Trading with alts.

Steven wants us to play alts, so give us either a local mailing system or a shared bank tab. I dont want to farm hunting on my cleric or bard. Id rather do it on my mage or ranger.

If you actually care and want people to play alts, it makes no sense to gate the transfer of items between your characters. What am i gonna do? Sell all the wood on my wood cutter then buy wood on my carpenter? are you high?
Thats the logical conclusion one must make if alt trading isnt just integrated into the mailing or warehouse systems. You should not be forced to trade another player. or risk storing it in a guild bank. Or, have to own a freaking house to trade with an alt. This is extremely unfriendly design to new players exploring the classes and their options. The game cannot be group content or log off. if you do that, people will log off. Sometimes you want to progress without the massive social legwork to get a group to progress. Its already well more efficient to progress as a group with how exp works. You should not try and make that gap bigger with a feelbad annoyance that worsens the experience of playing the game.

And before someone says it. This will not hurt the economy, this is just to help players that want to play alts.

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Comments

Ludullu

Did he ever say he wants to encourage alts? I feel like the entire design goes directly against alts.

Sathrago

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/512669#Comment_512669

I would say he did, but who knows. actions (or lack of) speak louder than words.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9F_AJl9ozY&t=5665s

daveywavey

Awww man, we need something, don't we. It's pretty darn grim for alt transfers.

Kalnazzar

I understand the frustration, but what you’re asking for would actually have a significant impact on the economy and player interaction.

If unrestricted item transfer between alts were allowed, it effectively becomes risk-free, instant material transport. For example, if I have five or six characters parked across the map, I can move resources between regions without caravans, travel risk, or interaction with other players. That undermines systems that are intentionally designed to matter—like local markets, trade routes, and caravan risk.

It also reduces organic player interaction. Right now, if you don’t have access to certain materials, you’re encouraged to trade with other players, use the guild system, rely on friends, or invest in infrastructure like a freehold. Those limitations exist to reinforce the social and economic fabric of the game.

Playing alts and pursuing multiple professions is absolutely valid, but it’s meant to be difficult and investment-heavy by design. You’re not supposed to efficiently self-supply everything across the entire world without commitment or tradeoffs.

These constraints may feel inconvenient, but they serve a purpose: protecting the economy, preserving risk in logistics, and encouraging player-driven interaction. Removing them would simplify progression in ways that run counter to Ashes of Creation’s core design philosophy.

Sathrago

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/512940#Comment_512940

I dont see why you think alts being able to trade equals transporting items instantly across the map. Did you watch the video timestamp? he says it clearly. They are perfectly fine with a player investing time in leveling up alts with different professions. The problem is not "will there be alt trading?" There already is and your idea that it impacts the economy and social structure of the game is a joke. We can trade with a friend to give it to an alt. We can put it in the guild bank to give it to an alt. we can use storage on freeholds to trade with alts. Late game alt supplying will be perfectly usable.

Thats not the issue at hand. The issue is right now, early game and starting out people have no reasonable way to do it. A localized shared storage tab would solve this issue. Gating alt trading behind later game mechanics and a friend that wont steal your shit is just not a design strategy to "help muh economies".

I apologize for coming off so peeved. Im truly sick of hearing defense for this that just doesnt pass the logic test when you pair it up with his statements on alts.

Sathrago

And to add onto this with my own experience: I started leveling a summoner at the start of this early access, but around level 8 i decided to make a bard. Now, all the effort and resources I gathered and made on my summoner is completely locked away from me because i currently dont have any friends playing the game. (thanks poe2). So all that effort that I could have easily swapped over to my new more enjoyable character is wasted. All it would take is a shared localized storage tab. Ive asked for this for like a year now. But all I hear is "oh but the economy will roll over and die because you can trade with alts" or "its an alpha they are super busy putting the nutsack on the mule modal".

Kalnazzar

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/512944#Comment_512944

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/512943#Comment_512943

I think we’re mostly talking past each other here, so I want to clarify my concern rather than dismiss the pain point you’re describing.

I agree that early-game alt friction is real, especially for solo players without friends, guild access, or freeholds. That’s a valid issue and worth addressing. Where I differ is on how it’s solved.

My concern isn’t that alt trading exists at all — it clearly already does through friends, guild banks, and later-game systems. The difference is that those methods all introduce external dependencies, progression gates, or risk. A shared storage tab that’s accessible by alts in different locations removes those constraints and turns logistics into a fully solo, zero-risk system unless it’s very tightly limited.

If a shared tab allows an alt in another region to withdraw and sell materials locally, that effectively bypasses caravans, regional scarcity, and the risk that’s meant to give markets their identity. That’s the part I’m cautious about, not the idea of alts being supported in general.

I’m not saying “never add shared storage.” I’m saying it needs strong constraints — node-locked access, physical presence requirements, progression unlocks, or other limits — so it helps early-game players without undermining the systems the economy is built on.

I think there’s a middle ground here that reduces early frustration while still preserving risk and regional identity, and that’s what I’m hoping the devs explore.

daveywavey

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/512945#Comment_512945

I'm not asking for it to be accessible in different locations. I'm perfectly happy to have to take both characters to the same city.

Andi

Nobody asked for the storage tab to be globally accessible. If you drop some armour piece in your item storage in Halcyon, you'd expect it to sit there until the alt picks it up. That's all people ask for.

Voxeltrichome

Right now I'm playing the game: "transferring items between alts"

Terrible concept, I'm expecting a permanent fix due to this matter in the next few days. Since it has ZERO meaning, ZERO benefit.

Yes, I bought another AC to have a trader, so I'm loading up two accounts on two different computers and I'm forced to play the game in that way. At this point ppl would say: - Hey, so its a profitable act by the company! - Well not really. I sent out like 10 invitation into the game to long term MMO player friends, but now I told them that they should wait a bit. The reason: if they would realize what torture we have to handle with transferring resources between alt, I would feel ashamed by inviting them.

Here is my thread due to this matter:

https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/69713/crafting-skill-lvl-cap-discussion-thread

Dorado

Saw a few threads about this and I'm not sure why the people who are against it have themselves so worked up over people wanting them to add a shared tab to alt trade. They can say the economy, transportation, it's risk free etc etc but I am assuming most of these people who really don't want it have 2nd accounts to trade with or really good friends to use to transfer to alts and they don't want the others to have free access to do so. Also you already paid the risk when getting the items in the first place.

As of right now you need to be in the specific node you deposited stuff in to get it out from what i have seen so common sense would tell me if there was a shared tab then if i deposit something in Joeva then i would need to go to Joeva to get it out.

So what if i get some items on my ranger and want to send it to my bard to craft something or to wear it. People are already doing it with guilds, friends, 2nd accounts. This game has enough built in friction and now some people are trying to extend it to the alts people play, it's just crazy to be against a shared tab.

Alts should be encouraged to keep people playing, playing a alt now is just annoying knowing it is a pain to get items over to them.

drclawx

I dont see how you could even craft without alt support. Your crafter/processor is going to have to be in a crafter guild. If you want to play a combat toon with your friends then you wont really be able to.

I doubt you could realistically supply yourself anyway, more to supplement what you are doing to cut some costs.

All stash, processers slots and auction house slots, etc should tied to the account and just accessible to all chars. That should be enough imo at least from what i have seen. It's already pretty limiting for one one char, let alone like 5 alts. You will still have to mostly have to specialize.

People are just going to work around it anyway, might as well open it up to everyone.

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