Step 4 of 5
Creating the account and working through the tutorial
This is the only step with a practical task, and it needs about an hour of which most is waiting for files to arrive. The procedure below is written for the category rather than for one company's screens, because every publisher arranges its own sign-up differently and rearranges it without notice.
What you need in front of you
Your sheet from Step 2, with the free-space figure on it. The email address you decided to use, open in another window. The spending figure from Step 1. An hour in which nobody else needs the computer, because the first download is usually the largest one the game will ever ask for.
You do not need a payment method, a coupon, a "booster", a third-party launcher or any helper utility. If something during sign-up insists on one of those before you can play, stop and check you are on the publisher's own domain.
The procedure, from sign-up to first practice match
Numbered procedure — ten steps
- Reach the publisher's own site. Type the address or use a link you trust, and check the domain in the address bar before typing anything. Search results for popular games attract imitation sites.
- Open the registration form. It will ask for an email address, a display name and a password, and usually for your country. The display name is public and hard to change later, so choose one you are content for strangers to see; it should not be your full real name.
- Set a long, unique password. Unique means used nowhere else. A password manager, including the one already built into your browser, is the practical way to do that; the Australian Cyber Security Centre publishes free general guidance on passphrases at cyber.gov.au.
- Read the two documents before you tick the box. You did this in Step 3. If the agreement or the privacy notice has been updated since, the version date will tell you.
- Submit the form and go to your email. A confirmation message normally arrives within a few minutes. Check the junk folder before concluding it has not.
- Confirm the address from the message itself. Open the link in the message rather than one from any other source. Confirming the address is what turns a half-made account into a usable one.
- Obtain the game from the publisher's own page, or from a storefront the publisher names. Check the stated install size against your free-space figure before you start; if it is close, clear space first.
- Let the installer and the first update finish. Most online games install a small launcher that then fetches the rest. Expect it to take a while on a home connection, and expect a further update the first time you open it after a gap of weeks.
- Sign in and turn on multi-factor authentication before anything else. It is usually in account or security settings, and it is the one setting that makes a stolen password nearly useless.
- Start the tutorial and finish it in one sitting. Do not join a match with other people first. The tutorial exists to teach the controls without anybody depending on you.
Why the confirmation email matters
An unconfirmed account is a common cause of a sign-in that mysteriously fails. The confirmation link proves you control the address, which is also the address used for password resets, security alerts and, where a publisher offers it, account recovery after a theft. If you lose access to that mailbox, you can often lose the account with it.
Two small decisions pay off here. Use an address you expect to keep for years rather than one tied to a workplace or an internet provider. And if your mail service offers it, turn on multi-factor authentication for the mailbox as well, because an attacker with your email can reset most things downstream of it.
Securing the account before you play
Three measures, in order of how much they help. Multi-factor authentication on both the game account and the mailbox. A unique password on each, so that a breach of one unrelated website does not reach either. Scepticism about anyone who contacts you: no legitimate support agent, moderator or fellow player needs your password or a one-time code, and no legitimate giveaway requires you to sign in on a domain you do not recognise.
If you believe an account has been taken, the publisher's support channel is the first stop, and Scamwatch is where an Australian consumer can report the attempt. Nothing on this page suggests your computer or account is currently compromised; these are ordinary precautions taken in advance.
Four settings worth changing first
Chat and voice. Decide, before your first match with strangers, whether voice chat is on and who may message you. Every mainstream online game has these controls, and they are easier to find calmly than mid-match.
Picture quality. If Step 2 put you between the minimum and recommended lists, set the quality low to begin with. A game that runs smoothly at low settings is more pleasant than one that stutters at high settings, and you can raise it later.
Notifications and offers. Many games can be told to stop showing store promotions on the main screen. Turning that down on day one removes most of the pressure to spend.
Purchase confirmation. If the game or the storefront can require a password or a code for each purchase, turn that on. On a shared computer it is the difference between a mistake and a bill.
What a tutorial is for
A tutorial is a short guided session, usually ten to thirty minutes, in which the game teaches you the controls against opponents that cannot embarrass you. It is not a test, it cannot be failed in any way that matters, and in most games it can be repeated.
Treat it as the real first milestone of this course. By the end of it you will know whether the controls suit you, whether the picture quality setting you chose is right, and whether the game runs steadily on your computer — three things no requirements list can tell you. If the answer to any of them is no, you have spent a download and an hour, which is exactly what a free-to-install game is for.
After the tutorial, the usual next stop is a practice or co-operative mode rather than competitive play against people. Nothing is lost by spending an evening there.
When something does not work
| What you see | Usual cause | First thing to try |
|---|---|---|
| No confirmation email | Filtering, or a typo in the address | Check the junk folder, then ask the publisher's site to resend |
| Sign-in rejected after registering | The address was never confirmed | Confirm from the message, then sign in again |
| The download stops part way | A dropped connection, or no disk space | Check free space against the sheet from Step 2, then restart the launcher |
| The game starts, then closes | Graphics driver, or hardware below minimum | Update the graphics driver from the vendor's own site; lower the quality setting |
| Stuttering or very low frame rate | Picture quality set too high for the hardware | Lower resolution and quality one notch at a time |
| High ping, or players appear to jump | Distant servers, or a congested connection | Choose a nearer server region if offered; play when the household connection is quieter |
If a problem persists, the publisher's own support channel is the right place; it is also the only party that can see your account. Avoid third-party "fixer" utilities offered in search results or video descriptions, which are a known route for unwanted software.
The example household at Step 4
Hypothetical example
Our invented household picks a Saturday morning, when the connection is quiet. They register with the shared household email address, choose a display name that is not either adult's real name, and confirm the message when it arrives eight minutes later. The install takes most of two hours. They turn on multi-factor authentication before opening the game, set the picture quality to the lowest option because their sheet says integrated graphics and 8 GB of memory, turn voice chat off, and finish the tutorial before lunch. No card is stored. This is a description of a process, not a claim about any game's performance.
Paid link: if you register and sign in through it, the affiliate network that operates the link pays Solid Facet a commission. Your cost is unchanged. The vendor's own site is where the current registration screens and system requirements live; this step describes the pattern, not their interface.
Step 4 checklist
Work through these before Step 5
- Check the domain in the address bar before entering anything on a registration form.
- Choose a public display name that is not your full real name.
- Set a long password used on no other site, and record it in a password manager.
- Confirm the registration email from the message itself, then sign in once to prove it worked.
- Compare the stated install size with your free-space figure, and clear space first if they are close.
- Let the installer and the first update finish without interrupting them.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication on the game account and on the mailbox behind it.
- Set chat and voice to what you want before your first match with strangers.
- Set picture quality low to start with, then raise it only if the game stays smooth.
- Turn on a purchase confirmation prompt, and store no payment method yet.
- Finish the tutorial in one sitting, before joining any match with other people.
- Write down, in one line, whether the game ran steadily and whether you enjoyed it.
Before you move on
You should now have a confirmed account protected by multi-factor authentication, a game that starts, settings you chose rather than inherited, and a completed tutorial. Step 5 is about the long run: time, money, the household and how to stop.