What causes error 2002 in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker?

With the release of Endwalker, Final Fantasy XIV has seen huge queues to enter the game, with wait times spiraling into hours. However, more frustrating than that has been the dreaded error 2002, which causes affected players to be booted from the queue and forces them to rejoin from the back.

But what causes this error? Well, according to game Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida, there are three main reasons. The first is caused when there are 17,000 players in the login queue. For the Final Fantasy XIV servers, this is the maximum number of players able to queue at one time, and as a result, an error 2002 occurs and kicks the excess players. 

Secondly, error 2002 can happen when your internet connection experiences packet loss or a period of network instability. This can happen particularly during busy days such as weekends and peak times. Normally this wouldn’t have an effect, but due to the increased queues, the chances of interruption are increased. Over the course of an hour or more of waiting, the chance of interruptions to your connection go up, meaning an error 2002 is more likely.

Related: How much free game time is Square Enix giving for Endwalker queues?

To solve this pair of issues, you can do a few things. Make sure you’re playing on a wired connection rather than a wireless one. This can help reduce packet loss and network issues.

Additionally, if you’re playing on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 version, you can reduce the chances of encountering error 2002 by changing the power-saving settings of your console. In power-saving mode, the consoles are likely to go into rest or standby mode, which will result in an error 2002.

The third and most recently revealed the reason for Error 2002 is related to a legacy bug from Final Fantasy XIV 1.0. According to Yoshida, in a Dec. 16 update, thanks to the reports and tests carried out by players, we were finally able to identify the cause of the problem. It turned out to be a queuing program that had existed since 2010.

Fixes for the latter problem and many other errors are included in Patch 6.01, which is scheduled for Dec. 21 release.

Until then, ultimately, despite your best efforts, an Error 2002 can be inevitable. As a result, the best thing is patience and perseverance.

For more Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker help, check out How Long is Final Fantasy XIV before Endwalker? on Pro Game Guides.