Please offer a conversion from Steam to PC version for Steam users.

[Lozza]

The announcement recently that Steam users will now have to login via Steam to play FFXIV is extremely concerning. The only reason I have kept using the Steam version and buying upgrades via Steam is because it did not do this.

A little while back another MMO (ESO) switched their Steam policy to force Steam users to login through Steam. The result was and still is a disaster. Steam users require that both auth servers remain up and the Steam auth server is constantly going down. It is not unusual for Steam users to not be able to log on to the game for weeks at a time. Valve does not care about whether their servers are impeding players from playing games they own, and ZOS can do nothing at their end because it is not their servers that are preventing Steam users from logging on.

Steam users do not appear to have the ability to add a PC version key to their account - I've tried in the past when I had a free ARR key floating around and it would not let me add it. This news is both sudden - given it's set to happen in less than a month - and appears to have been made without knowledge of the total lack of service that Valve actually gives for forcing players to do this. ESO only has an optional sub. If you can't login for weeks at a time (and don't have the optional sub) you are not losing any paid for game time. FFXIV is a sub based game, Steam users are going to lose valuable sub time because of this. Forcing this change without offering a way for Steam users to jump ship is terrible. If ESO Steam users issues had been fixed I wouldn't be as alarmed but ESO Steam users still regularly experience days and weeks of downtime 18+ months after making this change.

Please offer some way to allow Steam users to convert to PC accounts, either by letting us rebuy and apply PC keys (which would be annoying and expensive given I've purchased SHB already) or offering straight conversion like you did for PS3 players to switch to PS4.

[szalkerous]

Absolutely agree.

This is the first time in months I have logged into the forums just to suggest this exact thing.

This change is infuriating.

[IthinkIcanfixit]

I don't even understand whats the point of requiring us to have to log on from Steam. As said I only have a steam account because I started this game through steam not knowing I would end up being held hostage by it.

[Kurando]

or offering straight conversion like you did for PS3 players to switch to PS4.

I agree with what you want although I don't think this particular example can be used as comparison as the PSN account was unaffected during the console conversion, as opposed to switching between Steam and SE (which are two separate accounts).

[Lozza]

I agree with what you want although I don't think this particular example can be used as comparison as the PSN account was unaffected during the console conversion, as opposed to switching between Steam and SE (which are two separate accounts).

While expensive I would be happy to rebuy the game if I could apply PC keys to an account that already has Steam keys, buy while the game treats these as two different type of keys the account system appears to treat them as the same. I bought this game back in ARR back then there was no note that the game required the steam client to run, indeed all MMOs on Steam back when I bought ARR worked the same way, you could start them via Steam but you didn't have to.

They are giving us less than a month's notice on this change and we don't even technically have a date yet just "oh we're making this change late March". They also clearly have no knowledge of how much of a mess this switch was and still is for another MMO (ESO).

[demonette]

Consider this signed.

I am LIVID. This is not the state I bought the product in, and I was not warned of this change. I would even PAY for the option to be free of Steam. This is incredibly scummy and anti-consumer.

I put in a SUPPORT TICKET, and I would ask anyone else to please also put in a ticket! Flood them with support tickets about this issue and make them realize how unpopular this is!

I'm not taking this lying down, this is awful.

[Lozza]

I would also very much like to know where this stops. If we have to use Steam will they also demand we pay our subs with the Steam wallet - which I don't use, and don't want to ever use.

[Hashalt]

I'm mortified by this change. Once, while I was playing through steam the game crashed. Upon trying to launch the game, steam didn't think xiv was installed and wanted me to download the entire thing again. Since then I've just been launching it directly from the .exe.

I don't want to use steam to launch. I would buy another whole copy of the game just to get out of this steam prison.

[Dischord]

I never would have used Steam to start with, if I'd realized that I'd be held hostage by it. Steam frequently likes to not log on or load the client on my PC. This will end up meaning long periods where I cannot access my game. If this happens, I'm effectively done - not by choice, but because I won't have a choice.

[Wijnand]

I am confused?

You can just download the game and login with your SE Account without using steam. The only time you have a problem is when there is an expansion. You don't need a separate client?