FFXIV 3.0 : Heavensward - Expansion Information and Discussion

[Sechs]

Dunno, I used my PS3 code for a secondary account and not for my main one, and I can still log on my PS3 by simply using the login and password data I use on my PC.
I could do the same on a friends' PS4 (needed to login to PSN with my PSN Account first though, or it wouldn't work).

The fact I didn't have to use that code to play on PS3 and PS4 with my main account for ARR (which is exactely the same thing happening on X360 and PS2 for FFXI btw) made me think that, unlike what they're saying on the forums, you don't really need multiple of those codes, provided that you can somehow correctly install the expansion game data on each platform.
Those codes are used to upgrade your account from "ARR" to "Heavensward". They do use a different format, but they produce the same result, and it's not like you can upgrade your account twice.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Gokulo]

Doesn't sound right to me, I remember I specifically buying the ps3 ver of arr for my 1.0 account to be able to play on console if I wanted

[Adajer]

Still no CE on Amazon

[Prothescar]

Not 100% sure, but I think you'll need a key for each different type of platform that you want to play on. "Free" account transfers/sharing between PC/PS3/PS4 was a limited time thing for ARR afaik, doubt they'll do it for Heavensward.

It is possible to play with the same account on the Windows®, PlayStation®3, and PlayStation®4 platforms. Customers who own a copy of FFXIV for Windows® and wish to use their account on the PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®4 version will need to purchase an additional copy for the desired platform. In order to use your characters on multiple platforms, you must tie your existing service account to the PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®4 version upon launching the game on that platform for the first time. Similarly, customers who own a copy of FFXIV for the PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®4 and wish to use their account on the Windows® version will need to purchase a copy of the Windows® version. However, please note that your account will only be able to log in to one platform at a time.

Could be wrong though, they may not require serial key verification for this. Since it's an expansion it's probably an account wide upgrade anyway, but who knows. Multiconsole MMOs are still pretty barren, not a lot of different places to draw from in terms of experiences.

[Adajer]

You do need to buy the exp pack for whichever platform you want to play on.

Never heard of anything from PC to peasant being free. Just PS3 to PS4.

[Sechs]

No, you all completely misunderstood what I meant, I must have typed something more confusing than usual...
I'll make a new and hopefully clearer post once I get down from the bus.

[The Stig]

I understood what you meant, but for FFXIV specifically it's tied to platform, you'll need the key/license to play the expansion on.

I believe this is because PS4 consults your PSN account in some form or other, which requires FFXIV's licenses attached to it.

Unsure about PC, but I presume the PC one will only install/download the expansion area files once a license is applied.

[Kaslo]

I understood what you meant, but for FFXIV specifically it's tied to platform, you'll need the key/license to play the expansion on.

I believe this is because PS4 consults your PSN account in some form or other, which requires FFXIV's licenses attached to it.

Unsure about PC, but I presume the PC one will only install/download the expansion area files once a license is applied.

Actually I think it's because SE learned their lesson with FFXI and the SE Account system can target "licensed systems"

[Sechs]

Ok let's try this again.
Of course I didn't mean If I buy the PS4 version I'm sure they're gonna give me PC version for free!" (and vice-versa), because that's pretty lol.

Let's talk about ARR for a second now.
A PC user of the game, with a valid account and a currently ongoing subscription, who normally plays on PC, can login from any other PC where the game is installed, provided he uses his own Login name and password.
If the game isn't installed, he can install it himself with his disk or with an USB pendrive, since the disk can be used as many times you want on as many PC as you want.
You'll still need a valid account to use what you've installed anyway, and a valid subscription.
And to have that, in addition to paying the monthly fee, you need that one-time code which is found into every copy of the game and that can be used only once to create an account (or associate with an existing one).
This doesn't happen to the game files, you can install them as many time as you want.
You could sell them as well if you wanted. Of course a buyer could do nothing with them, unless he already owns a FFXIV ARR account.
So far so good?
Well.
The same can happen on PS3, provided that you link your SE account with your PSN account (it's a one time process).
Once you've done that you can log from ANY playstation3 where the game is installed, as long as you login to PSN with your account first, and then login to FFXIV with your usual login and password.

As a matter of fact when I bought the PS3 copy of ARR, I didn't use the code I found it for my main account, I created a secondary account with that.
Thing is, I can still use the copy of ARR that is installed on my PS3 with my Main account, where there is no trace of the PS3 box code.
Which kinda means that I do not need that code to play on PS3, as long as:
1) The game is somehow installed on my PS3
2) I have a valid ARR account already


Starting from there I supposed that the same would happen with Heavensward.
Were I to buy the PS4 version and register that code, hence upgrading my account to "Heavensward" status, would I be able to login on a PC, any PC, and still enjoy Heavensward content?
The answer should be yes, AS LONG as that PC has a copy of Heavensward installed, of course.
For which I'd need a game disk or game files, but I wouldn't need the one-time code.

So for instance I could buy PS4 heavensward, update my account, then a friend lends me his PC version of Heavensward so I can play install it on my PC, and THEN I should be able to play on PC quite normally.



This is exactely how it worked on ARR (and FFXI too, for that matter), so I was wondering if the same would have applied to Heavensward.




@Prothescar
Yes, of course they say "You'll need one copy of the game for each platform", which is true. In theory if I buy the game on PS4 I still need (once) a PC copy of the game to play it on PC.
Thing is I just need a "copy of the game" to install it, it doesn't have to be a brand new copy with a brand new code.
This was my point because that's how it worked for ARR.

[Spider-Dan]

I'm pretty sure that "having the content installed" is borderline meaningless, as you would just receive the assets through client update (hasn't XI done this automatically since Abyssea?). I would be shocked if the digital 3.0 "install" was anything more than a <5MB exe that pulls update files from a separate set of servers.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying that:

- you have more than one (top-level) Square-Enix account, and these accounts are not linked in any way
- you have a PC license on one and a PS3 license on the other
- you can log in to PS3 ARR on the SE account that has only has a PS3 license

I don't know if it's the same for PSN as it is for XI and XBL, but on XBL you could only link your XI account to one specific XBL account. So unless you're saying that you also have more than one PSN account, if you are logged into PSN, then you would necessarily be logged into your SE account with the PS3 access.

[layoneil]

Mods at the OF has said you need a copy for each.

if you have one account and you want to play on PC and PS4 you will have to buy 2 copies of the expansion so you have two codes to register into your account.

if you have two accounts you need 4 codes.

they even said that if you are interested in the CE digital stuff, you can buy 1 CE + 1 regular, you don't need 2 CE codes, that's redundant and won't add anything extra.

otherwise if you log out in an expansion zone on the PC and your PS4 does not have it's own code you will not be able to log-in your character on the PS4. you will have to go back to your PC and move your character to a 2.0 zone before you can log in on your PS4 and you won't be able to go to the expansion zones.

[Gokulo]

Each platform is a separate service you you need a game code for each of them. That's why you can't play on PS3 after you use the PS3>PS4 upgrade.

Your PSN account is linked to your main S-E account, which can have many sub-accounts. You may have used your PS3 code to create a sub-account, but you also effectively linked your main account with PSN.

[Sechs]

I'm pretty sure that "having the content installed" is borderline meaningless, as you would just receive the assets through client update (hasn't XI done this automatically since Abyssea?)

Most MMOs I've experienced do that, not all.
Some just download shared data that you need (new PC models, new armors etc) but do not download data from the new areas that you cannot access.
No clue what Heavensward is gonna be, I wouldn't be surprised if things are just like you said, at least for PC.
Not so sure for PS3/PS4 versions though.

- you have more than one (top-level) Square-Enix account, and these accounts are not linked in any way

Aside from same owner no, they're two completely separated accounts with different logins, passwords etc. I'm not using one of them anymore (long story), but it was a perfectly viable account and I guess I could reactivate it even now if I wanted; I'd just have to pay the monthly fee.

you have a PC license on one and a PS3 license on the other

Yes. I bought the PS3 version to play on PS3 but didn't register the PS3 code on my main account, rather I used it to create a second one.
Could still login on PS3 using my main one though. (just like I logged at a friends' place from his PS, I only had to use my PSN login instead of his before loading the game)

I don't know if it's the same for PSN as it is for XI and XBL, but on XBL you could only link your XI account to one specific XBL account.

It's the same. Can link one SE account to only one PSN account. I did this link on my "main" account. This link can only be reverted or cancelled by SE employees, afaik.
It was the same for Xbox360 as well.
Well, not sure it was the same. One Xbox Live account could link to one and only one FFXI account. Not sure if the same FFXI account could be linked to multiple XBL accounts though, never tried that.


As for logging with the secondary account from PS3, I don't remember if I even did that (I did from PC for sure at least once).
I'd be leaning to say that I never did, but thinking more about it I think I had to. The "activation" code format for PS3 uses a different format than the PC one iir. So to activate that code and create a new account, it means I probably had to do it from PS3 (unless you can do it from PSN/SE website?)
I'm not sure about this sorry, a lot of time has passed. I do have multiple PSN accounts though, so I might have had to link my secondary SE account to a secondary PSN account?
Either way once the account was created I could log with that on my PC client, did that for sure at least once, I remember that.

[Sechs]

Each platform is a separate service you you need a game code for each of them. That's why you can't play on PS3 after you use the PS3>PS4 upgrade.

Wait. Waaaaait. Wait.
I remember reading this but thought it was bullsh*t.
Tried right now and it's true.

This probably means that between the PS3 launch and now, somewhere along the road, something changed and they created customized, specific, platform licenses and relative checks when you access the infrastructure.
This pretty much guarentees an answer to my doubt.
Odd, it wasn't like this before, guess I've been lucky, or something else.

[Cutriss]

Wait. Waaaaait. Wait.
I remember reading this but thought it was bullsh*t.
Tried right now and it's true.

The thing is that this makes sense for the base client. I can see that.

For expansions? That's just ripping you off, but then we don't have POL to save us this time, so it's probably SE's way of saying "You didn't want POL? Well, HERE'S YOUR BED, FUCKING LIE IN IT NOW BITCHES."

[Destinye]

Plus they're going to bleed all the people playin ARR dry because they know they'll buy it. I mean even though Yoshi sat there and told us HW itemization will be exactly the same as ARR 2.x's, even the backwards progression style of EG > "Side end game(e.g Crystal Tower)" > EG" that people didn't much care for will be back...people still flooded to buying the CE. I mean, I don't care personally, but in the long run there can't be complaints as despite all..they still made bank on everyone. At this point they don't even have to develop anymore lol.

(Obviously not a wise decision, but if they can basically resell us 2.x a 2nd time..for the same price ontop of sub..why even try to do anything different?)

[Ratatapa]

Plus they're going to bleed all the people playin ARR dry because they know they'll buy it. I mean even though Yoshi sat there and told us HW itemization will be exactly the same as ARR 2.x's, even the backwards progression style of EG > "Side end game(e.g Crystal Tower)" > EG" that people didn't much care for will be back...people still flooded to buying the CE. I mean, I don't care personally, but in the long run there can't be complaints as despite all..they still made bank on everyone. At this point they don't even have to develop anymore lol.

(Obviously not a wise decision, but if they can basically resell us 2.x a 2nd time..for the same price ontop of sub..why even try to do anything different?)

Semi Guilty, even though i bitched about the game, i preordered the game, but only standard

[Prothescar]

This probably means that between the PS3 launch and now, somewhere along the road, something changed and they created customized, specific, platform licenses and relative checks when you access the infrastructure.

as i said before, it was an extremely temporary deal. the mogstation has had it split into distinct platforms for a long, long time now.

[6souls]

[Eldelphia]

Those from the Dev blog? http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/blog/000950.html