How to Do the Special Characters in Wow

World of Warcraft is the world's best selling and most popular Massively Mutiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). Developed by Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft is expected to reach a population of 12 to 13 million subscribers by the end of 2009.

In 2008, Blizzard relaxed their character naming policy to allow for the use of special characters. Prior to modifying their Terms of Use, they restricted character names to the 26 letters in the alphabet and on the standard 101/102 keyboard. This new policy allows for the creation of more diversified character names as the game's population continues to grow.

Using unique accent letters in your character's name creates a new depth to role playing and character development, as many fantasy names contain special characters to further deliver the impact of the name. However, using special characters requires knowledge of the ASCII table, as a regular keyboard does not contain keys for special characters.

Things You'll Need

• ASCII Reference Table
• World of Warcraft Game and account

Instructions

Reading an ASCII Table

1. Refer to an ASCII Table, such as the one found in the resource section.

2. Find the section of the Extended ASCII Table for special characters.

3. Refer to the three digit code next to the special character you would like to type into your character name. The numerical code, in combination with the ALT-key, is what you will need to enter special characters in World of Warcraft.

Using the ASCII Codes in WOW

1. Open World of Warcraft on your PC.

2. Login to your World of Warcraft account.

3. To create a new playable character with special characters in the name, select "Create New Character" on the right side of the character selection screen.

4. On the create new character screen, a character name box appears under the new character. As you type your new character's name, anytime you want to use a special character from the ASCII table hold down the ALT-key while typing in the associated numerical code. For example, for if you would like a character with an accent on the "a", such as "á", then you would type "ALT=160".

5. Release the ALT-key and your special character will appear.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also type in the in-game chat box using special characters. With your cursor in the text box, hold the ALT-key down and type the number combination you would like to use. Release the ALT-key and it will appear.

• When creating a character with special characters, keep in mind that using too many special characters will make it extremely difficult for another player to invite you. The fewer, the better.

• Special characters are looked down on by other players in the gaming community. You many think it is really cool to have an accented name, but others will find it annoying and possibly not invite you on raids if they feel your name is too difficult to type, or if they do not know how to type a special character.

References

• Casual WoW - Alt Codes

Resources

• World of Warcraft - Character Naming Policy
• ASCII Table