Switching between characters

Granamere · October 19

Is there any way we could possibly get the ability to switch between characters without having to logout > pick the new character > then login? I can get the challenge that if you are in group and switched characters then new one might not be in the same location or part of the group but it would speed load times. Although it would be great if the new character just took over where the last one was. I am mainly thinking of if a group is running a trial or dungeon and a key role drops.

I do realize that any character can fill any role with just having the right gear. I am not the person you want healing your trial with a sorc healer. Yes there are awesome sroc healers out there I am not one.

It would be a quality of life improvement if we could just switch characters like we switch companions currently.

What does everyone else think?

Amottica · October 19

Answering the question, is there a way? No, there is not, as the only way to change characters is to go to the character select screen.

Could Zenimax make this happen? Of course, they could. Maybe they will in a future QoL update. I think it is a long shot and even less likely the new choice would be located where the former character was.

DenverRalphy · October 19

This has come up many times since the day ESO first released. ZoS has zero interest in changing it.

Rishikesa108 · October 19

The problems are the addons. If ESO was a game without addons, switching between characters would be simple and fast. Because on PC we use addons, switching between characters takes time and is very heavy. I don't think there is a solution.

Nerouyn · October 19

Rishikesa108 wrote: »

The problems are the addons. If ESO was a game without addons, switching between characters would be simple and fast. Because on PC we use addons, switching between characters takes time and is very heavy. I don't think there is a solution.

No.

Varana · October 19

Could ZOS do it? Yes - probably by redesigning their whole data base access and game checks from the ground up. I.e. by making a new game.
Logging into a character is not just about a few stats and an inventory list.

And no, addons are not the issue.

Nerouyn · October 19

Varana wrote: »

Could ZOS do it? Yes - probably by redesigning their whole data base access and game checks from the ground up. I.e. by making a new game.
Logging into a character is not just about a few stats and an inventory list.

And no, addons are not the issue.

There truly aren't any complex technical hurdles to this idea.

If ZO decided to do this, they could enable character switching as easily as companion switching. There's just a bit more data associated with characters.

The issue is game design specifically as it relates to monetisation.

While many games and especially online ones allow a small degree of interaction between characters on an account (eg. an account wide bank), characters are all treated as separate entities. To be levelled, played, all the many grinds etc. to prolong play time / pay amount separately.

Allowing instant character switching would promote a psychological shift in players to thinking of all of their different characters as less separate and so make them more likely to demand things like less character specific grind.

Soarora · October 19

This would be problematic. People leave characters in a certain area for a reason and also the ability to easily swap mid-run would lead to some crazy optimization where people would be swapping characters mid-run.

Danikat · October 19

Importantly this would need to be an additional option, not a replacement for the current system.

I understand that for some people it would sometimes be useful to be able to quickly replace one character with another, but for me (and I suspect a lot of other people) it would be very annoying to have my characters pulled out of what they were doing and dumped into a completely different area when I switch to playing them.

My characters are not all interchangable bundles of skills and gear, they're in different places because they're doing different things and if that got messed up every time I swapped from one to the other it'd probably be the final thing that got me to stop playing.

Also considering ZOS doesn't even let you use the armoury assistant to change builds on the character you're playing while you're in a trial I think it's highly unlikely they'd let you switch to a different character in the middle of one.

TaSheen · October 19

Danikat wrote: »

Importantly this would need to be an additional option, not a replacement for the current system.

I understand that for some people it would sometimes be useful to be able to quickly replace one character with another, but for me (and I suspect a lot of other people) it would be very annoying to have my characters pulled out of what they were doing and dumped into a completely different area when I switch to playing them.

My characters are not all interchangable bundles of skills and gear, they're in different places because they're doing different things and if that got messed up every time I swapped from one to the other it'd probably be the final thing that got me to stop playing.

Also considering ZOS doesn't even let you use the armoury assistant to change builds on the character you're playing while you're in a trial I think it's highly unlikely they'd let you switch to a different character in the middle of one.

Exactly this.

AlnilamE · October 19

It would be nice if groups participation was tied to account rather than character, so if you switch toons, the leader doesn't have to kick character A and invite character B.

But once you are logged in to character B, it's a simple "travel to leader" to get to where the rest of the group is. No need to disturb everyone's gameplay by dragging characters across the map.

BenTSG · October 19

While I would absolutely love some form of character switching instead of logging out first, such as being able to place your characters inside of homes and be able to interact with them to switch, unfortunately I highly doubt that it'll ever come to pass in any form. Oh well, we can dream.

zaria · October 20

Amottica wrote: »

Answering the question, is there a way? No, there is not, as the only way to change characters is to go to the character select screen.

Could Zenimax make this happen? Of course, they could. Maybe they will in a future QoL update. I think it is a long shot and even less likely the new choice would be located where the former character was.

I say this is an good idea, if you and your alt is at same location like an city or house, its no need to reload the zone just swap character.

Soarora · October 20

AlnilamE wrote: »

It would be nice if groups participation was tied to account rather than character, so if you switch toons, the leader doesn't have to kick character A and invite character B.

But once you are logged in to character B, it's a simple "travel to leader" to get to where the rest of the group is. No need to disturb everyone's gameplay by dragging characters across the map.

Then people wouldn't be able to be in groups with themselves anymore. More people need to get into the habit of actually leaving the group when they swap.

Amottica · October 20

zaria wrote: »

Amottica wrote: »

Answering the question, is there a way? No, there is not, as the only way to change characters is to go to the character select screen.

Could Zenimax make this happen? Of course, they could. Maybe they will in a future QoL update. I think it is a long shot and even less likely the new choice would be located where the former character was.

I say this is an good idea, if you and your alt is at same location like an city or house, its no need to reload the zone just swap character.

Interesting, as I did not think it was a bad idea. I merely answered the question the OP presented—and I answered it correctly, I might add. I also pointed out it was possible as part of a QoL update, but I felt it was a long shot. I did not present an opposing point of view on the idea at all.

AlnilamE · October 20

Soarora wrote: »

AlnilamE wrote: »

It would be nice if groups participation was tied to account rather than character, so if you switch toons, the leader doesn't have to kick character A and invite character B.

But once you are logged in to character B, it's a simple "travel to leader" to get to where the rest of the group is. No need to disturb everyone's gameplay by dragging characters across the map.

Then people wouldn't be able to be in groups with themselves anymore. More people need to get into the habit of actually leaving the group when they swap.

If ZOS ever implements this change, I will make sure to make a group with all my characters for posterity before it hits the live servers.

twev · October 20

One simple answer to the 'swap characters when in a dungeon/group' issue would be that the character swapped to would not be in the dungeon and/or group, because it wasn't to start with, the character swapped to would be wherever it was previously., and not automatically replace the first character in whatever group or location the first character was in.

Amottica · October 20

twev wrote: »

One simple answer to the 'swap characters when in a dungeon/group' issue would be that the character swapped to would not be in the dungeon and/or group, because it wasn't to start with, the character swapped to would be wherever it was previously., and not automatically replace the first character in whatever group or location the first character was in.

Yes, but they are asking for it to be different.

Granted, there could be issues to such a change that could lead to exploiting or just simple drawbacks such as any character we log into will be at the location the last character was when it logged out. For the most part, Zenimax would need to sit down and ponder what problems could arise from such a change and how to avoid it if they ever decide to bring this request to the live servers. We tend to think of what we want, not what it would take or any problems that could come from it.

Juju_beans · October 20

I've never played any game where you can instantly switch characters without going back to the character selection screen.
And I'm a true blue altaholic

Amottica · October 20

Juju_beans wrote: »

I've never played any game where you can instantly switch characters without going back to the character selection screen.
And I'm a true blue altaholic

Likely because the current design, that which is like what most if not all major MMORPGs have, is simpler and less open to exploit.

For one thing, it cannot be like what is asked for in the OP. The new character cannot be where the old character was since we do and should get kicked out of instances when we leave a character. Otherwise, it would open up exploits where someone can obtain something and just swap characters to get it on a second character, and so forth.

Zenimax has to brainstorm this type of thing when they come across an idea worth consideration.

So good point Juju.

AlnilamE · October 20

Juju_beans wrote: »

I've never played any game where you can instantly switch characters without going back to the character selection screen.
And I'm a true blue altaholic

Black Desert Online has that option. You can shortcut from the character you are on to a list of characters without logging out. You can then choose to switch to one or look at their gear/inventory.

But each character is where you last logged out on them.