Why can't I play when there are thousands of people online?

Jango · 21 Dec 2009 at 12:28

When I try to play Modern Warfare 2 online (PC version), I see that there are over 12,000 people playing on Team Deathmatch, but when I try to find a game it takes ten minutes to find one or two people!

It used to only take a few seconds to join a full game...

My connection is fine, and my NAT type is 'Open'.

Are there any possible solutions to this problem? My friend is having this same problem on the Xbox 360 version.

Thanks in advance.

(and Merry Christmas, I'm enjoying the snow!)

tres · 21 Dec 2009 at 12:34

I had the Xbox problem, had to try loads of settings.

Turns out it was router based - have you forwarded all necessary ports?
Disabled or allowed through your firewall on your PC?
Added your friends 360 to the DMZ zone?

Else reset the router. It's been known to help many.

Jango · 21 Dec 2009 at 12:38

How do I reset the router?

Also, can you give me a guide on how to forward the ports? I had to do that for World at War, and was hoping that I didn't have to do it for MW2...

Thanks for your reply

Naffa · 21 Dec 2009 at 12:49

http://www.portforward.com/ is the best one, in my experience.

As for resetting the router, I assume tres meant simply to restart it, ie turn it off then back on. This can be done by logging onto your router or simply by unplugging it.

soundb0y · 21 Dec 2009 at 13:09

Have you fully patched it?

Gunni Parker · 21 Dec 2009 at 13:29

soundb0y said:
Have you fully patched it?

Its on Steam, it auto patches.

Werewolf · 21 Dec 2009 at 13:40

The joys of modern warfare 2...Younger brother has a love hate relationship with it (I personally think it's more of an abusive relationship).

As mentioned make sure all the relevant ports are forwarded to your machine, as there is a good chance it'll be expecting you to host at some point (especially if you've got the lowest spec machine, and worst connection of the people in your current game).

From what I can tell, it's not uncommon for it to take several minutes for you to get a full "lobby" and start playing online, something that drives my brother nuts.