1017 ReturnsFollow

Directly following a maintenance period, however, the number of simultaneous logins might reach several hundred thousand. Without login restrictions in place, the flood of requests would crash the lobby server, preventing everyone from logging in to the game.
In order to avoid this scenario, the lobby server is designed to employ a queue system when faced with an extreme number of login requests. Each request is processed in the order it was received, rather than simultaneously, allowing for a stable─albeit slower─login environment.

When a player is placed in the queue, a connection known as a “session” is created between the lobby server and the character with which the player is attempting to log in. Character sessions are rechecked approximately every thirty seconds to one minute, at which time queue numbers are updated and players are logged into the game. The frequency of session checks has been set at this pace to once again avoid placing excessive stress on the lobby server.

In the case that the World the player is attempting to connect to is currently undergoing login restrictions, however, no lobby server session is created, and the system will instead display Error 1017. Restrictions may remain in place for as little as one minute to as long as several hours depending on fluctuations in the player population already logged into the World.