When Patch 1.73 arrives in mid-December (the 11th at the earliest), well be rounding up inactive accounts to make those summoner names available to players. To make it easier for you to pick up a new summoner name, were also putting name changes on sale for 50% off.
An inactive account is any account under level 6 that hasnt played a game since January 1, 2012. To keep those accounts names, youll have to log on and play at least one game between now and Sunday, December 9, at 11:59 PM PST. If you miss the deadline, dont worry your account is still active, but youll be prompted to choose a new summoner name when you log in next time. Only inactive accounts are at risk to lose their summoner names.
From the release of Patch 1.73 through December 26, summoner name changes will cost 650 RP, down from their normal 1300 RP price. As part of your Season Three prep, why not upgrade your summoner name to one that foreshadows your impending domination?
We look forward to seeing your creative new aliases on the Fields of Justice soon!
edit: Can we get a finalized notice of when the patch comes a few days before?
Unfortunately with a live game like LoL, patch timing is not entirely predictable. Patch 1.73 is targeted for early morning on December 11th but it could come any day after that.
Is there a simple way to check if a name is taken yet so you could check for your desired name before spending the RP to reset it?
Yes, there is a Check Name button in the Summoner Name Change section of the Store (in the Other tab). You can also check before the patch to see if the name fits the purge criteria (Level 5 or lower and no games played in 2012).
Awesome. Any chance for a more extensive sweep at a later date, Hippalus?
Yes! It has been a year since we've done a cleanup like this so we're being somewhat conservative, but I'd like to do a few more in 2013 where we increase the level cap and/or decrease the time needed to become inactive.
@Hippalus: Do we have to use the name change right away after purchasing or is it something that can be used/activated sometime later after purchasing?
You must choose your new name before you can purchase a Summoner Name Change (in the Other tab of the Store), and it happens immediately.
So for clarification, all the names will be freed upon patch completion? Or will it be like last time where it was an ongoing process and we have to sit for hours and spam "Check for availability"?
The plan is that all of the names will be freed upon patch completion, so no spamming necessary.
Just Level 5 and below this time. We will get to the rest of the legitimately inactive names eventually, but we had to draw the line somewhere this time and there are a lot of names that qualify because it's been so long since our last cleanup.
Summoner Name Cleanup and 50% Off Name Change Sale
When Patch 1.73 arrives in mid-December (the 11th at the earliest), well be rounding up inactive accounts to make those summoner names available to players. To make it easier for you to pick up a new summoner name, were also putting name changes on sale for 50% off.
An inactive account is any account under level 6 that hasnt played a game since January 1, 2012. To keep those accounts names, youll have to log on and play at least one game between now and Sunday, December 9, at 11:59 PM PST. If you miss the deadline, dont worry your account is still active, but youll be prompted to choose a new summoner name when you log in next time. Only inactive accounts are at risk to lose their summoner names.
From the release of Patch 1.73 through December 26, summoner name changes will cost 650 RP, down from their normal 1300 RP price. As part of your Season Three prep, why not upgrade your summoner name to one that foreshadows your impending domination?
We look forward to seeing your creative new aliases on the Fields of Justice soon!
Thanks Hippalus
edit: Can we get a finalized notice of when the patch comes a few days before?
Is there a simple way to check if a name is taken yet so you could check for your desired name before spending the RP to reset it?