Can't launch the game because of Ubi Connect on Steam Deck

[uncle dad]

First time launching any ubi game through Steam on my SD. Launched Valhalla, got the Connect Launcher

- made a new account
- verified my email
- logged in

The launcher then gets past "logging in" and gets stuck on "initializing..." for a while, and then gives a generic "Connection lost" error. I tried about every possible fix/workaround posted online short of an 18 step guide on configuring a VPN (which has further reaching consequences than I'd care to implement for getting rid of a single roadblock).

I'm refunding this, what a conceptually bonkers situation. Thanks for holding my money hostage for a bit.

[FluffyPotato]

I have to same issue right now with the ubisoft launcher and with any game on steam using the ubisoft launcher on every computer in my house (2 laptops, 1 desktop and the steam deck) so I'm hoping this isn't just me.

[uncle dad]

I don't own any other Ubi titles which are lazily forwarded to Connect, but I imagine that if you have this issue with one game like this, it extends to any game.

I've read reports of it being tied to your connection, and workarounds suggesting using mobile data or a VPN, however the bottom line is that the connectivity issue is somehow caused by attempting to connect to their servers.

First of all, if I've purchased the game through Steam (which is its' own DRM), why in the name of actual heck would I then need to connect to another server in order to verify my ownership of the software?

Anyway I've since been reimbursed so I don't particularly care anymore beyond the fact that I'll steer away from games released in this manner.

[FluffyPotato]

Ok yea it seems ubisoft has royally ♥♥♥♥♥♥ something up, while my mobile data doesn't work a VPN to another country does (A VPN server in my country failed the same way as well.). So it seems my only option if I wanna play anything made by Ubisoft is by VPN.

Maybe Ubisoft uses some server in russia or something and my country does not have good relations with russia so it could be that the whole country is just blocked. It did work a while ago when I played Valhalla but that was like over a year ago.

[Basman]

Just in case someone else stumbles upon this. Somehow some setups/regions run into a MTU black hole with Ubisoft Connect through Proton on Linux. Enabling MTU probing (for the techies out there, rfc4821) will fix this automatically. Lowering the MTU manually works as well (which is why the VPN solution fixes this).

To enable MTU probing, you need to go into desktop mode and have a password configured to run the following command and reboot:

echo net.ipv4.tcp_mtu_probing=1 | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/custom-mtu-probing.conf

If you want to undo the change (for whatever reason), type the follow and reboot again:

sudo rm /etc/sysctl.d/custom-mtu-probing.conf

Alternative is to configure a fixed lower MTU (eg. 1452) instead of the default 1500.

edit: fixed the sysctl property name, this also explains why it didn't work for people.

[uncle dad]

I can confirm that this is one of the tings I've tried which did not help (or make a lick of sense to me that they needed to be attempted in the first damn place)

Things I tried before giving up:

- Use a VPN
- Use a completely different connection (both a mobile data connection and a completely different internet connection at another household)
- Enable MTU probing

But in the first place, why should I need to troubleshoot an arbitrary extra layer of DRM in order to prove I own a product that I paid a premium price for, which I launched through a storefront with inherent DRM, all because of some weird issue with Ubi's launcher connectivity?

[Ubi_TheBerry]

Hey guys,

Apologies for the delay.

Valve dictate the support ratings of titles on the Steam Deck.

They've labelled Assassin's Creed: Valhalla as playable, which notes it should be launchable but may require additional configuration.

Please be aware that the Steam Deck is not an officially supported title by the game as it designed to run on Windows PC machines. - as such, we're unable to provide full support on getting the game or client to run on the platform.

Valve offer articles with some Steam Deck troubleshooting steps available here.

There are also the Steam Deck Discussions available here to seek further advice.

If there's anything else we can answer, please let us know.

Thank you!

- Ubisoft Support

[_oBSOLEte_]

Originally posted by 76561198072683634:

Alternative is to configure a fixed lower MTU (eg. 1452) instead of the default 1500.

Thank you so much for that, you're a legend. MTU probing didnt do the trick but reducing it a bit is working. I've been trying to make Ubisoft Connect actually connect ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on lutris and steam proton for a month on my PC with PopOS but both were stuck at "inistializing", despite login with two factor authentification. I'm in EU, belgium.

For now I'm running the following command before Ubi Connect launch

sudo ifconfig device mtu 1452

where device is the name of the ethernet device i got running ifconfig without any parameter to list them.

I havent commited the MTU change to any config file right now so I'd need to run it again for another session.

[uncle dad]

Originally posted by Ubi_TheBerry:

Hey guys,

Apologies for the delay.

...

Thank you!

- Ubisoft Support

I appreciate that you took the time to reply, but all this text does is shift responsibility. I agree that from a technical standpoint the issue is somewhere between the Ubi Connect servers and a consumers' device, however I can guarantee from personal experience that this issue is unique to games forwarded to Ubi Connect.

In general I remain of the opinion that, while it's fully legal for Ubisoft to require a second layer of DRM authentication, it's not a great approach to take with regards to how customers perceive your platform.

So while this reply does the minimum to link to generic sources of SD troubleshooting information, it reads as though the main intent is to somehow shift the general perception of the issue in such a way that it has nothing to do with Ubi Connect and everything to do with the way Valve marks support for specific games.

[FluffyPotato]

Originally posted by Ubi_TheBerry:

Hey guys,

Apologies for the delay.

Valve dictate the support ratings of titles on the Steam Deck.

They've labelled Assassin's Creed: Valhalla as playable, which notes it should be launchable but may require additional configuration.

Please be aware that the Steam Deck is not an officially supported title by the game as it designed to run on Windows PC machines. - as such, we're unable to provide full support on getting the game or client to run on the platform.

Valve offer articles with some Steam Deck troubleshooting steps available here.

There are also the Steam Deck Discussions available here to seek further advice.

If there's anything else we can answer, please let us know.

Thank you!

- Ubisoft Support

It's not just Assassin's Creed Valhalla, it's Ubisoft Connect itself and any game that requires it.

[Basman]

We can all agree that Ubisoft Connect is value degrading. If tomorrow Ubisoft would announce that all Connect features would be removed from their games, it would be unanimously applauded. Given their latest sales projections, let's hope someone over there with a brain has this on their road-map

That being said, I'm pretty confident, that at it's core this is an issue with Proton. Since Windows machines on the same network don't have an issue. If Valve had tested it in different conditions it would have gotten an unsupported rating. It would have been in the best interest of Ubisoft to work with Valve to git things fixed to get a better rating. But from what I've seen, they don't really care (yet). Oh well, I'm already glad they are not banning Steam Deck users (looking at you Bungie ).

It's interesting to read that MTU probing does not fix it for everyone. Which is most likely due to other weird network/router/ISP setups. My guess is that some Ubisoft servers don't accept fragmented packets, while others do. And it's mostly people with some form of PPPoE (like Fiber) connections that run into this. Would be nice data to gather for a Proton bug though.

Lowering the MTU is a valid workaround. You can make this persistent per Wifi connection. Find the name of your connection, probably same name as the Wifi SSID:

nmcli connection show

Execute the following command where NAME is replaced with the connection name found above (the single quotes are required if the name contains spaces):

nmcli connection modify 'NAME' 802-11-wireless.mtu 1452

It will become active after some time if you have the patience for it, or just restart the Deck:

systemctl reboot

To revert execute the command with the value 1500. Or remove the Wifi connection and add it again in the SteamOS UI.

[_oBSOLEte_]

Yeah Ubisoft Connect is a garbage fire on all platforms now.

I had a surprisingly easy time with BattleNet on Lutris with the install script and with Heroic Launcher to emulate EGS. Now all that's left is that EA Origin crap, and Oculus.

[Basman]

I made a typo with the mtu probing. I forgot to add the net.ipv4 prefix, which explains why it doesn't work for you. Updated the command:

echo net.ipv4.tcp_mtu_probing=1 | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/custom-mtu-probing.conf

[uncle dad]

Thank you Basman, paragon of community support, for doing what paid contracted support staff cannot provide!

[crazymonkey2489]

Man i sure wish i could play Valhalla on pc xbox anything but apparently i dont own the 2 copies of the game across 2 platforms.

[Ludensius]

This information saved my day. Thx a lot.
I was reinstalling Ubi Launcher and run into some problems, which I just found out were freshly implemented by Valve and Ubi.

What solved it for me, was using the latest Proton Experimental.

And set MTU to 1400 (1496 was not enough)

ip link #to get the device name
sudo ip  link set dev <device name here>  mtu 1400

I used ip command to temporary change mtu, as it is preinstall and ifconfig not.