Individual Support Center Challenge

Course: CSCI 1400

Support Specialist Field Guide

Role

• My role was the “knowledge base manager”, in the scenario, my tasks would be to manage the knowledge base—ranging from creating knowledge base articles on potential issues within the company to working with teams to find potential fixes.

Scenarios

Scenario 1: The Phantom Ping Spikes

Context

• Affects a small percent of players across North America
• Periodic ping spikes every ≈10-12 minutes
• Affected players are mainly using 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
• Server shows no issues during the spikes

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Verified the player’s connection with ping/traceroute tests
2. Identified periodic interference on the player’s Wi-Fi
3. Tested switching to 5 GHz Wi-Fi or Ethernet

Resolution

• Determined interference from nearby devices (such as microwaves) causing disruptions
• Advised the player to change to 5 GHz Wi-Fi or use Ethernet

Prevention

• Include network tips in the knowledge base
• Recommend minimum network hardware

Knowledge Base Article

• “How to Resolve Periodic Ping Spikes”
• Include advice on switching to either 5 GHz Wi-Fi or Ethernet

Customer Follow-Up

Hi {{player name}}, Thank you for reaching out about your ping spike issue. After analyzing your connection, your network is experiencing periodic interference likely caused by nearby devices, such as a microwave oven. We recommend switching to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi connection, or potentially using an Ethernet cable for a more stable connection.

Best regards, {{support team}}

Scenario 2: The Invisible Chat Lag

Context

• Only affects the reporting player
• Issue started after the latest update
• Player’s connection is otherwise stable
• Logs show delays processing guild chat messages for this account

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Checked server logs for player chat timestamps
2. Reviewed account-specific settings for anomalies
3. Cleared the player’s local cache and retested

Resolution

• Found excessive guild notifications tied to the player’s account
• Cleared the notifications manually
• Advised the player to limit guild activity logging to prevent future issues

Prevention

• Implement automatic pruning of guild notifications
• Add diagnostics to the chat system to detect potential delays

Knowledge Base Article

• “Fixing Delayed Guild Chat Messages”
• Provide steps to clear notifications and adjust logging settings

Customer Follow-Up

Hi {{player name}},
We’ve resolved the delay in your guild chat messages by clearing excessive notifications from your account. To avoid similar issues in the future, we recommend limiting guild activity logging in your settings.

Best regards,
{{support team}}

Scenario 3: The Disappearing Guild Banner

Context

• Affects all members of a specific guild
• Guild banners fail to display during raids
• Issue started after the most recent patch
• Server logs show failed attempts to retrieve the banner file

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Verified the guild’s banner file exists on the server
2. Reproduced the issue in a test environment
3. Checked patch notes for file path changes affecting banner rendering

Resolution

• Found a bug in the recent patch altering file path structures
• Fixed the guild’s banner file path and restarted the affected server
• Confirmed the banner appeared during raid tests

Prevention

• Add automated tests for guild banner rendering in future patches
• Document file path changes more clearly in patch notes

Knowledge Base Article

• “How to Resolve Missing Guild Banners in Raids”
• Include steps to verify server file paths and update them if needed

Customer Follow-Up

Hi {{player name}},
The issue with your guild banner has been resolved. It was caused by a file path update in our latest patch. We’ve corrected the file path, and your banner should now display correctly during raids.

Thank you for your patience! Let us know if you encounter further issues.

Best regards,
{{support team}}

Personal Tips

• Use tools such as traceroute and logs to quickly find network-related issues
• Document steps taken when troubleshooting
• Try to find temporary fixes for problems

Recommendations for Improving Support

• Implement networking monitoring tools to find issues before players encounter them
• Make video tutorials and/or articles on problems
• Establish communication with ISPs for faster resolution of ISP-related issues
• Implement something like (Atlassian) Statuspage