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Like other large MMO's is it not time for an official name purge?

  • Pink_E_808
    Pink_E_808
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    I, too, had to stop playing the game for almost a year about three months after I initally started the game because my PS4 broke and I couldn't afford a new one for a while. My characters aren't lore friendly and I just named my main with my own nickname, Pink E, so I would have been sad if someone else took it had there been a purge while I was away (even though I haven't ever seen anyone else spell it the way I do, it could happen). When I made my alt and my mule, I felt sure the names I wanted to choose would be taken, but Madame Pussaud (Khajiit) and Ima Mhule (Wood Elf) were surprisingly available! I know it's been said a lot already, but just gotta get creative :smile:
  • krachall
    krachall
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    I’ve been using the same MMO character name since Utlima Online in 1998 and have used it in every game over the last 20 years. Started playing ESO at launch and that name was taken.

    I added a last name but it’s not the same.
  • Linaleah
    Linaleah
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    last time I went through a name purge in an MMO was when SWTOR merged servers. lost a name of a character I had for years, not even due to inactivity, but because said character just happened to be lower level than someone else's character with the same name.

    and then there was my former main whom I still used occasionally just not as much as when she was a main. and I was lucky. a lot of people lost more names. some - possibly even to me.

    now, I know its a more extreme example, but... I'm not a fan of name purges. especially in games where naming conventions are as flexible as ESO. I've yet to have insurmountable trouble naming characters. sure I may have to play around with letter order, maybe add a space or apostrophe, but I personaly can deal with that. because alternative of losing a name IMO? is worse. even if you are lapsed player. I was that lapsed player. had I lost my character names? especially my original characters, created in original early acess, whose names have particular meaning to me. I may have potentially been too annoyed to give this game the second and third look that kept me an active player again. pretty darn sure, I'm not the only one.

    P.S. those early names I got back in early acess - those are the names of characters that I have been reincarnating from game to game for decades now. in GW2... i didn't manage to grab couple of those quickly enough, so they have last names. and you know what? its STILL FINE. I'd rather deal with last names, that potentially lose names of characters I may decide to come back to. personaly.
    Edited by Linaleah on April 29, 2018 3:13PM
    dirty worthless casual.
    Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***
    Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"
  • Moonscythe
    Moonscythe
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    So what happens when someone who was away because life intervened but then returns to get over the effects of "bad stuff happens" only to find they no longer exist in this world. ESO isn't old enough to do that to players. It isn't the size but the age of WoW that might make it a valid course of action. When I tried out LOTRO before ESO launched I had trouble finding a name because they only allow one name. ESO allows enough characters with spaces that last names, honorifics and special characters can be used to make even the most expected name unique. I am an altoholic and have created many many characters beyond the 8 on NA and the 8 on EU and have never had an issue.

    A fun sidestory. When ESO first launched my first Bosmer was a black haired mage called Ravyn Nightwing. I was in Khanarthi's roost and saw my double. We looked very much alike and her name was Ravyn also but we had different last names.
    Scura di Notte - Altmer Nightblade (gear)
    Lalin del Sombra - Bosmer Sorcerer (alchemy/enchanting)
    Angevin Sarkany - Bosmer Dragonknight
    Alkemene Velothi - Dunmer Warden (Morrowind)
    Sanna yos'Phalen - Altmer Sorcerer (provisioning)
    Cosima di Mattina -Altmer Sorcerer
    Naria Andrano - Dunmer Templar
    Luca della Serata - Redguard Templar
  • Xerikten
    Xerikten
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    the only mmo's I know of that changed names was when servers were combined with players having the same name. said players were given a free name change.

    perhaps few of the low populated minor mmos out there do that now to attract more younger players.
  • drake88131
    drake88131
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    I know World of Warcraft and other larger MMO's have name purges every so often to free up taken names that players who haven't been on the game in years are still holding preventing that name from ever being used by existing players. ESO isn't as large as WoW but because you can have up to 15 characters first names especially for your character, even the most obscure of ones, are typically taken if they can be found on any list in a Google Search.

    The biggest annoyance with so many names already being taken is that you have to either invent a name or have a whole list of names to try before the character creation screen logs you out and you have to completely re-do your character.

    I don't believe Elder Scrolls Online has ever had a name purge since launch so wouldn't this be a good time to have one with the 4 year anniversary just over?

    They need to allow numbers. It was just plain poorly designed to not allow numbers to begin with.
  • Gythral
    Gythral
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    Xerikten wrote: »
    the only mmo's I know of that changed names was when servers were combined with players having the same name. said players were given a free name change.

    perhaps few of the low populated minor mmos out there do that now to attract more younger players.

    The one that shall not be named has done it at least once & SWTOR seems to revel in server merges and name purges but I guess that are both aimed at the same group

    I could imagine a 'Game of Thrones' one having to do it weekly :blush:
    “Be as a tower, that, firmly set,
    Shakes not its top for any blast that blows!”
    Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
  • AhPook_Is_Here
    AhPook_Is_Here
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    In general I am against this. I had this happen to me in that starwars mmo, and as soon as i was notified my name was changed coming back to play after some months, I just uninstalled the game and never looked back. There are people who take breaks and come back later and most of them, if forced to change their names, would just leave for good.

    Personally, I have never understood why names can't be duplicated. What would be wrong with 1000 legolas, nothing really. your account id is the only meaningful number, names are just reserved cosmetics.
    “Whatever.”
    -Unknown American
  • Reverb
    Reverb
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    I’m not at all a fan of name purges. Once a name is taken, it belongs to that character until and unless the owner releases it. Anyone else who wants that name will have to use a variation, which is really easy to do in ESO.
    Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Bowser
    Bowser
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    I don't have this problem because I was up at 3am on launch day and made my character as soon as the servers went live.
    @King-Koopa
    World First DK Tank Execute on Rakkhat HM
    Play how you want - no meta allowed!
  • Highlor3
    Highlor3
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    I love this idea. Most of the really cool names are most likely taken by inactive accounts (ppl who created the chars at launch and have quit by now).

    People that bought the game at full price, paid for subscription (required to continue playing), but because you want to steal their character names, If they aren't playing during a name purge, the should loose them to you.

    This in not a F2P or a P2P game. The naming system gives you more possibilities than lots of other games out there. You just want to get other people's characters' names.
    [PC-NA] CP 1200+ The Conquest of Tamriel, UESP & Taverna do Mestre
    The Scientia Consortium:
    • Rodbertus Quercus, Imperial, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Robert Bethencourt, Breton, Templar [DC]
    • Karlindah Telvanni, Dunmer, Sorcerer [AD]
    • Hejthuxis (former Raises-Her-Rear), Argonian, Nightblade [EP]
    • Limeril Bravewind, Altmer, Warden [AD]
    • Isilarelen, Dunmer, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Elindael, Bosmer, Warden [AD]
    • Hrodberaht Bright-Fame, "Nordguard", Warden [EP]
    • Ra'Kham, Khajiit, Nightblade [DC]
    • Brazilia gra-Bagol, Orsimer, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Nirrah al-Hegathe, Redguard, Necromancer [DC]
    • Theodora Quercus, Imperial, Templar [DC]
    • Cuddles-In-The-Water, Argonian, Templar [EP]
    • Cainneach the Pale, Reachman, Necromancer [AD]
    • Dughlas af-Fearley, Redguard, Sorcerer [DC]
    • Roze Cloturier, Breton, Arcanist [AD]
    [PC-EU] No CP THE CAPS ARMY
    • Adaltos Indoril, Dunmer, Templar [EP]
    • Geralt of Evermore, Breton, Nightblade [DC]
    • Feainneweedd, Altmer, Sorcerer [AD]
    • Robert Cloturier-Baudiae, Breton, Arcanist [DC]
  • Graydon
    Graydon
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    LoL they naysayers that brag about their creative names and they never have issues finding a name....

    So why so against a purge? Won’t affect you the slightest.

    I too admit my characters have great names, and I’m not worried one bit over a name purge.

    There must be over a dozen MMO’s I haven’t played for years. I don’t see any problem having those names purged. Why?? Because I don’t play that game anymore!

    Geez. Common sense is hard.
  • DoctorESO
    DoctorESO
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    "It's all about me, me, me."
  • Twohothardware
    Twohothardware
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    Highlor3 wrote: »
    I love this idea. Most of the really cool names are most likely taken by inactive accounts (ppl who created the chars at launch and have quit by now).

    People that bought the game at full price, paid for subscription (required to continue playing), but because you want to steal their character names, If they aren't playing during a name purge, the should loose them to you.

    This in not a F2P or a P2P game. The naming system gives you more possibilities than lots of other games out there. You just want to get other people's characters' names.

    They bought access to play the game, they didn't buy the names they copied from the internet for their characters. And if their inactive for 2 or 3 years and can't be bothered to sign on the game to keep those names after ZOS announces their going to do a name purge of old inactive accounts then their not entitled to prevent others from using them.
  • Zinaroth
    Zinaroth
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    The biggest annoyance with so many names already being taken is that you have to either invent a name or have a whole list of names to try before the character creation screen logs you out and you have to completely re-do your character.

    Inventing your own name - as in coming up with something spawned from your imagination while playing a fantasy game?

    Sounds horrible!
    I just made Gandalf the Barbarian the other day, so not all names are taken. Was actually surprised it was available.

    Why wouldn't such a name be available? It's pretty random.
    Edited by Zinaroth on April 29, 2018 6:13PM
  • ak_pvp
    ak_pvp
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    Yep. If you haven't logged on for a while, then it should reset your name.
    MagDK main. PC/EU @AK-ESO
    Best houseknight EU.
  • coldreactive_ESO
    coldreactive_ESO
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    Lynx7386 wrote: »
    You can use last names here.

    Good thing in FFXIV, as soon as you delete a character, the character name is freed, no wait time at all. They use last names too.
    Edited by coldreactive_ESO on April 29, 2018 6:18PM
    NA PC Megaserver
    Lucradia Valeri (D.Summoner) / Saeko Meina (T.Healer)
    GMT -0600 (Central Time, Wisconsin) - PvE Only
  • Linaleah
    Linaleah
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    Graydon wrote: »
    LoL they naysayers that brag about their creative names and they never have issues finding a name....

    So why so against a purge? Won’t affect you the slightest.

    I too admit my characters have great names, and I’m not worried one bit over a name purge.

    There must be over a dozen MMO’s I haven’t played for years. I don’t see any problem having those names purged. Why?? Because I don’t play that game anymore!

    Geez. Common sense is hard.

    becasue it will. there is a difference between creating a new name for a new character and losing a name of a character you have been playing already and likely have grown attached to, even if it was on and off.

    people leave, people come back. one of the things that is probably the biggest welcome back is seeing your characters, safe and sound and ready to be played.

    the truth here is not people having issues coming up with names. they just want a name someone else already has and they are hoping to get it via purge.
    Edited by Linaleah on April 29, 2018 6:20PM
    dirty worthless casual.
    Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***
    Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"
  • Graydon
    Graydon
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    Linaleah wrote: »
    Graydon wrote: »
    LoL they naysayers that brag about their creative names and they never have issues finding a name....

    So why so against a purge? Won’t affect you the slightest.

    I too admit my characters have great names, and I’m not worried one bit over a name purge.

    There must be over a dozen MMO’s I haven’t played for years. I don’t see any problem having those names purged. Why?? Because I don’t play that game anymore!

    Geez. Common sense is hard.

    becasue it will. there is a difference between creating a new name for a new character and losing a name of a character you have been playing already and likely have grown attached to, even if it was on and off.

    people leave, people come back. one of the things that is probably the biggest welcome back is seeing your characters, safe and sound and ready to be played.

    the truth here is not people having issues coming up with names. they just want a name someone else already has and they are hoping to get it via purge.

    Most likely logging in after 2+ years, the attachment is gone. Also most likely somebody coming back after 2 years will leave the game again sooner than later.

  • Linaleah
    Linaleah
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    Graydon wrote: »
    Linaleah wrote: »
    Graydon wrote: »
    LoL they naysayers that brag about their creative names and they never have issues finding a name....

    So why so against a purge? Won’t affect you the slightest.

    I too admit my characters have great names, and I’m not worried one bit over a name purge.

    There must be over a dozen MMO’s I haven’t played for years. I don’t see any problem having those names purged. Why?? Because I don’t play that game anymore!

    Geez. Common sense is hard.

    becasue it will. there is a difference between creating a new name for a new character and losing a name of a character you have been playing already and likely have grown attached to, even if it was on and off.

    people leave, people come back. one of the things that is probably the biggest welcome back is seeing your characters, safe and sound and ready to be played.

    the truth here is not people having issues coming up with names. they just want a name someone else already has and they are hoping to get it via purge.

    Most likely logging in after 2+ years, the attachment is gone. Also most likely somebody coming back after 2 years will leave the game again sooner than later.

    nope and nope.

    cause guess what? I was gone for about 2 years and then came back and now a subscriber who is also buying crowns every once in a while. and that attachment to names is absolutely there, becasue as i have mentioned earlier (and I KNOW i'm not a special unique snowflake in that) those character names are the ones I've been using for decades now.

    there are a LOT of people who are like that. people leave. people come back. heck, in WoW its normal to leave for the duration of expansion to come back 3 years later, leave again, come back again, WHY DO YOU THINK they are not doing name purges all that much and instead when they need to balance populations - go for connected realms so that people could continue to keep their names?
    dirty worthless casual.
    Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***
    Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"
  • DMBCML
    DMBCML
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    I know World of Warcraft and other larger MMO's have name purges every so often to free up taken names that players who haven't been on the game in years are still holding preventing that name from ever being used by existing players. ESO isn't as large as WoW but because you can have up to 15 characters first names especially for your character, even the most obscure of ones, are typically taken if they can be found on any list in a Google Search.

    The biggest annoyance with so many names already being taken is that you have to either invent a name or have a whole list of names to try before the character creation screen logs you out and you have to completely re-do your character.

    I don't believe Elder Scrolls Online has ever had a name purge since launch so wouldn't this be a good time to have one with the 4 year anniversary just over?

    Interesting. I have never had a problem getting the names I wanted in ESO. That might be due to the fact that you can have more than one word in the names. I have one named with three words, but all the rest have two words. My husband has one, two, and three word names.

    Which makes me wonder what is the limit for name length in this game.

    Good luck finding names you like!
  • DMBCML
    DMBCML
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    Tabbycat wrote: »
    I don't think they let you name your character Lusty Argonian Maid.

    LOL... the name is already taken by the Maid. :)
  • Tabbycat
    Tabbycat
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    I don't think it's needed.

    Also, even if they did a name purge, there is no guarantee you would get the name you wanted. There are more players now than there were at launch so your chances of grabbing a popular name are pretty slim.
    Founder and Co-GM of The Psijic Order Guild (NA)
    0.016%
  • Danikat
    Danikat
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    YarYar wrote: »
    itscompton wrote: »
    What possible logic do you people have to argue against something as reasonable as someone requesting names being reclaimed from defunct accounts that haven't logged on in months, if not years?

    People leave games and come back to them. By purging old names (and by extension, old characters) it reduces the likelihood that they would come back, stay, and invest more in the game. I know if I were lured back to a game because of something like an expansion dropping soon and found my old character deleted there is no way I'd play it again.

    Same here. I spend a lot of time coming up with my characters, I usually start planning them in my head several days before I actually go into the character creator. And that includes coming up with a name that suits them, usually one that's descriptive of the character in some way.

    If I came back to the game after a break and found that their names had been removed just in case some random other person might want it I'd uninstall the game and never look back. I'd also warn some of my friends to stay away because they don't like to stick to one game indefinitely to prove that they're "loyal" and deserve basic courtesies so it's only a matter of time before they'd end up in the same situation and I'd rather save them the trouble.

    If finding a name is really such a problem for some people I'd suggest maybe ZOS could implement a system where a player can contact Support to ask about a name they want and ZOS can contact the person who has it and ask if they'd be willing to give it up. But if they refuse or don't respond the person who had it originally should keep the name.

    Although I notice a few people who have this problem have mentioned copying names from generic 'fantasy name' lists online, so I suspect the problem isn't so much that all possible names or even all good names are taken and more that a lot of people are using the same lists. In which case the easiest solution is to find another source for ideas. You don't have to make them up if you don't want to. I've been reading The Once and Future King and I've used a lot of names of minor characters from that in Guild Wars 2 (a game with even more limited name options than ESO) and they've been available.
    Just name all your characters using at least three words in dead languages like I do, gosh.

    Oh come on, even I've only done that once. And that was because it was, genuinely, my first choice for that character.
    PC EU player | She/her/hers | PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!

    "Remember in this game we call life that no one said it's fair"
  • jaekobcaed
    jaekobcaed
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    As long as it's done for accounts that are REALLY inactive, I'd be all for it. But it should only be done on accounts that haven't logged in for over a year.
    Isachar Daerenfel of Alinor, Psijic Sage, Master Wizard of the Mage's Guild and heir to the Daerenfel Trading Co.
    [PC/NA]
  • Exalted_Goose
    Exalted_Goose
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    The OP's only suggested this because he/she's hoping that the guy who made, "Faps-In-Shadows", has been inactive for a couple years...

    :trollface:
    "One fine day in the middle of the night. Two dead Kings got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other, drew their bows... and stabbed themselves...".
  • SugaComa
    SugaComa
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    I feel your pain ... Big balls Betty was already taken when I wanted it
  • Exalted_Goose
    Exalted_Goose
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    SugaComa wrote: »
    I feel your pain ... Big balls Betty was already taken when I wanted it

    I understand your grief - I had my heart set on making an Argonian called, "Swims-In-Sewers", but alas, t'was already in use... :'(
    "One fine day in the middle of the night. Two dead Kings got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other, drew their bows... and stabbed themselves...".
  • Reverb
    Reverb
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    Graydon wrote: »
    Linaleah wrote: »
    Graydon wrote: »
    LoL they naysayers that brag about their creative names and they never have issues finding a name....

    So why so against a purge? Won’t affect you the slightest.

    I too admit my characters have great names, and I’m not worried one bit over a name purge.

    There must be over a dozen MMO’s I haven’t played for years. I don’t see any problem having those names purged. Why?? Because I don’t play that game anymore!

    Geez. Common sense is hard.

    becasue it will. there is a difference between creating a new name for a new character and losing a name of a character you have been playing already and likely have grown attached to, even if it was on and off.

    people leave, people come back. one of the things that is probably the biggest welcome back is seeing your characters, safe and sound and ready to be played.

    the truth here is not people having issues coming up with names. they just want a name someone else already has and they are hoping to get it via purge.

    Most likely logging in after 2+ years, the attachment is gone. Also most likely somebody coming back after 2 years will leave the game again sooner than later.

    You don’t get to make that determination for anyone else. You don’t get to decide what is or isn’t important to anyone else, after any period of time.
    Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Highlor3
    Highlor3
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    Highlor3 wrote: »
    I love this idea. Most of the really cool names are most likely taken by inactive accounts (ppl who created the chars at launch and have quit by now).

    People that bought the game at full price, paid for subscription (required to continue playing), but because you want to steal their character names, If they aren't playing during a name purge, the should loose them to you.

    This in not a F2P or a P2P game. The naming system gives you more possibilities than lots of other games out there. You just want to get other people's characters' names.

    They bought access to play the game, they didn't buy the names they copied from the internet for their characters. And if their inactive for 2 or 3 years and can't be bothered to sign on the game to keep those names after ZOS announces their going to do a name purge of old inactive accounts then their not entitled to prevent others from using them.

    You look like an entitled too when asking for a purge to steal someone else's characters' name because they don't login into the game for some time.
    [PC-NA] CP 1200+ The Conquest of Tamriel, UESP & Taverna do Mestre
    The Scientia Consortium:
    • Rodbertus Quercus, Imperial, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Robert Bethencourt, Breton, Templar [DC]
    • Karlindah Telvanni, Dunmer, Sorcerer [AD]
    • Hejthuxis (former Raises-Her-Rear), Argonian, Nightblade [EP]
    • Limeril Bravewind, Altmer, Warden [AD]
    • Isilarelen, Dunmer, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Elindael, Bosmer, Warden [AD]
    • Hrodberaht Bright-Fame, "Nordguard", Warden [EP]
    • Ra'Kham, Khajiit, Nightblade [DC]
    • Brazilia gra-Bagol, Orsimer, Dragonknight [EP]
    • Nirrah al-Hegathe, Redguard, Necromancer [DC]
    • Theodora Quercus, Imperial, Templar [DC]
    • Cuddles-In-The-Water, Argonian, Templar [EP]
    • Cainneach the Pale, Reachman, Necromancer [AD]
    • Dughlas af-Fearley, Redguard, Sorcerer [DC]
    • Roze Cloturier, Breton, Arcanist [AD]
    [PC-EU] No CP THE CAPS ARMY
    • Adaltos Indoril, Dunmer, Templar [EP]
    • Geralt of Evermore, Breton, Nightblade [DC]
    • Feainneweedd, Altmer, Sorcerer [AD]
    • Robert Cloturier-Baudiae, Breton, Arcanist [DC]
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