Steam Account - Need help for users that don't actually have FFXIV on their steam

[linay]

Greetings,

For users who possess a Square Enix account with multiple service accounts (specifically ones that have both Steam and Windows licenses), the check on if it was launched from the Steam app occurs when the service account is selected on the start screen. If you select a Steam service account when using the Windows version of the launcher, you will be given an error and have to select a Windows service account to proceed. Otherwise, you will need to launch the Steam version to use the Steam service account.

Hopefully that clears it up!

Does the FFXIV Steam service account have to match the Steam account that is logged in to the Steam client when running the Steam version of the launcher or would any valid FFXIV Steam service account work?

[LalaRu]

...I personally purchased the game on Steam...There was no warning to say that we would forever be locked into purchasing all expansions via Steam, or ... be forced to run the game via Steam...

Steam is a gaming platform separate from windows, everything you get there must stay there. There is no need of any warning, you just need to read the terms of agreement you accepted when you registered on Steam.

When some games "tolerate" launch outside Steam, it is a plus (or a bug) you cannot take for granted.

[Lozza]

Greetings,

For users who possess a Square Enix account with multiple service accounts (specifically ones that have both Steam and Windows licenses), the check on if it was launched from the Steam app occurs when the service account is selected on the start screen. If you select a Steam service account when using the Windows version of the launcher, you will be given an error and have to select a Windows service account to proceed. Otherwise, you will need to launch the Steam version to use the Steam service account.

Hopefully that clears it up!

No it doesn't - it tells us nothing we don't already know, that Steam users will have no choice but to launch via Steam.

Given you can't have PC and Steam on the same accounts and Steam users that bought back in ARR were never told until after HW pre orders went live that we'd be locked into Steam for the rest of our lives. Even after HW launched we were never told "oh in the future you are going to have to have your Steam account connected every time you want to play". You've also not told us what happens if specific keys don't match (is it just an account flag? if so why can't those of us concerned have our flag changed to PC?)

What will happen if (like ESO) the Steam auth servers are down for significant periods? Is it the players' responsibility to document when the servers are down and how long they are down for in order to get compensation? What will happen if they are up in hours we can't play (due to work or sleep) but down during our own timezone's peak period? Will PAL only be deemed affected if the auth servers are down during EU peak? Also when can we expect to be forced on to Steam Wallet for our sub payments? And are the Steam checks done by regional servers? (Can I expect a 1k ping because my PAL account has to go to the EU and back to log into the game from Australia?)

Finally, SE has resisted this policy for over 18 months, so why change now?

[Neri]

No it doesn't - it tells us nothing we don't already know, that Steam users will have no choice but to launch via Steam.

Given you can't have PC and Steam on the same accounts and Steam users that bought back in ARR were never told until after HW pre orders went live that we'd be locked into Steam for the rest of our lives. Even after HW launched we were never told "oh in the future you are going to have to have your Steam account connected every time you want to play". You've also not told us what happens if specific keys don't match (is it just an account flag? if so why can't those of us concerned have our flag changed to PC?)

What will happen if (like ESO) the Steam auth servers are down for significant periods? Is it the players' responsibility to document when the servers are down and how long they are down for in order to get compensation? What will happen if they are up in hours we can't play (due to work or sleep) but down during our own timezone's peak period? Will PAL only be deemed affected if the auth servers are down during EU peak? Also when can we expect to be forced on to Steam Wallet for our sub payments? And are the Steam checks done by regional servers? (Can I expect a 1k ping because my PAL account has to go to the EU and back to log into the game from Australia?)

Finally, SE has resisted this policy for over 18 months, so why change now?

Pressure/new policy enforcement from steam? I dunno.

[Nora_of_Mira]

Or square enix could do the ethical thing and let players opt out of the steam account version and convert to a regular version. The steam version sucks

there's literally no difference between the 2 versions of the game, its just a button before the launcher pops up. You barely have to interact with Steam at all.

[Seedling]

Thank you for the update, but does SE intend to assist the players who, through no fault of their own, are affected by these changes?

I personally purchased the game on Steam in June 2014, before Heavensward even existed. There was no warning to say that we would forever be locked into purchasing all expansions via Steam, or that years later we'd later be forced to run the game via Steam. It was well known you could just run the game directly and over the last 5 years that's become even more common knowledge. I don't mean to sound rude, but to treat PC Steam and PC non-Steam players differently is discrimination. Everyone paid the same fees for the game/expansions/subscriptions, why are you treating your customers differently? And to announce it now, after pre-orders have started and people have already paid on Steam...?

I appreciate the official reason is "to align even more closely with Steam policies", but SE isn't exactly a small company. Are we really supposed to believe that after 5 years you have no leverage at all with Steam? This was your deal with Steam, not ours. If you're going to implement this change of policy at least only apply it to new accounts going forward and let the rest of us out of this Steam nightmare that we've been trapped in.

When you bought Heavensward (or Stormblood), you had the option to buy it for standalone or Steam version, so some blame does befall the player in this case, if they chose the 'wrong' version because it 'worked anyway'.

I think you can check which version you have in your MogStation.
If you bought Steam keys, and thus have a Steam-linked SE account, then it's a simple matter of applying said keys to Steam (if not done already), and playing it from Steam. You can disable the Steam interface in a game if it bothers you.

Make sure to copy your layouts and macros to the SE cloud first, if you end up switching over... doing it manually is a bit of a pain.

[Kaedan]

Wouldn't this be as simple as "adding a non-steam game to my library"? Or even possibly "activate a product on steam" using the original code?

[worldofneil]

Steam is a gaming platform separate from windows, everything you get there must stay there. There is no need of any warning, you just need to read the terms of agreement you accepted when you registered on Steam.

Honestly I'm not that bothered about having to purchase expansions off Steam, at launch they're the same price anyway, what I am concerned about is that the Steam version is getting more and more restrictions added to it and I'm concerned as to what's going to be next.

When some games "tolerate" launch outside Steam, it is a plus (or a bug) you cannot take for granted.

It's been a "plus (or a bug)" for over 5 years now. It's enabled us to run the game at friends houses who don't have Steam, it's enabled us to run the game from a USB drive, it's enabled us to run two services accounts at a time and I'm sure there are some players who don't even have access to their Steam account any more, I have no idea what they're going to do... I don't think most people even realise/read the launcher news so it will cause a lot of confusion when all of a sudden they have to change how they run the game once this update arrives.

When you bought Heavensward (or Stormblood), you had the option to buy it for standalone or Steam version, so some blame does befall the player in this case, if they chose the 'wrong' version because it 'worked anyway'.

Sorry, but I think you've misunderstood the problem. When Heavensward was released this was the first time we found out there was any difference between Steam and non-Steam, even though it had been sold on Steam for over a year. There was no option for us to "buy it for standalone or Steam version", we *had* to buy the Steam version. Non-Steam Heavensward keys simply do not work.

What will happen if...

Adding to your questions, what happens if a player loses access to their Steam account in the future? How will they continue to play the game?

Finally, SE has resisted this policy for over 18 months, so why change now?

I don't know if anyone has actually Steam what policy changes they actually require to their applications, but I'm going to create a ticket to see if they'll tell me.

Wouldn't this be as simple as "adding a non-steam game to my library"? Or even possibly "activate a product on steam" using the original code?

You can't convert a Steam account to a non-Steam account (or vice versa). That's what we want SE to let us do, but they're saying no.

[Nora_of_Mira]

Sorry, but I think you've misunderstood the problem. When Heavensward was released this was the first time we found out there was any difference between Steam and non-Steam, even though it had been sold on Steam for over a year. There was no option for us to "buy it for standalone or Steam version", we *had* to buy the Steam version. Non-Steam Heavensward keys simply do not work.

yeah, because what else at the time gave reason to notify players of this? the expansions were limited to each version you bought the game in, and this was the first expansion. When ARR first launched, did they even know they were going to work on an expansion considering the state of the game at the time? Is it really valid to say "we didnt know at the time" when SE could have also not known at the time?

[Nixxe]

When you bought Heavensward (or Stormblood), you had the option to buy it for standalone or Steam version, so some blame does befall the player in this case, if they chose the 'wrong' version because it 'worked anyway'.

I think you can check which version you have in your MogStation.
If you bought Steam keys, and thus have a Steam-linked SE account, then it's a simple matter of applying said keys to Steam (if not done already), and playing it from Steam. You can disable the Steam interface in a game if it bothers you.

Make sure to copy your layouts and macros to the SE cloud first, if you end up switching over... doing it manually is a bit of a pain.

If you bought ARR from Steam and bought any version of HW other than the one from Steam, the key would not work for your account. There has never been any out, other than switching from PC to Mac or PS4. Once you go Steam, you're stuck with it forever.