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

[Astrus]

Then what does this mean?



Not arguing, I just assumed it was like ps4/pc where you can have a license for both and play on either, but only pay 1 sub. If that's not the case then it sounds like he's referring to separate subscription (service) accounts.

It means people who have several Service Accounts registered to their SE Account.
Each service account is a seperate subscription, each giving you the option of registering the platforms PS4, Mac and Windows (stand-alone or Steam, wherein lies the rub).
Unless they change how the keys are handled both a stand-alone and a Steam key are under the Windows platform and mutually exclusive.
That bit just means that you can't trick the system by registering a second service account with the stand-alone trial, launch the game independend of Steam and then switch to your Steam-bound service account bypassing all the Steam authentification mumbo jumbo.

They could just make Steam its own "platform" and allow people to register a set of stand-alone keys for the Windows version. People would still have to spend money for at least the base game and Shadowbringers but they'd be free of the dreaded unstable Steam authentification server.

If they leave things as is people with Steam-bound accounts who want to keep their account progress are stuck with having to go through the double authentification and any problems that may entail until someone figures out a workaround or they outright switch to another platform.

I wonder if you can make the launcher believe it's running on a Mac and break the system that way without taking the performance hit that emulating an OS entails, at the price of having to buy Mac licenses.

[whiskeybravo]

They could just make Steam its own "platform" and allow people to register a set of stand-alone keys for the Windows version. People would still have to spend money for at least the base game and Shadowbringers but they'd be free of the dreaded unstable Steam authentification server.

I see, they don't differentiate Steam being a different "platform" like PC vs PS4. Makes more sense now.