AnduinTryggva wrote: »

Simply allow to change all three skill lines instead of only two.

If three skill lines are from the same class, allow class mastery.

Rules can be applied just like now (an alt has to have mastery on the skill line)

Done. Class change implemented.

As much as I'd like proper means to change the class of my characters - more so given that the focus of the dev team is, and will be for the foreseeable future, 'single' classes; it is entirely possible that all we will see regarding subclassing for a few years are direct/indirect nerfs as they rework the 'single' classes - it might be significantly more complicated to do in the back end than 'what meets the eye'.

The fact that they can still 'segregate' by class regardless of subclassing (for instance for the purpose of IA sets) indicates that the system 'runs deeper' than just skill lines.

This is just a guess because I have never seen the 'backend' (no pun intended) but it is possible that they 'anchored' the 'legacy' system to the condition of having at least one skill line of the original class.

I don't think there's a ban on it.
If memory serves me well, ZOS commented on the whole class-change thing about 3 years back that it wasn't technically possible.
I'm afraid subclassing is the closest the current ESO tech can allow us, because - much what @ApoAlaia have said - it does run deeper.

According to comments by ZOS on the topic, it is deeply tied into skill lines, achievements, morphs, Class Mastery passives, Scribing, and other systems.
I wouldn't be surprised that the class you choose when creating a character becomes the core of their being.
Not the race you pick, since you can change races, but the class itself as foundation of their existence as a character
I can make an educated/esoteric guess (based on my own experience in the field) our characters are refered internally by their classes as well.

I mean, the game was released in 2014, and was being developed long before that, so around 2010s.
Game development goes through eras, changes, and whatnot.
A game from 2010s will use different tech and structure from games released in 2020s + a lot of things have to be implemented during the development laready.
It's almost a guarantee it's a legacy system thing.

Or, to put it simply, imagine ESO is a building.
There's only so much you can renovate and change in a building, but you cannot change the foundations, or weight carrying structures, without tearing the whole thing down to the ground and starting from scratch, and you're restricted by the size and type of land the building is standing on.

That's the best analogy I can muster.

Point being, class change might as well never be possible, and subclassing is the closest thing ZOS can give us.
Whenever a limit of 1 skilline from 1 class is a balancing act or not is up the air.

That said, nobody knows what future holds.
Maybe ZOS will find a way to do so, but they have so many things on their plates as it is, so I wouldn't count on it.

Besides, class change token would be another avenue to make money, especially when new class is being added to the game.
We had 3 DLC classes so far, and ZOS never implemented something like that.
And even without DLC classes, I'm pretty sure people would like to switch between core classes.
If ZOS could implement it without either destabilizng the game or pouring more resources than it's worth - I imagine they'd do it by now.

They openly stated that Subclassing is what they gave us because class change just isn't possible.

In a nutshell, the game's original development didn't allow for evolution or scalability. They painted themselves into a corner so to speak. Making it happen would amount to a complete rewrite. Same reason ESO will never see an engine upgrade (I'm really sad about this).

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

LunaFlora wrote: »

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8359267#Comment_8359267

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

The devs have said for a while that Class was the one immutable part of a character and that looking into Class change tokens was not on the table. They even referenced that in the reveal for Subclassing as a way for players to customize their characters in lieu of a Class change.

This is correct. It's not to say it could never happen. But there are a TON of moving parts to a class change token we need to get it right without negatively impacting your characters. So it's not on the table right now. Subclassing does not have to touch as many legacy systems as class change token would.

that was the last ZOS update on it, in 2025

Thanks for sharing this. Going to echo that this is even more the case. This system is most likely not going to get touched until class refresh is complete. And even then, the amount of legacy systems that classes are tied into would require a mammoth amount of time to weed through. Not saying it won't happen, but there are bigger things to work on and finish before we can get to this.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8359267#Comment_8359267

It's cool that the design team can screw around with the only class that Ive played for over 10 years, it then becomes a class not considered to be the highest tier for its historical role and the only role I play, and that a tool to update my character that I have over 10 years of time invested into is withheld for the forseeable future all while the game feels as dead as when Paul Sage left!

Maybe the class change token should have been developed before the "refresh" or even sub-classing. You know, for these cases where developers destroy a classes identity as they have.