May I say that I am disappointed?

[VanishingPuppet]

So I've played since beta 4 and I started out on PS3. When I decided it was time for an upgrade I got a PC and changed to a PC account. So I've already bought the game twice. I'm a huge collector's edition nut for games that I thoroughly enjoy so when it became available I immediately purchased physical CE. I found out rather recently that it doesn't work in that manner as I have a lovely Steam account. I'm not a PC master race veteran and had no idea I would be locked down like this, and the fact that there was absolutely no warning when purchasing the PCE from the SE store that it would be unavailable for Steam users makes me appalled. For a lot of your users this is their first MMO or their first expansion for one, yet there was so little clarity on this issue at the launch of the SE preorders. To make matters worse, you never even tried to reach the more casual players by, say, making sure this was stated in the launcher so it had clarity.

I just don't see how you couldn't either put your foot down for your users in saying that physical keys could work on Steam or make sure your steam users know by using the easiest way to communicate to your audience. There needs to either be a way to swap my physical key for a steam key or a way to get me off Steam. I am truly disappointed at the way this has been handled as it lacked clarity in a lot of areas. Just my thoughts on this mess.

[Etiken]

You may. XD

Honestly though, I agree. It really sucks for all you in that situation. Fortunately for me, my wife plays on PS4 and I am on steam. So we just bought her a CE.

[Dante_V]

I don't play on steam but I would be very disappointed also.

[m3eansean]

I play on Steam, I am disappointed. Never again will I buy an MMO from Steam due to the lockdown.

That said, there actually was a dev post here on the lodestone in explicit detail before HW went on sale, describing that Steam users were shafted and had to wait for Steam to make it ready for purchase on Steam.

Steam had the same post as well on the main ARR page, you can check it now if you like, dated like 3-16-2015 or something.

There was a warning, technically.

[Semirhage]

Some warning. "Now that you're trapped on Steam and we refuse to transfer your accounts away from it, you're screwed! Good luck!"

[Inazuka]

they should have at least put a warning on SE shop to tell us that we won't be able to use the key on steam. I bought it from SE and now i'm trapped with a copy i can't use. Worst, they dont even answer to my mail

[worldofneil]

they should have at least put a warning on SE shop to tell us that we won't be able to use the key on steam.

They did/have from day one:

NA store: Notice: This product is not compatible with the Steam version of FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. If you’ve purchased FFXIV: A Realm Reborn on Steam, then you must also purchase FFXIV: Heavensward on Steam to upgrade your existing account.

EU store: Please note: The registration code included in this version is not compatible with the Steam version of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. To play on Steam, please buy the Steam version of the game once it becomes available.

Both of those lines of text are in the description for FFXIV Heavensward on both SE stores for all PC editions.