Blizzard is forcing renames in the WoW Forever beta, and says Customer Service will not hear appeals

Three days after we reported that beta testers were losing access over character names, Blizzard has posted the official version. It is blunter than the customer service replies were.

What Blizzard said

A WoW developer posting as Fwoibles confirmed two separate actions:

• Forced name changes are being issued to characters created in the Forever beta that break the naming policies;
• beta access was removed for some players whose names were far outside the Code of Conduct.

The explanation for the second group is pointed. The two-name system gave players new room for creativity, and in Blizzard’s words, some revealed too much about themselves and will no longer be part of the beta.

Three details that matter

1. The development team did this, not Customer Service. The actions were performed directly by the WoW development team and reviewed individually.
2. There is no appeal through a ticket. Customer Service cannot and will not assist with appeals. That is a change from live servers, where an appeal is the normal route.
3. An automatic filter is coming. The system for enforcing naming standards comes online very shortly, and Blizzard asks testers to refrain from “testing” it, because you risk losing beta access.

Why this keeps happening

The two-part name is genuinely new ground. Blizzard’s own naming post says the filter can judge both parts together, so splitting a banned word across a first and second name does not get through. The beta is where players are finding the edges of that, and some are doing it deliberately.

The cost is not symmetrical. On live servers a bad name means a forced rename. In the beta it can mean losing your seat for the rest of the test, which runs until October 21.

What to do

• If your character got a forced rename, that is the lighter action. Pick something within policy and carry on.
• If you lost beta access, there is no support route. Blizzard points to the Code of Conduct rather than an appeal form.
• If you are planning a joke name for launch, remember that early name reservation opens October 27, and a name that trips the filter wastes the reservation. Our naming guide covers what the system allows.

Funny still passes. The line is the one it has always been: nothing that impersonates, confuses or offends.