No names left, do we need to wait on GW3 to be able to play?

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

4 hours ago, Teratus.2859 said:

Old problem many have complained about for years which only gets worse as more players come into the game.
Steam release should be fun 😄
"Downvoted the game, no names available"

I still believe Anet should remove this pointless name restriction and put more system focus on the unique account names everyone must have to play this game.
Mail and player reports etc should be attributed to the account name not the individual character.

There are no good reasons for character names to still be locked like this.
I have 24 characters who all loosely follow racial naming conventions.
Some of them, mostly some of my Sylvari have been a nightmare to name because of their singular name requirement.
They don't have last names, their names have to be singular or they don't work (no titles, markers or numbers.. I can't stand names like that) and they have to sound a certain way and fit a plant/elf person.

It's not impossible to still find names (I managed to get a good one a couple weeks ago) but i'd be lying if I said it was easily to find them.
I've spent literal hours trying to name some of my characters, exhausting countless names and combinations because everyone these days starts pulling up common naming websites looking for name inspiration.
And on a few occasions i've had to use a name change contract to replace a garbage name I hated but got stuck with because of the availability limits.

This is a problem in Gw2 and one that will only continue to grow as the population of the game does.. and I don't mean active population either as every inactive character on every inactive account contributes to it.

The solution is not to take other players names from them though, that's a conversation we've had many times and I have to agree that it's a bad option.
Removing the unnecessary name lock and allowing anyone to use any name they like even if another player is using it is by far the better option.
Hell it may even give new character slots a nice little bump in sales too.

I think using/showing Account Names would be dangerous, as Account Names are half of the log-in requirement.  You probably mean Display Names which already allow duplicates; but, of course, then one must remember the 4 numbers that follow each name to differentiate the duplicates. 

[Lilithish.7243]

All of my character names are single word and easily pronounced and I get them reserved. But I don’t use list generator. Well, at least not an artificial one. I use my brain XD 

[Ashgar.3024]

I just give my characters last names. Never struggled getting the ones i want.

I PvP so sometime i get sneered at by people who think they're edgy for naming their character like some gangsta-rapper scene name but meh.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Ashgar.3024

[Mahou.3924]

I used sucessfully for all my characters first + last name. Worked fortunately fine for my latest boosted character, Farah Jadewind :3 even though it's probably not the most-fitting name for an Asura.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Mahou.3924

[Teratus.2859]

2 hours ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

What if i want to interact with someone i do not play with regularly? After a few days i may remember someone's character name, but i will have a problem with their full account names. If more than few days have passed, the chances of me remembering the numbers that go with the account name will be exactly zero (seeing as i struggle even to remember mine own).

I can't imagine that being a common scenario, unless that person is someone who advertises themselves as a trainer/commander or source of information and welcomes questions.
In which case post change they could/should simply advertise themselves as someone to add to your friends list to easily contact about questions etc.

Again it simply comes down to your own mistake to add others to your friends list being the problem.

But another system Anet could potentially add, and probably should anyway is a player interaction history.
Which would show you the last 50-100 players you directly interacted with and when.
Be that in group content or direct whispers.

[Witch of Doom.5739]

1 hour ago, dusanyu.4057 said:

As far as asura names you can put a specialty in front of it like "Golemancer Vekk" and it can be fun to think if good words to fit your characters class. 

 

All my Asura insist on being called Savant ________ .  Conceited little things, aren't they?  They told me I was dumb and that when I die I'll leave a dumb corpse.

[Teratus.2859]

2 hours ago, Veprovina.4876 said:

The problem for you is, i'm not the one you have to convince, and Anet isn't known for digging too deep into the game's code because they already stated numerous times that it's a sphagetti code, and who knows how the naming system is coded and where.

True, but then my posts on the subject are not entirely for you nor other players.
Posting here is how I and many others convey such ideas and requests to Anet and how we contribute to the "popular demand" of certain features/changes.

This is not something I would rule out being a potential change either for multiple reasons, and as far as Anet not wanting to dig into and change the spaghetti code.. I have to hard disagree with you on that one.

Anet are currently in the process of heavily changing how WvW works including removing the original server system it works on and they are also in the process of converting the entire game to DX11..
And after years of requesting and nagging they are finally reworking an entire season of living world content into replayable content.. and all of these changes/upgrades are being done for FREE!
Anet are more than willing to spend the time and resources making big changes to the game, especially when those changes significantly improve the game.

2 hours ago, Veprovina.4876 said:

Lastly, what gain is there to spend god knows how many hours to change the system and potentially breaking other ones? What are you really gaining? So you can name your character L'ynne instead of Lynne and have your buddy have the same name?

I'm kinda not seeing the worth here...

A significant QOL improvement for both old and new players.
Potentially hours saved on character creation screens struggling to find a name you like that isn't taken.
Avoiding potentially large amounts of downvotes when the game finally releases on steam due to new player frustrations with the amount of names being locked.
Avoiding potentially large amounts of new thread spam on the forums repeating old tired arguments for taking names from inactive accounts.
Potential boom in character slot sales and/or name change contracts on the gemstore.
Potential fun of randomly encountering a name twin in the world and the potential friendships that could come from that.

There are plenty of good reasons I can see for making this change and very few negatives.
It will also modernise Gw2 even more by removing an old and outdated restriction that simply doesn't need to exist in modern MMO's.

2 hours ago, Veprovina.4876 said:

It is what it is. The best thing for you is to work within the confines like the rest of us, and don't stress about it too much. 🤷‍♂️

I've been working within those confines since the game came out 😛 I'm not stressing about it 🙂

I'm Just fed up of such a stupid restriction that doesn't need to exist, and also fed up of seeing so many other people frustrated with the same problem resulting in the same complaints being made in different new threads over and over again.
People have been complaining about this problem since the early years of Gw2, and the more people join the game the more people encounter this problem and complain about it.

It's a problem that cannot possibly ever go away, so better it be a problem fixed now before it becomes and even bigger one down the road.
And with Steam on the horizon I expect it to be a very big problem if Gw2 happens to attract a significant audience from that platform.

[Teratus.2859]

1 hour ago, Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

I think using/showing Account Names would be dangerous, as Account Names are half of the log-in requirement.  You probably mean Display Names which already allow duplicates; but, of course, then one must remember the 4 numbers that follow each name to differentiate the duplicates. 

Yes the display names/account name + numbers.. same thing.

The account name you are referring to is your login E-mail which is definitely not what i'm talking about here.

[Nex.1453]

13 hours ago, Sir Alymer.3406 said:

Sir Tiffy Cashien

A q p

[Rumpus.1234]

2 hours ago, Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

I think using/showing Account Names would be dangerous, as Account Names are half of the log-in requirement.  You probably mean Display Names which already allow duplicates; but, of course, then one must remember the 4 numbers that follow each name to differentiate the duplicates. 

Aw, numbers are easy. I've got the same combination on my luggage.

[Astralporing.1957]

18 minutes ago, Rumpus.1234 said:

Aw, numbers are easy. I've got the same combination on my luggage.

For every person you interact with? How lucky...

[Randulf.7614]

24 minutes ago, Rumpus.1234 said:

Aw, numbers are easy. I've got the same combination on my luggage.

Love that film

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

45 minutes ago, Teratus.2859 said:

Yes the display names/account name + numbers.. same thing.

The account name you are referring to is your login E-mail which is definitely not what i'm talking about here.

Not the same thing.  https://help.guildwars2.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000728148-I-Want-to-Change-My-Display-Name

• Account Name (your login email address)
• Display Name (including the four-digit number after the name, such as “Gamer.1234”)

[Islyn.8019]

9 hours ago, Tiamat.8254 said:

I create a character every week and really have trouble getting my name. Albeit Captain key pants probably isn't that popular 🤪

My key ones are all like Blabby McNab Blibby blabby, Blabasaur, etc. so yeah. 🤪

[Ashantara.8731]

16 hours ago, Gibson.4036 said:

A meaningless accent mark or umlaut could get you the name you want.

I would like to pop in and point out that this can end up being a terrible trap most Americans are not aware of: accents and umlauts change the pronunciation. They are far from "meaningless", so make sure you educate yourself before resorting to this kind of advice or your character might spend the rest of their virtual life being laughed at by people who speak other languages besides English. 😉

[Xelqypla.6817]

14 minutes ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

I would like to pop in and point out that this can end up being a terrible trap most Americans are not aware of: accents and umlauts change the pronunciation. They are far from "meaningless", so make sure you educate yourself before resorting to this kind of advice or your character might spend the rest of their virtual life being laughed at by people who speak other languages besides English. 😉

Americans are aware of it. There is just no reason to care that some random person who speaks another language is laughing.

[Khisanth.2948]

7 hours ago, Veprovina.4876 said:

And what restriction is that?

The naming system is pretty unrestricted in GW2.

The only thing you can't do is symbols and i 100% agree with that so that i don't have to see names like |$$$c@sh(ow$$$|, and i only have to see the occasional xXxStupidnamexXx...

ASCII?! That is sooo several decades ago. Embrace Unicode. ₡Ꭿ§廾☾ΘᏊ is a much better name 😛

Oops I meant 🐄₡Ꭿ§廾☾ΘᏊ🐄

Edited April 4, 2022 by Khisanth.2948

[angrax.1372]

It seems GW2 is very popular in Brazil. I sometimes name my characters very mundane Brazilian names like Maria Eduarda and most of them are taken. I have to add some title or suffix to secure them, like "Maria Eduarda I".

 

My latest Silvari is named "Meu pé de jacarandá" from a popular Brazilian rhyme,  which translates simply to "My Jacarandá Tree".

Edited April 4, 2022 by angrax.1372

[ZENSTATE.6710]

8 hours ago, Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

Here are just a few examples: 

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Captain_Shud

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Councillor_Haia

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/High_Councillor_Flax

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Jinx_Lockwood#Trivia

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Demolitionist_Platt

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Magister_Tassi

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Scholar_Glokk

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Subdirector_Blingg

You can find more here, if you so desire:  https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Voice_actor

 

Thanks! Ill keep it in mind for future alts. Im happy with Magister Yuzza.

Ive grown attached to it.

[adrunkmunkey.6059]

Literally made a thief last week named Quietly Farting. I don't think there's an issue with names being taken

[atari.7246]

I Created a Norn Guardian 3 days ago called Magnus Ingvar, so, wth are talking about?  It's even ironic  considering the name u signed with.

[Gibson.4036]

1 hour ago, Ashantara.8731 said:

I would like to pop in and point out that this can end up being a terrible trap most Americans are not aware of: accents and umlauts change the pronunciation. They are far from "meaningless", so make sure you educate yourself before resorting to this kind of advice or your character might spend the rest of their virtual life being laughed at by people who speak other languages besides English. 😉

You're absolutely right.

By "meaningless" I meant "not used as intended". Of course they are not at all meaningless in their original use.

Stringing random letters together in a fantasy name generator can have the danger of meaning something in another language as well.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Gibson.4036

[Kulvar.1239]

5 hours ago, Veprovina.4876 said:

Accentuation and hyphenation is ok, but i meant symbols like @ / \ | * + ¤ ×.

Even apostrophes would be ok if they allowed them, but adding certain symbols that are already used in names isn't the same as allowing all symbols and numbers, and isn't the same as allowing same names for multiple accounts.

 

Also...

 

Mëmë nämë

 

isnt' the same as

 

×××69|69|69\Meme-N@me/69|69|69×××

 

One is harder to look at and less immersive than the other. 😉

 

Look, this is your opinion vs mine, and i really don't like going in circles. I think the system is fine, you don't. That's ok. There's really nothing more to be said.

 

The problem for you is, i'm not the one you have to convince, and Anet isn't known for digging too deep into the game's code because they already stated numerous times that it's a sphagetti code, and who knows how the naming system is coded and where.

 

Additionally, you have to convince them it's worth spending resources on. Someone has to add that functionality, and not only that, but with the naming system change, systems like LFG, whispers and plenty of others are affected. So someone else has to also fix the inevitable bugs that will be caused by this. And those people need to get paid to do it, and instead of whatever else they could have done, they will have to fix every little thing across the board to allow for this change, especially if you want multiple accouts to have the same name. So it's also a matter of is it worth allocating programmer time to names, when they could have been doing something else. 

 

So, is adding a few symbols, and allowing multiple accounts to have the same name worth messing with the whisper system and potentially some others? Or can people just be a bit more creative and work within the confines of what Anet wants to allow.

 

There's also the lore aspect. Do hyphens and apostrophes exist in Tyria? If they do, do they exist in naming conventions (they don't obviously)?

 

Lastly, what gain is there to spend god knows how many hours to change the system and potentially breaking other ones? What are you really gaining? So you can name your character L'ynne instead of Lynne and have your buddy have the same name?

I'm kinda not seeing the worth here...

 

So whatever you might think of the naming system, whether you think it's outdated or not, it's really not up to you to change it.

And i hate to say it, but, don't hold your breath that Anet will change that too.

Maybe with Steam release to allow for more names, but not before, and i doubt they'll ever allow same names across multiple accounts due to how certain systems are designed to respond to names.

Adding a hyphen or an apostrophy as allowed symbols, i can see that, but same names across accounts, you can probably forget about that - no matter your opinion on it. 

 

It is what it is. The best thing for you is to work within the confines like the rest of us, and don't stress about it too much. 🤷‍♂️

I did not advocate for every character added, only hyphens. (apostrophe would be nice too).

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Edited April 4, 2022 by Kulvar.1239

[Danikat.8537]

5 hours ago, Debesyla.7102 said:

Oh yeah, this too! Actually, I believe doing this for humans would be lore friendly too. After all we do have all kinds of surenames like "Smith", "Cook", "Baker" and etc. I am yet to use this naming trick, but I hope to for my next human character... 😄 

Lore wise all characters can have titles, either based on their job or past achievements. Humans usually (but not always) have family names as well as or instead of a title. Charr almost always have a warband name, the ones who don't are gladium who lost their warband or (rarely) charr raised outside the Legions who didn't keep the tradition of warbands. Norn sometimes have a patronym or matronym (like Eirsson) but probably most often have a title or nickname referencing their own achievements. The only ones who don't have surnames are sylvari (who either have no family or are all 1 family, depending on your perspective) and asura who seem to consider it irrelevant.

[PookieDaWombat.6209]

Yeah, I personally only "sit" on one name that I use for getting black lion keys.  

 

Mikey Farmer is a diligent worker. 😉