Why is the Square Enix account system such a PITA?

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Squeenix's account management system has got to be the worst of any game/company I've ever experienced.

Long story, but bear with me:

I was one of the fool's that purchased FF XIV 14 1.0. To add insult to injury, I purchased the CE. As most of you know, the only good to come out of that was that I was given a free digital copy of 2.0 ARR.

Unfortunately however, I never got to even give 2.0 a try, as I had account issues when the game launched that prevented me from even logging in and taking advantage of the free 14-day trial I was supposed to receive. I petitioned to Squeenix's Customer Support - who admitted my login issues were their fault - that they renew my 14 day trial as by the time I was able to log in to my account, there was only 1 or 2 days left. They refused. So, I went to the BBB who agreed with me that SE should give me the time I was due, especially seeing it essentially cost SE nothing to do so, as it was virtual time. Square Enix still refused and the BBB said there was nothing they could do.

Fast forward to the present in which even though I still think Square Enix is a shit company for the way they treat their customers, decided that I should still give the game a try. However, now I'm trying to once again log into my account and once again, cannot get it. Once again, I'm being asked for a One-Time Password (that I never set up) to log in. I can't get past this and their appears to be no customer support center to call aside from setting up a ticket via the website, which appears to have nothing related to this specific type of issue that doesn't run you around in an endless circle.

Anyone else have an issue similar to this that can give me a hand or some advice or how to resolve it?

Thanks in advance and I appreciate your time!

cheyane · July 2015

One time password does not have to set up by you it is sent to the email you signed up with. It is normal security to make sure people other than you are not accessing your account. Just check your email for that password.

The one you have to set up yourself is the software token one which uses a phone app and has its own long password to remove it which if you ever set it up please make sure you copy and keep.

The one time password is not that and SWTOR also uses this system and so did Rift and many other games if your ip changes they sent it.

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by cheyane
One time password does not have to set up by you it is sent to the email you signed up with. It is normal security to make sure people other than you are not accessing your account. Just check your email for that password.

The one you have to set up yourself is the software token one which uses a phone app and has its own long password to remove it which if you ever set it up please make sure you copy and keep.

The one time password is not that and SWTOR also uses this system and so did Rift and many other games if your ip changes they sent it.

Thank you for the help!

I was wondering if it was sent via email. I did not receive anything via email (and I checked my spam folder).

At first, I thought it was the token password, but I never set that up. I am familiar with how they work, as I use it in both WoW and SWTOR currently and used it when I played RIFT.

I was finally able to find the customer support chat option and am currently in queue, waiting for someone to help me.

This is the same crap I dealt with the first time I had issues along with my account not be activated for the original trial or something to that effect.

I can't help but wonder how many others have had issues with SE's system as I've never had issues like this in any of the games I've played.

Anyhoot, thanks again for the help!

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by DMKano
I actually had to follow a guide that someone posted here on how to setup my account to play FFXIV. The missing key was mogstation - nowhere (at the time) did installer or any documentation mention this. Thanks to the fine folks here who wrote a step by step guide on how to register an account.

Yeah, their system does seem a little convoluted.

Sad that players need a guide to set up an account...that should be SE's first clue that their system needs fixing!

cerulean2012 · July 2015

Not sure if this will help but I had a similar issue when my smart phone died. Had to get another and I had the phone app for password, well was unable to access it since new phone. Then online customer service did help me with the issue and I got my account reset so I could use it.

I also found out that their system has trouble sending emails to AOL accounts so if you have that, that could be part of your trouble. I had to switch to another email in order to start getting emails from them.

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by cerulean2012
Not sure if this will help but I had a similar issue when my smart phone died. Had to get another and I had the phone app for password, well was unable to access it since new phone. Then online customer service did help me with the issue and I got my account reset so I could use it.

I also found out that their system has trouble sending emails to AOL accounts so if you have that, that could be part of your trouble. I had to switch to another email in order to start getting emails from them.

I was wondering if that was an issue. I'm not using AOL, but perhaps SE has problems with other email providers as well.

Thanks for the tip!

mgilbrtsn · July 2015

Agree that their account system could use a bit of a UI update. I had to google on how to get it all settled and done with.

JDis25 · July 2015

It really does suck. You have like 3 accounts with Square Enix and they are easily confusable,

Your FFXIV Character account which is like for the official forums and such.

Your SquareEnix store Account.

Your MogStation account. Which is like a secret webpage to find unless you specifically google it. You have to jump through menus to get there from the ffxiv website.

The Mogstation is where you do most stuff regarding typical account management.

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by mgilbrtsn
Agree that their account system could use a bit of a UI update. I had to google on how to get it all settled and done with.

Originally posted by JDis25

It really does suck. You have like 3 accounts with Square Enix and they are easily confusable,

Your FFXIV Character account which is like for the official forums and such.

Your SquareEnix store Account.

Your MogStation account. Which is like a secret webpage to find unless you specifically google it. You have to jump through menus to get there from the ffxiv website.

The Mogstation is where you do most stuff regarding typical account management.

Yeah, I had to Google on where to go to download the game. Amazing that a company of their stature would have such a poor system to begin with, never mind the fact that they don't seem to be in any hurry to improve it.

Yaevindusk · July 2015

Account setup is definitely a pain for those who aren't used to dealing with Japanese gaming companies. Far too complex for the western markets -- needlessly so in many of our (and my) eyes -- and their menu systems in games aren't typically any better. Though it's typically the norm in these types of games, and it doesn't transition very well into the western market.

I wouldn't call them the worst at customer service, but definitely not western friendly. They have been getting better in recent years in asking for feedback with demos (such as Final Fantasy Fifteen and the release of 2.0 demo with feedback implemented) and getting substantial information from FFXIV during it's beta and live play. Many of the issues people had during 2.0 were fixed in a patch or rectified in the expansion -- and they finally seemed to have figured out how to deliver a great storyline, most likely due to you being level 50-60 now and you can realistically take on more and more (even delve into dark politics).

They originally were also hostile towards media with denying any video footage of being shown on youtube or twitch, but a simple petition changed their stance on such and they allowed it so long as the whole "copyright @Square"; was put into the video and or the description. Though this was likely due to the pressure and influence the FFXIV 1.0 experience had on them -- the humbling event that caused them to apologize a hundred times in letters and on video and promise to listen to community feedback more (as well as Yoshi-P likely pushing for it, as he always seemed to genuinely care for the community ever since he took over after the original FFXIV 1.0 team was fired).

That said, it doesn't reverse the problems people are having, such as the OP here. Mogstation is a bit too hidden for my likes, even though it's easy to access and go through once you know it's there.

If you don't have any characters you want to save, I could suggest making a new trial account that will allow you to play up to level 20 for fourteen days. To see if it's your cup of tea. Then go about the process of account recovery. Hopefully you get helped with some live support, though.

cheyane · July 2015

If I recall correctly the mogstation is directly accessible from your launcher.I think when it asks if you have an account and you click it takes you to mogstation which is how I have always accessed it unless they changed it.

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by Yaevindusk

Account setup is definitely a pain for those who aren't used to dealing with Japanese gaming companies. Far too complex for the western markets -- needlessly so in many of our (and my) eyes -- and their menu systems in games aren't typically any better. Though it's typically the norm in these types of games, and it doesn't transition very well into the western market.

I wouldn't call them the worst at customer service, but definitely not western friendly. They have been getting better in recent years in asking for feedback with demos (such as Final Fantasy Fifteen and the release of 2.0 demo with feedback implemented) and getting substantial information from FFXIV during it's beta and live play. Many of the issues people had during 2.0 were fixed in a patch or rectified in the expansion -- and they finally seemed to have figured out how to deliver a great storyline, most likely due to you being level 50-60 now and you can realistically take on more and more (even delve into dark politics).

They originally were also hostile towards media with denying any video footage of being shown on youtube or twitch, but a simple petition changed their stance on such and they allowed it so long as the whole "copyright @Square"; was put into the video and or the description. Though this was likely due to the pressure and influence the FFXIV 1.0 experience had on them -- the humbling event that caused them to apologize a hundred times in letters and on video and promise to listen to community feedback more (as well as Yoshi-P likely pushing for it, as he always seemed to genuinely care for the community ever since he took over after the original FFXIV 1.0 team was fired).

That said, it doesn't reverse the problems people are having, such as the OP here. Mogstation is a bit too hidden for my likes, even though it's easy to access and go through once you know it's there.

If you don't have any characters you want to save, I could suggest making a new trial account that will allow you to play up to level 20 for fourteen days. To see if it's your cup of tea. Then go about the process of account recovery. Hopefully you get helped with some live support, though.

Yeah, they didn't have that back when I contacted the BBB in regards to them. But, hopefully they're getting better in the customer service department.

I was blown away by the fact (and so was the BBB), that they refused to make up for the time I lost because of their mistake. Especially when I had already paid $80 for the turd they called 1.0 and that the trial costs them nothing and potentially could have gained them a long-term subscriber. It's not like I was asking for their first-born, just the time I had missed out on due to their mistake.

Pretty pig-headed if you ask me.

Thanks for the info!

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by cheyane
If I recall correctly the mogstation is directly accessible from your launcher.I think when it asks if you have an account and you click it takes you to mogstation which is how I have always accessed it unless they changed it.

Unfortunately I didn't get that far. But, good to know once I get my account issue cleared up and am able to download and install the game.

Thanks.

Yaevindusk · July 2015

Originally posted by FanOfSuperman
Originally posted by Yaevindusk

Account setup is definitely a pain for those who aren't used to dealing with Japanese gaming companies. Far too complex for the western markets -- needlessly so in many of our (and my) eyes -- and their menu systems in games aren't typically any better. Though it's typically the norm in these types of games, and it doesn't transition very well into the western market.

I wouldn't call them the worst at customer service, but definitely not western friendly. They have been getting better in recent years in asking for feedback with demos (such as Final Fantasy Fifteen and the release of 2.0 demo with feedback implemented) and getting substantial information from FFXIV during it's beta and live play. Many of the issues people had during 2.0 were fixed in a patch or rectified in the expansion -- and they finally seemed to have figured out how to deliver a great storyline, most likely due to you being level 50-60 now and you can realistically take on more and more (even delve into dark politics).

They originally were also hostile towards media with denying any video footage of being shown on youtube or twitch, but a simple petition changed their stance on such and they allowed it so long as the whole "copyright @Square"; was put into the video and or the description. Though this was likely due to the pressure and influence the FFXIV 1.0 experience had on them -- the humbling event that caused them to apologize a hundred times in letters and on video and promise to listen to community feedback more (as well as Yoshi-P likely pushing for it, as he always seemed to genuinely care for the community ever since he took over after the original FFXIV 1.0 team was fired).

That said, it doesn't reverse the problems people are having, such as the OP here. Mogstation is a bit too hidden for my likes, even though it's easy to access and go through once you know it's there.

If you don't have any characters you want to save, I could suggest making a new trial account that will allow you to play up to level 20 for fourteen days. To see if it's your cup of tea. Then go about the process of account recovery. Hopefully you get helped with some live support, though.

Yeah, they didn't have that back when I contacted the BBB in regards to them. But, hopefully they're getting better in the customer service department.

I was blown away by the fact (and so was the BBB), that they refused to make up for the time I lost because of their mistake. Especially when I had already paid $80 for the turd they called 1.0 and that the trial costs them nothing and potentially could have gained them a long-term subscriber. It's not like I was asking for their first-born, just the time I had missed out on due to their mistake.

Pretty pig-headed if you ask me.

Thanks for the info!

No real excuse in my eyes for that to happen. Though of the possible excuses, mixed wires and signals combined with them just launching and having server issues (they got four times the amount of people they were prepared for when 2.0 first launched; didn't expect to have two million people trying to log in at one time). In addition to the development team and the team responsible for giving out game time likely having different morals and or things were too hectic that an "old" school mindset team was working on the customer service side of things. All likely things that influenced the decision, especially since they then did release that trial after they got more servers up.

I remember Blizzard used to give out free game time if you asked them. Had a friend that was in school and couldn't really afford WoW time (school, as in High School back then) and he kept on asking GMs for a couple of weeks of game time and explained he didn't have money at the moment. They actually gave it to him back then every time he asked -- though nowadays I've heard them denying requests as they changed a lot. Blizzard was a great company back then. Kind've still is when WoW isn't the topic at hand.

Though I believe it's the differences between Japanese and Western developers. Western may be more lenient with some things -- even giving free time. But so too are they easier to take advantage of players. Whereas, from my experience, Japanese Developers (specifically Square) believe their product should be paid for if it's worth it. But that even extends to slow times or if they believe it isn't worth it. Such as making the first FFXIV free to play immediately after the bad reviews (and never implementing a cash shop). Then updating it with a lot of content, cutscenes, story, etc. as they had polls on how to make it better. In addition to making sure you get as much content as possible with each patch in 2.0 and 3.0 (to be seen) since you're paying monthly for their game. Which I consider to be tough but fair behavior and one that I prefer (the producer director even speaks to us like human beings in interviews and flat out says stuff at times, since he's the head guy there and it isn't a group of 200+ developers deciding on things together with nobody knowing what's next).

FFXIV believes in earning its money and believes it is worth the $12.99 subscription. Though they're effectively all about gameplay and content, and customer service is their weakness (some may say due to the language barrier, but that should be a nonissue in a large business... but I am certainly able to see the conflict of being a serious business that was to seriously earn its money and thinks it is worth it not wanting to simply giving it away).

I remember Yoshi-P actually crying on stage when apologizing about the server issues way back. And seeing the passion he had in each letter or live letter or interview. He still hasn't lost that.

I recall reading a response from a Square employee saying it's a matter of honor to make FFXIV the best game they possibly could after 1.0 -- for the franchise and the fans. And if it wasn't worth the money, it would be free much like they instantly made 1.0 without even thinking or plotting of how to make more money off of it. They just made it free, no cash shop, and provided updates and got feedback until deciding to work on 1.0 and start a new game as a whole.

LacedOpium · July 2015

I like FFXIV and by extension Square Enix but I have to admit that they are a special little snow flake.

Dragnelus · July 2015

You just need to invest some time. My English is bad but didnt had trouble with making an account. Needing a guide for it hehe

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by Dragnelus
You just need to invest some time. My English is bad but didnt had trouble with making an account. Needing a guide for it hehe

It's not a matter of investing time! Matter of fact, it would appear you are a tad ignorant to assume that no one could possibly have technical issues with their account and that it would have to be an issue of intelligence.

I've got news for you: sometimes $#!% just doesn't work the way it's supposed to and/or isn't hassle free.

Case in point this stupid frikkin SE account system.

I was in a chat room with a customer service rep when I could not log in to my account via the website as it kept asking for a one-time password. The rep initially asked if I ever set one up, to which I replied, "No". He then asked are you sure, to which I replied, "Yes, I'm sure". He then said and I quote: "Let me take a look."

After a little while, "He said, "That's weird, but it appears you did not set up a one-time password." Then he did something else on his end and then I was able to log in to my account via the website.

So, I thought everything was all set and then I download the game, go to install it and once again I need to log in. So, I enter my SE Id and password and it's telling me on the launcher that I need to enter a one-time password. I skip it and now it's saying a bunch of crap about:

"Based on recent suspicious activity, we have identified that your account may potentially be at risk. For your protection....blah, blah, blah..."

I'm not stupid by any means and have played dozens of MMOs and never, I REPEAT NEVER have had this sort of difficulty logging into a game before! It's frikkin ridiculous...and the kicker is I copy and paste my password from a password manager, so I know it's not something I'm mistyping.

I don't know what the hell is wrong, but something got screwed up when they transitioned my account over from 1.0 to 2.0 and I have no idea why, but the $#!% is broke.

So I say screw Square Enix. It's not like there aren't a ton of other games out there to play in which I can actually access my account.

Ridelynn · July 2015

I didn't read all the replies, but I'm also a 1.0 CE purchaser.

The 1.0 CE came with a physical security token. It is a little keychain fob. That is your one-time access code generator.

And I agree, S/E's account system is extremely difficult and unnecessarily complicated

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

So it appears I have to reset my password again!

Good Lord, you'd think I'm trying to access Fort Knox?

Thanks for all the help everyone, but screw this noise!

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

Originally posted by Ridelynn
I didn't read all the replies, but I'm also a 1.0 CE purchaser.

The 1.0 CE came with a physical security token. It is a little keychain fob. That is your one-time access code generator.

I thought that too, so I dug it out of the office drawer that I store it in, but no dice. It did not work!

FanOfSuperman · July 2015

The funny $#!% is that like I said, I use a password manager for all my passwords: when I tried to copy and paste my password into the game's launcher, I could not log in, which I assume meant I was receiving the error because the one-time password field was left blank. Then, after I received the, "you must reset your password" message (again) from the launcher, I click on the link that takes me to a page where I have to enter a new password. So, I paste the old password that I still have copied to the clipboard and receive a message that I can't use the same password again. Ha! So that tells me it was the correct password I was trying to use!

I'm telling you my account is fudged, borked, etc...if I had the energy I'd just start with a new account, but I don't....and there's about a snowball's chance in hell I'm paying for another copy of the game.

andre369 · July 2015

I had no problems typing in my password the ten days I played this game.(Free trial)

arunasme · July 2015

I had problems logging in when i made my trial account,.

Upon registration I had to think up "a one time password" so I did, and after registration I could not login to the launcher with the password I set up. After multiple resets I just left the field blank... and... I could log in... no idea why it's there and I set it up while registering but It didn't work and apparently wasn't needed at all.

danwest58 · July 2015

OP I will give you that. SE's account management system is bad. I think they make it complex just because their culture because JP players dont have any issue ever, just us dumb Americans seem to have a problem.

Pratt2112 · July 2015

Originally posted by JDis25
It really does suck. You have like 3 accounts with Square Enix and they are easily confusable,

Your FFXIV Character account which is like for the official forums and such.

This isn't exclusive to SE, nor even abnormal. Many MMOs I've played have separate logins for their forums. One, because the forum software typically has its own built-in login system, maintained in its own database, separate from the game (this is a good thing). Second, because it's better to keep that kind of info separate, for security purposes; it's suggested you use a different login for each.

Your SquareEnix store Account.

Because the MogStation is specific to FFXIV. The SquareEnix store account is general to all Square Enix products. Two different things. And again, keeping logins separate helps maintain more security; if one is compromised, the other is still safe.

Your MogStation account. Which is like a secret webpage to find unless you specifically google it. You have to jump through menus to get there from the ffxiv website.

Oh?

"secret webpage", you say?

Specifically Googling, or jumping through menus?

Really? (modified to highlight the glaringly obvious MogStation logo/buttons)

That's funny, all I have to do is go to the official website, select my language (or any language for that matter), and the page in that screenshot comes right up.

Pro-Tip: A little fact-checking, before posting nonsense on a forum, goes a long way.

yaminsux · July 2015

Originally posted by FanOfSuperman

Squeenix's account management system has got to be the worst of any game/company I've ever experienced.Long story, but bear with me:I was one of the fool's that purchased FF XIV 14 1.0. To add insult to injury, I purchased the CE. As most of you know, the only good to come out of that was that I was given a free digital copy of 2.0 ARR.Unfortunately however, I never got to even give 2.0 a try, as I had account issues when the game launched that prevented me from even logging in and taking advantage of the free 14-day trial I was supposed to receive. I petitioned to Squeenix's Customer Support - who admitted my login issues were their fault - that they renew my 14 day trial as by the time I was able to log in to my account, there was only 1 or 2 days left. They refused. So, I went to the BBB who agreed with me that SE should give me the time I was due, especially seeing it essentially cost SE nothing to do so, as it was virtual time. Square Enix still refused and the BBB said there was nothing they could do.Fast forward to the present in which even though I still think Square Enix is a shit company for the way they treat their customers, decided that I should still give the game a try. However, now I'm trying to once again log into my account and once again, cannot get it. Once again, I'm being asked for a One-Time Password (that I never set up) to log in. I can't get past this and their appears to be no customer support center to call aside from setting up a ticket via the website, which appears to have nothing related to this specific type of issue that doesn't run you around in an endless circle.Anyone else have an issue similar to this that can give me a hand or some advice or how to resolve it?Thanks in advance and I appreciate your time!

I lost my CE account similar to this. After lenghty, CS emails. I just give up. They treat me like I'm a hacker/account theif, which pisses me off.

Other MMO companies have better account recovery system, heck even battle.net is better than SE are. They wont get my money....ever. Not even excited for FF15 too.

Howdy, Stranger!

Why is the Square Enix account system such a PITA?

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Why is the Square Enix account system such a PITA?

Comments