If you’ve ever been mid-Void mission, stuck with a tank character when the boss starts spamming long-range AOE attacks, you know how frustrating it can feel to be locked into a playstyle that doesn’t fit the situation. That’s exactly why knowing how to change characters in the first descendant is one of the most valuable core skills you can master, whether you play solo or queue up with a 4-person squad. We’ve tested every scenario for switching characters across 100+ hours of gameplay, so we can walk you through exactly how to change characters in the first descendant no matter what situation you’re in. A lot of new players miss this feature entirely in the early game, or don’t realize you can swap both in the hub and mid-mission under specific rules, so we’re breaking down every detail you need to know.
How to Change Characters in The First Descendant in Albion Base
Your first and most common spot to swap characters is Albion Base, the main hub you return to between missions. If you’re looking to test a new character you just unlocked, learning how to change characters in the first descendant in Albion Base is the first step you’ll need to take. You won’t have access to this feature until you complete the first three story prologue missions and unlock full base access, so don’t panic if you can’t find the option in your first hour of play.
Once you have full base access, you have two options for swapping. The easiest is to head to the Character Selection Terminal located right next to the main mission launch pad, just a 10 second walk from your default spawn point. Walk up to the terminal, interact with it, and you’ll see a full list of all characters you’ve unlocked so far. Select the character you want to use, confirm your choice, and you’ll spawn in as that character immediately. You can also adjust their mods, weapons, and cosmetic skins right from the same menu before you launch your next mission.
The second option is to use the quick menu shortcut, which you can unlock by upgrading your base’s tech tree 10 levels into the story. This lets you pull up the character selection screen anywhere in the base without walking to the terminal, which saves a lot of time if you’re swapping between characters to test builds. All saved builds for that character will carry over no matter which swap method you use, so you don’t have to reconfigure your mod setup every time you switch back to a character you haven’t used in a while. You can also favorite up to 4 characters to pin them to the top of the selection menu, so you don’t have to scroll through the full roster every time.
Switching Characters Mid-Mission: Rules and Requirements
A lot of new players assume you can only swap characters in the hub, but once you master how to change characters in the first descendant mid-mission, you’ll have a huge advantage over players who stick to one character the whole run. It’s not an unrestricted feature, though, there are clear rules you have to follow to swap while you’re in an active mission.
First, you can only switch at designated respawn points or supply crates marked with a character swap icon. These points are usually placed right before major boss arenas, after large horde fights, and at regular checkpoints throughout longer missions. You can’t swap in the middle of a fight, or when you’re in combat with enemies, so you’ll have to clear the area around the swap point first before you can interact with it.
There’s also a 5 minute cooldown between swaps once you use the feature mid-mission, so you can’t bounce between characters every time you face a small group of enemies. If you’re playing co-op, you can only swap if all members of your squad are within 10 meters of the swap point, so you’ll have to communicate with your team before you make the switch. You can only use characters you have already unlocked in your personal roster when swapping mid-mission, so you can’t borrow a squadmate’s high-level healer if you haven’t unlocked that character yourself.
The biggest benefit of mid-mission swaps is that you can adapt to unexpected mechanics. For example, if you load into a mission expecting regular horde fights and find out the final boss is immune to physical damage, you can swap to a character that deals elemental damage to take it down faster. The only downside is that you lose all active ability charges for your previous character when you swap, and your new character will start with their abilities on cooldown, so you’ll have a small window of vulnerability right after you switch.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Switching Characters
These small errors are common when you’re first learning how to change characters in the first descendant, but they’re easy to avoid once you know what to look for. I’ve made almost all of these mistakes myself during my first few weeks of playing, and some of them almost made my squad fail high-difficulty Void missions. Here are the most frequent missteps to watch out for:
- Forgetting to save your build before swapping: If you adjust mods or weapons on a character right before switching, you’ll lose those changes entirely if you don’t hit the save button first. I once spent 10 minutes building a custom anti-boss setup for Viessa, swapped to another character to grab a weapon, and lost all my changes when I switched back.
- Swapping right before a boss fight trigger: If you swap too close to a boss arena, you might not have time to regenerate ability charges before the fight starts, leaving you unable to use your strongest skills for the first phase of the battle.
- Ignoring character synergy with your squad: If you’re playing co-op, don’t swap to a second tank if your squad already has one, as you’ll leave gaps in damage or healing support that can lead to wipes. Always check what characters your squad is using before you swap.
- Wasting swap cooldowns for minor inconveniences: The 5 minute mid-mission swap cooldown means you should only swap when it’s necessary to complete the objective, not just because you took a little bit of damage or ran out of ammo for one weapon.
It’s always a good idea to double check your loadout for the character you’re swapping to before you confirm the swap, even if you’re in a hurry. A lot of players forget they have a low-level PvP build equipped on a character, and swap to it mid-PvE mission only to find their weapons and mods are completely useless for the content they’re running. Taking 10 seconds to check your build before you swap will save you a lot of frustration later.
Optimizing Your Character Roster for Quick Swaps
Setting up your roster ahead of time will make the process of how to change characters in the first descendant feel seamless, instead of a frustrating hassle mid-fight. You don’t have to level up every single character in the game to make the most of swaps, but there are a few simple steps you can take to make the feature work better for you.
First, unlock and level up at least one character for each core role: tank, damage dealer, healer, and support. That way you have an option for every possible scenario, whether you need to soak damage for your squad, burn down a boss fast, or keep your team healed through constant AOE attacks. You don’t have to main all of them, but getting them to the same power level as your main character will make sure they’re usable even in high-difficulty content.
Next, create 2-3 dedicated builds for each of your favorite characters, and rename them so you can tell what they’re for at a glance. For example, you can have a “Boss Burn” build for your main damage dealer that focuses on single-target damage, and a “Horde Clear” build that focuses on AOE damage for missions with lots of small enemies. You can save up to 5 builds per character, so you can have options for every type of content without having to reconfigure mods every time.
Leveling up multiple characters also gives you passive account-wide stat boosts, even if you never swap to them. Every time you level a character up to max level, you get a small permanent boost to your overall health, damage, or ability cooldown speed that applies to every character you use. That means investing time in leveling extra characters is always worth it, even if you only swap characters once in a blue moon.
At the end of the day, learning how to change characters in the first descendant isn’t just a nice quality of life feature, it’s a core gameplay skill that can make even the hardest missions feel manageable. Even if you prefer sticking to one main character, knowing how to change characters in the first descendant gives you a safety net for when things go wrong in a mission, or when you run into a mechanic your main character can’t handle. If you’re still new to the game, practice swapping characters in low-stakes story missions first, so you get used to the cooldown and loadout rules before you jump into high-difficulty Void runs. I still swap characters at least 2-3 times per long co-op run, and it’s saved my squad from more wipes than I can count.