Inactive Characters / Names

#0 - Jan. 4, 2008, 5:13 a.m.

Hello, this question is mostly directed towards a Blizzard representative but others may chime in with their opinions.

Basically, my girlfriend and I play our main characters, both 60+, on a particular realm. We are no longer satisfied on the realm and want to change to one where a lot of our friends play on and have a guild...we were very excited about transferring until we learned that our character names were taken...

We're both role-playing oriented people and are VERY attached to our names as they both mean something to us in one way or another...now, we went and checked and both names are taken on the server we want to transfer to...

Here is my problem with this, I checked the armory and neither names are listed for the realm we want to transfer to. I checked warcraftrealms.com and it turns out that both characters on that realm have been inactive for OVER TWO YEARS and were less than level 20.

My girlfriend and I have been long-time paying players of the game and want to continue to be so, but we're really frustrated over this. What I want to know is, is it possible to transfer names of obviously inactive characters so that active ones can have them, and then if those older characters ever do log back on, giving them the option of a name change? it would satisfy people who are active customers of the game.

Normally I would NOT suggest or condone stripping a character of their name, but in this case both have been inactive for a very long period of time.

#10 - Jan. 4, 2008, 5:35 a.m.

The following was written by one of our new teammates, who are currently undergoing training and do not yet possess forum accounts of their own; as a result, they shall be posting via proxy through me.

Q u o t e:
Hello, this question is mostly directed towards a Blizzard representative but others may chime in with their opinions.

Basically, my girlfriend and I play our main characters, both 60+, on a particular realm. We are no longer satisfied on the realm and want to change to one where a lot of our friends play on and have a guild...we were very excited about transferring until we learned that our character names were taken...

We're both role-playing oriented people and are VERY attached to our names as they both mean something to us in one way or another...now, we went and checked and both names are taken on the server we want to transfer to...

Here is my problem with this, I checked the armory and neither names are listed for the realm we want to transfer to. I checked warcraftrealms.com and it turns out that both characters on that realm have been inactive for OVER TWO YEARS and were less than level 20.

My girlfriend and I have been long-time paying players of the game and want to continue to be so, but we're really frustrated over this. What I want to know is, is it possible to transfer names of obviously inactive characters so that active ones can have them, and then if those older characters ever do log back on, giving them the option of a name change? it would satisfy people who are active customers of the game.

Normally I would NOT suggest or condone stripping a character of their name, but in this case both have been inactive for a very long period of time.

Unfortunately, if the names that you desire to keep are currently taken on that realm, then it is my sad duty to report that a member of the Game Master staff is unlikely to be in a position to award you with the name in question.

I know how important character names are, and exactly how it is to be attached to a character name. In fact, I've been a very long time player, and carried my name from beta into live on a particular realm. It was very much part of my identity, and I was quite fond of it. When I transferred, I was faced with the choice to relinquish the name. Ultimately, I opted to do so.

I can say that the new name that I chose has grown on me to the point where I prefer it, and it will be my standard 'main' name of choice. I hope that the unavailability of your old names won't prevent you from moving to new surroundings and enjoying the company of your friends.