Game version help

DanaDark

Hi there,

Long long ago inviught the base game. Recently returned and bought the DLC pack for 5500 crowns.

Wanted nun BF to play with me so I gifted him the gold version on steam as it was on sale.

However, when he comes over, he cannot log in through my launcher. Looked into it and found out he has to log in through steam.

So, I am wondering... if I buy just the base game on steam and install it and connect it to my account and just play from there, if he logs into his account (gold version) would that allow him to log in successfully?

Or will steam need to install a complete alternate copy of the game just for him to be able to play while he is at my place?

I don't mind buying the base game again if I can cheaply, and forever logging in through steam, I just want him to be able to play at my house without having to have two copies of the game on my hard drive.

Saturnana

That should work actually, now that you mention it. Just keep in mind that as soon as you link your ESO account to Steam, you need to have Steam running in the background to play and you will no longer be able to login through your old launcher, effectively making that copy of ESO redundant. (Since that's what you were going for, from what I gathered, you'd be freeing up a nice ~80GB or so with uninstalling your old ESO! )

Sounds foolproof, though I don't have experience with sharing the Steam launcher but having separate accounts. There's an auto-login through Steam and I don't know how that would work in this situation, but I can imagine that it does (work). Maybe there's some families or couples out there that share PCs and may give some clarification on the matter? Until then, I wouldn't gamble on it. It's real money after all.

Edit: also yes, super silly indeed!

Saturnana

If you were to buy any ESO version off Steam and download the corresponding launcher (this will also download a complete alternate copy of the game as far as I know), he would be able to login through that technically speaking. In practice though, my experience with logging in through Steam is that your ESO login details will be auto-filled and you'll be automatically logged into ESO when clicking 'Play' in the launcher. I've yet to discover a way to turn off this auto-login. So in reality, sharing your Steam launcher (which would mean sharing your Steam account, which is against their ToS I think?) is very difficult, if not impossible.

Saturnana

Reading back after my morning coffee... ;D

If you've gifted your BF an ESO copy on Steam it should be linked to his Steam account. Therefore, when he logs into his Steam on your PC he should be able to install his ESO/Steam launcher on your system. This would effectively put two copies of ESO on your PC, one of which (the Steam launcher/version) you would not be able to use with your own account. And he wouldn't be able to use your 'official' launcher either.

Sorry to say that if you want both of you to be able to play on the same system, and you're both using different login methods (through Steam vs through official ESO channel) you will need to install two copies of the game as well. Silly, I know.

DanaDark

lnsane wrote: »

Reading back after my morning coffee... ;D

If you've gifted your BF an ESO copy on Steam it should be linked to his Steam account. Therefore, when he logs into his Steam on your PC he should be able to install his ESO/Steam launcher on your system. This would effectively put two copies of ESO on your PC, one of which (the Steam launcher/version) you would not be able to use with your own account. And he wouldn't be able to use your 'official' launcher either.

Sorry to say that if you want both of you to be able to play on the same system, and you're both using different login methods (through Steam vs through official ESO channel) you will need to install two copies of the game as well. Silly, I know.

This is exactly the situation.

My hope was that if I purchase the Tamriel Unlimited version on Steam (sigh, no longer on sale) and connected my account as per: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/36517/~/can-i-link-my-existing-elder-scrolls-online-account-to-my-steam-account?
...
Specifically
...
"Note: If your version of The Elder Scrolls Online was not purchased through Steam, you will not be able to link your Steam account to your existing ESO account without purchasing a new copy of the game on the Steam platform first."
...

From here, was wondering if I could then download the game through steam, play through there with my account, and then when the BF is over and signs into his steam, if he could play without installing another version of the game, since I bought him the Gold Edition (poo he gets a mount and I got the shaft).

But, I'd wait till a sale. Since paying 29.99 for the simple comfort of a single install on a 3TB harddrive isn't exactly a deal.

Silliest thing I've encountered so far with games!

DanaDark

One of the things I am concerned with is the different versions. I have the 'normal' version which I bought long ago. He has the gold version.

Just don't want to connect it through steam etc, then have steam be like "Oh, you need to download the whole thing again cuz this one is regular and you need gold for him".

That would drive me 9 forms of crazy lol.

Now to wait for a sale!