Guild Wars 2

is keeping me from enjoying the game…

This is brutal. EVERYTHING is taken. I’m one of those rare breeds who, admittedly, is rather OCD about charcter creation. I’ll spend hours getting my appearance just right, but even more important to me is my character’s name.

If I’m not in love with my character’s name, I get such a bad taste in my mouth when I go to level, and I inevitably become severely disheartened and lose interest. That toon will never see 80. :[

When I find a name I love, on the other hand, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll steamroll the game all the way to max level and keep right on going. Totally immersed and fulfilled by every minute of the experience.

I can’t be the only person that feels this way. It just sucks. :[

Using a thesaurus can sometimes be a decent way of getting a decent name.

right up there with you, i have redone characters (even my first ones made back in beta) to many times just because their look wasn’t quite right, their names hours at thinking on the spot while in character creation just to log in with it and then back out to delete and try again. Trying to fit the name to the race is just as hard, but in the end it is worth it as I look and love the names i deal with.
And this obsession isn’t cheap either with the few mistakes I have made make me regret being so picky. Like delete a character whos infinite tools were soul bound instead of account bound .. .. ..

You know you can use multiple words for names, right? With spaces and everything? It can be irksome not to get the exact name you want, but if you’ve ever played an MMO before, you should be prepared to find a variant.

I don’t know what you want anyone here to do for you. If names are taken, they’re taken. Add a extra letter. Change one letter to another letter. Add a title. Be creative.

I agree! If I don’t like my character name odds are good I won’t be playing the character long.

With the current name limitations: Spaces, many special characters, and a 21ish limit, I’ve never really had any trouble coming up with a name I liked though

Maybe ask around and I’m sure you will get TONS of suggestions. Just let people know what type of name are you looking for, what type of character it is, and any other details and I’m sure people would be happy to suggest things as well.

Most of my characters have surnames. All but one I wanted, I got.

Mind-boggling to me. I do key runs and never use the same name twice. I always like my names, or I wouldn’t use them. Once in awhile, the name I first try to choose is taken, but usually they aren’t. I must have named 100 characters by now…

Still, good luck on finding something you like…or your new game. (Not really sure what the OP’s intentions are with this thread…)

Be more creative, problem solved.

I have not had much trouble getting names I wanted. I did a lot of research on each race and the names they tended towards. Look at each race in the wiki to see the style of names they use. You can then google ie. Norse names etc. and look at what they mean to get something that fits what you have in mind. Usually I write down several I like before trying character creation but in most cases I have gotten nearly every one I wanted. Single name characters are often a lot more difficult than first and last name ones (asura were the most difficult for me).

Put down what race/profession and what name you were interested in and maybe folk will come up with some suggestions for you that one or more you may like and may be able to get. This a very helpful community and folk could at least direct you to sites that could help you get a name you love for your character.

I have gotten every name that I wanted, so far without fail.
Perhaps you need to think of a less used name?

All of my character names are pretty darn unique And are generally related in theme. So my Charr is Redeye Darkspine.

OP probably is trying names like Drizzt, Gandolf, Richard Rahl, and Raistlin. The game is 3 years old. Many “popular” names and their variations are long taken.

I have the same issue sometimes, while most of mine have surnames or titles, I feel I got lucky with some, my ranger for instance I am shocked I got, “Tiyaira” which suits her as I read the name means earth, and she is Sylvari.

A way around it I find is accented letters, while it isn’t perfect, it allows me to have short names that look close enough to enjoy them.

I am disappointed that I didn’t get the name I wanted on the headstart, think I spent too long trying to make my character decent instead of rushing to reserve the name.

I also managed to get “Bálthazàr” which is perfect for the upcoming outfit :P and will remake that character for revenant to use that name.

The single word names are harder but not impossible. I was making an Asura less than a year ago (well, some time after the feature patch last April), tried “Blekk,” taken, tossed on a syllable, and “Froblekk” is his name. With the same intonation as “Froderick” as spoken by Eye-gor in Young Frankenstein.

Phoenix, for future reference (eg HoT Revenants), make an entirely random character, just skip to end and take the name, hit Create. You can then delete them any time you want and when you do you have 24 hours to re-use the name. I did that at head start, got all five names I wanted including two single-name ones. Also pay heed to the forums and other news sources the day of launch. The base game told us midday they’d try to release 3 hours early — and they did! So it was midnight my time, not 3 am, when I got to spring into action.

If that happens again, be ready so you don’t saunter in three hours after a million names are taken

This was originally why Anet added numbers to our account names so we could all have the in-game names we wanted. Why they stayed with the same old mmo problem I don’t know.

Lil Puppy.5216:

This was originally why Anet added numbers to our account names so we could all have the in-game names we wanted. Why they stayed with the same old mmo problem I don’t know.

If adding numbers or extra characters was what he wanted, I really don’t think he would have any trouble getting a name. Adding numbers does not solve that same old mmo problem at all xD

Miku.6297:

Lil Puppy.5216:

This was originally why Anet added numbers to our account names so we could all have the in-game names we wanted. Why they stayed with the same old mmo problem I don’t know.

If adding numbers or extra characters was what he wanted, I really don’t think he would have any trouble getting a name. Adding numbers does not solve that same old mmo problem at all xD

I believe he means that our account names had (and have) numbers. e.g. the .6297 at the end of yours.

I’m not completely sure, and I probably wasn’t there at the time, but i’m assuming there was a period where you could name your character whatever you want, since you have a seperate “account name” as well that is unique and used for getting added as a friend and such, while still having whatever name you want. it’s a neat idea, in my opinion.

ITheNormalPerson.9275:

Miku.6297:

Lil Puppy.5216:

This was originally why Anet added numbers to our account names so we could all have the in-game names we wanted. Why they stayed with the same old mmo problem I don’t know.

If adding numbers or extra characters was what he wanted, I really don’t think he would have any trouble getting a name. Adding numbers does not solve that same old mmo problem at all xD

I believe he means that our account names had (and have) numbers. e.g. the .6297 at the end of yours.

I’m not completely sure, and I probably wasn’t there at the time, but i’m assuming there was a period where you could name your character whatever you want, since you have a seperate “account name” as well that is unique and used for getting added as a friend and such, while still having whatever name you want. it’s a neat idea, in my opinion.

I believe that is how Champions Online does it. Pick any name you like and people can use your global name to keep track of which Darkgloom Puppykicker you are.

Only issue there is the possibility of people impersonating others.

I’ve always been able to get a decent name…usually I stick to naming conventions by naming my characters after songs I like and such. All of the most obvious names will be taken already, of course…but I’ve found that a lot of names haven’t been taken.

Ive spent i think 400g so far on 4 name contract changes because i am wasteful and if i start disliking my characters name, i just dont want to play them anymore.

I had the same issue trying to get the name i wanted – Nyx, so i got creative adding adjectives to it, messing around with accent marks (super helpful). If the accent mark thing doesnt work (try it for every single letter in the name and every combination :p) then add upper case I’s to either side or X’s stuff like that.

From what I recall GW2 never let you have the same character names, head start till now. So there could be only one Siela Riviere (using one of my name as an example).

Pockets.3201:

I believe that is how Champions Online does it. Pick any name you like and people can use your global name to keep track of which Darkgloom Puppykicker you are.
Only issue there is the possibility of people impersonating others.

champions online use to use your account name so xxxxxxx@xxxxx. There was also no way to hide that info.. every chat message you sent would be charactername@accountname: “hi there how are you today”

so you could have multiple people with the same name, however many people didn’t like having their account name attached directly to literally everything they said.

As for solving the mmo problem with names, I still don’t see how adding numbers to something really fixes it… I wouldn’t mind using my acct tag in game.. Miku, however I would certainly not be a fan of being Miku.6297 in game.

I remember I had an awesome name for my Charr when the game first launched but I deleted that Charr a few days after launch. I felt they weren’t my race and focused on my human thief. A year later after getting back into the game I read up more on Charr lore and totally got into it. Sadly I couldn’t use the original name. However I was able to make the name and add a surname. To me though it didn’t feel the same. I didn’t feel like the original. Oh well lesson learned.

Naming a character in GW2 is easier than other games. Just make a last name and even a middle name… Like Riou Genkaku on release was taken (greatest hero of all time and glad someone else realized that at least) so I just added Tenkai at the end, which was the star of destiny he represented.

Hmm, I didn’t seem to have any problems with any of my Guild Wars characters.

Aurion Ulster, Alastrine Isolde, Sigdriffa Olrun, Oriie Corvic, Hana Ozaki are just some of my Guild Wars 1 characters. Zerina In Aeternum (Eternal) for my only (for now) Guild Wars 2 character. All went through on the first try with no problems.

~shrugs~

Eh…i make up my own names, and well ive never had one claimed before…

Just add a last name.

I don’t think it is so difficult to come up with names that aren’t already taken, but I probably have names that seem a bit odd and lame for other players.
A lot of the popular names are probably gone right now.

Donari.5237:

The single word names are harder but not impossible. I was making an Asura less than a year ago (well, some time after the feature patch last April), tried “Blekk,” taken, tossed on a syllable, and “Froblekk” is his name. With the same intonation as “Froderick” as spoken by Eye-gor in Young Frankenstein.

Phoenix, for future reference (eg HoT Revenants), make an entirely random character, just skip to end and take the name, hit Create. You can then delete them any time you want and when you do you have 24 hours to re-use the name. I did that at head start, got all five names I wanted including two single-name ones. Also pay heed to the forums and other news sources the day of launch. The base game told us midday they’d try to release 3 hours early — and they did! So it was midnight my time, not 3 am, when I got to spring into action.

If that happens again, be ready so you don’t saunter in three hours after a million names are taken

I know this :P I spent every moment on launch waiting for it to play i logged in the moment everyone else was allowed to, made the mistake of spending too much time in customization instead of rushing for the name first as i should have, it cost me, I’ve moved on now, I still want it but oh well.

you just need to get creative.

for example you are a sailor moon fan and want to make a character called “chibi moon”. That is obviously taken. So you can make for example a character called “chibi little moon” etc.

laokoko.7403:

you just need to get creative.

for example you are a sailor moon fan and want to make a character called “chibi moon”. That is obviously taken. So you can make for example a character called “chibi little moon” etc.

Why not Chibi Sailor Moon?

I have used lesser known languages like Samoan and even Elvish for my character names. Works every time…

warbignime.4610:

Be more creative, problem solved.

^This.

You could also try a name generator, loads on Skynet aka: Internet.

Doggie.3184:

laokoko.7403:

you just need to get creative.

for example you are a sailor moon fan and want to make a character called “chibi moon”. That is obviously taken. So you can make for example a character called “chibi little moon” etc.

Why not Chibi Sailor Moon?

Because that means a sailor moon looking chibi. I’m trying to make a character that looks like Sailor moon’s daughter.

If you actually google Chibi Sailor moon, it’ll give you pictures of Sailor moon loooking chibi. While I actaully want a character named Sailor Chibi Moon.

laokoko.7403:

Doggie.3184:

laokoko.7403:

you just need to get creative.

for example you are a sailor moon fan and want to make a character called “chibi moon”. That is obviously taken. So you can make for example a character called “chibi little moon” etc.

Why not Chibi Sailor Moon?

Because that means a sailor moon looking chibi. I’m trying to make a character that looks like Sailor moon’s daughter.

If you actually google Chibi Sailor moon, it’ll give you pictures of Sailor moon loooking chibi. While I actaully want a character named Sailor Chibi Moon.

I never thought sailor moon fan names were so complex O.o

Play with Latin, give your character 2 or 3 word name.

Mortifer.2946:

Play with Latin, give your character 2 or 3 word name.

Exactly what I did.

Google name generators

Swami: Maybe if you told us some of the “Everything is taken” names you were going for we might have a better chance of helping you.

Here are some formats I have tried and normally have no issue getting the name I want. I used to run keys before the nerf so I have used tons of names over the past ~3 years.

• Use First AND Last name
• If that doesn’t work add a Middle name and/or initial or try Jr. / III
• Don’t use names directly from pop-culture, unless you change them significantly. Bilbo was surely taken in the first few minutes after launch, Bylbo Bagends Jr is probably still available
• If you think a name sounds cool… chances are someone else thought so too

Hope that helps

There is a fine line between promoting creativity and limiting options when it comes to names. Personally, I am quite glad I don’t see XxX_Batman1337_XxX fifty times per day.

I’m 100% with you, if I’m not in love with a character’s name I just lose interest. It has to really suit them and the way I want to play them. I spend hours just staring at the completed character screen trying to think of the perfect name for each alt, its quite maddening. Then I log in and see Leegolaaasssx and Bootylicker and all sorts of stupid stuff and it just makes me shake my head and sigh lol.

First and last name is the way to go. A lot less chance someone has it, unless you are picking a name from a movie, book, or TV show you like. But let’s face it, that’s about as uncreative as it gets.

Draknar.5748:

First and last name is the way to go. A lot less chance someone has it, unless you are picking a name from a movie, book, or TV show you like. But let’s face it, that’s about as uncreative as it gets.

My human and Norn characters have first and last names. Many people have taken to the naming scheme of other races and adding titles, (Professor Plixx for an Asura, Kira Ironclaw for a Charr).
Sylvari are hard for me, as they don’t really need surnames at all.
I kinda went middle ground. Had a character I really wanted to name Toji, but a short name like that was of course taken. Being a pirate themed character made it natural to add some flair, so Capn Toji worked just as well.

Title or Surname, that’s all there is to it.

Lampshade.7569:

There is a fine line between promoting creativity and limiting options when it comes to names. Personally, I am quite glad I don’t see XxX_Batman1337_XxX fifty times per day.

Indeed, reminded me of a Pirates setting MMO I used to play, where the majority felt related to some "Sparrow"dude and variations of the surname, how original.

I use a lot of song titles or chorus phrases. Seems work pretty well most of the time, rarely have to get too creative and before that it was always Xyl in front of everything. 3 short words or a surname helps a ton as well.

I always check on the names I want before I create the character so I will know if any variation is needed since how the character looks is often a reflection of the name chosen like Bob vs Bob Jr or Little Bob, all going to need very different slider / color choices imo.

carabidus.6214:

I have used lesser known languages like Samoan and even Elvish for my character names. Works every time…

Kinda surprised at this, as I went through a ton of Elvish names at one point, and found that even some of the most obscure characters from the Silmarillion were taken.

I’ve found a lot of success using Google Translate and not trying to get actual names, but words from another language. For example, using Irish/Celtic in line with the Sylvari naming convention, I came up with Breaga Alainn, meaning “beautiful lies”, for my Mesmer.

Special characters are also very helpful. There’re a surprising number that are accepted. http://www.tedmontgomery.com/tutorial/altchrc.html

The one difficulty I’ve had is with Asura, as I like the convention of short, sci-fi sound effects ending in double consonants. Depending on the character conception, adding a title can diminish them.

Surnames help in almost every situation.

Human:

Female: Hootie McBoob
Male: Tony Danza

Sylvari:

Female: Mother of Trahearne
Male: C Tree P O

Charr:

Female: Orr Charrsmic
Male: Fluffy Cutepaws

Norn:

Female: Death By Snusnu
Male: David Hasselhoff

Asura:

Female: Mexican Bean
Male: Smurf Machinegun

You’re welcome

just stick an accent on somewhere

as long as you’re not taking ezio or tifa lockheart you’ll be fine just putting an accent in