We regularly conduct maintenance on our game servers to ensure they are running properly. When servers are undergoing maintenance, they may be unavailable for several hours. Here is an overview of the various existing cases.
Weekly maintenance is performed on Tuesdays for DOFUS and on Wednesdays for DOFUS Retro.
Server maintenance starts at 8 a.m. (Paris time) and ends between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., but occasionally goes past 12 p.m. if complications occur.
→ Maintenance allows for the following activities:
- Various log files are recovered and retrieved.
- Database optimization – Certain tables can only be optimized when players no longer have read or write access to the database.
- Game server maintenance – Shutting down and then restarting the game servers allows us to avoid certain issues related to game latency that accumulate if the servers aren't regularly restarted.
- Complete backup of game server data – We have a system for backing up all game data when the servers are running (without disrupting the game), but we also perform backups when the game servers are offline.
- Server operation updates – The server program and game data are sometimes updated, so these must be swapped out for the more recent version.
- Characters are transferred to other servers.
- Patches available in the changelog are added to the game.
- During maintenance, our testing team verifies that additions and patches are working properly.
Even when these maintenance operations don't provide new in-game content or fixes visible to players, they allow us to ensure that our databases and servers are functioning correctly.
Players can access our "Server Status" page on the DOFUS website to see whether servers are online.
→ Why is maintenance done on Tuesday mornings?
As you can see, maintenance requires the involvement of several different teams; it is therefore preferable to perform maintenance during working hours so that as many people as possible are available to respond to any issues that may arise.
Simply because, if a problem does arise due to an update or maintenance operation, our teams can take action over the next few days. This also partly explains why, except in rare cases, we avoid performing server maintenance on Friday.
It's also worth noting that Tuesday morning is one of the times when the least amount of players are logged in:
- There is more traffic in the evening and on weekends than in the morning.
- As DOFUS Touch is an international game, there are players online at any time of day or night.
Note: Maintenance is not to be confused with saves, which take place four times a year.
→ A few specific cases:
Unscheduled maintenance
In some cases (updates, fixes for technical problems, etc.), we may be required to conduct unscheduled maintenance on the game servers.
These maintenance operations are announced in the forums (on the homepage) and on Twitter. Use the "Server Status" section to track potential compensation or more information, such as a rollback.
Sometimes we're unable to announce these in advance, for example, if a critical bug needs to be patched right away. Please forgive us in advance for any fights cancelled or playtime missed during these procedures, but this kind of maintenance is crucial in order for the game to run properly.
DOFUS Retro
Like DOFUS, DOFUS Retro requires weekly maintenance for its servers to remain in good condition, given how active these servers are.
However, this maintenance doesn't take nearly as long as that done for the classic servers, for several reasons:
- These servers don't require many patches.
- New gameplay content is never added.
- They're new, so there are fewer things to verify and back up.
- Character transfers don't occur.
- Testing is rarely, if ever, done.
This explains why maintenance for Retro usually ends within 15 minutes of the servers going offline.