Guild Wars Naming Policy

Guild Wars Naming Policy

We want Guild Wars to be a safe and fun space for everyone. Guild Wars is a global game, played by people from different countries around the world. People may disagree about what names are offensive. A name that is not offensive to you may be very offensive to another player. There are some types of names that we consider unsuitable for Guild Wars.

We do not permit names that:


  • Have offensive racial, ethnic, or national connotations.
  • Reference sexual acts or real life violence.
  • Are pornographic.
  • Make inappropriate references to human anatomy or bodily functions.
  • Reference illegal drugs or activities.
  • Reference major religious figures.
  • Reference certain real-life people that may cause distress (e.g. Hitler).

Impersonating an ArenaNet or NCsoft employee or customer support representative is against the Guild Wars User Agreement, so we do not allow characters to take the real name or handles of employees.  In addition, if a name is found to violate a third party’s proprietary rights and the rights holder complains about its use, we will not allow the name.

Names restricted by this policy will generally be subject to these restrictions, no matter whether the names are inappropriate in English or any other language.

If a name is reported to us and is in violation of the guidelines below, for the first offense, you will be required to rename your character upon your next login and your account will be marked and suspended pursuant to Guild Wars Conduct Breaches and Outcomes. For the second offense, we will assign you a new name and your account will again be marked and suspended pursuant to Guild Wars Conduct Breaches and Outcomes. We may take further action at our discretion.

This policy may not cover all inappropriate or unpermitted names. ArenaNet reserves the right to reject any name it concludes, in its sole discretion, is indecent, obscene, or otherwise violates our naming policy or the Guild Wars User Agreement. ArenaNet reserves the right to examine names on a case-by-case basis and take whatever action we deem necessary. We may also amend this policy from time to time in our sole discretion.

GMs will generally only change names that violate this policy or our User Agreement.  They cannot change character names upon request.

Updated 2 April 2009