Wows antiquated character naming policy.

[Trassk]

One if the less well regarded, but none the less annoying issues with wow these days, is that based on the age of this game, not far off from being a decade old, is just how bad the character naming rules are for it.

today, feeling a bit bored of the regular max level stuff, I felt like creating a new character, like many do just for something to do to rediscover the world they leveled up in, so i made a blood elf mage, and went for (well not revealing) what I thought was a good sounding elven name of about 9 letters. Of course when I went to create the character, and was stopped because the name already existed on that server. So I did the logical thing and added an Asterisk over one of the words to make it work.. but, again, it wouldn't let me, seeming that someone already had the same idea and choose that name. I did it again with an Asterisk over another word.. and it had the same result, can't have that.

This frustrated me since when making a character, if I look at the character i'm creating, think of a name I like because it goes with that character, and then can't give them that name because its taken by how many other players already, then I just lose the will to bother with going forward with it.

Now, out of curiosity, I tried out an experiment, and logged onto guild wars 2 and lesser known mmos like champions online and allods. On all these games, I was able to create characters with this name I tried to use in Wow. Now you might argue that wow is such a huge game and other lesser mmos have less people in it so of course someone else would have taken the name already...

But heres the thing. With guld wars 2, they allow you to pick a first and second name for your characters, making the naming policy FAR more unique then in wow. Infact while playing GW2, i almost never saw anyone abusing this system of first and second names, everyone followed a respected rule for there characters first and last names. And with a game like champions online, I discovered not only could I name my character anything I wanted, but even if someone already thought of a name for a character already, you could still choose that name, and the game worked around the issue so it didn't cause bugs or issues with it, namely by better programmers in dealing with the kinds of issues games like wow faced.

Wow is nearly a decade old, trying to think up new names for it is hard enough, but coupled with the fact you can't pick a new name without using asterisks every time, where other games have far better systems of naming, why haven't the developers figured out a way to make this work.

When you see a character who makes a blood elf named légólázz for shits and giggles, you know then just how antiquated this system is.

[Regalbeast]

I sure hope that players can never make first and last names in WoW. With titles that could get really long and strange. I honestly have never had a problem naming my characters, and when one is not available I just move on...

[Trassk]

I sure hope that players can never make first and last names in WoW. With titles that could get really long and strange. I honestly have never had a problem naming my characters, and when one is not available I just move on...

Titles are a gimmick and not part of the naming policy, if you choose a title, nobody else needs to know it if they are mailing you items. And as I already said people playing guild wars 2 did not abuse the last name policy.

[Duridi]

Are you American?

I have a vague memory asterisk and similar were no longer allowed to be used there?

Personally, I never have issues finding names, and I use names that look like names(Minda, Enona, Tuli etc.) The occational one is taken, but I don't really have to try much before I get one that isn't taken already.

[Klingensturm]

I agree with you completely. It's frustrating when names you usually go by are taken, and they usually are. The WoW armory is littered with inactive characters that are only parking the name for any use. It's annoying that I have to use something ridiculous just because any decent name is usually parked on a level 1.

[Trassk]

Are you American?

I have a vague memory asterisk and similar were no longer allowed to be used there?

Personally, I never have issues finding names, and I use names that look like names(Minda, Enona, Tuli etc.) The occational one is taken, but I don't really have to try much before I get one that isn't taken already.

no i'm from the UK. if blizzard removed this and forcefully told me i had to rename my characters with asterisk in them to ones that do not, thus losing my characters name, I'd tell them to stick it up there wind pipe. I'd then name them names like blizzarddevssuckballs or davekosakisapeiceofshit or words to that effect.

[Effbee]

I do like having full names in other games, but single names are just how WoW works. Not sure the time spent changing it now would be worth it.

Also, I don't think asterisk means what you think it means, because I am pretty sure you have never been able to use them in name. Certain accents above letters, yes, but not asterisks...unless I have missed something in the past 9 years...

[Xeraxis]

Are you American?

I have a vague memory asterisk and similar were no longer allowed to be used there?

That policy was never put into action.

Also Trassk try being a bit more original if it upsets you that someone else has taken a name you wanted.

[Duridi]

no i'm from the UK. if blizzard removed this and forcefully told me i had to rename my characters with asterisk in them to ones that do not, thus losing my characters name, I'd tell them to stick it up there wind pipe. I'd then name them names like blizzarddevssuckballs or davekosakisapeiceofshit or words to that effect.

I think they solved that part by allowing those who already had such names to keep them, but I am not sure. It's been a while since that announcement, so would have to have a US player with such a name to comment on it.

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That policy was never put into action.

Well, it did cause a lot of uproar... similar to the one in the OP, as it made it less likely you'd get the name you want.

[Razorice]

I'd love Blizzard to add a second name feature.

[Teph]

I never want to see a last name in wow.

In ffxiv i was forced to pick a last name. Hated it.
Best thing i saw was someone named Iam Batman

[Purplekitti]

Just so you know an asterisk is a star like this : ***
The thing you're thinking of is an accent (like é.)

[Annarion]

Asterisk = *
Accent = â ã ä å

So you're complaining that Blizzard enforces unique names at a server level? And that all the names you wanted were taken? Sorry kiddo, but just because another game has opted not to enforce unique games doesn't mean Blizzard should. Think about something beyond coding for a second, Champions Online has literally no characters I can name. On the other hand, if Blizzard didn't have rules around name creation, every single death knight would be named Arthas, Thassarian, Koltira, or Darion. Every human warrior would be named Varian, every Orc warrior Varok. Do you see where I'm coming from? I realize that if they just banned any permutation of a lore figure's name they could get around this, but what about Legolas? There are a whole host of names that would flourish and take away from the naming convention. As far as I'm concerned the RP realm name rules should apply to every realm. Tired of seeing xxghostkillahxx and the like.

[StationaryHawk]

I consider myself an altoholic, and I rarely have trouble with names already being taken. At worst, I have to add an extra character somewhere.

I wouldn't mind seeing spaces being allowed in names, but I don't think it's completely necessary. It'd be a quality of life change at best.

[Klingensturm]

In MMORPGs I usually go by "Blayde" or some kind of variant, but in WoW it is usually taken. Having the option to choose two names would be interesting however. In games that allow you to choose two names I usually choose a title of some sort for the first name such as Sir or Lord. I think that if it was to be implemented it should be optional. Other than that I don't see why anyone would have a problem with it.

[Daetur]

I prefer not being forced into having a last name for all my characters. I wouldn't care if they added it as an option, but I don't care for game naming policies that force a last name.

I've also never had trouble coming up with a character name I like for my alts. Try being a little more creative, or thinking outside the box when you want to use a common name (for example, I have a Worgen named Thatchyr instead of Thatcher- no, it's not ideal, but it works in the world and it looks, sounds, and reads just fine).

Even the names I or my guild members want that are more common- a guild member of mine has a monk named "Shikamaru" after the character from Naruto- can often be freed up by asking a GM if the character with the name is inactive. I've been able to get many more common names that way. I've never had to use an accent, and I've never ended up with a name I'm unhappy with, and I've been playing for 9 years and still create alts to this day- just made 7 of them last month, got every name I wanted.

I actually had more trouble in GW2 getting a name I was happy with for my Sylvari.

[Deleted]

Normally I don't post stuff like that, but really? You complain about names being taken being the dev's fault? Don't you have any other more dire problems to take care of?

On topic: no I don't support last names.

[Babylonius]

It would make sending whispers much more annoying as you'd have to type more. I have never had a problem naming my characters. If its taken then its not original and you should try again. (Arthas.... I'm looking at you)

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no i'm from the UK. if blizzard removed this and forcefully told me i had to rename my characters with asterisk in them to ones that do not, thus losing my characters name, I'd tell them to stick it up there wind pipe. I'd then name them names like blizzarddevssuckballs or davekosakisapeiceofshit or words to that effect.

you can't stick it up their wind pipe.... the wind pipe goes from your mouth down, it would be a very violent action to go into their chest then force something upward.

[Vetali]

I don't think Blizz needs to change the system. Its not nearly as bad as something like xbox live where every name in existence is probably taken. Plus if the character with the name you want hasn't been logged into in a while you can always ticket a GM about freeing up the name.

[Nathreim]

I find it more annoying when someone has the name I want on a lvl 9 alt that hasn't been used in 3 years but because they still have an active account Blizz wont remove the name.