If you have been struggling to get online with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn lately you are not alone. On the game's official site the developers have now explained that the reason for this is continuous DDoS attacks on their servers that by the looks of things are still going on:
"Currently we are experiencing DDoS attacks from an anonymous third-party targeting the FINAL FANTASY XIV game servers on the NA/EU data center.
Due to this attack, our game servers, network equipment and network connection are being hit with heavy load at an extensive level, which is causing a disconnection from the game and login difficulties.
Our technical staff is taking every possible measure to address this issue but the attack is still continuing to take place by changing their methods at every moment. We will continue to monitor and work on recovery from every possible angle.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing."