I’m confused on some name reserving mechanics, if anyone could clarify:
Does reserving a character at lv 1 or lv 10 (allied race) and then deleting them reserve the name? Yes I have names reserved I want to give to a Dracthyr😂. If so, how long does it reserve for?
Does deleting a character at lv 30+ still reserve the name for 30 days? Is there a way to check this (as in through the recently deleted list)?
Only curious as a just in case, chances are the name won’t get sniped, but I want to be sure.
Having a character hold the name prevents anyone else from using it. If the character is under level 30, the hold on that name disappears as soon as the character is deleted. So technically, once deleted someone could claim the name immediately. That said, unless someone is anticipating that you are deleting the character, it would take some amazing kind of coincidence and timing for someone to grab it.
Obviously, the faster you claim the name on the character you want to have it, the better. If it is a popular name, especially around a time when a lot of people would be creating new characters, the odds are better that someone could nab it.
Yes. If the character is level 30+ and it is deleted or otherwise removed from the realm (i.e. character transfer), the name will be reserved by your Battle.net account for 30 days.
Not generally. You’d just need to keep track on when you deleted the character.
Yeah, the chances are so small that if it happened I would honestly be impressed
Okay cool. I doubt I’ll have to go to these measures for my preferred name, but this is good to know nonetheless.
Ah well, it’s not information I prolly really ever NEED to know, but I was a little curious.
Thank you for the quick response as well, I really appreciate it. Is it possible for me to bother you with one more question?
I did a little investigating into names that are taken, and when they become re-released for use. I saw some posts about names coming up after 2 expacs worth of time without a sub, and some others about being able to ask a GM to release the name. However, the CS article states they can’t assist with this now. Is that definitely true? I am curious about a name that is currently unavailable, but doesn’t show up on the armory yet I was able to friend request them.
For a clear answer to this question you’ll need a bit of background.
Game Masters used to be able release names for reuse, if they qualified to be released. The request became so common that our Game Developers created a more automated means of doing so, so that our Support staff could focus on other issues.
They basically were able to run a script at certain milestones (e.g. after 2 expansions) which would free up names that qualified. That wasn’t great either, as it meant that they would have to manually run the script at each milestone and keep track of that, with everything else they work on. So…
We now have an automated system that tracks the timing on a more individual level. Basically, when you go to create a character and use a name, if another character has that name and it is eligible to be released, the character that has it will receive a temporary name and you’ll be able to claim it. If the name is not eligible for release, you’ll receive a message that states that it is in use.
Keep in mind, active account means the overall account. If the character hasn’t been touched in 10 years, but the account itself is active, that character name is not available for reuse. This means that using the Armory to see if it is active isn’t always effective, since a character won’t show up on the Armory if it is under level 10, or hasn’t been logged into for awhile, but it doesn’t reflect if the account itself is active or not.
So just to clarify: The error message I get at character creation is “That name is taken. Taken names can’t be claimed (even if inactive)” This means that the account with that named char is currently active (edit: as in currently active subscription and not just logging in), and that the named char just doesn’t appear on Armory for a reason… and if the account was inactive, it would right then upon me typing in the name in char creation, give the old char a temporary name and I would receive the name on my new char?
It means the name is in use. Whether or not the WoW license is active isn’t a factor for that message, if the license hasn’t been inactive for the qualifying time frame, the name isn’t eligible for release, so you’ll get the same message… the name is taken.
If the WoW license was inactive and the name qualified for release, you typing in the name in character creation would allow it to be claimed, yes.
Thank you for the clarification. My experience has shown it to be the individual license, however the support article about taken names says it is at the Battle net level. So I was just wanting to have some clarity on the matter.
