Character names free up on expansion drop?

[Vadrien-wyrmrest-accord]

So I read in the in-game support that unused character names free up at the release of every expansion. I want to transfer one of my characters to Wyrmrest but the name is still taken despite the character with the name having an out of date armory profile.

[Nephe-caelestrasz (Nephe)]

The whole account needs to be inactive, if I recall.

[Kyzera-bloodscalp (Kyzera)]

Here are some recent posts from Vrakthris about name releases:

@Vrakthris

It is important to point out that activity is based on the account, not simply the character. How long it may have been since someone accessed a particular character will not allow the name to be released if the account has otherwise been active.

@Vrakthris

It isn’t exactly a cycle anymore, Voøjin. It was when our Devs first started releasing names for reuse, but since then a system has been build to facilitate it. There aren’t currently specific dates on when a name would be up for review to be released, it is part of a constant cycle now.

[Leilleath-moon-guard]

Unfortunately, using the Armory as a search tool for such a thing isn’t going to really reflect accurate information. For some reason, it doesn’t always update. So just by doing an armory search really won’t help you too much, especially if they’re too low to be registered or just not logged into.

The best ways to go about it? Send the character a letter in game. You can try posting on trade every now and again, appealing to the character or someone who may know of them to see if they’d be interested in working something out.

Another option you’ve got, because the Name Business is a thing, especially on our RP servers? Try here. It’s over two years old, still active and folks will go through and update as they come into names or want to pawn off some they’ve held. You may be able to possibly reach your person there.

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/wyrmrest-name-archive-redux/94258

[Nok-winterhoof (Nok)]

Easiest way to check for name availability is to try adding the name to your friends list.

[Vrakthris]

Yes and no.

If the name has been claimed by another player you’ll be able to add it to your friends list, assuming the character is the same faction as you. That isn’t necessarily an indication that the name is not available though.

We’ve come a long way from when we started releasing names. It used to be that our Devs had to trigger the release manually at a specific time when we launched a new expansion. Now, it is part of a system that automatically does so.

The name release functions a bit differently to, instead of automatically being flagged for a rename the name request isn’t processed unless someone else tries to claim it. So, if you have a name you want to see is available, the best means of doing so is creating a character with the name you want and the system will check. If it qualifies it’ll be available, if it doesn’t it won’t.