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Forums > Home› Neverwinter Discussion › General Discussion (PC)

Wait, you need Arc just to redeem codes?

ghoulz66ghoulz66 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,748 Arc User
edited August 2014 in General Discussion (PC)
NW off of the main site requires Arc. Off of steam requires steam obviously, but why do the steam DLC send me to an arc page telling me to install arc? Is there something I don't know about? How can I redeem a key without Arc?
Post edited by ghoulz66 on
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  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited August 2014
    ghoulz66 wrote: »
    NW off of the main site requires Arc. Off of steam requires steam obviously, but why do the steam DLC send me to an arc page telling me to install arc? Is there something I don't know about? How can I redeem a key without Arc?
    PWE is continuing to make ARC their core delivery and community system. New codes must be redeemed through the ARC client now. It's small, light-weight, and doesn't need to be ran in order to run the game at present. In the future, it will.

    Safe travels,
    Archmage Zebular of Mystryl
    PWE Community Moderator
    [ My Character Bios | Discord: Zebular#9524 | In Game: @zebular (PC) • @MtnDewFreak (XBOX) • @Terraseer (PS4) ]
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  • ghoulz66ghoulz66 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,748 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    What does that mean for the Steam version in the future if Arc must be run to launch the game? Is the Steam DLC still valid?
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited August 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    ghoulz66 wrote: »
    NW off of the main site requires Arc. Off of steam requires steam obviously, but why do the steam DLC send me to an arc page telling me to install arc? Is there something I don't know about? How can I redeem a key without Arc?

    Yeah it's a pain, if I want to redeem a code I actually have to fire up windows to do it. Even if arc ran for me which it doesn't, I don't like middleman bloatware.
  • ghoulz66ghoulz66 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,748 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    magenubbie wrote: »
    By the time we get that far, steam is probably useless for playing Neverwinter. Pretty much as it already is. Should they maintain steam as distributor once ARC takes over, you'll probably be redirected to ARC and have to proceed from there.

    Double bloatware.. the horror.

    They tossed the Warlock pack on Steam, long after this whole mess toke root.
  • ixalmarisixalmaris Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    ghoulz66 wrote: »
    How can I redeem a key without Arc?

    Not at all. Arc is required to redeem keys, no matter where you got it.
    But you can always uninstall the tool after you have redeemed the key. Thats how I did with the giveaway I got.
  • angryspriteangrysprite Member Posts: 4,982 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Eventually, Steam will launch ARC Client, which will launch the Cryptic Launcher, which will launch the EXE file proper.

    (@OP Yes: ARC Client is the only way to enter codes. IMPORTANT: Only buy Zen through ARC Client or directly in ARC site to qualify for any promotions. Zen purchased through Steam do NOT qualify. Just FYI)
  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited August 2014
    angrysprite wrote: »
    Eventually, Steam will launch ARC Client, which will launch the Cryptic Launcher, which will launch the EXE file proper.

    (@OP Yes: ARC Client is the only way to enter codes. IMPORTANT: Only buy Zen through ARC Client or directly in ARC site to qualify for any promotions. Zen purchased through Steam do NOT qualify. Just FYI)
    Indeed, this is most likely what will happen - just like it already does with UBISoft titles on Steam and their UPlay launcher, as well as other games.
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  • alkemist80alkemist80 Member Posts: 957 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    This is slightly off topic.. but does anyone know if there is a way to fully close Arc when you use the "x" close button in the upper right corner? I don't see an option to do so and it will only minimize it to the tray. I then have to right click it to fully exit. Not a fan of having it run in the background.
    Banshee (Devotion Justice Oathbound Paladin) - Crueladevil (Soulbinder Damnation Scourge Warlock) - Sindania Balefire (Master Infiltrator Trickster Rogue)

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  • UnknownUnknown
    edited August 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited August 2014
    You can also right-click the task icon (by the clock) and choose exit.
    [ My Character Bios | Discord: Zebular#9524 | In Game: @zebular (PC) • @MtnDewFreak (XBOX) • @Terraseer (PS4) ]
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  • magiquepursemagiquepurse Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Pro tip - use ARC in a virtual machine.
  • ghoulz66ghoulz66 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,748 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Ok, another brain twister. The DLC on the main site says it requires NW installed with Arc, so wth, a steam user can't buy the DLC off of Arcgames site?
  • sugarliessugarlies Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 99
    edited August 2014
    It's really annoying, what should have been something to help and make everything easy, all companies seem to shove their 'ARC' down our throats. So I have Steam, ARC, Origin, UPlay, Blizzard's Client (don't think it has a name), Glyph. For what, for one or two games. This isn't even funny anymore, it's messy and it seems like I have to have to login 10 different apps till I get to the actual game to play. Is this really progress?
  • twilightwatchmantwilightwatchman Member Posts: 2,007 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    I avoid bloatware like the plague and always have, but ARC hardly qualifies. It has a tiny footprint in both memory and processor load and even on my very average laptop it has zero discernible impact on performance. I can't think of a single good reason not to install it.

    And currently you can still run NW without ARC loaded anyway. The client shortcut still works and the game runs fine without it. So for those who are really set against this kind of global launcher you could just run it for buying Zen and redeeming codes then close it down and run the client in the normal way.
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  • baylen76baylen76 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    twilightwatchman wrote: »
    (...) It has a tiny footprint in both memory and processor load and even on my very average laptop it has zero discernible impact on performance. (...)


    It doesn't matter how bloaty or not bloaty the thing is. It's unnecessary and people dislike getting additional programs forced upon them. I don't care what it does, because I do not want to run it. Forcing this on people is just as bad as forcing them to run a bitcoin miner in the background. Not to mention ARC will trigger a lot of resentment people have developed against advertisement of any kind in the last 20 years of online history.

    You don't even need Arc to make peope view more of whatever, as you could easily integrate stuff into the already existing launcher (which people have a lot less reservations against since MMOs historically pretty much always had a launcher).

    The smart way would be --> get rid of ARC and integrate whatever you want to do into the launcher <--. Else, less customers / less sales due to unnecessary hurdles.
  • vasdamasvasdamas Member Posts: 2,461 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    zebular wrote: »
    PWE is continuing to make ARC their core delivery and community system. New codes must be redeemed through the ARC client now. It's small, light-weight, and doesn't need to be ran in order to run the game at present. In the future, it will.

    Safe travels,
    Archmage Zebular of Mystryl
    PWE Community Moderator

    Yeah, it's small, light-weight, 3rd party and causes my PC to reboot each 30 minutes I run the game with it open in my tray even though I play neverwinter on high visual settings almost all the time xD

    Good thing I have an old launcher
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  • str8slayerstr8slayer Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 715 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2014
    twilightwatchman wrote: »
    I avoid bloatware like the plague and always have, but ARC hardly qualifies. It has a tiny footprint in both memory and processor load and even on my very average laptop it has zero discernible impact on performance. I can't think of a single good reason not to install it.

    And currently you can still run NW without ARC loaded anyway. The client shortcut still works and the game runs fine without it. So for those who are really set against this kind of global launcher you could just run it for buying Zen and redeeming codes then close it down and run the client in the normal way.

    This, is essentially the only way I could find it acceptable to force useless clients down our throats like this. Software like this is employed by cunning developers to collect advert revenue and data about the players that the company can later sell (not to mention it probably has service-level access on your OS, the implications are obvious).

    Don't expect this trend to change anytime soon, it is undoubtedly a profitable decision, regardless of how many players it "irritates", few will be driven away outright by it..
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • twilightwatchmantwilightwatchman Member Posts: 2,007 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    baylen76 wrote: »
    It doesn't matter how bloaty or not bloaty the thing is. It's unnecessary and people dislike getting additional programs forced upon them. I don't care what it does, because I do not want to run it. Forcing this on people is just as bad as forcing them to run a bitcoin miner in the background. Not to mention ARC will trigger a lot of resentment people have developed against advertisement of any kind in the last 20 years of online history.

    You don't even need Arc to make peope view more of whatever, as you could easily integrate stuff into the already existing launcher (which people have a lot less reservations against since MMOs historically pretty much always had a launcher).

    The smart way would be --> get rid of ARC and integrate whatever you want to do into the launcher <--. Else, less customers / less sales due to unnecessary hurdles.
    If PWE think it's necessary then it's necessary. Simple. If you want to argue against it you'll have to come up with a better reason than just not wanting to.

    And as someone who's run an ad blocker since the first day they were available I'm as ad-phobic as they come, but Arc really doesn't pester you.
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  • str8slayerstr8slayer Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 715 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2014
    twilightwatchman wrote: »
    If PWE think it's necessary then it's necessary. Simple. If you want to argue against it you'll have to come up with a better reason than just not wanting to.

    And as someone who's run an ad blocker since the first day they were available I'm as ad-phobic as they come, but Arc really doesn't pester you.

    Haha, your naive attitude is almost charming... Obviously it's not necessary otherwise we wouldn't be able to play now, would we? Now, if they decided to close the game down for not making more money, well then yes, maybe then it would've been necessary.

    Like I said, things like this are just to open additional options for making profits. You know how corporations are, the second the revenue projections indicate less profit being made now than last quarter, it turns into a mad rush for everyone to keep their heads off of the chopping block. When that kind of stress is on you to make more and more and more or be replaced, moves like this are inevitable. They could care less how you feel or what you think so long as they remain employed... (if it was your job, you'd likely agree)
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited August 2014
    vasdamas wrote: »
    Yeah, it's small, light-weight, 3rd party and causes my PC to reboot each 30 minutes I run the game with it open in my tray even though I play neverwinter on high visual settings almost all the time xD

    Good thing I have an old launcher
    Perhaps you should be contacting Support or better yet, look into fixing whatever is wrong with your system. Reboots like that usually mean RAM Issue or GPU Issue or corrupted OS files.
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  • somebobsomebob Member Posts: 1,887 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    magenubbie wrote: »
    By the time we get that far, steam is probably useless for playing Neverwinter. Pretty much as it already is. Should they maintain steam as distributor once ARC takes over, you'll probably be redirected to ARC and have to proceed from there.

    Double bloatware.. the horror.

    A STO dev (for what it's worth) said that using Steam to launch ARC to launch STO is just silly and they realize it. Sounds like the above may not happen.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited August 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • sexwax45sexwax45 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Just send a short cut of the .exe file to your desk top and you don't need to lauch arc. Its funny with the whole launch steam to launch arc to launch neverwinter, its a waist of resources and is it only me or does it look like they just copied steams program and renamed it arc, its like a Chinese knock off horribly cheesy. If your gonna make your own program at least be the slightest bit original and maybe use a different font or color scheme seriously who ever came up with the whole arc thing only knows how to copy and paste, or so it seems.
  • angryspriteangrysprite Member Posts: 4,982 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    somebob wrote: »
    A STO dev (for what it's worth) said that using Steam to launch ARC to launch STO is just silly and they realize it. Sounds like the above may not happen.

    That comment was intended as a joke.

    Here is what WILL happen eventually: the current "Cryptic Launcher" will go away and ARC will be required to launch Neverwinter (and STO, and Co, And Swordsman, And all the rest) - game update patches will be handled directly with the ARC client. This is announced, and the roadmap basically states this will not be the case for another year or so.

    But do know: it IS coming. And when that happens, Steam will then launch ARC - which launches Neverwinter (and STO and the rest) - UNLESS there are specific URL Hooks that allow Steam to launch the game directly the same way ARC Client does.

    This is how it is written. This is how it will be done.

    (You can get the skinny here: http://www.arcgames.com/en/arc-news)
  • vasdamasvasdamas Member Posts: 2,461 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    zebular wrote: »
    Perhaps you should be contacting Support or better yet, look into fixing whatever is wrong with your system. Reboots like that usually mean RAM Issue or GPU Issue or corrupted OS files.

    Maybe but the fact remains the same nothing else causes such reaction. I do remember somebody on forums said it eats out a big piece of ram though...
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  • angryspriteangrysprite Member Posts: 4,982 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    vasdamas wrote: »
    Maybe but the fact remains the same nothing else causes such reaction. I do remember somebody on forums said it eats out a big piece of ram though...

    ARC eats like a Finch. Even the download is minuscule in comparison to audio player apps and whatnot. I'm not saying ARC is for you, and I get it if you don;t even like the idea. What I'm saying is that the misinformation about what the ARC Client is and does runs rampant in these forums and I'll use any opportunity to debunk that.

    If you do have ARC installed and experiencing such difficulties as random reboots and such, there is a bigger thing going on that you need to have investigated. Even if it only happens when ARC is running, ARC is not the sole problem, though it could be the catalyst that's triggering the real problem.

    As to the OP: Yup. The old way of redeeming codes through the web site is long past now. By offering freebie trinkets Perfect World/ARC Games is enticing you to use the ARC Client as that's the only way to claim the shines now (on ALL Perfect World games). But also I think it's to get you to see that ARC isn't bad at all.

    And I think they want you to use their social things... I keep seeing @Mldywhr and other "friends" logging into Neverwinter and Star Trek at weird times of the day. LOL
  • lewstelamon01lewstelamon01 Member Posts: 7,415 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    I'll also correct ONE misconception: Arc is NOT third party. ARC is a platform developed by PWE. It replaces what was once known as CORE Connect.
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  • almondumalmondum Member Posts: 313 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    It's small, light-weight, and doesn't need to be ran in order to run the game at present. In the future, it will.

    This is very very very bad. The ARC has security problems, I had 4 friends who has been HACKED for using ARC to purchase things.
    Unless they make it 1x10^6% secure.....this will make alot of people stop playing.
  • rhoricrhoric Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    ARC has no security issues. If those people were hacked it wasn't cause of ARC. It was caused by their own security issues. Like easy to crack password, malware on their system, clicked a suspicious link and entered their login info there. Used a goldseller site and won't admit to it. I have had ARC installed and used since the very first day in May of 2013. Not a single security issue. Arc also barely uses any resources.
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