It is possible to apply each patch incrementally, but back in beta, that was prone to break something so to be 100% sure, it was recommended to download the FULL INSTALL and install from there. There are a few people who have applied 2 or 3 patches over their first install and have reported no problems, so that situation does exist, but for those with problems with the game, the first recommendation is usually a clean install from the full installer rather than a "potentially" broken install due to a patch going wrong somewhere.

Jack, as WC said, your code will work no matter where you bought it from and you have 10 activations, which is very generous of ED. The biggest drawback IMHO is having to download so much data... but as I use the torrent to download, I just leave it on when I am surfing the internet and in an afternoon (or two, or three), I have a good copy fully downloaded.

It's funny- they give you that many "credits" but won't let you play on your own server. Sigh.