Chinese users sometimes can't find match in global server

[Bedtimestory9]

As a Chinese player, sometimes the "Find Match" button doesn't work. You click it one time and it greys out and never goes to match finding. The only thing you can do is restart Dota, but it's not guarantee to work. If restarting Dota doesn't work, you have to restart Steam. And even if you have restarted Steam it also doesn't guarantee to work. You have to keep repeating this process until the button can be clicked again. Sometimes you can restart Steam and Dota repeatedly 6-7 times to just make it work.

It has no other solution as far as I know. Verifying integrity of game file won't do anything.

It happens RANDOMLY. But it's more frequent if you have just used a VPN. Most of the time you only need to exit VPN and restart dota and it should be fine. But RANDOMLY, it might not work, if that happens, you are left to god's devices to decide how many times you need to restart steam to be able to play Dota again.

It is the most infuriating thing I have ever experienced in the internet, it has been like this for years. I pray to god that this can be addressed.

[Labongus]

Could it be that the steam network just has a problem with authentication when using third-party internet services, like VPNs? From experience I can tell that Steam itself handles it quite well, but dota might be different in that regard.

My reasoning is that the search button also doesn't work when the dota network is down/logging in. You can spam buttons all you want, nothing is happening

[Bedtimestory9]

Could it be that the steam network just has a problem with authentication when using third-party internet services, like VPNs? From experience I can tell that Steam itself handles it quite well, but dota might be different in that regard.

My reasoning is that the search button also doesn't work when the dota network is down/logging in. You can spam buttons all you want, nothing is happening

I just got my Low Priority today because of this, I understand that Steam network sometimes don't work with VPN, but it persists even after I closed VPN. Today I had high ping and I decided to restart Dota, without VPN, and BAM, nope, you are not allowed to do that, I can not reconnect, I restart steam 2 times, doesn't work. 5min is due and my match is abandoned. Should I have time to restart 7-8 times, my Dota could be back. But WCYD. It is the same mechanic as "Find Match" button doesn't work, when I can not reconnect my game after exiting dota, then I can not find any match either (button will grey out).

It is incredibly frustrating for Chinese users. The fact that if you wanna exit Dota and have a relaunch, you are left to god's mercy to decide if you can reconnect or not.

[commentator24]

i dont know much, but i thought global players cant play on CN servers, and CN players cant play on global servers unless u use vpn due to strict gov regulations? so perhaps problem persist because you closed vpn or it automatically disconnect after high pings (or maybe im wrong). explore vpn / internet settings to solve high pings / long timeout setting. perhaps high encryption / security level / bad wifi cause high pings in the middle of game.

VPN may cause high ping if it’s not used properly due to protocol / proxy / dns setting? most vpn also blocked in china so perhaps interference by your internet provider / antivirus / security e.g. ISP detect VPN traffic then bandwidth throttled so you need to find the right setting around it to keep playing on global servers optimally.

and dont find match right away, maybe 1 arcade lobby first like overthrow to check connection / check other region pings. take notes each time you encounter a problem / why it works. how long it takes etc. e.g. can you play global servers for 1 full game without issue if restarted pc and havent use vpn at all? or perhaps 1 game ok but next game very bad pings? one of my friends often high ping after 1 game. when i mentioned this to him he just started realizing it too. first game no problem, 2nd game got issues. this is maybe due to router / quality of service / modem setting. find out why restart steam / pc works after 8x? perhaps change download region, adjust proxy setting clear steam cache and cookies, check internet connection idle / session timeout option etc

if something works / doesnt work, it's never random you just need to be more observant

[Bedtimestory9]

Global players can play CN server, and Chinese players can play on global, there's nothing stopping anyone to do that.

Appreciate the tips, but the problem happens in mid match and it's totally unpredictable. Unless I really wanna sit in a live game to watch for 30 min to see if it happens.

VPN makes this problem happen more frequently, but without using any VPN, problem can also sometimes happens. What's even odder is, sometimes I need VPN to be able to click the button again. I really want to know what's the actual reason behind this.

[commentator24]

you might be mistaken on this. as shown my CN region pings are unknown = cannot find match at all.

i need additional launch option command line to play in CN servers, and if i do so, i cannot queue global + CN same time. i would suggest you observe whether it usually happens at start (cannot find match at all), in the middle of game (suddenly high ping then dc), or after playing 1 game (1 game fine, next games got issues).

my understanding is that there are 5 settings u can check: your modem / router setting; pc firewall / security; vpn; dota; and steam cache / steam network / steam download region. usually the problem is modem / firewall / your dynamic protocol setting, and i dont use vpn so i dont know much, but using vpn doesnt mean u dont have to check vpn settings. a quick google i read about vpn connection idle / session timeout e.g. after 5-30 min or so perhaps router number from previous game not used anymore, so part of vpn connection will close and you begin to have high pings issue in the middle of game because it automatically close 1 by 1 while you actually want to stay connected, and your devices trying to figure out which one you still use - so it throttle bandwidth). or perhaps vpn protocol / proxy / DNS setting cause issues with higher encrypted data traffic that eventually cause high pings in game; or ISP detect banned vpn traffic and your bandwith choked until you disconnect. or perhaps you have dynamic public ip address that change every few minutes, hence you have problem reconnecting. do you use wifi? maybe wifi setting etc. It is never random. one of these automatic setting is messing around with your dota games. every game has unique / different router number that change every game and you need to test each setting 1 by 1 to see what works and what not.

long ago i added dota 2 and my ip address (i think for private network) to my modem setting (i think its called virtual media network or qos) so i have no issues with router setting at modem level. do you have any issues doing this? this is where you type your ip address to access your modem setting and where the problem usually is.

next, you can check your firewall / ip address pc security setting. have you added dota 2 and what is your ip address protocol etc. you can google a bit since i dont know much about this too. I removed dota 2 from my firewall list until it automatically pop up new prompt. if it doesnt automatically prompt, then there's something wrong in your protocol setting? try clean up your steam download cache, disk clean up, and start over check your settings again 1 by 1. sometimes old unused values messing with your security etc. lastly verify integrity of game files. i think you can also delete blob file to make it automatically download new cache. try a different download region if you have problems reconnecting etc.

your ping in the middle of game should be stable unless someone else is downloading / uploading / unstable wifi.

as i've said earlier, one of these settings cause connection issues and start choking your internet speed until it figures out which one you still want to stay connected in the middle of game. if you find anything that works, please let me know so i learn what works too 😄