10/15/2015
Error Code: BEAVER / FLATWORM / LEOPARD
BEAVER/FLATWORM/LEOPARD errors are caused by a failure to connect your console to another player’s console via the internet. This can be caused by connection quality issues (such as packet loss, ISP saturation, or general Internet congestion). It can even be caused by certain WiFi setups, faulty in-home wiring, or other issues that require on-site support or expert investigation. However, they are most commonly caused by router or network configuration issues. We are also actively investigating the possibility of bugs that are causing these errors to happen even for properly configured and well-functioning networks.
We are actively investigating this family of errors, and the following conclusions may be useful to you:
- We tend to see these errors most commonly when multiple consoles are connecting to the internet through a single router. Some players have been able to work around this issue by enabling UPnP on their router.
- Strict NATs tend to see these errors far more often than Open or Moderate NATs – opening your NAT can significantly reduce the frequency of these errors. http://bungie.net/NAT
- Some types of connection quality issues (packet loss, etc) can trigger this family of errors. The quality troubleshooting steps described in our Network Troubleshooting Guide can help.
Configuring NAT, UPnP and port forwarding for Destiny
Certain networking issues are related to having “strict” or “moderate” rather than “open” NAT. Please note that an open NAT isn’t a magic bullet that solves all networking issues.
Changing the UPnP or port forwarding settings on your home network can potentially solve the following issues:
If you aren't experiencing these specific problems, we strongly recommend that you don’t mess with port forwarding as it is a delicate procedure that may worsen your situation if done incorrectly. Before opening or forwarding ports manually, we would recommend making sure that UPnP is enabled on your router, as well as trying to connect your console more directly to your internet uplink to rule out other possible causes.
Changing the UPnP or port forwarding settings on your home network can potentially solve the following issues:
- Frequent BEAVER/FLATWORM/LEOPARD KTOs
- Unable to hear voice chat from other players in your own Fireteam
- Frequent empty towers
- Matchmade activities failing to find a game, resulting in ‘unable to find a match in time’/MONGOOSE errors
What is UPnP?
UPnP stands for Universal Plug and Play. It automatically handles port forwarding and other networking stuff many modern games need to work. Destiny users having problems can often benefit from enabling this if it's not on. Most routers should have it on by default.
How do I turn on UPnP?
The exact steps vary widely by router. Broadly you should follow these steps. Searching the internet for your exact router model's manual can be helpful.
1. Sign in with a computer to your routers admin page.
2. Look around "settings" and "advanced settings" type pages.
3. Try to locate UPnP.
4. If it's not enabled turn it on. You may have to reset the router.
5. Restart your console
UPnP stands for Universal Plug and Play. It automatically handles port forwarding and other networking stuff many modern games need to work. Destiny users having problems can often benefit from enabling this if it's not on. Most routers should have it on by default.
How do I turn on UPnP?
The exact steps vary widely by router. Broadly you should follow these steps. Searching the internet for your exact router model's manual can be helpful.
1. Sign in with a computer to your routers admin page.
2. Look around "settings" and "advanced settings" type pages.
3. Try to locate UPnP.
4. If it's not enabled turn it on. You may have to reset the router.
5. Restart your console
What is the difference between opening a port and forwarding a port?
The first table lists notable ports to open (i.e. unblock) that can help Destiny perform better. If your router is blocking or slowing traffic on those port numbers, they need to be unblocked.
The ports in the second table are ports that Destiny uses for inbound traffic that you might want to port-forward. Port forwarding is basically giving the router orders to forward incoming traffic on certain ports to a particular device within your network – it only affects incoming traffic, so all ports listed in the second table are inbound ports.
Any port you might want to forward must also be open – there’s not much gain in trying to forward traffic that is being blocked!
For example: I cannot log in to Xbox Live.
After following all previous troubleshooting steps, if you are still unable to log in, check to see if you have a firewall that blocks all traffic on 3074. This means you will be unable to log into Xbox Live and 3074 needs to be unblocked in TCP inbound, UDP inbound, and UDP outbound. After unblocking 3074, you have the option of also port forwarding 3074 for TCP and UDP, if the guide above suggests that port forwarding would mitigate the issues you’re encountering. Port forwarding is not necessary for most people to play Destiny.
Ports that should be unblocked to play the game:
| TCP outbound | TCP inbound | UDP outbound | UDP inbound | |
| Xbox 360 | 7500-17899 30000-40399 | 53, 80, 3074 | 53, 88, 3074, 1001 | 53, 88, 3074, 1001 |
| Xbox One | 7500-17899 30000-40399 | 53, 80, 3074 | 53, 88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500, 1200, 1001 | 53, 88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500, 1200, 1001 |
| PS3 | 7500-17899 30000-40399 | 80, 443, 3478, 3479, 3480, 5223, 8080 | 3478, 3479, 3658, 3074, 1001 | 3478, 3479, 3658, 3074, 1001 |
| PS4 | 7500-17899 30000-40399 | 80, 443, 1935, 3478-3480 | L3478, 3479, 3074, 2001 | 3478, 3479, 3074, 2001 |
Ports to forward to your console to provide open NAT:
| TCP | UDP | |
| Xbox 360 | 3074 | 88, 3074 |
| Xbox One | 3074 | 88, 500, 3074, 3544, 4500 |
| PS3 | 3478, 3479, 3480, 5223, 8080 | 3074, 3478, 3479, 3658 |
| PS4 | 1935, 3478-3480 | 3074, 3478, 3479 |
Port forwarding can be an incomplete solution at best if you have more than one gaming console behind your router – you may fix the problem for one console, while causing more severe issues for the other.
If you are afraid that you may have forwarded ports incorrectly, don’t worry: it can be undone. Please try removing any existing port forwarding rules that you implemented for gaming and enabling UPnP in your router settings if your networking hardware is updated to a recent firmware. UPnP is also typically the best solution if you have more than one gaming console on your network as each required port can only be forwarded to one console at a time. If you have UPnP on and no other forwarding rules and the problem still occurs, or if your networking hardware/setup doesn’t support UPnP, ONLY THEN attempt to forward ports manually.
Please note: Not all NAT Type problems can be solved. If you are on a university or corporate network, or if your ISP limits what type of traffic you can send/receive you may have a NAT problem that is out of your control.
If you have performed all of the troubleshooting steps called out above and are still hitting these errors, you may not be able to resolve this issue by changing your home network. Bungie is carefully monitoring BEAVER, FLATWORM, and LEOPARD issues preventing players from having a quality Destiny experience, and we are working very hard to investigate and address these issues. You can read about our ongoing progress below. Making this experience better for everybody is a top priority at Bungie.
Recent updates on our investigations on BEAVER/FLATWORM/LEOPARD errors:
Bungie is updating our recommended steps
for those seeing these errors. Those experiencing BEAVER/FLATWORM/LEOPARD
messages can potentially improve their Destiny experience with NAT or port
forwarding adjustments.
