the story than prometheus, sure, kevin spacey is cool, but his scripting is terrible and the story is only marginally better than ghosts, ghosts story was atleast a little more ambitious than this.

    the exo concept still feels like a concept, theres no flow, its rough and theres no style or finesse to it, using the exo effectively requires balls to the wall agression, its not yet at the point where boost dodging is entirely relevant, a good player will kill you regardless of boosting.
    the pace of the game that the exo adds takes away from the skill element,my scores in this are way better than they were in any previous CoD games, but i still dont think im better than i was.

    Reply

    • Mason Rieber

      November 19, 2014 at 23:29

      yeah my biggest issue with boost dodging is it seems to benefit the person shooting the dodger… i mean when i boost dodge my screen gets pretty messed up and i cant effectively aim, not to mention most of the time i boost dodge the person shooting me gets registered hitmarks at my previous location, while someone is dodging it is very easy to get hitmarkers by shooting behind them because its not a very fluid motion as far as hits registering for the game

      Reply

  10. Sir Rants A Lot is a DADDY

    November 19, 2014 at 10:42

    Tsk tsk tsk.

    Reply

  11. Sir Rants A Lot is a DADDY

    November 19, 2014 at 10:48

    I’d rant about always online blah blah blah but in this case I won’t.

    CoD is and always will be a multiplayer game so can’t really go on about online being bad etc.

    HOWEVER, that being said. It frustrates me that time and time again games that have online integration, fail so dismally each and every time. In recent memory (Last 3 years or so) I can’t remember a single online game that hasn’t had crippling server issues during the first few months of launch.

    I mean, is our tech so bad that massive user hits can’t be “simulated”?

    Can these servers not be stress tested at all? Can people not just simply check before launch? Instead of testing the game on a local dev environment why not have your QA department test it ALL OVER? Why not have QA departments in all your major regions testing the link from themselves to the central American servers or whatever?

    Surely the answer cannot be “Oh just buy the game we will work on it in the months to come”

    Surely in this day and age with virtualisition tech the way it is and the amount of resources available to these companies it can’t be that difficult to properly QA these games and especially the online portions of it.

    Surely if this was properly QA tested someone would have piped up and said “Hey, I get this odd lag that shouldn’t be there cross continent”

    Surely we live in tech times capable of dealing with these issues and coming up with pro-active solutions instead of having the end user suffer for it after they paid for the game?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 19, 2014 at 11:01

      Surely indeed.

      Reply

    • Ceyber, Hans

      November 19, 2014 at 11:02

      I agree and feel the same way. I was looking forward to my purchase of this game but now there’s just an empty hole where my fish AI used to be.

      I think it’s a lot like the whole Planetside 2 problem, where countries like ours are not given priority simply because we’re not right at the top of a long list of developing countries. Our country has what it takes to support dedicated servers (for example) but that doesn’t mean we have the right people in place – or the right ‘image’ to the outside world – to make it happen.

      While our improvements to infrastructure and internet access are leaps and bounds ahead of some other countries, I’m guessing that the reward is just not worth the effort, for now at least.

      Reply

  12. Jonah Cash

    November 19, 2014 at 10:55

    Destiny is working very good still, played the Iron Banner last night and my Hunter did better!! Still need an exotic weapon for the Hunter, but even my level 19 auto rifle is doing the job!!

    Reply

    • Guild

      November 19, 2014 at 10:58

      I’ll jump back on when the new DLC releases.

      Reply

      • Jonah Cash

        November 19, 2014 at 12:29

        I am just still so happy with the controls of the game!!! It just handles like a Maserati and in 2014 that is a big deal on its own!! Most games this year have very bad control schemes…

        Reply

        • Mason Rieber

          November 19, 2014 at 23:30

          i find the movement to be very limiting once you play call of duty with the exo suit, it would of been much better if they have CoD movement on destiny

          Reply

          • Jonah Cash

            November 20, 2014 at 08:35

            I think there is room for both. I hear that COD is great this year, I will maybe pick it up some time in the future!!

  13. Luke

    November 19, 2014 at 11:03

    If you want decent games the safest games are free-for-all and team deathmatch. I think the problem is that there are far fewer people playing the other modes…let alone local people. If I just consider my own local “friends” on PSN, normally between 20 and 30 are playing at a time and out of those I would estimate 95% are usually in TDM or FFA.

    Reply

  14. Rags

    November 19, 2014 at 11:09

    Don’t buy such games if don’t have local servers. MP with clientside prediction is fine for some games on dedicated international servers if they don’t heavily rely on twitch aiming and responsiveness. Or peer servers like ME3 is fine since you should be able to carry 4 players.

    Reply

  15. Kromas, Guardian of Cenarius

    November 19, 2014 at 11:21

    Activision learned something from Blizzard.

    #1WoDProblems

    Also Ding lvl 100!

    Also (refresh)

    Reply

  16. oomjan

    November 19, 2014 at 12:37

    I’m consider getting a refund due to not being able to play every night. I can’t even connect to online services but BO2 and BF4 works fine. My internet is testing just fine via speedtest so no issue there.

    Reply

  17. NickTheEagle

    November 19, 2014 at 13:15

    Try forward your ports if your NAT type is strict

    Reply

  18. Donovan Noyle

    November 19, 2014 at 14:50

    You guys are lucky I wasnt able to find a game on the PC version even with NAT settings open. Eventually found one last night was bashed around like a rag doll by bouncing and ghostly enemies coming out of nowhere. Aai what can we do? guess like the others say they wont accept lag as a refund reason. Its also not hack free atm aimbots etc are already been used in game per the forum discussions. Darn trolls always ruining games with Hacks.

    Reply

  19. jenny_fromdabloc

    November 19, 2014 at 17:50

    Not surprisingly, Activision is blaming the issue on each persons connection.

    Reply

  20. The GOAT

    November 19, 2014 at 19:04

    I requested a refund from Xbox because I got the digital copy and they gave me my money back. Great customer service!!

    Reply

  21. logan. cooper

    November 19, 2014 at 20:23

    Shut the fuck up one ps4 the game plays great in already pretige 1 and there is no lag

    Reply

    • Mason Rieber

      November 19, 2014 at 23:32

      im prestige 5 and the lag is unbearable, the only time the lag comp on that game is actually even is when i run on poor speeds, i cant use my router or land line that gives me 26mbs and 51mbs because my bullets wont register because im always in a lobby with some kid with bad connection, the only time its remotely fair is if i connect to my other router which only gets 7.5mbs which just isnt right

      Reply

  22. True

    November 19, 2014 at 23:50

    You need to let somebody proof read your post

    Reply

  23. Darren Peach

    November 20, 2014 at 02:00

    I must admit, I have had none of those issues. There seems to be good regional matchmaking on the PS4 ( And before you think I am bashing the XBox One , I also own one. On a side note, I had it for two days and the thing died. Luckily BT Games gave me a new one. ) I am using 4G . Apart from the odd rubber banding , It plays nicely. If I play at late hours, I struggle to find matches and everyone seems to play team deathmatch.

    Reply

  24. titanxb1

    November 20, 2014 at 05:36

    The game doesn’t run on dedicated servers its p2p hosting so that means one person with a bad connection in a match will cause problems for everyone. It relies on all connections to be equal which they most often are not.

    Reply

  25. abusivemango

    November 20, 2014 at 14:08

    I play this constantly on the

    Reply

  26. abusivemango

    November 20, 2014 at 14:14

    Sorry.. I play this constantly on the Xbox one , with little or no lag on virgins 60mb+ fibre connection often with no or few bars showing on connection in lobby. The Xbox is also wired as I found ever since Cod 4, it lags via wireless worst, no matter the console.. I’d question wither its your ISP ..I bet quite a few claiming are sky users,and also wireless. ..

    Reply

  27. p3arcey boy

    November 20, 2014 at 14:33

    my xbox only lets me spectate

    Reply

  28. johnny boy

    November 20, 2014 at 16:28

    Im in Massachusetts…ps4….haven’t had any lag issues as of yet…few matches of quick scoping that isnt supposed to happen. ..

    Reply

  29. Nash Hall

    November 20, 2014 at 20:01

    I got the game for about $27 through a stream trade, so I probably won’t get a refund, but some of my games, even in America are almost unplayable.

    Reply

  30. anonymous

    November 20, 2014 at 20:15

    I’m not saying that the writer knows nothing about networking but its not your bandwidth buy your ping. I have a 6mb connection however multiplayer is not even playable. Its due to the ping being 50-150+ ms. Even if it was the cod servers, your not proving anything by saying you had a 10mbps connection.

    Reply

  31. Namllabtoof

    November 20, 2014 at 22:36

    I am calling them now. I have been having a lot of issues with multiplayer. I will not let me join a game only spectate until I get kicked for inactivity. This has been happening more and more often for 2 weeks. Inexcusable!

    Reply

  32. Duendeacdc

    November 21, 2014 at 13:01

    I cant even find games in other modes. I can only play TDM ( Brazil ). All other modes give me “no games found”. Frustrating.

    Reply

  33. gamerpro

    November 21, 2014 at 17:06

    Maybe you guys should learn how to configure you’re network I have had no lag issue from day zero.

    Reply

  34. Jacob Rios

    November 21, 2014 at 17:17

    There was no lag on ps4 but on ps3 it was bad

    Reply

  35. Juana Cruz

    November 21, 2014 at 19:13

    I run 100 meg the ps4 run 46 mbs still shot one more that 6 to 8 shot come on still same problem…,! ????

    Reply

  36. Balf

    November 22, 2014 at 16:45

    I dont think its just the game play that is the problem, After a game my character takes ages to load up as well, My console is load and sounds like its constantly trying to uploads stuff.

    Reply

  37. mrdeath

    November 22, 2014 at 17:18

    I’ve already taken it back to GameStop. Yes ppl its cod, its supposed to be fun, but its not. Yes the exo sh&$ is fun but the lag and spawns are beyond unbearable. I had a friend playing who just sat in spectator mode after a death. He couldn’t escape. I spawned in front of someone 7 times the night I decided enough was enough. The lag comp relies on everyone to have a good connection so one poor man playing on walmarts internet will screw your sh*$ up. Stop torturing your self and go play another game!!

    Reply

  38. Josh

    November 24, 2014 at 09:46

    I don’t have any issues playing at all; am just about to prestige a second time. Maybe it is just better on x box one….

    Reply

  39. Allen

    December 4, 2014 at 09:05

    Hi every one i miss squads i wish they would add it. As far as the multiplayer goes its hard I’m an average player. So unless you’re some sort of genius and can handle getting killed before you get a shot off. Good luck to you other wise don’t rush out and buy it the frustration is not worth it.

    Reply

  40. Nick Demetriou

    December 5, 2014 at 01:11

    How do you find local game online? I live in SA and have an Xbox one but can be we find local games in the new cod? Never had this problem before

    Reply

  41. Sean

    December 16, 2014 at 04:16

    i cant eve get in a game hi have 1tb of rme and the game is so laggy im getting 76mbs and cant even play

    Reply

  42. Fin Day

    December 23, 2014 at 06:51

    Hey guys i am past the point of frustration with this game i opened all my ports and my nat type is open and im still being matchmade with people in america, england and i live in australia but when my mate joins a game and i join his session my connection is fine?….

    Reply

  43. Sid

    January 14, 2015 at 22:05

    Lag compensation and people using lag splitters are ruining online gaming. What’s the fucking point?

    Reply

    • Sid

      January 14, 2015 at 22:06

      I never had this problem before, it wasn’t even this bad in GTA Online with the lag splitters or compensation. I

      Reply

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