Crysta is a Square Enix specific digital currency, used just like cash to pay for subscriptions and cash-shop items in Final Fantasy XIV.
The purpose of this post is to recommend this payment method for all FFXIV players since I personally believe it has many advantages over paying directly with your credit or debit card, and to provide handy instructions for getting started. Until SE overhauls the Mog Station to the most modern standards of financial safety and security, I highly recommend using Crysta currency for all SE transactions and services, especially in place of credit cards.
Based on my anecdotal experience and that of several others, I believe there is a non-trivial chance that a Mog Station transaction that uses a credit card as payment will be flagged, denied, or charged back by your credit card company, thus triggering a ban on your SE account and making FFXIV unplayable. Also anecdotally, this is more likely if you (since there is no shopping cart feature) buy multiple items that cost the same price quickly one after another.
Since Crysta is pre-paid, SE gets the entire amount of your payment immediately. Once your Crysta purchase goes through successfully, any subsequent purchases made with the Crysta as currency do not require SE to transact with you bank or credit card company. For example, with one $100 Crysta purchase, you can pay for 3 months of subscription, one Sleipnir mount, and three emotes. Instead of having to make five separate credit card transactions, you make only one for all these purchases. This greatly reduces the number of transactions SE has to make with your financial institution, lowering your overall risk of having a transaction flagged, denied, or charged back.
More detailed information, including Crysta expiration periods, can be found at:
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/crysta/
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/crysta/charge.html
http://na.square-enix.com/en/seaccount/crysta/charge
http://eu.square-enix.com/en/seaccount/crysta/charge (EU)
Disclaimer: All of the above and below is my personal opinion. I am not making any definitive statement(s) or accusations that the Mog Station is safe or unsafe to purchase from, by any payment method. I am not making any definitive statement(s) that this method will completely eliminate all chance of bank and/or credit card errors on the Mog Station. However, I personally feel that since the consequences of bank / CC errors can be so dire for FFXIV players (bans and permabans), it’s well worth it to put the extra effort into choosing the option with the least risk. This guide is meant as a personal recommendation only, and I am not responsible for any mistakes or errors which you may encounter when following the guide.
Alright, now that the legal bit is out of the way, let’s get started!
Step One: Buy Crysta
1.1: Log into the Mog Station at http://sqex.to/msp.
1.2: Hover over the “Square Enix Account Settings” navigation button.
1.3: Choose “Add Crysta" from the dropdown menu.
1.4: Get taken to a totally different website for some reason. Choose the amount of Crysta you’d like to buy. Be sure to check the price of your subscription tier + retainers to make sure you buy enough for your next payment, at the very least, plus extra if you’d like to buy optional items.
This screen may look different if you are not in the US, do not have a North American account, or are not paying with USD.
1.5: Choose the payment method for your Crysta purchase. In this case, I recommend using PayPal, since it adds an extra layer of buyer protection. If you don’t use PayPal, I highly recommend starting now.
1.6: Complete the payment as instructed. Note that for whatever reason, since I used my credit card through Paypal, it showed my payment method as Credit Card / Debit Card, not Paypal.
Ensure that you see this confirmation message, then double check to ensure that the amount of Crysta you just purchased, as well as your total Crysta balance, are accurate. Click the Done button.
1.7: When you are brought to this screen, click the Mog Station banner to return there.
(Optional) 1.8: If you were previously using a credit or debit card to pay for your sub/services, I highly recommend removing the card from your account so it can’t accidentally be charged for anything in the future.
Back at the Mog Station, hover over the “Square Enix Account Settings” navigation button, and click on “Register/Update Payment Method.”
(Optional) 1.9: Get back to that mysterious second Web site, and click “Unregister.” Confirm and return to the Mog Station as before.
Step Two: Pay for your sub with Crysta
2.1: From the Mog Station, click on the really big, really obvious “Manage Service Options” button under your FFXIV service account.
2.2: On the next screen, click “Add/Change Subscriptions” under your FFXIV service account.
2.3: Scroll down to the bottom of this page to view and change subscription options. The only thing required to change here is the payment method, for which you will select Crysta. Then click Next to confirm and save changes. Note that this will immediately deduct the amount of Crysta needed for your chosen subscription period from your balance.
2.4: As far as I can tell, this will also automatically apply the Crysta payment method to your retainers as well. However, it’s worth double checking by clicking on Your Account OR Manage Service Options -> Retainer Service -> Manage Retainer Service and scrolling to the bottom.
Screen one:
Screen two:
Screen three:
(Optional) Step Three: Pay for cash shop items with Crysta
3.1: Back at the Mog Station navigation bar, click on Optional Items to go to the cash shop.
3.2: Select your item/emote/etc. as normal. You can only purchase one at a time, and there is no shopping cart.
3.3: When checking out, select Crysta as your payment method.
3.4: At the payment confirmation screen, double check your current Crysta balance, the Crysta cost for the optional item, and what your remaining Crysta balance will be after the purchase. Make sure there’s still enough for your next subscription payment. Click Purchase to finish.
Credits to Evernote
The purpose of this post is to recommend this payment method for all FFXIV players since I personally believe it has many advantages over paying directly with your credit or debit card, and to provide handy instructions for getting started. Until SE overhauls the Mog Station to the most modern standards of financial safety and security, I highly recommend using Crysta currency for all SE transactions and services, especially in place of credit cards.
Based on my anecdotal experience and that of several others, I believe there is a non-trivial chance that a Mog Station transaction that uses a credit card as payment will be flagged, denied, or charged back by your credit card company, thus triggering a ban on your SE account and making FFXIV unplayable. Also anecdotally, this is more likely if you (since there is no shopping cart feature) buy multiple items that cost the same price quickly one after another.
Since Crysta is pre-paid, SE gets the entire amount of your payment immediately. Once your Crysta purchase goes through successfully, any subsequent purchases made with the Crysta as currency do not require SE to transact with you bank or credit card company. For example, with one $100 Crysta purchase, you can pay for 3 months of subscription, one Sleipnir mount, and three emotes. Instead of having to make five separate credit card transactions, you make only one for all these purchases. This greatly reduces the number of transactions SE has to make with your financial institution, lowering your overall risk of having a transaction flagged, denied, or charged back.
More detailed information, including Crysta expiration periods, can be found at:
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/crysta/
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/crysta/charge.html
http://na.square-enix.com/en/seaccount/crysta/charge
http://eu.square-enix.com/en/seaccount/crysta/charge (EU)
Disclaimer: All of the above and below is my personal opinion. I am not making any definitive statement(s) or accusations that the Mog Station is safe or unsafe to purchase from, by any payment method. I am not making any definitive statement(s) that this method will completely eliminate all chance of bank and/or credit card errors on the Mog Station. However, I personally feel that since the consequences of bank / CC errors can be so dire for FFXIV players (bans and permabans), it’s well worth it to put the extra effort into choosing the option with the least risk. This guide is meant as a personal recommendation only, and I am not responsible for any mistakes or errors which you may encounter when following the guide.
Alright, now that the legal bit is out of the way, let’s get started!
Step One: Buy Crysta
1.1: Log into the Mog Station at http://sqex.to/msp.
1.2: Hover over the “Square Enix Account Settings” navigation button.
1.3: Choose “Add Crysta" from the dropdown menu.
1.4: Get taken to a totally different website for some reason. Choose the amount of Crysta you’d like to buy. Be sure to check the price of your subscription tier + retainers to make sure you buy enough for your next payment, at the very least, plus extra if you’d like to buy optional items.
This screen may look different if you are not in the US, do not have a North American account, or are not paying with USD.
1.5: Choose the payment method for your Crysta purchase. In this case, I recommend using PayPal, since it adds an extra layer of buyer protection. If you don’t use PayPal, I highly recommend starting now.
1.6: Complete the payment as instructed. Note that for whatever reason, since I used my credit card through Paypal, it showed my payment method as Credit Card / Debit Card, not Paypal.
Ensure that you see this confirmation message, then double check to ensure that the amount of Crysta you just purchased, as well as your total Crysta balance, are accurate. Click the Done button.
1.7: When you are brought to this screen, click the Mog Station banner to return there.
(Optional) 1.8: If you were previously using a credit or debit card to pay for your sub/services, I highly recommend removing the card from your account so it can’t accidentally be charged for anything in the future.
Back at the Mog Station, hover over the “Square Enix Account Settings” navigation button, and click on “Register/Update Payment Method.”
(Optional) 1.9: Get back to that mysterious second Web site, and click “Unregister.” Confirm and return to the Mog Station as before.
Step Two: Pay for your sub with Crysta
2.1: From the Mog Station, click on the really big, really obvious “Manage Service Options” button under your FFXIV service account.
2.2: On the next screen, click “Add/Change Subscriptions” under your FFXIV service account.
2.3: Scroll down to the bottom of this page to view and change subscription options. The only thing required to change here is the payment method, for which you will select Crysta. Then click Next to confirm and save changes. Note that this will immediately deduct the amount of Crysta needed for your chosen subscription period from your balance.
2.4: As far as I can tell, this will also automatically apply the Crysta payment method to your retainers as well. However, it’s worth double checking by clicking on Your Account OR Manage Service Options -> Retainer Service -> Manage Retainer Service and scrolling to the bottom.
Screen one:
Screen two:
Screen three:
(Optional) Step Three: Pay for cash shop items with Crysta
3.1: Back at the Mog Station navigation bar, click on Optional Items to go to the cash shop.
3.2: Select your item/emote/etc. as normal. You can only purchase one at a time, and there is no shopping cart.
3.3: When checking out, select Crysta as your payment method.
3.4: At the payment confirmation screen, double check your current Crysta balance, the Crysta cost for the optional item, and what your remaining Crysta balance will be after the purchase. Make sure there’s still enough for your next subscription payment. Click Purchase to finish.
Credits to Evernote
