Destiny - Error Codes and How to Fix Them

Posted in destiny

Destiny has a weird way to report errors in that it uses insect and animal names such as Centipede, Stingray, Bee, Nightingale and others. Many if not all of these errors relate to network connectivity problems and which type of NAT you're using.

In most cases if you've been happily playing the game until now then the error is a one off, probably caused by the Bungie servers being overloaded. However, if you're repeatedly kicked from the game or getting errors then you're probably using a NAT other than type 1 (Open NAT).

On Bungie's official website they highlight the problems you'll encounter when you're not using the preferred NAT 1 option. They explain that NAT type 2 is acceptable but you may experience longer matchmaking and issues with voice chat. If you're stuck with NAT 3 then you're in for a rough ride and the game probably won't be playable.



I hate to say this but if you're on campus or at school then you're at the mercy of the IT guys who administer the network. They may lock down certain ports and traffic exactly for the reason to stop online gamers consuming the institutions bandwidth.

Error Codes

For reference, here are some of the Destiny error codes you might see.

• Centipede
• Caterpillar
• Jackrabbit
• Beaver
• Leopard
• Chicken
• Lion
• Groundhog

Which NAT Type are you using?

NAT stands for Network Address Translation and it's a way of routing network information from one IP address to another. NAT is typically used in organisations, schools and other businesses to hide private IP addresses behind one single public IP address. For example, in your school your router will direct all inbound traffic correctly between the computers inside the school whilst external services only see the public facing IP address. It's a clever tactic to conserve the limited number of IP4 addresses that exist.

In a very crude way, a NAT 1 means you're directly connected to the internet, possibly with no firewall or router intercepting traffic, but you'll certainly have a static IP address. Placing yourself in the DMZ would essentially bypass all checks and give you a direct connection, but that's not necessary. Bungie recommend that you use a NAT 1 connection for the best experience when playing Destiny.

NAT 2 means your traffic passes through the router and subsequent firewall. Traffic would be translated, monitored and possibly rejected depending on the Firewall configuration. You will also have a dynamic IP addressed assigned to your gaming console in NAT 2. In most cases, using a home router will mean you're NAT 2 and you're usually ok because they're configured to allow gaming traffic by default.

You can confirm if you're using a dynamic IP address by simply connecting a laptop, checking your IP using the command prompt (ipconfig command), then disconnect and reconnect, and finally repeating the IP check to see if the number changes.

NAT 3 is the worst of the bunch meaning that strict rules will prevent you from connecting on certain ports and types of traffic are also monitored and blocked. Governments, hospitals and other high risk institutions will place very strict rules on traffic types allowed on the network. Straight out of the box, a home router will not usually be NAT 3 without some manual intervention and configuration.

Solution #1: Change to NAT 1

The simplest way to change to NAT 1 is to give yourself a static IP address. This is an address that never changes, even if you restart your console, hence the reason its called Static. The opposite of static is dynamic, meaning your console is given an IP address when it boots up and the router serves up a free IP address for it.



It's not that hard to give yourself a static IP address no matter which console you're using; PS4, Xbox One, 360 or PS 3. There's a detailed guide over at http://portforward.com/ which will help you setup a Static IP address.

To make things easier I have singled out the guides for each of the console types below:

PS4
PS3
Xbox 360
Xbox One

The biggest problem is choosing which IP address to use because it must be one which no one else has acquired, otherwise it'll be rejected. Whilst this isn't much of an issue in small organisations, it's more difficult in schools and colleges where hundreds of computers will be consuming available address space.

The basic rule is to choose an address which is far away from your existing address. So if you're using 172.16.23.4 then you could choose 172.16.23.244. You normally only change the last digit of the IP address, and you must keep within the range of 1 - 254. It's probably worth trying a static IP address on your laptop first to see which ones free, it'll be much faster.

However, changing to a static IP address will do NOTHING if the router is scanning and blocking types or traffic e.g. P2P. If you go through the router then the router has the final say!

Solution #2: Using a VPN instead

If you've got no control over the router then the other trick is to use a VPN, which is a private network between you and the internet. All your traffic will be rerouted through the virtual network and there's nothing the local router can do to see what you're doing.

The big problem with VPN's is that they're against the rules at universities and schools, exactly for the reason that they allow you circumvent firewall rules. They also provide a noticeable lag as the information is encrypted on route.

If you're in contact with the institutions IT guys then I suggest giving solution 3 below a try instead.

Solution #3: Opening ports on the firewall

Bungie recently updated their help section to include a list of Firewall ports which must be opened for Destiny. If you're at a larger institution such as a college or university this will apply to you.

Destiny Port Range	Direction
7500-17899 (TCP)	Outbound
30000-40399 (TCP)	Outbound
35000-35099 (UDP)	Inbound and Outbound
3074 (UDP)	Inbound and Outbound

Note: These ports are usually only blocked at larger institutions and do no apply to home networks.