unable to connect to login.eqemulator.net

[Xer0]

As the records will show I pretty consistently have issues connecting to the server. Upon selecting my server, the screen goes black and for about 15-20 seconds and then reverts to the login and gives me an error 1017, advising me to reconnect to the patch server.

Normally a simple reboot would fix the problem, and it has for a year now. However at this point in time that is not working. I've tried 10 consecutive times to log in, on 2 separate occasions, each immediately following a reboot.

This time around I've noticed that I can NOT ping login.eqemulator.net

I've run a command prompt and attempted to ping the host server five different times, and it is not letting me. Time out every time.

Everything else works as far as the internet is concerned. I can play multiplayer games via steam with 0 issue. My client is not being blocked by the firewall or AV program. Appropriate ports ARE opened.

Can anyone offer some advice with this?