I too was given the same run around telling me to open a wide array of ports to attempt to fix this issue. When I first bought the game (3 days after release) I had no issues playing it, even through a double NAT'ed connection. Now that I have switched ISPs, have a much faster and staple connection, and no longer double NAT'ed, I cannot connect to ANY multiplayer servers for ANY EA game. The only change to my network was removing the firewall/router/gateway unit my previous ISP gave me, and now my router has a direct connection to the web.
None of the other online game I play require me to open ports in my firewall to play, so what special EA magic makes it so that is what is required to play their games on multiplayer servers. I find it hard to believe all of their customer base has to open specific ports to play their games. After working with a tech rep, their supervisor, and getting an email for a "technical specialist", I was given the following lame response:
Regardless of other games that you might play, EA games often require much more stability in terms of the connection. Beyond opening ports, we try to provide as much trouble shooting as we can since connectivity can be a range of factors. There is no specific path to provide or some elite server to provide to you either. With specific networks in place as well too, its difficult to even approach troubleshooting.
To EA, how much more stable of an internet connection do your games require? A 300Mbps upload/download connection with less than 20% utilization and an open NAT isn't enough. Seriously, enough people have complained about this issue that you as a company should look into this, instead of responding with your lame "basic" troubleshooting and trying to pass the blame on to "routing/firewall/port" issues.
