Global Chat Handle

Overview

A Global Chat Handle is a method by which players in City of Heroes and City of Villains can speak to each other, regardless of whether the players are playing as heroes or villains, whether the players are playing on the same server, or even whether one of the players is logged in or not.

A global chat handle must be unique throughout the game and all servers. A global chat handle is distinguished from a normal hero name by being preceded by an at sign (@); for example, @HeroName.

Using the Global Chat Handle

To send a message to a player using his or her global chat handle, simply use a normal /tell command, using the players global chat handle with the preceding @ symbol. For example, the following command will send the text "Hello!" to a player whose global chat handle is @HeroName:

/tell @HeroName, Hello!

If the player is online, the tell will be sent immediately. If he or she is not, the tell will show up when the player next logs on.

Determining a Player's Global Chat Handle

The slash command, /get_global_name, will return a player's global name on the System Channel. The context menus that appear from right-clicking the character or their name in a chat window also work for this.

The opposite of this command is /get_local_name, which will return the name a player with a given global chat handle is playing by, if logged on.

Setting a Global Chat Handle

When a player logs in to City of Heroes or City of Villains for the first time, his or her global chat handle is set to his or her first character's name. If that name is already taken by another player, the handle will be set to that name followed by a sequential identifying number.

A global chat handle may be changed at any time, however, please note! A player may only change his or her global chat handle once per account. There are no exceptions to this rule. Once a new global chat handle is selected, it may never be changed again.

To change a global chat handle, use the changehandle slash command followed by the new global chat handle desired. For example, the following will change the global chat handle to New Hero Name:

/changehandle New Hero Name

If a player has already changed his or her global chat handle and tries to use the changehandle command or if a player selects a global chat handle that is already in use, an error will be shown.

Other Uses of the Global Chat Handle

• In Global Chat Channels, players are shown by the global chat handle, not their character name.
• Private global tells may be blocked by using /gignore.

Historical Notes

• When global chat handles first came out, they were assigned based on players' CoH forum names. Some names were modified to eliminate characters not allowed in handle names.
• During the summer of 2006, a global chat handle "respec" was granted. During this time (and only during this time), players were allowed to change their global chat handle even if they'd already changed it once before.
• Following the summer 2006 "respec", the global chat handle system suffered some instability. Some players discovered that their global chat handle would revert after changing it. Other players had their global chat handle change to that of an alternate character after choosing a new handle.
• /get_global_name and /get_local_name were added for Issue 12 along with a number of other chat improvements. Previously, /gignore could be used to learn a character's global chat handle.