CD Key issue

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

So I was trying to get back into FFXIV again (last time I played was back in 2016). I managed to log into my old account, but the launcher demands I input the CD key for the game, but when I do so, it says that this key is already registered, which duh, it's registered for my old account and I logged into that same old account, so what am I supposed to do exactly?

I tried the CD keys for the DLC as well, but they don't work either.

[Tatsumi]

log in the mogstation website with this old account and check what license you have. If it says steam and your account asks for another cd key on login, I'd contact square enix's support team. If it says "windows" then your account isn't accessible through steam and you'll have to download their launcher instead.

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

Originally posted by Tatsumi:

log in the mogstation website with this old account and check what license you have. If it says steam and your account asks for another cd key on login, I'd contact square enix's support team. If it says "windows" then your account isn't accessible through steam and you'll have to download their launcher instead.

Wow, it actually worked!

The license was indeed for Windows so I got the game launcher from the website and now it didn't ask for a CD key. Still confused how this whole mess happened though, but at least I can actually download the game now! ^_^

[Tatsumi]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Wow, it actually worked! :happystarfish:

The license was indeed for Windows so I got the game launcher from the website and now it didn't ask for a CD key. Still confused how this whole mess happened though, but at least I can actually download the game now! ^_^

Sadly steam and windows licenses are not the same and aren't compatible with eachother.
I'm glad the problem is fixed! Have fun in Eorzea! :D

[Alternity]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Originally posted by Tatsumi:

log in the mogstation website with this old account and check what license you have. If it says steam and your account asks for another cd key on login, I'd contact square enix's support team. If it says "windows" then your account isn't accessible through steam and you'll have to download their launcher instead.

Wow, it actually worked! :happystarfish:

The license was indeed for Windows so I got the game launcher from the website and now it didn't ask for a CD key. Still confused how this whole mess happened though, but at least I can actually download the game now! ^_^

You have a mouse next to your name though, it means you also own the game on Steam, you must have a second account.

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

Originally posted by Alternity:

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Wow, it actually worked!

The license was indeed for Windows so I got the game launcher from the website and now it didn't ask for a CD key. Still confused how this whole mess happened though, but at least I can actually download the game now! ^_^

You have a mouse next to your name though, it means you also own the game on Steam, you must have a second account.

That's what is so confusing -- I know I played the game on Steam yet somehow it asked me for a CD key that I have already registered.

[Tatsumi]

Isn't it possible that you bought the game twice? Once for windows and once for steam? If that's the case though, you can't use a windows account on steam and you can't use a steam account on windows, meaning you'd need to register a new account on steam to use its cd key.
If that's the case though, I'd just pick one of the two platforms, because otherwise you'd have two completely different accounts that would require you to buy the expansions and the subs for them both. I'd go for the platform you already have progress on.

EDIT:
As Alternity suggested, it is also possible that you indeed already have a second account for steam. In that case you may want to figure out which one is your "main"

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

Originally posted by Tatsumi:

Isn't it possible that you bought the game twice? Once for windows and once for steam? If that's the case though, you can't use a windows account on steam and you can't use a steam account on windows, meaning you'd need to register a new account on steam to use its cd key.
If that's the case though, I'd just pick one of the two platforms, because otherwise you'd have two completely different accounts that would require you to buy the expansions and the subs for them both. I'd go for the platform you already have progress on.

EDIT:
As Alternity suggested, it is also possible that you indeed already have a second account for steam. In that case you may want to figure out which one is your "main"

Nah, I only bought it once on Steam (that's why I have over 100 hours in the game according to Steam). If I were to have a second account, then how come my old characters' appearance data be loaded during character creation? Though, weirdly, I can't actually load the old characters themselves. I don't know if they got deleted because of how many years have passed or what, I can only load their appearances.

[Tatsumi]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Nah, I only bought it once on Steam (that's why I have over 100 hours in the game according to Steam). If I were to have a second account, then how come my old characters' appearance data be loaded during character creation? Though, weirdly, I can't actually load the old characters themselves. I don't know if they got deleted because of how many years have passed or what, I can only load their appearances. :isabellaannoyed:

I've never heard of SE deleting characters for inactivity. At this point if you really don't think you've another account, I'd really try to contact their customer support, there must've been something on their end.

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

Originally posted by Tatsumi:

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Nah, I only bought it once on Steam (that's why I have over 100 hours in the game according to Steam). If I were to have a second account, then how come my old characters' appearance data be loaded during character creation? Though, weirdly, I can't actually load the old characters themselves. I don't know if they got deleted because of how many years have passed or what, I can only load their appearances.

I've never heard of SE deleting characters for inactivity. At this point if you really don't think you've another account, I'd really try to contact their customer support, there must've been something on their end.

Could there be a geographical aspect? I lived in Japan when I played the game back in 2016, now I live in Europe, so maybe that's the reason? (I did try connecting to Japanese data centers, but the characters weren't there)

[Alternity]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Originally posted by Tatsumi:

I've never heard of SE deleting characters for inactivity. At this point if you really don't think you've another account, I'd really try to contact their customer support, there must've been something on their end.

Could there be a geographical aspect? I lived in Japan when I played the game back in 2016, now I live in Europe, so maybe that's the reason? (I did try connecting to Japanese data centers, but the characters weren't there)

If you log in the lodestone you'll be able to see a list of all your characters and on which server they are located.

[Nubi, Toa of Gaming]

Originally posted by Alternity:

Originally posted by CookieCat:

Could there be a geographical aspect? I lived in Japan when I played the game back in 2016, now I live in Europe, so maybe that's the reason? (I did try connecting to Japanese data centers, but the characters weren't there)

If you log in the lodestone you'll be able to see a list of all your characters and on which server they are located.

It says:
A service account with the full version of FINAL FANTASY XIV and at least one character is required to log in to The Lodestone.
Please visit the Mog Station to manage your account.

Mog Station only shows my current character (the one I created today)

[Tatsumi]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

It says:
A service account with the full version of FINAL FANTASY XIV and at least one character is required to log in to The Lodestone.
Please visit the Mog Station to manage your account.

Mog Station only shows my current character (the one I created today)

I should have asked this sooner sorry, were you on free trial or did you buy the game back then? I've read online that apparently if you were a free trial back in the 14 days trial times, your account used to get deleted after 90 days of inactivity.

[EQSanctum]

Originally posted by CookieCat:

So I was trying to get back into FFXIV again (last time I played was back in 2016). I managed to log into my old account, but the launcher demands I input the CD key for the game, but when I do so, it says that this key is already registered, which duh, it's registered for my old account and I logged into that same old account, so what am I supposed to do exactly?

I tried the CD keys for the DLC as well, but they don't work either.

I had the same issue on another account and again on a new steam purchase. Apparently it didn't write the config properly. My solution was to run the boot exe from the directory, patch the game and then it fixed it itself after writing a new config file.

So it's not you. While their launcher is outside of steam is the exact same thing, apparently the config is not. That's about it though. Hope this helps you or anyone else in the future.