Diablo 3 - Diablo 3 Beta Patch 8 - Official Patch Notes

Battle.net BattleTag FAQ
Blizzard added a FAQ for the upcoming BattleTag feature to their new support site this afternoon.

Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
What is a Battle.net BattleTag?
A BattleTag is a unified, player-chosen nickname that will identify you across all of Battle.net – in Blizzard Entertainment games, on our websites, and in our community forums. Similar to Real ID, BattleTags will give players on Battle.net a new way to find and chat with friends they've met in-game, form friendships, form groups, and stay connected across multiple Blizzard Entertainment games. BattleTags will also provide a new option for displaying public profiles.

When will BattleTags go live?
We will soon begin limited testing of some features and functionality of BattleTags in the Diablo III beta test, and the feature will be available to Diablo III players at launch. BattleTags will be integrated into other Blizzard games and services such as World of Warcraft and StarCraft II at some point in the future, but we don't have exact rollout plans to share just yet.

Will my BattleTag be unique?
A player's BattleTag is not unique, so you won't need to worry about whether your preferred name is available. You can use any name you wish, as long as it adheres to the BattleTag Naming Policy. Only one BattleTag can be associated with each Battle.net account.

If my BattleTag isn't unique, what makes me uniquely identifiable? How will I know I'm adding the right friend to my friends list?
Each BattleTag is automatically assigned a 4-digit BattleTag code, which combines with your chosen name to create a unique identifier (e.g. AwesomeGnome#3592). Your BattleTag and code are viewable when you log in to the Battle.net website and within the Diablo III beta client, and can be shared with other players who want to send you a friend request manually. You will also be able to send BattleTag friend requests list within the context of a game (by clicking a person's BattleTag when he or she sends you a message, for example) without knowing their BattleTag code. In either case, each player must mutually agree to become BattleTag friends.

I'm not in the Diablo III beta – can I choose a BattleTag now anyway?
Sure! You can pick your BattleTag now through Battle.net Account Management, regardless of whether you're participating in the Diablo III beta test. Simply visit the BattleTag creation page (http://www.battle.net/account/manage...ag-create.html) to get started. Make sure to choose a handle you will be happy with in the long term and that abides by our BattleTag Naming Policy, as you will be unable to change your BattleTag once you've selected it. We plan to provide a way for players to change their BattleTags in the future, but we don't have any further details to share just yet.

Where will my BattleTag be seen?
During the Diablo III beta test, your BattleTag will be seen in the Diablo III client (on friends lists and in chat), on the Diablo III forums, and in Battle.net Account Management. In the future, expect it to be displayed in other Blizzard games like StarCraft II and World of Warcraft on friends lists, in chat, or when making posts on their associated forums. We'll have further details on how and where your BattleTag will be displayed in the future.

When will World of Warcraft and StarCraft II support BattleTags?
Our plan is for all current and future Blizzard games to support BattleTags eventually. However, we don't have any announcements to make regarding when BattleTags will be integrated into World of Warcraft or StarCraft II at this time.

Do I need to choose my BattleTag now?
You will only be required to create a BattleTag now if you'd like to log in to the Diablo III beta client (beginning with an upcoming patch) or to use a Diablo III-related identity on the Diablo III forums. You will still be able to post on these forums using a World of Warcraft or StarCraft II character name if you wish.

Will I still be able to display my character on my profile or Armory page?
Armory profiles will be unaffected by the introduction of BattleTags. We'll have more information on how BattleTags will be integrated into existing games in the future.

How will this affect World of Warcraft?
BattleTags will add a new way for you to make friendships and communicate in World of Warcraft. For example, you'll be able to create cross-game, cross-realm friendships with your BattleTag, similar to the way Real ID works now. We'll have more details to share closer to the feature's launch.

Will this affect my existing Real ID friendships?
No. Your Real ID friendships will continue to exist, and all of the features and benefits of Real ID will remain available to you. BattleTags will simply give players another way to connect and communicate across Blizzard games. For example, if two players aren't Real ID friends but want to stay in touch across Battle.net, they'll be able to establish a BattleTag-based friendship; in the future, BattleTag friends will have access to many of the communication benefits (such as cross-game chat) currently available to Real ID friends.

Do BattleTags replace Real ID? Can I create new Real ID friendships?
BattleTags are a new feature separate from Real ID. Real ID will continue to work as it always has, and you can continue to create Real ID friendships with people you know in real life.

Will this affect my World of Warcraft or StarCraft II character names in any way?
Your World of Warcraft character names will continue to exist and work as they currently do. We're still in the process of determining how we will handle StarCraft II character names once BattleTags are integrated into the game.

How does my BattleTag work in the Diablo III beta?
Only some BattleTag features will be available during the Diablo III beta test. At first, players will be able to add friends to their friends list using their BattleTags, though new or different features may be available at different times during the testing process. We'll have more information on all of the features of BattleTags in Diablo III with the launch of the game next year.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Battle.net BattleTag FAQ started by chaud View original post
Comments 88 Comments
  1. Vook's Avatar
    Now this is more like it, Blizzard. This is what RealID should have been in the first place.
  1. Nosajtpno's Avatar
    I'm going to go ahead and predict a question from the future:

    Quote Originally Posted by Sephiroth View Post
    Why can't I choose the name I want? You said it didn't need to be unique!
    Because there's already ten thousand people with that name and they only give you four digits... I just know the limit will be hit...
  1. mmocf2d6e942b6's Avatar
    Is it wrong for me that i read Battle F*gs ?
  1. Slowpoke is a Gamer's Avatar
    Blizz is trying to unify battle.net instead of having it be three seperate programs for three seperate games.
  1. Chaoslux's Avatar
    Are there any other people with really clean names being told that they are against the naming policy? I asked a GM why how my name would be against the policy and they said "Dont know why, but its a new service and there may be bugs with it"
  1. VanishO2's Avatar
    Looks like they finally figured out that giving your e-mail to others was kind of... a security problem... since it's also your account login... lol Many reasons they're doing it, most notable, removing the login e-mails from the system, getting back to some of their original idea to have your "id" shown everywhere you say something (i.e. forums), making it simple just like PSN/Live names (common, easier to add "arthas#1234" than "prince.arthas.menethil.from.lordaeron@azerothiannetwork.com")
  1. Chaoslux's Avatar
    It also prevent forums trolls, people will much less start trolling if they cant just hide behind an alt they'll delete in 10 minutes.
  1. Appletini's Avatar
    So I guess we can take this as a tacit acknowledgment that RealID wasn't the best idea in the world. I actually liked it, but people are far too ridiculously paranoid about others finding out their *gasp* real name.
  1. bluspacecow's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Appletini View Post
    So I guess we can take this as a tacit acknowledgment that RealID wasn't the best idea in the world. I actually liked it, but people are far too ridiculously paranoid about others finding out their *gasp* real name.
    Mostly because people were probably using their main email address as their battle.net email.

    IMHO Your battle.net email should be treated with the same level of confidentiality as your password.

    And I'm not sure if "confidentiality" fits here. Basically I mean it should not be one that's easily guessed by anyone - it shouldn't be connected to you , your world of warcraft toon , your real name or anything that anyone who knows you or has your facebook profile can guess.
  1. gruffi's Avatar
    finally can hide my real email id / name
  1. Wilian's Avatar
    Wow, Blizzard finally did something that should've been there at the beginning of the whole awful RealID-share half of your login information-debacle.
  1. bluspacecow's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Nosajtpno View Post
    Because there's already ten thousand people with that name and they only give you four digits... I just know the limit will be hit...
    That's assuming the limit is 4 digits , 1 - 9999

    This assumption would be based on what you can see of the length of current Battle Tags. Blizzard hasn't stated how longthat number actually is in the system and I so far haven't seen a post from the development team about it.

    It's entirely possibly that the number at the end of the Battle Tag is stored in a variable that has a much larger limit but the leading zeros are automatically stripped when it's displayed or used. For example the SC2 system started out with 3 digits and went to 4 I believe.

    So for example mine is "bluspacecow #1174". It could be stored internally as "bluspacecow #00000000000001174" but the leading zeros are ignored or stripped out.
  1. rapzak's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by bluspacecow View Post
    That's assuming the limit is 4 digits , 1 - 9999

    This assumption would be based on what you can see of the length of current Battle Tags. Blizzard hasn't stated how longthat number actually is in the system and I so far haven't seen a post from the development team about it.

    It's entirely possibly that the number at the end of the Battle Tag is stored in a variable that has a much larger limit but the leading zeros are automatically stripped when it's displayed or used. For example the SC2 system started out with 3 digits and went to 4 I believe.

    So for example mine is "bluspacecow #1174". It could be stored internally as "bluspacecow #00000000000001174" but the leading zeros are ignored or stripped out.
    each BattleTag is automatically assigned a 4-digit BattleTag code
    as seen above
  1. Myzou's Avatar
    No intention of buying Diablo III, but still created my tag.

    Can't wait for this to come to WoW.
  1. Exaltress's Avatar
    I'd like to know what steps will be taken to ensure privacy and prevent harassment. Will we have the right to choose where and how the Battle Tag is displayed? While it does provide some anonymity that Real ID does not provide, I can see this being a problem for those days when I might choose to log onto an alt when I want to be antisocial and not talk to anyone :P
  1. Xinhuan's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Aztrazolo View Post
    I tend to not fall into the pattern of railing on Blizzard as from the sidelines I know very little about the development process, time-lines, and reasoning to decisions they make. But this seems to me to be...I don't even know how to describe it. What was even the point of RealID then? And what is the point of maintaining two different systems? If I was a stockholder I would be asking why I'm investing in exercises in redundancy.
    The point of this, is so that you can still be "Real friends" bnet account wide, without revealing your email address or real name.
  1. Healingsara's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Exaltress View Post
    I'd like to know what steps will be taken to ensure privacy and prevent harassment. Will we have the right to choose where and how the Battle Tag is displayed? While it does provide some anonymity that Real ID does not provide, I can see this being a problem for those days when I might choose to log onto an alt when I want to be antisocial and not talk to anyone :P
    I share these concerns. Also:

    In the future, expect it to be displayed in other Blizzard games like StarCraft II and World of Warcraft on friends lists, in chat, or when making posts on their associated forums.
    Surely they don't mean trade/guild/general chat? But knowing Blizzard I could be wrong.
  1. sirjuddington's Avatar
    Damnit, 12 characters is 1 character too short to fit what I want (this username) Apart from that, this is a great idea, and is should have been done instead of realid.
  1. Malrune's Avatar
    Is it possible to constantly remake my Battletag until I get 1337?
  1. Simca's Avatar
    Basically this is RealID with whatever name you want to use? Fuck yes.

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