If you share your internet connection at home and find yourself unable to host DOTA/Warcraft 3 games on Battle.net, it’s probably because you don’t know how to configure your router. Router configuration can be tricky business.

I used to use a D-Link router and for some strange reason, I can only host games with the DMZ mode in operation. I can’t seem to forward the Warcraft 3 ports properly. DMZ mode isn’t exactly recommended because of security issues.

However, it looks like I found a cure with the new router I bought. I moved out of my old place and had to get a new router for my new home, so I went shopping at Sim Lim, went into a shop and asked for their cheapest wireless router (my wife uses a laptop so a wireless router is necessary). I ended up bringing home TP-Link’s WL-G642.

WL642G

To my pleasant surprise, configuring the router to host games on Battle.net was surprisingly simple. In the Port Triggering section under the Forwarding menu in the router admin panel, there is drop-down menu for common applications that require port forwarding. Guess what? One of the common applications is Battle.net!

I selected that option and all the necessary configuration was done. I logged onto Battle.net and could host games without turning on the DMZ mode. So, if you need a router that is simple to configure to host games on Battle.net, get this one. It’s quite cheap too. I got it for 55 bucks with 3 years warranty.

I’ve had experience configuring my old D-Link router so I could operate this one without reading the user guide. If you’re new to router configuration, the user manual is quite easy to understand. There are several levels of security options and the wireless signal strength is excellent. Apparently, the wireless transfer speed can go up to 108Mbps, although 54Mbps is quite sufficient. For 55 bucks, this router is certainly the most value for money compared to the more established router brands like D-Link, Linksys, Netgear, SMC etc.