How to purchase access to the regular launcher/ESO64.exe (for Steam users)

anitajoneb17_ESO

Is this a new business model ? Pay to Fix ?

cheops

You dont need to be 'signed in to steam' to do any of this and your purchase from the eso store is not in any way linked to your steam account.

If you have acquired the game initially via steam you are flagged as a 'steam user' but there is no 'steam version' of the game.

Everything about your game is tied to your ESO account - all your purchases/dlc/crowns etc etc - and NOT steam.

Steam is just a purchasing and delivery platform.

What buying the base game from the eso store does is remove the need for an additional layer of authentication via the steam servers at login.

ADarklore

While I can understand the frustration... we're still not sure where the actual fault lies, whether it's actually on STEAM'S end or ZOS'... yet, someone here provides a workaround solution but apparently players would rather continue to complain, kick and scream while NOT being able to enjoy the game... instead of paying a simple $10 solution.

anitajoneb17_ESO

ADarklore wrote: »

a simple $10 solution.

As simple as it is, and whether it costs $1, $10 or $10000, it's still PAYING EXTRA for managing around an inacceptable bug. As such, it's very questionable.

cheops

I am inclined to think that its a ZOS server configuration issue since steam is a stable platform and these problems are not replicated across other games. Also to my knowledge ZOS have never stated that the fault lies with steam - only that they are 'aware' that 'some steam users' are having issues.

Nevertheless I for one was happy to pay $10 to make the problem go away - and it seems pretty dumb to me for people to suggest that I should not have done so out of some kind of misguided 'principle'.

LordSemaj

It's indeed a ZOS compatibility issue. Some people may be unaware that this isn't the first MMO to link authentication to Steam, allowing for autologin based on your Steam credentials. Many games even allow you to use Steam as your account, bypassing the account creation system altogether. Yet none of them have the problems that plague ESO or the random downtime when the game itself is up as well as the Steam community. ZOS needs to maintain the bridge that allows Steam players to connect to their login servers and when this process is broken you end up with the inability to log in for Steam users independent of the game. If it was just their login servers going down, no one would be able to log in.

It's specifically the connecting process between Steam and ZOS that goes down. Given that other linked MMOs still function on Steam, it's not like Steam as a whole is suddenly unable to use linked services. Steam can clearly call out, as it does with other linked games during these periods of downtime, yet the call isn't being picked up on ZOS's end or it would have connected. For a min-max company like ZOS, who repeatedly puts in the bare minimum to support the product or handle issues, it's not surprising that they put meager effort into ensuring their Steam login server is as well maintained as the master one.

With so many games on Steam using the same login feature without issue, it's a notable headline when a company as big as ZOS can't manage to keep it from happening with their own. Steam provides instructions on how to use their service and ZOS needs to better keep up their end of that. The Steam service doesn't change from game to game, what differs is how the developers of each game code and handle that service. Some clearly suck at it.

http://massivelyop.com/2018/06/18/elder-scrolls-online-players-politely-review-bomb-the-game-over-excessive-steam-login-woes/

thorwyn

I apologize for this case of serious thread necromancy, but there is one question left:

If you manage to detach your ESO account from steam, will you get the subscription prices and item discounts from the ESO site, or are you still linked to steam for that purpose? I'm asking because Steam has different prices for crowns or special sales than ESO.

Jayman1000

Well thanks for giving this guide. But I hate the fact that I have to pay them AGAIN to fix their messed up login system.

Im feeling very ambivalent towards Steam. In many ways Steam is a fantastic convenient and awesome system to use for my game collections. But on the other hand there are quite a few serious issues that often ruins the fun. It primarily seems to stem from Valves idiotic design decisions. Most of these annoyances they could fix on a whim if they wanted to. Don't know about the ESO login issue through Steam, ZOS is silent as the grave about giving us an explanation, so who knows.

SodanTok

Why would ZoS fix their issue when people just can pay them to not have it.
Not to complain at OP for having this suggestion. More like the general ridiculousness of this situation

cheops

thorwyn wrote: »

I apologize for this case of serious thread necromancy, but there is one question left:

If you manage to detach your ESO account from steam, will you get the subscription prices and item discounts from the ESO site, or are you still linked to steam for that purpose? I'm asking because Steam has different prices for crowns or special sales than ESO.

If you start with steam and then buy the base game from eso store you are then free to make crown and other purchases from either.

Indigo_Shade

Steam player, can also log in via normal launcher (most of the time).

2016/2017
- Stupidly purchased base ESO through Steam.
- Canceled my ESO+ for a couple of months.
- Resubbed to ESO+, Steam went down, tried the normal launcher, it worked!
- Steam went down again a month later, normal launcher did not work.

Somewhere in here I bought Morrowind, but the normal launcher did not always work after that point.

2018
- Canceled my ESO+ for several months.
- Resubbed to ESO+ when Summerset dropped, Steam went down, tried the normal launcher, it worked! And has ever since.

<boggle>

cheops

Indigo_Shade wrote: »

Steam player, can also log in via normal launcher (most of the time).

Only if you purchased before a certain date in 2016.

Jayman1000

Phage wrote: »

For everyone who is having trouble logging into the game through Steam: There is a way to buy access to login outside of Steam.

• Go to https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/login.
  
• Sign in through Steam.
  
• Go to https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/store/product/eso_morrowind_edition.
  
• Buy ESO: Morrowind for $10.
  
• The purchase is now associated with your Steam ESO account. Double check by going to https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/account/billing/billing-history and finding your purchase.
  

If all is done correctly, you should now be able to login through ESO64.exe using your username and password, and you should have a button on https://account.elderscrollsonline.com/users/account that says "Download" for the regular PC launcher.

Note: If you are currently subscribed through Steam, the "Download" button will not appear.

This isn't a perfect solution, but it does work. For those who are desperate to get their ESO away from Steam, this is one way.

(@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom Please consider making the ESO64.exe login option available to all Steam PC users.)

Price is 20€ for me

At least it worked... please use the money to fix some of the game breaking bugs? pretty please?

PapaWeeb

OP isn't telling you to go and do this.

Stop the "ZOS should give it free reee". Of course they should, but they're not.
If you were looking for a way to play outside of steam, OP showed you how. Yeesh.

Jayman1000

PapaWeeb wrote: »

OP isn't telling you to go and do this.

Stop the "ZOS should give it free reee". Of course they should, but they're not.
If you were looking for a way to play outside of steam, OP showed you how. Yeesh.

So on one side you agree that zos should give it for free, yet on the other side you dont want people asking for it. that's just weird.

AlienatedGoat

Jayman1000 wrote: »

PapaWeeb wrote: »

OP isn't telling you to go and do this.

Stop the "ZOS should give it free reee". Of course they should, but they're not.
If you were looking for a way to play outside of steam, OP showed you how. Yeesh.

So on one side you agree that zos should give it for free, yet on the other side you dont want people asking for it. that's just weird.

Glad it worked for you man.

I see Steam is acting up yet again. People should know that this workaround is still an option.

Find a cheap key, activate on your account, be free of the Steam issues forever.

Silent_Otto

AlienatedGoat -> Thank You very much! I did it by investing only 7,95$ :-).

But I changed my mind and I will not buy ESO+ due to lack of any compensation from ZOS for this problems.

AlienatedGoat

Silent_Otto wrote: »

AlienatedGoat -> Thank You very much! I did it by investing only 7,95$ :-).

But I changed my mind and I will not buy ESO+ due to lack of any compensation from ZOS for this problems.

Awesome

Ausven

Sorry for the Necromancerposting, does this still works? Any version (base, Summerset, Morrowind, the cheapest around) will suffice?

AlienatedGoat

Ausven wrote: »

Sorry for the Necromancerposting, does this still works? Any version (base, Summerset, Morrowind, the cheapest around) will suffice?

Aye it still works.

DovahkiinHeart

I know this thread is old but I just tried it because steam was having issues (again, shocker) and if anyone is browsing the forums right now trying to find a solution, here it is. It still works. It costed more than just 10 bucks but less than 25 bucks so it wasn't cheap, however, after having issues with steam on and off I'm just tired of it and I should have done this a long time ago. Only reason I got this game through steam is because I was new to mmorpgs and my friend who already owns a library of games on steam brought me into Eso through steam.

huntgod_ESO

Just FYI they fixed this back in late 2018 early 2018, so if you did this BEFORE then, it will work, but if you did it after it will not work. I don't remember exactly when they changed it, just roughly when.

Sylvermynx

Whoa. HUGE necro.... But for real info - I bought the game on steam in 6/18, never could get logged in through steam, got no help from them, and eventually (early 7/18) bought the game again on the ZOS store so I could log in using eso64.exe. Never had a problem since with login (I'm on satellite, so adding the steam layer was.... problematic....)

I have zero use for steam. I bought through steam to begin with because a friend said that was the best way to get it. Wrong. Ah well, live and learn.

Game's usually on sale once a quarter at least - pick it up when it's just a few bucks on the ESO store. Once you have a "real" copy, don't link to your steam account, add the eso64.exe icon to your desktop, profit.

ZOS_Lunar

Greetings!

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