I’ve been playing SWL via Steam, and my account appears to be linked to my Steam acount. If I install a non-Steam version of SWL, what login name and password would get me to the same account? My SWL account name/password, or my Steam, or … ?
I’m not sure that you can play the standalone client with a steam linked account 
You can’t play a steam account from a stand alone client, or the other way around for that matter. Maybe you can convert a steam account to stand alone from your account page at funcom. That might have only been an option for accounts that existed when the steam client was introduced though.
Gnax seems to have an SWL account name and password, so should that not also work with the standalone client? If not, then that’s one more reason to avoid steam like the plague that it is… and reason for a big fat warning (well, maybe there is one, I wouldn’t know).
You have separate login and password for game account. Separate from steam. The same login/pass you once registered on secretworldlegends.com to link to your steam account. You use your steam pass only to login on steam, don’t give up it to other sites, that’s insecure. You can’t use it to login on standalone client. I see no logic in ‘reason to avoid steam’ though, there’s no connection. It’s just separate things.
I hope we hear from the OP about the success or failure.
The “reason to avoid steam” is (would be) that if one cannot use the steam linked account with the standalone client (which the first replies suggest, but you say is not the case), then that would make for two companies to depend on instead of one. If steam folds, or decides to pull the plug on your steam account for arbitrary reasons, or just generally goes offline due to whatever reason, the standalone client would still work, yet you could not log in due to steam failing. It’s also two things to need to be installed and working instead of just one. And it’d be two companies violating my privacy instead of one.
A matter of taste, trust and confidence, no doubt. The only thing we need to agree upon is the OPs initial issue though. I don’t feel like downloading the steam client just to test this, but if my other issue makes me, then I may check it, if the OP doesn’t reply.
I sure heard more than once about problems with Steam authentication servers but I find it rather minor problem frankly speaking. Also I believe Funcom values their auditory so if ever Steam may be shut down for good I bet developers just would fix it on their side removing linking and allowing everyone login via their client.
(and I personally use steam anyway so don’t see that violating thing as an issue, I bet most of people playing SWL with Steam also use it for other games too)
P. S. About testing Steam, its version of SWL doesn’t ask you anything, it won’t allow you to use any other login/pass either, you just press ‘Play’ button to enter. (: Just to clarify it.