EA FC Latency improvements: Can better routing help reduce input delay?
This post reflects a particular region and setup, with measurements taken in Latvia using my ISP. It does not describe every player's experience, but may help identify improvements for players across Eastern and Northern Europe and beyond. I also see many complaints on YouTube, Discord and other social platforms about sluggish gameplay, with players saying it feels worse than ever.
My matches show roughly 35-40 ms, with "Good" in EA's Connection Quality Report. Yet passing and shooting sometimes feel almost a second slower than against AI. That is a subjective impression, not a measured extra second. It feels unfair competing against players with much lower latency.
It is also painful to watch top-10 FC PRO ladder players struggle at around 60 ms. Even 40 ms can feel unplayable. A delayed input on a basic chip shot for the winning goal can change the result, regardless of experience.
One-hour comparison
ICMP ping, all targets in parallel every 5 s, 720 rounds. No spikes removed. Google Cloud hosts come from Google's published regional IP ranges, 2-3 hosts per region.
| Target | IP | AVG | P90 | P95 | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google ingress hop | 209.85.148.208 | 27.67 ms | 33 ms | 34 ms | 0% |
| Google Cloud Warsaw | 34.116.150.166, 34.116.233.164 | 38.41 ms | 43 ms | 45 ms | 0% |
| Google Cloud Finland | 35.228.8.135, 34.88.141.67, 34.88.116.224 | 36.21 ms | 42 ms | 44 ms | 0% |
| Google Cloud Stockholm | 34.51.164.41, 34.51.149.65, 34.51.178.178 | 33.42 ms | 39 ms | 41 ms | 0% |
- Stockholm was ~5 ms faster than Warsaw on average and lower in 90% of rounds.
- Finland was ~2 ms faster on average and lower in 76% of rounds.
Naturally, I would expect players to be routed to the nearest location with the lowest latency. Stockholm was fastest in this test, yet my network inspection points to Warsaw game servers. And ironically, I keep getting matched against Polish players. :)
These tests only represent geography, basic latency and routing. They do not account for the application layer or other factors affecting input delay. Still, lower-latency routing is a simple starting point that could reduce network-related issues for many players.
Please answer these questions
- Can we prioritize latency over the size of the player pool? Similar to the PS5/PC cross-play choice, fewer opponents and longer queues should be the player's trade-off to accept. This seems like the quickest first step.
- Are there plans to optimize routing and expand game-server locations or capacity for players in Eastern and Northern Europe?
- Some players report better responsiveness after a recent patch. Could regular server maintenance be another quick win to help sustain that improvement?
- What plans do you have to reduce application-level input delay, if any?
You already have Connection Quality Report telemetry, so improvements in connection quality should be straightforward to measure on your side.
I am not claiming that 35-40 ms explains a second of delay. I understand there are multiple variables involved, but I am suggesting a simple network routing improvement and asking you to investigate the responsiveness gap. I hope this could help address issues beyond my region.
cc: EA_Pulsar
