Guild Wars 2

My father gave me this account for Christmas about 3 years ago or so. He just used my email for my display name (which is a reference to D&D), but I didn’t really care at the time so I was like whatever. I didn’t know it’d be visible to soooo many people either. I absolutely hate it and wish I could change it, hell I’d pay to change it. So I was wondering if I was the only person in the community who felt this way, and was hoping to get some opinions on the matter whether or not it should be an option if you can change it or not. If it was a feature, I’d think you could only change it one to two times a year, to avoid confusion 24/7.

You’re definitely not the only one who wants to change their display name. Welcome to the club, my friend.

~EW

Here is a collection of posts from Anet about display names and why it is not likely to be changed unless it meets strict criteria.

Anet usually only offers display name changes in the event the display name compromises your privacy, (example using real name or email address), or if the name violates the GW2 naming policy. The links below go to posts from Anet staff regarding this issue.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/first#post2087181
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/page/4#post4336410
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/page/4#post5498462

From the last link above that explains that display name changes can cause problems.

Long story short is that display names weren’t designed in a way that allows them to be changed without causing a potential (and significant) batch of problems on the account so we (support) only do them when we reeeeally need to.

JustTrogdor.7892:

Here is a collection of posts from Anet about display names and why it is not likely to be changed unless it meets strict criteria.

Anet usually only offers display name changes in the event the display name compromises your privacy, (example using real name or email address), or if the name violates the GW2 naming policy. The links below go to posts from Anet staff regarding this issue.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/first#post2087181
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/page/4#post4336410
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/support/Name-Questions-Please-read-merged/page/4#post5498462

From the last link above that explains that display name changes can cause problems.

Long story short is that display names weren’t designed in a way that allows them to be changed without causing a potential (and significant) batch of problems on the account so we (support) only do them when we reeeeally need to.

Well it is my email and username to various things I will not specify, and I wish I could know the problems it could cause, I don’t see a place where it is specified what might happen to my account.

Then you need to submit a support ticket and ask if they will change it. However, by email address I think Anet means a full email address like XXXXXXX.gmail.com. Again though you will have to contact support if you think you meet the criteria for a display name change.

JustTrogdor.7892:

Then you need to submit a support ticket and ask if they will change it. However, by email address I think Anet means a full email address like XXXXXXX.gmail.com. Again though you will have to contact support if you think you meet the criteria for a display name change.

Yeah I don’t think they just mean domain name, but I don’t think you can put periods into your display name.

If it’s your email address then you might have a case to get it changed. But the only way to find out is to contact Support and ask.

You’re definitely not the only one who wants to change it. A lot of people apparently didn’t realise when they created their account that the account name would be visible and regretted their choice.

Danikat.8537:

If it’s your email address then you might have a case to get it changed. But the only way to find out is to contact Support and ask.

You’re definitely not the only one who wants to change it. A lot of people apparently didn’t realise when they created their account that the account name would be visible and regretted their choice.

Let’s hope. I hate this name and don’t really like it as a display name. I find it good for my gaming email, but nothing else to be honest.

Honestly, I just want to get rid of the ugly numbers, I never use numbers in my usernames. Everyone should have a unique name without the numbers. They are so annoying, especially mine because it ends with a 1. At least it should be a 0! It annoys me more than it should, haha. XD I’m pretty sure if Anet offered a display name change item for $10, they would get crazy rich because many people want to change theirs. :P

Mea.5491:

Honestly, I just want to get rid of the ugly numbers, I never use numbers in my usernames. Everyone should have a unique name without the numbers. They are so annoying, especially mine because it ends with a 1. At least it should be a 0! It annoys me more than it should, haha. XD I’m pretty sure if Anet offered a display name change item for $10, they would get crazy rich because many people want to change theirs. :P

That’d cause many problems, which are explained in the threads linked above. The Numbers are so people can have the display name they want, so there will be a KingofKings.6520, and a KingofKings.5921

(Although I do agree I hate numbers)

Mea.5491:

Honestly, I just want to get rid of the ugly numbers, I never use numbers in my usernames. Everyone should have a unique name without the numbers. They are so annoying, especially mine because it ends with a 1. At least it should be a 0! It annoys me more than it should, haha. XD I’m pretty sure if Anet offered a display name change item for $10, they would get crazy rich because many people want to change theirs. :P

If they didn’t have the numbers at the end then either you or Mea.8967 (who has also posted on this forum) would have to have chosen a different display name.

Chad.6104:

If they didn’t have the numbers at the end then either you or Mea.8967 (who has also posted on this forum) would have to have chosen a different display name.

I remember her! And the confusion when I first saw her posts, lol. Exactly why we should have unique names! I thought I was schizophrenic. :P I’ve been playing MMORPGs since forever and I can easily come up with random usernames / display names for myself in other games, so that definitely wouldn’t be an issue for me.

But would for the many who would feel the same as those that lament that they can not use the Character Names they desire.

OP: It’s probably not prudent to announce your gaming email address (even partially) on a public forum.

Good luck.

Mea.5491:

Chad.6104:

If they didn’t have the numbers at the end then either you or Mea.8967 (who has also posted on this forum) would have to have chosen a different display name.

I remember her! And the confusion when I first saw her posts, lol. Exactly why we should have unique names! I thought I was schizophrenic. :P I’ve been playing MMORPGs since forever and I can easily come up with random usernames / display names for myself in other games, so that definitely wouldn’t be an issue for me.

That thread where saw you both post was confusing. Lol. They probably should have gone for unique names and not name.xxxx however they
didn’t and it sounds like it’s impossible to change that part now.

I know from what they said that there are problems with changing the display name, but I still think they should allow it once per account per lifetime of account. Since they already do it when they think it’s necesary I can’t feel that those problems are a big as they say they are.

Regardless of what we think ANet could or should do, their policy isn’t changing today or next month. So if you want to change your Display Name.1234 now, you’ll have to appeal to ANet, not the forums.

Explain that your Display Name is used for other games and that it’s linked directly to your real name some place. The only exceptions I’ve seen ANet admit are if the Display Name is someone’s actual name; your situation is close enough that they might consider it borderline and worthy of changing it.

I don’t want to change my display name, though I do want to change my alt accounts; I made the mistake of naming it pretty much the same thing, now I can’t pretend to be someone else!

Which is exactly one of the reasons why ArenaNet doesn’t easily hand out Display Name changes^.

Just a reminder – don’t use “lordofkushweed420sniper69@gmail.com” as your email address on your resume.

I wish I could change other people’s display names. :P

I put in a ticket and the only response I got was “Sadly, we don’t change display names upon request. Sorry about that.” I feel like they don’t even read the description for display name changes because this was the same response I got about 8 months ago when I requested it without knowing it was not a service that is available to the public. This time around I had specific stated that it was my email, but same response essentially. I don’t cheat or hack and I don’t harass people, so I guess I’m still left in the dark as why I can’t change it.

spawnofdivinedestruction.6230:

I put in a ticket and the only response I got was “Sadly, we don’t change display names upon request. Sorry about that.” I feel like they don’t even read the description for display name changes because this was the same response I got about 8 months ago when I requested it without knowing it was not a service that is available to the public. This time around I had specific stated that it was my email, but same response essentially. I don’t cheat or hack and I don’t harass people, so I guess I’m still left in the dark as why I can’t change it.

The Tier 1 person kittenponds first is naturally going to say, “no” — that’s the clear policy. What you want to do is make sure that the 2nd or 3rd tier sees your request, because it’s a borderline case: it’s not obviously personal, but neither is it truly anonymous.

Keep at it, patiently. At least, long enough to make sure a senior support team member has taken a look.

Was Na is right, you need to appeal the answer. That does NOT mean start a new ticket. Just politely reply that you understand the normal policy but you believe you fall into an exception due to security issues thanks to it being your email, and could they give it another look please?

Alright, I’ll keep appealing at it.

Also make sure you’re explaining the issue clearly but also succinctly.

I’ve worked similarish customer support jobs before and you’re often under pressure to respond to as many emails as possible each shift. Which means if someone sends a huge long email, even if it’s properly formatted with paragraphs, proper spelling and grammar etc. you’re going to skim through it looking for key words so you can work out which pre-written response to send, send it and then move onto the next one.

I’d recommend something like:

Hello

My account name is identical to my email address. I understand that you consider this a security risk and I am concerned that it could make my account vulnerable to hacking. I therefore request that the name be changed.

If it is possible to change it I would like it to be changed to….(and then give some suggestions).

Thank you,

spawnofdivinedestruction

(If your email provider is one of the big ones like Gmail or Yahoo I’d point that out too as it makes it very easy to guess the second half and therefore get into your account.)

(On a related note if you haven’t already I recommend you make sure your email and GW2 account are using completely different passwords and set up 2-factor authentication.)

Since you have posted in a public forum that your gaming email is your Display Name, I would suggest you change your email address associated with all games now. Anyone could take control of your account(s) with this information.