Hello everyone I'm a complete noob because I just bought the deluxe version of PvZ GW2 for my kids. I bought it as a digital download on my account (a master account which is activated for our only PS4 system) but I want to ask about my two boys playing it together.... We have 3 accounts on our PS4. My master account, my eldest has a sub account attached to my master account and my youngest also has a sub account attached to my master account. 1. Can each of them play the game (offline) in their own sub accounts to collect trophies and achievements? 2. If they want to play Co-op together I read somewhere that only one of them will collect trophies. I guess that's the account their signed into and the other player effectively becomes a guest during the co-op 3. Given that I bought the deluxe version which gives sticker packets to get extra characters, outfits etc, will that only work on my master account or will they each get the add ons in their sub accounts. I'm waiting for answers before I log in for the first time so I don't do any damage!! Thanks in advance for your help Mark

@markyluvProviding that the PS4 is activated as your "Primary PS4" on your Master Account and you used that account to purchase the digital copy anyone who signs in on the system will be able to access the game.Each PS4 account which plays will need to be connected to an Origin Account on the EA servers where their game progress and unlocks will be saved so each account can progress at their own rate, which will include earning Trophies and Achievements.For Co-Op play as long as each is signed into their account they can continue to progress their characters and earn Trophies and Achievements but if the second player joins under a Guest account that won't be possible.The bonus material which accompanies the Deluxe version will only apply to the first person to redeem the code, which is likely to have been your Master Account, and will not apply to other accounts on the system. If you want the bonus content in the sub accounts then each additional account will need to individually buy the Deluxe upgrade available in the PlayStation Store while signed into those accounts.

reality covered a lot of this. The deluxe upgrades aren't worth worrying about anyway. It's just a couple of skins and a bunch of coins, which they will earn constantly through gameplay anyway. Besides, that bonus is almost certainly tied to your account and yours only already. To make progress in the game, they will need to be signed into PSN and Origin. If the coop player doesn't get trophies or whatever, that's maybe just the way the game is designed and there's nothing you can do about it. When they sign up with Origin, I have a word of caution about that. When BF4 came out 3 years ago my friend could not play his purchased copy of the game because for some reason his Origin account was flagged as a child account, and there was no way for him to fix it. It must have been a mistake because he is many years past being a child. The EA reps could never resolve the situation either. He ended up creating a new Origin account. Maybe he was unlucky, maybe they've gotten better since then, I don't know. I'm just warning, if there's no downside to giving them a "full" Origin account, you may want to do that.

@markyluv It's been awhile since I created my account for use with Battlefield 3 but at that time simply loading the game prompted me to create an Origin account. I have no reason to believe that the game won't prompt you to create an account if one is required to play so you should be able to quickly create one through the PS4 but you could also create one using your PC if needed.. In the event that you do have to create an Origin account be certain to use the same email address which is associated with your PS4 account, doing so usually means that any logins will be done automatically in the future, including when you first load any future EA games which require such logins. If you still have the redeem code for the Deluxe bonus content then you should be able to allow any of the accounts to redeem it, bearing in mind that it will only apply to that account. Unless you're a completionist who really needs or wants to get the game to 100% the perks included with the Deluxe version aren't anything that you can't live without; there is an exclusive Imp character, some exclusive customization items and character abilities and of course the big chunk of coins to get you started. When playing Co-Op Player 1 will go to the stack of two television sets next to the Dressing Room where you select and customize your characters. When selecting that there will be a prompt for Player 2 to select their PS4 account OR continue as a Guest. If Player 2 selects to continue as a Guest then nothing will be saved for them but if they select their PS4 account then everything they do will count towards their progress- XP, Stars earned, unlocks, and so on will all be applied to their account and will be there the next time that they play. A couple of notes about Co-Op play: the game features some story elements and Multiplayer options which are intended for Single Player mode and activating Co-Op mode, or having someone 'visit' your Backyard Battleground will lock out all of this material. This means that the "L.E.A.F Agent" and "Top Zombie" missions will become unavailable, no online Multiplayer or online Co-Op can be accessed and this will include accessing the hidden Trials of Gnomus portal and the Mystery Portal which is available inside Town Hall when the doors there are opened. There is also a special "Solo" mode in Garden and Graveyard Ops which allows you to select up to 3 AI Teammates- Co-Op mode won't allow you to buff out your 2 Player team to 4 with AI helpers. The Multiplayer Portal will be accessible during Co-Op with the "Private Play" option and you'll be able to play against AI opponents with your team filled out with AI teammates as well. It's not as challenging as human opponents and teammates and doesn't award quite as much XP but you do get the same 12 v 12 experience. You should also bear in mind that during Co-Op Player 2 cannot interact with various Backyard Battleground elements such as Prize Chests, while Player 1, who will be designated as the Group Leader, will be able to open those Chests for themselves. This also holds true whenever you visit another Players Backyard Battlefield- you can only open the Chests found in your own Backyard and whenever you are in another players Backyard the Group Leader determines which games you actually play as any other Players in the Backyard are dragged along with them when they start a game mode. I am also a PS4 Player by the way and should anyone need or want in-game assistance you can add me as realitysquared on PSN- some of the game modes, like Infinity Time and the Mystery Portal event called "Boss Hunt" can be challenging.

First, pardon me if I'm just repeating everything realiitysquared said, I didn't read all of the replies. My account has two subs - one fir my wife and one for my daughter. These accounts need to be registered at EA as mentioned, this is easy to take care of. I can't remember at what stage I registered the accounts to EA, but it was obvious what to do. Then, when they go to play, one will sign in and activate the split screen, and the other player signs in to PS. When the first player activates split screen, the other player need to hit the options button when prompted, and then they will get signed in to their own EA account. If both players are signed in, and not playing as "guest," they will accrue all the coins etc. they earn during play. One thing they cannot do on each others' accounts is to play the single player stuff - Davebot quests, the halloween bat, Golden Gnomes, etc. You have to be in your own "backyard" to d these and they cannot be done at all on split screen. The big limitation of split screen is that they cannot play online multiplayer games together with or against other humans. They can do "private play" on ops as a two-person team, or any of the various multiplayer modes against AI enemies. Regarding the free sticker packs, each of my sub accounts were able to access these things in the sticker shop, it was not limited to just my account. And, I believe, the sub accounts WERE able to access these during split screen play. Hope this helps, please ask if I can clarify anything - I'm a bit tired this morning.

I'm really glad I could help. I'm fairly new to modern gaming - the last console I owned was a Sega CD! So I know it can be daunting. I play GW2 with my young daughter quite a lot, we had a mutual interest via youtube videos prior to buying our PS4. I wish we had two, so we could do regular play together. To avoid confusion, I'd stick to calling it "split screen" instead of "co-op play," because the game refers to multiplayer games that you play with others on the network, such as Garden Ops, as "Co-op."

Question about sub accounts | EA Forums

17 Replies

realitysquared
9 years ago
@markyluv

Providing that the PS4 is activated as your "Primary PS4" on your Master Account and you used that account to purchase the digital copy anyone who signs in on the system will be able to access the game.

Each PS4 account which plays will need to be connected to an Origin Account on the EA servers where their game progress and unlocks will be saved so each account can progress at their own rate, which will include earning Trophies and Achievements.

For Co-Op play as long as each is signed into their account they can continue to progress their characters and earn Trophies and Achievements but if the second player joins under a Guest account that won't be possible.

The bonus material which accompanies the Deluxe version will only apply to the first person to redeem the code, which is likely to have been your Master Account, and will not apply to other accounts on the system. If you want the bonus content in the sub accounts then each additional account will need to individually buy the Deluxe upgrade available in the PlayStation Store while signed into those accounts.
markyluv
9 years ago
Thanks for the help, can I ask a few more questions....

1. Can my boys (who are aged 10 and 7 and both have sub accounts) each register with EA to have an origins account so that they can save their progress? Do you set up the Origins account from within the game or from a PC?

2. I bought the digital game using my master account but I haven't yet played the game or redeemed the codes for the deluxe version so can i let my eldest play the game first from within his sub account so that he gets the deluxe upgrades?

3. So if my eldest starts the game in his sub account and then the youngest wants to play Coop with his big brother....the youngest can press the Playstation button on his controller and select his sub account from the options in order to also save his xp,stars and achievements too (obviously after he has registered for an EA Origins account)? Or must he play as a guest if the game was started in his big brother's account?

So many questions but the info about the Deluxe upgrades being available to only one account was crucial to know before we play for the first time tonight!! Thanks!
Scruffy_McGuffy
9 years ago
reality covered a lot of this. The deluxe upgrades aren't worth worrying about anyway. It's just a couple of skins and a bunch of coins, which they will earn constantly through gameplay anyway. Besides, that bonus is almost certainly tied to your account and yours only already.

To make progress in the game, they will need to be signed into PSN and Origin. If the coop player doesn't get trophies or whatever, that's maybe just the way the game is designed and there's nothing you can do about it. When they sign up with Origin, I have a word of caution about that. When BF4 came out 3 years ago my friend could not play his purchased copy of the game because for some reason his Origin account was flagged as a child account, and there was no way for him to fix it. It must have been a mistake because he is many years past being a child. The EA reps could never resolve the situation either. He ended up creating a new Origin account. Maybe he was unlucky, maybe they've gotten better since then, I don't know. I'm just warning, if there's no downside to giving them a "full" Origin account, you may want to do that.
realitysquared
9 years ago
@markyluv

It's been awhile since I created my account for use with Battlefield 3 but at that time simply loading the game prompted me to create an Origin account.

I have no reason to believe that the game won't prompt you to create an account if one is required to play so you should be able to quickly create one through the PS4 but you could also create one using your PC if needed.. In the event that you do have to create an Origin account be certain to use the same email address which is associated with your PS4 account, doing so usually means that any logins will be done automatically in the future, including when you first load any future EA games which require such logins.

If you still have the redeem code for the Deluxe bonus content then you should be able to allow any of the accounts to redeem it, bearing in mind that it will only apply to that account. Unless you're a completionist who really needs or wants to get the game to 100% the perks included with the Deluxe version aren't anything that you can't live without; there is an exclusive Imp character, some exclusive customization items and character abilities and of course the big chunk of coins to get you started.

When playing Co-Op Player 1 will go to the stack of two television sets next to the Dressing Room where you select and customize your characters. When selecting that there will be a prompt for Player 2 to select their PS4 account OR continue as a Guest. If Player 2 selects to continue as a Guest then nothing will be saved for them but if they select their PS4 account then everything they do will count towards their progress- XP, Stars earned, unlocks, and so on will all be applied to their account and will be there the next time that they play.

A couple of notes about Co-Op play: the game features some story elements and Multiplayer options which are intended for Single Player mode and activating Co-Op mode, or having someone 'visit' your Backyard Battleground will lock out all of this material. This means that the "L.E.A.F Agent" and "Top Zombie" missions will become unavailable, no online Multiplayer or online Co-Op can be accessed and this will include accessing the hidden Trials of Gnomus portal and the Mystery Portal which is available inside Town Hall when the doors there are opened. There is also a special "Solo" mode in Garden and Graveyard Ops which allows you to select up to 3 AI Teammates- Co-Op mode won't allow you to buff out your 2 Player team to 4 with AI helpers.

The Multiplayer Portal will be accessible during Co-Op with the "Private Play" option and you'll be able to play against AI opponents with your team filled out with AI teammates as well. It's not as challenging as human opponents and teammates and doesn't award quite as much XP but you do get the same 12 v 12 experience.

You should also bear in mind that during Co-Op Player 2 cannot interact with various Backyard Battleground elements such as Prize Chests, while Player 1, who will be designated as the Group Leader, will be able to open those Chests for themselves. This also holds true whenever you visit another Players Backyard Battlefield- you can only open the Chests found in your own Backyard and whenever you are in another players Backyard the Group Leader determines which games you actually play as any other Players in the Backyard are dragged along with them when they start a game mode.

I am also a PS4 Player by the way and should anyone need or want in-game assistance you can add me as realitysquared on PSN- some of the game modes, like Infinity Time and the Mystery Portal event called "Boss Hunt" can be challenging.
pandareno1999
Hero+
9 years ago
First, pardon me if I'm just repeating everything realiitysquared said, I didn't read all of the replies.

My account has two subs - one fir my wife and one for my daughter. These accounts need to be registered at EA as mentioned, this is easy to take care of. I can't remember at what stage I registered the accounts to EA, but it was obvious what to do. Then, when they go to play, one will sign in and activate the split screen, and the other player signs in to PS. When the first player activates split screen, the other player need to hit the options button when prompted, and then they will get signed in to their own EA account.

If both players are signed in, and not playing as "guest," they will accrue all the coins etc. they earn during play. One thing they cannot do on each others' accounts is to play the single player stuff - Davebot quests, the halloween bat, Golden Gnomes, etc. You have to be in your own "backyard" to d these and they cannot be done at all on split screen.

The big limitation of split screen is that they cannot play online multiplayer games together with or against other humans. They can do "private play" on ops as a two-person team, or any of the various multiplayer modes against AI enemies.

Regarding the free sticker packs, each of my sub accounts were able to access these things in the sticker shop, it was not limited to just my account. And, I believe, the sub accounts WERE able to access these during split screen play.

Hope this helps, please ask if I can clarify anything - I'm a bit tired this morning.
Scruffy_McGuffy
9 years ago
pandareno, why do you have your wife as a sub on your account, instead of her having her own account?
pandareno1999
Hero+
9 years ago
Actually, I'm not sure if it is a sub account, it was set up right when we got the PS4 and I don't remember. Now that you prompt me to think about it, it's probably not a sub. I find all these various accounts one needs a bit confusing. But anyway, she hardly plays. Point being, all three accounts got the free sticker packs when starting the game.
markyluv
9 years ago
Wow, so many helpful responses with great info. It really helped us to start us on the right path to fully enjoy this wonderful game. We played last night and here are some of my findings and probably a few further questions!

In the end we started the game in my master account because my eldest was so eager to play he didn't want to register an Origin account. My eldest also stated that it would be easier to buy more sticker packets that way in the future!! He doesn't remember that I set a password on the PS Store so he can't "accidentaly" buy packets.

I let my eldest play through the LEAF quests and Top Zombie on his own (with the youngest watching and learning) because I'd read that Co-op play made these useful quests "locked out" and "unavailable". Thinking on I suspect that meant you can't play them whilst in Co-op mode but its not as if they are locked for ever. I was worried that they would be locked out of the quests forever.

1. So to confirm, as soon as they stop playing in Co-op mode the LEAF quests and Top Zombie quests and the online muliplayer become active again the next time my eldest plays on his own (not in co-op mode). Correct?

Thanks again to RealitySquared for the explanation of how Co-op affetcs online play regarding AI and humans and a 2 man team instead of additional AI help. That's great to know and will come in handy. For the moment we don't have an active PS PLus account so the "private play" option will be a good way for them to practice their skills before they encounter more cunning human opponents!

After they finished playing I decided to set up an Origin account for my youngest to see if a sub account could have one and whether he got the deluxe add-ons that were already registered on my master account. The request to login or create an Origin account appeared straight away and after choosing Create it asks for the parents email address and to create a new password for my youngest. A few seconds later it was succesful along with a message saying "Use of this application's chat and messaging features in not allowed for your account". So I can confirm that children with sub accounts can have an Origin account but without chat and messaging features.

Once the game started (in my youngest's sub account) I quickly went over to the sticker machine to discover there were "4 gifts". These packets were Phenomenal Character Pack, two Minions Booster Packs and a Wondrous Pack of Greatness. So I'm guessing the deluxe add-ons like the Imp Z7 Grass Effect aren't there but I'll let the youngest open them tonight before I conclude anything further. I'm glad my youngest can now do the quests on his own (not just watching big brother) and that he's protected from chat and messaging. This is a great game.

I'll sign off for now before boring you too much. You've all been an amazing help in navigating the minefield of options! Have a great day, it's my eldest birthday today and he's made up with his new game :o)

Thanks to each and everyone one of you, Mark
markyluv
9 years ago
Thanks for your help. I just posted a huge reply to RealitySquared but wanted to thank you personally pandareno1999 for taking the time to help me. Cheers!
pandareno1999
Hero+
9 years ago
I'm really glad I could help. I'm fairly new to modern gaming - the last console I owned was a Sega CD! So I know it can be daunting. I play GW2 with my young daughter quite a lot, we had a mutual interest via youtube videos prior to buying our PS4. I wish we had two, so we could do regular play together.

To avoid confusion, I'd stick to calling it "split screen" instead of "co-op play," because the game refers to multiplayer games that you play with others on the network, such as Garden Ops, as "Co-op."