diff --git a/classes.py b/classes.py
index 2126c92..256e861 100644
--- a/classes.py
+++ b/classes.py
@@ -65,6 +65,9 @@ class Irc(utils.DeprecatedAttributesObject):
 
         self.pingTimer = None
 
+        # Sets the multiplier for autoconnect delay (grows with time).
+        self.autoconnect_active_multiplier = 1
+
         self.initVars()
 
         if world.testing:
@@ -310,6 +313,7 @@ class Irc(utils.DeprecatedAttributesObject):
                     log.info('(%s) Starting ping schedulers....', self.name)
                     self.schedulePing()
                     log.info('(%s) Server ready; listening for data.', self.name)
+                    self.autoconnect_active_multiplier = 1  # Reset any extra autoconnect delays
                     self.run()
                 else:  # Configuration error :(
                     log.error('(%s) A configuration error was encountered '
@@ -327,8 +331,22 @@ class Irc(utils.DeprecatedAttributesObject):
             # If autoconnect is enabled, loop back to the start. Otherwise,
             # return and stop.
             autoconnect = self.serverdata.get('autoconnect')
+
+            # Sets the autoconnect growth multiplier (e.g. a value of 2 multiplies the autoconnect
+            # time by 2 on every failure, etc.)
+            autoconnect_multiplier = self.serverdata.get('autoconnect_multiplier', 2)
+            autoconnect_max = self.serverdata.get('autoconnect_max', 1800)
+            # These values must at least be 1.
+            autoconnect_multiplier = max(autoconnect_multiplier, 1)
+            autoconnect_max = max(autoconnect_max, 1)
+
             log.debug('(%s) Autoconnect delay set to %s seconds.', self.name, autoconnect)
             if autoconnect is not None and autoconnect >= 1:
+                log.debug('(%s) Multiplying autoconnect delay %s by %s.', self.name, autoconnect, self.autoconnect_active_multiplier)
+                autoconnect *= self.autoconnect_active_multiplier
+                # Add a cap on the max. autoconnect delay, so that we don't go on forever...
+                autoconnect = min(autoconnect, autoconnect_max)
+
                 log.info('(%s) Going to auto-reconnect in %s seconds.', self.name, autoconnect)
                 # Continue when either self.aborted is set or the autoconnect time passes.
                 # Compared to time.sleep(), this allows us to stop connections quicker if we
@@ -336,6 +354,9 @@ class Irc(utils.DeprecatedAttributesObject):
                 self.aborted.clear()
                 self.aborted.wait(autoconnect)
 
+                # Store in the local state what the autoconnect multiplier currently is.
+                self.autoconnect_active_multiplier *= autoconnect_multiplier
+
                 if self not in world.networkobjects.values():
                     log.debug('Stopping stale connect loop for old connection %r', self.name)
                     return
diff --git a/coremods/control.py b/coremods/control.py
index 2d3ba7b..8511b87 100644
--- a/coremods/control.py
+++ b/coremods/control.py
@@ -93,9 +93,11 @@ def _rehash():
             log.debug('rehash: removing connection to %r (removed from config).', network)
             remove_network(ircobj)
         else:
+            # XXX: we should really just add abstraction to Irc to update config settings...
             ircobj.conf = new_conf
             ircobj.serverdata = new_conf['servers'][network]
             ircobj.botdata = new_conf['bot']
+            ircobj.autoconnect_cache = 1
 
             # Clear the IRC object's channel loggers and replace them with
             # new ones by re-running logSetup().
diff --git a/example-conf.yml b/example-conf.yml
index f28f451..dca98a5 100644
--- a/example-conf.yml
+++ b/example-conf.yml
@@ -151,6 +151,13 @@ servers:
         # disable autoconnect entirely.
         autoconnect: 5
 
+        # Optional autoconnect settings:
+        # Defines whether we should multiply the autoconnect delay by a certain value every time
+        # a connection fails. This defaults to 2 if not set (30 secs becomes 60 secs, 120 secs, etc.)
+        #autoconnect_multiplier: 2
+        # Defines what the maximum autoconnect time will be (defaults to 1800 secs).
+        #autoconnect_max: 1800
+
         # Sets the ping frequency in seconds (i.e. how long we should wait between
         # sending pings to our uplink). When more than two consecutive pings are missed,
         # PyLink will disconnect with a ping timeout. This defaults to 90 if not set.