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

[linay]

Only if you login to your own Steam account on their PC, you cannot log into your ESO account from someone else's Steam account.

Ok, if that's the case with FFXIV, then that would be a problem.

The is no flag in the SE account system to determine a Steam account from a PC account. It has to check the keys themselves.

On Mog Station, it says I have a standard (steam) account type, maybe it will just check that and that I'm running on FFXIV from Steam.

[Lozza]

Ok, if that's the case with FFXIV, then that would be a problem. On Mog Station, it says I have a standard (steam) account type, maybe it just checks that and that I'm running on FFXIV from Steam.

If you have a PC version of the game that column on the mog station reads PC. Both Steam keys and PC keys are "Windows" keys to the database - this is the reason why we can't just rebuy the game as a PC licence. If you try to input a PC key for ARR it tells you you already have that game applied to your account - not that they keys are incompatible. The incompatible check comes up only if you are adding a game/expac you don't have that doesn't match the other keys - either because it's the wrong region or because it's PC rather than Steam.

[Vulcwen]

Basically, there are three possible outcomes:

1. Worst case: The launcher will check against all registered keys, and reject accounts that have mismatching keys (as in, keys that weren't registered on the same steam account). This means the account is essentially permabanned from PC.
2. The launcher will check only against the most recently registered key. In this case, you might be allowed to transfer to different steam account, but you'd have to buy the game again, and the next expansion, and might be locked out until shadowbringers comes out. SE can alternatively also allow users to change the steam account their service account is linked to (although I think that's not part of the initial implementation).
3. Best case: The launcher only checks if an account is a steam account, and whether a valid steam key is used to log in (even if expansions don't match). Then you'd be able to log into any steam service account on any steam account, meaning you can still play at a friend's place, and the OPs friend should still be fine. He'd still have to get his own steam version of the game though.

We do not how things will be implemented, so I guess the only option is to just wait, and be prepared for disappointment.

If you have a PC version of the game that column on the mog station reads PC. Both Steam keys and PC keys are "Windows" keys to the database - this is the reason why we can't just rebuy the game as a PC licence. If you try to input a PC key for ARR it tells you you already have that game applied to your account - not that they keys are incompatible. The incompatible check comes up only if you are adding a game/expac you don't have that doesn't match the other keys - either because it's the wrong region or because it's PC rather than Steam.

Technical issues shouldn't be relevant here. The fact that PC and Steam are considered the same platform is a business decision, not a technical one.

[linay]

If you have a PC version of the game that column on the mog station reads PC. Both Steam keys and PC keys are "Windows" keys to the database - this is the reason why we can't just rebuy the game as a PC licence. If you try to input a PC key for ARR it tells you you already have that game applied to your account - not that they keys are incompatible. The incompatible check comes up only if you are adding a game/expac you don't have that doesn't match the other keys - either because it's the wrong region or because it's PC rather than Steam.

Presumably, that won't matter in this case if the friend sticks to Steam.

[Rongway]

Could the friend not install the XIV Trial version on steam, make a trial account, and then thereafter sign in using their original account credentials?

Expansion purchases would still have to be made on OP's account, but the trial version launcher accepts full version login credentials last I checked. Has this changed?

[Coatl]

This seems like one big can of worms..

It seems that everyone is sorta just guessing as to what the outcome will be. Have you tried perhaps contacting support and getting some insight from them?

[Duskane]

why they need separate license is just dumb understandable ps4 but
PC and steam should be the same and work what ever platform you buy them from

[Defmetal]

I contacted Steam - they made a one-time exception (I posted squares note) and they said its not eligible for a refund HOWEVER since i've never requested one and this is outside the norm, they refunded me the purchase price. I then used the $24 they gave me to buy my friend a copy of it for his account.
However they did not refund the expansions. I don't think he'll have problems logging in though. Besides Edgelords gives the previous ones with it so...

I have no idea why Square Enix needed to further break a system with a solution no one asked for.
It's kind of like "hey this system is kind of broken, but what if it was somehow made worse?"

[Ridrina]

Ok how do you think the normal launcher is going to check that I am a Steam user? The only way that SE could prevent me from logging in via the normal launcher downloaded and installed from SE's own website is by checking my SE account for my licence keys. Now it could be a simple PC/Steam check OR it could be a check to ensure that my Steam account keys match my SE account keys. The way ESO's worked was the latter. I knew a few people caught out by this because in ESO you could mix and match PC/Steam keys. If it is checking for an exact match between Steam keys and SE keys the friend will lose access to their account because the keys will not match.

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!

[worldofneil]

Hopefully that clears it up!

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.