Guild Wars - Ridiculous security model

HangTime

HangTime

HangTime

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So I finally got around to installing Guild Wars today. After downloading some stuff I was able to create my account, no problem. Then I had to choose a character name, and here the problems started:

In 99% of games, I use a character name with no spaces in it, whether that be "HangTime" or something else. But GW demands that you have a nick with two words in it. Since "Hang Time" was already taken, I came up with some kind of cunning latin-sounding alias. Started up the game, tweaked my settings, and then quit to watch the football. No worries.

A couple of hours later, I come back to play the game. However, in order to login, you need to enter:
1) Account/username - no problem
2) Password - no problem
3) A character name from your account - oh dear!

Herein lies the problem. I cannot for the life of me, remember what my character was called, because I had to create a new name that I've never used before in any game (since it was two words).

The game even has a handy "Remember my Account Name and Character Name" checkbox. Great, except that because I'd never played the game before, the first time I logged in and setup my character, I obviously didn't have a character name for it to remember.

OK, so I'll raise a support ticket as the website suggests you should if you can't remember your character name. Some kind of cut'n'paste job comes back, suggesting that I check my screenshot folder to see if I have a screenshot with my character name in it. Yeah, really helpful, I've only just installed the game FFS!

So after exchanging a couple of tickets, where I give them all the information under the sun (name, address, cdkey, partial character name etc etc) I then get this back about 9hours ago, and have heard nothing since:

I am escalating your ticket to our Guild Wars senior staff members to assist you further. Once they have reviewed your question, one of them will contact you as soon as possible.
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Obviously sending out a character name to the registered email address is a highly complex task that needs a 'senior' staff member to resolve.

Now the obvious response would be "haha, what a n00b, forgot your character name so you got what you deserved!". But, I just don't feel like I've done that much wrong, for 99% of games all you need is a username and password and I made sure I could remember those. Surely if failing to remember your character name (which is forced to have a space in it) renders your account useless, there should be some big red text on the character creation screen saying MAKE SURE YOU CAN REMEMBER THIS!
 
It's an extra layer of protection which is always a good thing, but yeah they should make it more clear to newcomers. This was brought in years after the game was released so I guess their rationale was it wouldn't catch people out as everyone knew their characters off by heart at that stage. They obviously didn't consider what happens when someone is just starting out though...
 
Why have a character name though and not just a secondary password? Presumably a character name can be publicly visible, so surely a double-password system would be even more secure, and would be something you would make an effort to remember.
 
Yep, I agree. Some MMOs I've played had a secondary 4 or 5 digit password and it was 'in yer face' to remind you to remember it.

I love ArenNet and GW but they defo could have handled this better.
 
The 4-5 digit pin entered by mouse clicking on a randomised keypad (E.G. Maple Story) is a far better method of doing this. You just use the same code that you use for your pin number on your mobile phone so its easy to remember.
 
Shamikebab said:
Surely that is what the username and password is for?
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So what if you get key logged and somebody acquires your username and password?

EVE also uses this system, if you log into your account management from an "unfamiliar location" then it requests the name of a character on the account. Good system imo.
 
Yes, on the ISO696969 scale of cunning plans, it placed marginally below washing your clothes by hooking them over windscreen wipers and squirting them with the squirty-liquid thingy (TM).
As for key-logging, surely if someone has keylogged the username and password they can keylog the character name as well (since it isn't a subset of characters or a randomised pad you use).

I can only imagine it is supposed to stop brute force attacks whereby common passwords are tried - but if people have chosen an easily breakable password, that's their own lookout, they don't need to cater for that by putting in some extra security and then not making it clear that you'll need to know it. At least with most "memorable word" type security hints, you can choose something meaningful yourself, rather than it being based on a couple of words you've just make up.

It's now nearly 24hrs after I logged my support request and I'm still waiting, can't say I'm overly impressed so far. I know it's a weekend, but when it comes to online games, you'd expect support outside of business hours as a lot of people will be playing them then.
 
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Yeh, its a fairly good system, strict but good. You've fallen a bit foul of it, but I and millions of others haven't had an issue.

It is disappointing when your ticket isn't responded to appropriately though. If you've supplied them with that much info, you'd think they can just provide the character name.

All in all, you shouldn't have forgotten your character name, and they should have been able to rectify your mistake quicker. 6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

Still, the game is awesome, so it's worth it.
 
I always thought this was just a stupid thing to implement. I lucked out in remembering just one of my char names when it was introduced, I know a couple of folk who've been caught out though.

Their technical support was god awful in these 2 cases. The basic solution was to buy the game again...
 
The really annoying this is that when this happened to me, I remembered the character's first name, but it wanted the second name too. It doesn't actually tell you this though :rolleyes:
 
The thing is if I had been playing the game for a while I would hold myself more responsible, as I would have known that I'd need the character name to login. But for a 'newbie' player who has literally just installed the game, and thus has NEVER had to log in with the character name before, it seems very harsh. As it is the first time I've ever seen the game, by definition I don't yet have a character name, I had to think up one on the spot and didn't realise that it would actually be needed as part of the security model (since in some 20 years of PC gaming I've never needed to remember a character name - username and passwords are another matter).

If I'd forgotten my username or password, that would be unforgivable (the irony is, you can request a replacement password be sent to you via email). But character name on a brand new game that has forced me to use a character name format that I've 'never' used before in 20 years of PC gaming? Really?

Again, it's not so much the fact that this security is implemented that irks me, it is that on the screen where you are creating your character name, it isn't telling you how critically important this information is. Having heard that this security was added after the release of the game, I suspect they just never bothered updating that part of the screen.

Or perhaps a another solution would be to send an email to the registered email address when a new account creates its first character with the character name. Either way the whole process, even if well intentioned, doesn't seem to have been fleshed out enough.
 
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Ah Guild Wars.

Good luck my friend, I lost 3 accounts before I said screw this and moved on to another game. Their support is the worst I have ever experienced online and it makes Steam and Blizzard customer service seem like going from Asdas to Waitrose.

Take a picture of the cd keys of your manual because that's probably what they'll ask you next. Oh you don't have a manual, you bought the game online like 80% of the planet? Oh, you're screwed then.

Sources: I ********g hate NcSoft support.
 
As above, tried getting back into GW last year with a friend. We both used to play years ago, but neither of us could remember the exact names of the chr we had. After @3-4 hours of trying we gave up and moved on. Their loss.
 
Soya said:
As above, tried getting back into GW last year with a friend. We both used to play years ago, but neither of us could remember the exact names of the chr we had. After @3-4 hours of trying we gave up and moved on. Their loss.
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The problem is they have this stupid attitude and it's not their loss, since it's not a subscription service you already gave them your money, there's no more expansions for this game being released either so as far as they are concerned, it's just 1 less player clogging up their servers.
 
Oh and MMOs ALWAYS want a picture from the first game, it cant be an expansion, it must be an original. Who the heck keeps a game box for 5-7 years.

Seriously
 
Well I have a retail box "Guildwars The Complete Collection" so sending them photos is no problem, but they haven't asked me for that yet.

One of the reasons I bought GW was because I've never played a MMORPG before I didn't want to start off with a subscription model or something that was heavily based on parties/guilds, as I'd heard you can solo in GW quite a bit. I thought it might make a nice 'SP' RPG game for the price.

As mentioned I guess the problem with it not being subscription based is that there is very little incentive to provide support for players. The way things are going I certainly won't be buying any of their games (GW2 etc) in future though.
 
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