Three days before Dawntrail's release, Final Fantasy 14 faces a series of DDoS attacks, with Square Enix rushing to repair the MMO's infrastructure

Square Enix's famed online multiplayer game, Final Fantasy 14, has been experiencing ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks for three straight days, causing considerable disturbances within its player base. First reported on May 6 on the Lodestone, Square Enix's developers have been actively engaging with Internet Service Providers to devise and implement countermeasures to fend off the attack.

Despite their efforts, the attacks continued, and by May 8, Square Enix confirmed ongoing difficulties caused by these malicious disruptions. Players may experience issues such as trouble logging in and delayed data transmission involving servers across North America, Europe, and Oceania.

This unsettling situation arises as the community eagerly anticipates the release of Final Fantasy 14's next major expansion, Dawntrail, which is set to enter early access on June 28, with a full release scheduled for the following week. The current network instability is particularly concerning for players hoping for a smooth launch, given the game's past experiences with server congestion issues during previous major updates, such as Endwalker.

Square Enix has previously taken proactive measures, such as enabling data center travel, to alleviate potential server overload anticipated with Endwalker's launch. This was in response to severe server issues that previously led the company to temporarily halt sales of Final Fantasy 14, a situation they are likely keen to avoid repeating.

In addition to these ongoing challenges, developers indicated a potential shift in project themes, suggesting a preference for lighter narrative undertones in future projects, as implied by the tone and direction seen in the recent Final Fantasy 16, described as "dark fantasy." The creative direction hints at a diverse exploration of genre and theme in the franchise's future. 

As developers continue to address the current network issues, the player community remains hopeful of stabilizing solutions that will ensure a successful and seamless rollout for the highly anticipated Dawntrail expansion.