First, for any support issue, please always use the Search Engine, because we often have dozens of dozens of threads asking the same thing, and it’s just more efficient for you to get your answer right away!
Here are FAQs about changing names of various kinds:
I want to change my email address/log-in name:
- Please contact Support by filing a ticket through the “Ask a Question” tab on that linked page. They will be able to assist you. For tips on what information to provide in a ticket — mostly intended for security reasons to establish that you own the account — please read this post and provide as many suggested details as possible to expedite the ticket.
I want to change my character name
- Purchase a character name change in the Gem Store.
I want to change my display name
- This is not a service that is available, either through a purchase or through Support. Unless there is a specific privacy issues — that is, you used your real name or your email address for you in-game and forum display name — the name is permanent. If you fall into the small number of people who did use your real name or email address, contact Support for assistance. Please do not write Support asking for exceptions, for they will not be made.
More about Display Name Changes
There are very good reasons why we do not offer the changes as a service at this time. It’s important in any game — and especially in an MMO with the high number and visibility of player interactions — to create a “personal history” for an account. I don’t mean your in-game “personal story” but a history of your account as viewed in the game.
If we allow changes of display names, a person who has been harassing another player will be hidden from that victim’s sight. A person who has built up a reputation for cheating, or botting, or doing other breaches of the UA, becomes invisible to those players who were aware of the issue and were awaiting action on the matter. Several other factors of “individual accountability” can be negated by simply hiding behind a new display name.
I take on board things like typos in making a name. But assessing the difference between a change and a correction can be difficult, and at this time, we’re holding firm on the “no changes” policy. There are two reasonable exceptions:
- An offensive name will be changed — once — and it will be changed by a GM using an anagram system, so the user does not get the privilege of choosing the second name.
- A display name will be changed to prevent the disclosure of personal information. For instance, the display name is the player’s real name or even email address. We have improved the account creation process to make it clear how display names function, and we even have expanded the User Agreement to accomplish the same objective. If players know that your display name is actually displayed in the game and on the forums, they’ll be less likely to use a name that poses a security risk. If they know that using an offensive name results in a randomly chosen name, they’ll be less likely — one hopes — to choose an unacceptable name.
Some of the same arguments about display name changes also applied to character names, but as you know, we made that option available when the feature could be properly developed. At some point we may make a feature available that allows a player to change his/her display name, but if we do, I am confident it will take into consideration all the risks of those changes, and address them effectively.
In the meantime, and with all due respect, we will decline to change display names unless they involve one of the two exceptions cited above.
