Connection Issues

Many of you have noticed frequent disconnections whilst playing Old School RuneScape over the past week, and we want to assure you that we are aware of these disruptions to your gameplay and that we are actively working to resolve the issues.



Over the past week our game servers have been the target of repeated DDoS attacks. A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) disrupts an online service by overwhelming it with malicious traffic - making it harder for legitimate users to be served.



Unfortunately, DDoSing is a result of exploiting fundamental flaws with the infrastructure of the Internet, and DDoS attacks can take many forms - which makes defending against them an ongoing challenge.



As time goes on DDoS attacks become more varied, more powerful and exploit different technical loopholes. The attacks we face today are unlike those we have faced in the past, and defending against different types of attack one by one while making sure that legitimate users aren't negatively affected is a complex and technically challenging process.



Whilst we are constantly adapting our defences to deal with new types of attack, new types of attack are always rearing their heads. Each type of attack can require thorough investigation to find solutions, and these solutions often require further adjustment to ensure their success.



Unfortunately, this means that we can't be too specific when talking about what we are doing to mitigate and prevent these attacks, as it may undermine the success of any changes we make.



However, we have dealt with these problems in the past, and the Systems Administration team are working night and day to resolve the issues we're currently experiencing. We will continue to do everything possible until these connection issues are resolved, and we remain confident of finding a solution.



Thank you for your understanding and your patience, and apologies for the inconvenience.



The RuneScape Team