The only solution I have found (if you want to call it one) is to keep the installer on my desktop, and just run that (with both C++ and DirectX checked) to start the game, instead of running the shortcut, or exe file, or doing any damn thing as an administrator. Anything else I have tried always results in a game crash somewhere between pressing the play button and trying to log in a character.

This is the only way I can get in game. Oh, and I had to disable every feature on Webroot in order to get the game to do ANYTHING after pressing the play button.

Completely psychotic. I must really want to play this game, having done a clean re-install of windows etc. and jumping through all the hoops that have burning diesel applied to them.