Hi, just looking for some clarification.
So today I reserved three names for classic on an RP realm - one of them is the name of a quest-giving NPC from Classic that went on to become a major lore figure in Wrath.
After reserving the name, I realized that maybe it’d be against the rules to do so, so I looked up information on Blizzard’s official naming policy - both general and for role-playing realms.
It appears that, though they once specifically listed “names of World of Warcraft realms, zones, or names of major characters from Warcraft lore” as serious violations of the naming policy at some point in the past - they no longer do so.
Was this a deliberate change to the naming policy, or a mistaken omission? I don’t wish to break any rules, nor do I wish to begin playing a character and growing attached to them when suddenly one day I’m forced to change my name! If it’s still against the rules, I think it would be a good idea to add that back to the support articles.
Thanks!
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Personaly id avoid using any lore characters names just to avoid any forced name changes.
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Yes, with stipulations.
Generally speaking, the major lore characters should have their names reserved and not be accessible. it is entirely possible for some characters that may not be as visible to have been overlooked or, due to their low profile, not considered to have names that need to be prohibited.
I can’t speak for names that are minor in Classic that gain notoriety. It may be best to avoid using them, but it really depends on.
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Whether it’s a naming violation or not, I would suspect that at some time, it would get reported as such on an RP realm.
I’m pretty sure than not every GM recalls all stuff removed from old policies.
You may have to go through an appeals process if a GM decides the report has some validity.
Are minor characters good to go, or should I avoid those? Like named NPCs that only appear once or twice but still have fairly unique names. Characters that aren’t significant enough for me to even think of some right of the bat. I know some of them have some cool sounding names.
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Generally speaking, if it isn’t a character of lore, you are usually okay. Unless you are specifically trying to BE that character. That might cause an issue.
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Thanks! Yeah I wouldn’t be trying to impersonate the character. Just possibly the name.
I never had an issue with toons named Nok before or after Nok-Karosh was added in WoD
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They named a whole city after me in Legion. 
Never had any issues with my name. Of course I had this name since vanilla.
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Wonder if it mattered if it was on a RP realm if it was reported would it be grounds for a name change.
can def see it getting changed on rp realms
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Good so it was a good thot wasnt sure but thot id mention it.
On a somewhat related note, the name filter is still as busted as ever. I won’t list them here for obvious reasons, but there are ways to use certain words in names that shouldn’t be allowed.
There likely always will be, Paants. We try to restrict what we can, but we cannot always hit every variation of a name nor is it always prudent to do so. The right click report option, when used appropriately, can do a great deal to remove those names that do get through and educate those who try to use them.
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Im not talking about alt codes or different ways of spelling. Look at my character list on Lothar. I’ve got a gnome mage named PlayerBXVQBY. I’m sure you can see what his prior name was to get what im talking about. If you can see my low level deleted toons (also on Lothar I believe), there’s a few others with a slightly different naming theme.
p.s. On a side note, I’ve had a cat pet named Under since Cataclysm and to this day nobodys ever commented how his name tag says Under <Paants’s pet>.
What about non-lore characters? Like someone in vanilla got the name Sephiroth and was forced to change it. Are those rules still in effect for Classic?
We haven’t been made aware of any rules yet specific to Classic.
But as has already been said, as long as the character name isn’t a major character of Warcraft lore, you should be fine. This thread isn’t really about other naming rules such as other possibly copyrighted names.
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That is a FF character, so I imagine that fell under:
- Names that reference well known people, characters, brands, places, or icons
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