Chacka
Well-known member
I know that's not an entirely new idea of mine that no one has ever had. For example, Ashes of Creation is going to implement a similar feature. However, I think it would be a good idea for Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) to allow players to reserve a name for a price.
I understand that many players choose fun names for each character that may not make sense to me, and that's perfectly fine. But some players, like myself, would like to have a distinct name so that others can easily identify us. Recently, I had an experience where another player seemed upset (he send me a tell if I know that I play with an "imposer" and he seemed to be serious) because someone else was using "his" name, and they thought it belonged to them exclusively. I spoke to both players to understand their perspectives. It turned out to be a simple misunderstanding related to the name the player with the name was not even aware that this is a problem for another player. Similarly, I have encountered a recurring issue with the name "Chacka" in previous hardcore seasons. It seems that someone always takes that name but never actually plays the character beyond level 1, making it appear as if the character was never used and the only purpose of that act was to occupy this name.
And I know Strimtom and others had a similar problem so it's clearly not only me who gets "harrassed" in that way.
While this issue isn't a major concern for me personally, I believe it's a problem that could be addressed to improve the situation for others as well.
In my view, the solution would be to allow players who care about a specific name to have the option of reserving it across all of DDO. This means that only your account would be able to create a character with that name on any server. If anyone else already has that name on any server, they would be given that name with an addition like "-1" after a server move, and they would also be provided with a free name change option.
However, my idea goes even further. I would like to see this name reservation work as a kind of alias. This means that even if you play a character with a different in-game name, if someone sends a tell to your DDO-wide name, you would still receive the message. You would appear on their friends list and in the "who" list with both your character's name and the DDO-wide name. Of course, this feature should be optional, so no one is forced to use it if they prefer to remain anonymous.
Implementing these changes would require significant effort from the DDO development team, but I believe it could be a valuable feature that benefits players. Additionally, there are opportunities for SSG (Standing Stone Games) to monetize this feature in different ways. For example, it could be included as part of the subscription service, allowing subscribers to reserve a name for all of DDO. Alternatively, players could have the option to permanently reserve a name by paying a price, either in DDO points or real money (e.g., $50 or 7,000 DDO points).
I understand that many players choose fun names for each character that may not make sense to me, and that's perfectly fine. But some players, like myself, would like to have a distinct name so that others can easily identify us. Recently, I had an experience where another player seemed upset (he send me a tell if I know that I play with an "imposer" and he seemed to be serious) because someone else was using "his" name, and they thought it belonged to them exclusively. I spoke to both players to understand their perspectives. It turned out to be a simple misunderstanding related to the name the player with the name was not even aware that this is a problem for another player. Similarly, I have encountered a recurring issue with the name "Chacka" in previous hardcore seasons. It seems that someone always takes that name but never actually plays the character beyond level 1, making it appear as if the character was never used and the only purpose of that act was to occupy this name.
And I know Strimtom and others had a similar problem so it's clearly not only me who gets "harrassed" in that way.
While this issue isn't a major concern for me personally, I believe it's a problem that could be addressed to improve the situation for others as well.
In my view, the solution would be to allow players who care about a specific name to have the option of reserving it across all of DDO. This means that only your account would be able to create a character with that name on any server. If anyone else already has that name on any server, they would be given that name with an addition like "-1" after a server move, and they would also be provided with a free name change option.
However, my idea goes even further. I would like to see this name reservation work as a kind of alias. This means that even if you play a character with a different in-game name, if someone sends a tell to your DDO-wide name, you would still receive the message. You would appear on their friends list and in the "who" list with both your character's name and the DDO-wide name. Of course, this feature should be optional, so no one is forced to use it if they prefer to remain anonymous.
Implementing these changes would require significant effort from the DDO development team, but I believe it could be a valuable feature that benefits players. Additionally, there are opportunities for SSG (Standing Stone Games) to monetize this feature in different ways. For example, it could be included as part of the subscription service, allowing subscribers to reserve a name for all of DDO. Alternatively, players could have the option to permanently reserve a name by paying a price, either in DDO points or real money (e.g., $50 or 7,000 DDO points).
