Name Locks

[GoldenAvariel]

I was building a new character and experimenting with names. I had one that worked but kept going because it didn't seem perfect. When I finally decided that was as good as it was going to get, it was unavailable.

 

I think I locked myself out of my own name.

 

Any idea how long it stays locked until I can try it again?

[PsiBug]

I believe that I have experienced that scenario and I was able to regain access to the name by exiting the character creator or restarting the game.  If there is a timer at play, I doubt that it would be more than 10 minutes.

Edited May 8, 2023 by PsiBug

[TNT]

I have never had that happen.  Is it inconceivable that somebody came up with the same name independently?

 

I have had a character name that I loved, but I decided a different powerset combination suited it better.  I deleted the old character and created the new one with the now-abandoned name without a problem.  

[TheZag]

Do /getglobalname to ensure someone else doesnt have it.  If nobody has it and restarting the game doesnt let you use it,  you may have to wait till a server restart.

 

Keep in mind that some names will come up as nobody when checked ingame but the character creator will say they are unavailable if they contain blocked words.

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

This has happened to me many, many times and every single time it was because I screwed up the name rules.  Too many ",".  Not enough "!".  Try something extremely similar and see if that passes muster.

[UltraAlt]

1 hour ago, TNT said:

Is it inconceivable that somebody came up with the same name independently?

 

Of course, not.

People with similar stimulation/exposure in the world are bound to come to similar conclusions or thought patterns.

Some may related it to the collective unconscious. 

 

Evidence for a communal consciousness: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21724158/

[RCU7115]

I had that happen a few times. Just log off for 2-3 minutes and relaunch the game.

[Mjolnerd]

It should (SHOULD) unlock more or less instantly.

 

But every once in a while... it doesn't. And when that happens, the answer is "turn it off and back on again."

[GoldenAvariel]

Someone else had it. I could have sworn that was the name I used that worked 10 seconds earlier but maybe not. I'm old and forgetful. I'll come up with something sooner or later. Thanks guys. Next time I'll try logging completely out to try again.

[TheOtherTed]

9 hours ago, GoldenAvariel said:

Someone else had it. I could have sworn that was the name I used that worked 10 seconds earlier but maybe not.

That would occasionally happen to me on live.  I chalked it up to opportunistic name-grabbers.  I still have a couple of paranoid habits to foil the evil fiends (assuming they exist).  The easiest is to take a few steps backwards once you enter the tutorial (almost nobody looks behind them), but you could also to enter an instanced mission, log out, delete, and re-create.  If you have the patience, keep the character parked in the instance for a day or three before deleting - the thing about grabby opportunists is that they tend to have short attention spans.

 

Also, if you want to use a name in other MMOs, never, ever, reveal it on any gaming forum.  I've lost a few good cross-genre names that way.

[Rishidian]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:10 PM, UltraAlt said:

 

Some may related it to the collective unconscious. 

 

Does this mean we are all sleeping together?

 

I feel sorry for y'all who have to sleep with me...