Can We Talk About Name Availability For A Minute

Look I get that this is an older mmo. I also get that arenanet probably doesn't want to introduce things like forced-name changes after x amount of time. I also concede that people want to retain the rights to names they got when they first started playing the game. That's all fine.

But frankly this situation is getting ridiculous. Every time I go to remake a character the name that I want is of course taken so I go to use a combination of accent letters (which you're not supposed' to use anyway) and it usually takes about 6 of those as well before I find one that's actually available.

I don't have a problem with people who still play the game, or who have even logged in in the last 2 years or so retaining their names. That's fine. I'm also totally fine with the practice of buying names & if a person with a name doesn't want to sell it that's fine too. They have the characters & should be able to retain the rights to said names. But this game is in dire need of a system that retires old names, or puts them back in the pool for re-selection after a few years or so.

Arenanet please. The existing system makes it a nightmare to try to have people join on you when you're leading trains or hosting events. Not to mention it looks terrible because most of your existing player base was forced to compromise on names they wanted.

Granted that name-change contracts are already over-priced, but one system that I think might work is some kind of "super-name change contract." One that's more expensive but that lets you buy names from people who have been inactive for more than 2 years. Then when & if that person logged back into the game they could either a) reclaim the name & you'd get a refund for your contract or b) change the name & they'd get a small reward like 800 gems or whatever the difference of price between the normal name-change contract and the upgraded version was decided to be.

Love it or hate it I think this is a discussion that really needs to happen. Post your ideas / opinions below.

Cheers all!

Not going to happen. You can google-fu this info from devs for yourself.

Or just be more creative with your names.

You have the option to use spaces, so make use of them. Instead of going with an obvious name (that is more than likely taken), come up with something creative on your own. No reason to take names away from people just cause you wanted to use a pop culture reference/celebrity that someone beat you to.

There is billions of options out there for you to use for a name, especially with the option to have spaces. Come up with some RP name like "Shiva Night Septras", something unique instead of something that you know everyone will instantly go for.

Don't try to take away other people's names just cause you don't want to be creative. Heck, there is name generators online if you don't want to come up with your own.

They don’t want people returning then leaving because their char names were stolen while they were gone. With 19 letters and spaces you can make a unique name for your char. You just need to be flexible and not insist on a particular name.

It's easier to get names if you use a first and last name, or even with a middle name or title.It sucks when a nice sounding name is taken, but i'd rather have that happen than have my characters stripped off their names to be given to someone else.

Why are you so sure all the names you want are taken by inactive accounts? What would you do if they bought this system in but the names you want are still unavailable because they're on active accounts?

Also what happens to your character if you "buy" a name from someone else, and then they take it back? You get a forced name change? Then you're right back where you started. Would you really want to pay gems for a name, knowing it could be taken away from you at any moment just because the original 'owner' logged back in?

If they were to fix this problem I'd much prefer they do it by making it possible for two characters to have the same name. No, that wouldn't be an easy change to make but I think it's the only reasonable solution.

Having said that it's not a problem I have often. I make at least 1 new character every week, often 2-3 and I rarely have trouble finding names that aren't taken and I've never resorted to adding accents. (Not that I'm opposed to accents, and as far as I know there's no rule against it, it's just easier for me to try other things.) I'm most likely to have problems when I'm just making up something random which sounds vaguely like a name, but then the solution is simple: add, remove or change letters until it's not taken. I rarely have to change more than 1 or 2. If I actually put some thought into it I can almost always come up with something which is available.

Here's some tips if your first choice is taken. They won't all work for all names, but at least 1-2 should work for each one and give you a lot more options.

• Change the spelling. Add letters, remove letters, change letters. Whatever you think would work.
• Add a last name. (If you're concerned about lore humans almost all have family names, charr have warband names and norn often have family names, asura and sylvari are the only ones they wouldn't work with. But then you can add a title.)
• Add a title. If you know what the character is going to do you could draw on that, like Valiant, Slayer or Lightbringer. Or just make something up to suit them like Professor, Lady or Master.
• Change the language. If the name means something try looking up the same words/meaning in different languages and pick one which looks good to you.

never had trouble with naming a char the trick is be creative and don’t try name ur character shadowkiller or Swordmaster :)

Just try be different and there are thousands of never used names out there

@"Danikat.8537" said:If they were to fix this problem I'd much prefer they do it by making it possible for two characters to have the same name. No, that wouldn't be an easy change to make but I think it's the only reasonable solution.

Can you imagine the confusion when dozens of characters with the name "insert-any-pop-cultural-reference" are hanging out in the same city and they all participate in map chat?The character names have to be unique to avoid confusion by other players and, I think, game mechanics, as well. For the latter, though, I think the game can differentiate quite easily between identically named characters by attaching the Display Name of the account to the character at creation. Or a hidden four digit number, like said Display Name. I don't know... Player confusion would still be a very real thing.

No one wants the name PseudoOAlias

@SexyMofo.8923 said:No one wants the name PseudoOAlias

Interesting you would say that...

Nah, kidding only, SexyMofo. Besides it's the display name of the account and OP is talking about Character names.

There is no issue with the naming system - the choices are billions. Creativity and imagination are the only obstacles.

Anet have outright stated they will never ever free up names - considering they are doing a renewed push to bring back players, the discussion is pretty much dead in the water.

It's true that tons of obvious joke and punny and derivative names are already taken. So, yeah, you are not going to get to call your sylvari Twiggy, or Cabbagehead, or I Am Not Groot. However, Fetch the Stick was available till I named my newest key farmer yesterday, so it never hurts to check! (Debating whether to buy a new character slot just to keep that name... ) Sometimes it's a surprise when a name you thought was so obvious someone would already have it turns out to be available. And sometimes you come up with something new and brilliant just because your less original ideas were already taken.

I'm curious, what sort of names have you been trying to use?

@MikeG.6389 said:

@"Danikat.8537" said:If they were to fix this problem I'd much prefer they do it by making it possible for two characters to have the same name. No, that wouldn't be an easy change to make but I think it's the only reasonable solution.

That's part of what I meant when I said it wouldn't be an easy change. There are ways for computers to distinguish between identical character names as you said (the problem there is changing the database/s to factor in extra ways of identifying a character) but something which is clear for players and doesn't look a mess is trickier. It doesn't seem to be an issue on the forum, but I doubt anyone who wants Legolas would be happy with Legolas.374 instead, but if the number (or whatever other identifier they use) is invisible then a lot of current options, like typing in a name to find someone, won't work.

I'm not saying it's an easy option, but IMO if Anet wanted to free up names which are already in use that's the only acceptable way to do it. Not taking names away from existing characters because someone else has decided they haven't logged in recently enough.

I would recommend not trying to name your character xXLegolasXx then. With the firstname lastname naming practice the choices are practicly endless anyway. The idea that you could delete another characters name just because its "old" is ridiculus.

Anet should never take players' names. This game is designed to allow outtimes and return after a long time. A good example of this philosophy is the lack of item or character level progress. It would be terrible if the first thing you'd have to do when you return after a break is to find a new name for your character. Especially since the pool of names would still be small.

Allowing others to share the name would also be problematic. While I don't care about pop culture references, I'm more concerned about in-game "celebrities" and the possible confusion or wrongly attributed misbehavior that this would open. Another possible abuse would be PvP, where you'd quickly find teams where every character has the same name. Additionally, from a technical standpoint, remember that you can send in-game mail and do group invites etc to a character name, you don't need the account name. This would be more difficult if character names were no longer unique.

On the other hand, I've had the problem with exhausted name pool myself. I prefer playing asura, and RP-wise asura do not have a surname. You can take on a title instead, sure, but I don't like that. Add the requirement to have a double letter and pretty much all names are already taken.

So I would like to see a solution, but have no idea for one that could work.

I get that it's a tough issue, but imo just allowing for a system that when you request a name and the person hasn't logged back in since game release, probably a good idea to let that person have that name.

The solution to it is simpler than you would ever think.Just give your character a real life name and surname divided with a space. Simple

@Sane.5072 said:I get that it's a tough issue, but imo just allowing for a system that when you request a name and the person hasn't logged back in since game release, probably a good idea to let that person have that name.

And how many desirable names do you think that would free up?

I find it hard to believe many people bought an account, created characters with a bunch of desirable names, then never logged into the game again. So what would happen if they did implement this system and people still found the names they want are taken?

That's what I don't understand about these requests. Why are people always so sure that the name/s they want are on accounts which haven't been used since before whenever they set their arbitrary deadline? How can you know it's not someone who is still playing but doesn't log in at the same time you do?

@Danikat.8537 said:How can you know it's not someone who is still playing but doesn't log in at the same time you do?

(you can lookup the date the account was last played, if not invisible, or last earned an achievement point)

I've never run into this problem in any MMO. Though, I also used to roleplay avidly, so most of the names I come up with are the names I would envision the character having and typically end up a little outlandish.

Just come up with a few syllables that are easily pronounceable, and you think go together nicely. Then spell it out phonetically and put that as your character name. It doesn't have to be a word (I mean, names rarely are).

Bottom line is, you'll run into this everywhere. From character names to user names for emails. Expecting the developers to bend over backwards for your lack of creativity (which is what it amounts to. Not trying to be harsh, but if you are constantly coming up with names that other people have already thought of, that is straight up a lack of creativity), then you need to stop being so entitled and own this problem instead.

Using the method above and avoiding actual words, you'll rarely run into this issue though. I'd give it a go.

I made a name called Behind The Illusion (Mesmer) about a month ago and it was free... be creative and combine name ideas... perhaps stick to race or class themes, or just make a gibberish name. There are trillions of possibilities.

@Dawdler.8521 said:I would recommend not trying to name your character xXLegolasXx then.

Try Mr xXLegolasXx then.

If that doesn't work, Mr xXLegolasXx the 3rd.

@Danikat.8537 said:

@MikeG.6389 said:

@Danikat.8537 said:If they were to fix this problem I'd much prefer they do it by making it possible for two characters to have the same name. No, that wouldn't be an easy change to make but I think it's the only reasonable solution.

Yep, that would be an easy way to have more than one character with a certain name. But, philosophically speaking - and quite literally too, actually - they wouldn't really be names anymore, but more like handles. Maybe with the option of being able to turn off the numbers in settings? Then again, it would defeat its purpose.

This whole thing wouldn't be a topic if people would make an effort to come up with unique names. It's not that hard. Though, I usually spend the most time on the naming tab during character creation and still end up with things that I usually come to regret later. But at least they are unique and don't contain forced accents, 3 or more of the same consonant next to each, spaces between every character, etc. I hate those kind of names.

@MikeG.6389 said:

@SexyMofo.8923 said:No one wants the name PseudoOAlias

or SexyMoto :p

Should the game inconvenience those who start playing later? Or inconvenience those who started earlier?If you can think of a reason for naming your character XYZ, then someone else can, too. Should the person who thought of it fourth or tenth get an opportunity to take the name, simply because the person who used it first hasn't played in 5 months or 5 years?

There's also the matter of resources:

• The code to figure out which names to purge (and which names not to) is more complex than the code that doesn't care about it.
• The number of support requests regarding names will skyrocket, as people return from long breaks being forced to change their name.

And finally, do we really think that ANet should spend resources catering to those whose creativity stops working after trying out a dozen names?