Hello,
The information on the wiki is unclear:
Players are automatically given a name reservation lasting 24 hours after the character's deletion. This allows players to create a new character with the same name without someone else taking it in the process. This reservation ends early if the account fills all their open character slots.
Then I checked Reddit and GW Legacy. But even there, the information varies. 30 minutes? 1 hour? 2 hours? Some people are adamant it’s 1 hour (like they’re name trading pros). I ran some tests until I consistently got the same result after 30 minutes. This was with free character slots on the account (and not with all slots filled, as noted on the wiki and forums).
First, I followed the standard procedure. Accounts 1 and 2:
- Account 1 has the name I want to transfer.
- Account 1 does not have any free character slots.
- On Account 1, I delete the character with the name I want to transfer.
- I create a new character in the slot that just became available on Account 1, so that no slots are free.
- Account 2 waits 1 hour (timed), nothing happens; the name is not available.
- Account 1 checks to make sure the name hasn’t been taken by someone else. (To do this, on Account 1, with a character in-game, I try to add the name I want to transfer to my friends list. A red message tells me I can’t add myself to my own friends list. This proves that the name I want to transfer is still in use with this account).
- Account 2 waits 2, 3, 4 hours, but the name is still not available.
- In the meantime, I’ve logged out of Account 1 several times and recreated a character multiple times in the slot previously used (the one with the name to be transferred and the newly recreated characters).
So I tried again several times:
- Account 1: Delete the character and wait 30 minutes (using a timer).
- Account 2: Prepare the new character (just select “Create” and done).
- Account 1: After 30 minutes and 0 seconds, create a new character and use same slot. (the one furthest to the left among the free slots).
- Account 2 can immediately, right on the second, reclaim the desired name.
The funny thing is that on the third test, I realized I had just done it using an account with available slots. An account that has the name to be transferred, not the recipient account. I also did it several times just to be sure. In fact, when there are multiple slots available, it’s always the one on the far left that corresponds to the slot where you deleted the last character on your account. So it’s easy to recreate a character in the same slot that had the name you want transfered.
Notes/summary:
- You can have as many free slots as you want on the account that frees up the name.
- This only works if the same free slot is “overwritten” (the one furthest to the left among the free slots).
- You must wait 30 minutes before creating a new character in the same slot. (If you wait less than 10 or 20 minutes, it won't work.)
- The name is released instantly once the character is created.
