Character Name Purge with Folks not Playing Anymore

If someone wanted a name I used on a mule or banker alt, and the name wasn't clearly for a mule or banker alt ("Ibankmats"), I would give it to them.

Why do you care what your mule or banker alt is named enough to keep the name from someone else?

Look, the fact of the matter is that many -- not all, but many -- players got screwed because of *FORCED* name-changes and server-transfers. Customer-loyalty was basically exchanged for a coin-toss. There is absolutely zero reason that players who've quit should have their names treated with some kind of respect, because our Early-access names sure as hell weren't.

This is one of the few issues that I feel truly strongly about, and it's in dire need of some kind of fix. The best solution would simply be to make Legacy names unique, and use them as the new "player-name". Leave Character-names as the "Role-playing name" of sorts, freely usable by anybody.

Now I agree, forcing name-changes all over again, or releasing names because you haven't played in forever, certainly isn't the ideal solution. However, is is *A* solution, and is preferably to the garbage we've previously been subjected to.

If nothing else, here's an idea; at some point in the future, they could do a "Mass-renaming event". Make sure they advertise it like a month in advance, and allow each player to simply visit the website to either confirm their wish to keep their existing names, or change character's names to ones that haven't been claimed yet.

Basically, it's one massive, final do-over. No reserves, no favoritism; make it completely about equality. Again, not an ideal solution, but at least it's more fair than what's currently been done to us.

I still think the best solution is to simply identify players by singular, server-wide Legacy names, though. But clearly, *something* needs to be done.

Well said, I agree completely. Something must be done. Even months after the forced name changes (and the silly double-sided rules used to dictate which account got to keep a name during the two mergers) I am still upset over this, and I think about this issue every time I log into my main character with its implanted '.

On my server, the level 11 toon with my name canceled his subscription BEFORE the mergers, yet got to keep the name. During F2P he logged in the first week and has not be on since. Yet I and many like me are still paying for BioWare's total screw up. Why did I buy the CE that first night it was announced again? Oh that's right so I could be slapped in the face 6 months after launch. "sucker"

Let me regale you a tale...


For five years, I played Everquest under the name Sharkbite. Eventually I got bored and quit. When the game went FTP, I went back to poke around in there just for nostalgia sake. Imagine my horror to find that my character's name had been taken from my by somebody else, and now I was renamed Sharkbitexx. *gasp*

I was hurt. I was offended. After all the time I put in... after all the money I'd paid... after all, the word does revolve around me, right?

Then I realized that type of attitude belongs with a four year old who refuses to share his toys. I had not used that character in eight years. Like my son with some of his old Ninja Turtles, or my daughter with her Barbie's, there comes a point when it's clear based upon our own behavior that it is no longer important to us. I wasn't playing ol' Sharky any more, but for some other kid out there, this character still meant something. All the fun and excitement that I had playing him for those years, now somebody else was still enjoying him. The idea that my Enchanter from a decade past was now living on as a Tank or Rogue or something, still striking fear into the monsters of Norrath, that made me happy.

If you're not using it and somebody else would, then it's time to share our toys.

Other FTP games actually wipe accounts and delete characters are periods of extended inactivity. Telling a player that failure to log in for 1 year will result in the vacating of their name is not at all unreasonable. Bioware will do better to take care of the customers that they definately have, rather than stressing about the customers that could possibly return.

I completely agree. It couldn't be simpler. This would be the easy way of going about it. The proper way of doing things would be to implement a whole new naming policy. They should make legacy names unique rather than character names, or allow long names with spaces. GW2 had it right.

I noticed someone talking about how there are still room for making new and creative names or somesuch... yeah, that's about the dumbest post in this whole thread. There are so many stupid names floating around these days, and some of them are impossible to spell, like Nïncømpòòp. Names like that makes the game look stupid rather than epic. I don't mind silly names, I mind stupid L33T and gibberish names. The current naming policy was never intended for a superserver population and something needs to be done about it.

I see people whining about how there might be legitimate reasons for being away for a long time. I really don't care. If you're not subscribing and you haven't set foot in the game for 6-12 months, yeah.. it's time to let them go, whatever the reason. We're here, they're not! I've been actively playing this game since the beta and early access, I preordered the collector's edition, and I still lost all my names through the server merges. I'd like to get a chance to get some of those names back. Better yet, new naming policy and everybody's happy.

Although it is certainly a viable issue, it just isn't good business to do this sort of thing. After a few years, sure, but there should be a LONG time that passes before someone loses their name.

I have not played this game in over a month now. However I am STILL paying my subscription fee because I may log in at some point to play again. I do NOT want to log in and find my name has been changed without my authorization. I still pay for the game even if I do not play it all that much, and do not see any reason why I should change my name, considering I have already had to do it once before when the servers merged. If I have to change my name once again because of this suggestion you have made, I will cancel my subscription and pay no more money for cartel coins ever again. Oh and if anyone asks my opinion of this game I will have to be honest and that could be a bad thing for EAware.

So, because some people had to change names in both server merges, they are liars?

I can tell you that not one of my characters that had to change names in the first merger lost their names in the second.

Let me get this straight. In one situation, people want to claim that a name is so important that they no longer even play a character who has had to change names, yet people want to take the names of characters that other players who's accounts are still active and being played, using the excuse of "it's only a mule, why do you care about the name"? Why do some people feel that it is ok for one player to get so attached to name that they would abandon that character, yet disregard the fact that others might be equally attached to their character's names, even if they only use them for as a banker or mule.

As stated many times in this thread already (which I don't even have to read to know they're there), never happen and for good reason: BWEA want people who played and then stopped to know that if they come back, their characters will still be there waiting for them. There's no naming problem in any event. If you can't come up with a decent name, you need some fish oil to aid in your brain's development.