Swap · Game Mechanic Compendium

Definition

Swap exchanges the positions of two figures in one step: each ends where the other stood, and neither crosses the space between. Usually the user is one of the pair; some forms exchange two other figures. Blink moves the user alone to an unoccupied point, whereas swap needs a second figure at the destination, and that figure moves too. The Pull-target variation of grappling hook drags a target to a user who stays put, and knockback pushes a target away. Ordinary movement belongs to grid movement; chess castling, which trades no squares, is a movement rule. The tile swap of match-three puzzles shares the name only.

Behaviour

Delivery is targeted or projectile. Dota 2’s Nether Swap follows a 0.4-second cast point; Urgot in League of Legends channels for one second, suppressing the enemy, before the exchange. The Switch Hook and Paradoxical Swap fire a hook or projectile, so the swap happens only on a hit. Payloads ride on the exchange: damage or a barrier in Dota 2, a slow for Urgot, redirected attacks in Pokémon. Divinity: Original Sin 2 exempts Fortified or Grounded characters; Urgot’s channel leaves a one-second window.

Variations

Ally rescue swap (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet; Dota 2): moves a threatened ally out and the user in.
Enemy pull swap (League of Legends; Dota 2; Deadlock): brings an enemy into the user’s team, with suppression, damage, or a slow.
Object swap (The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages; Divinity: Original Sin 2): exchanges with jars, gems, or corpses, crossing lava and pits.
Third-party swap (Divinity: Original Sin 2): the user picks two characters and need not be one of them.
Card-drawn swap (Sorry!): one option on a randomly drawn card, against an opponent’s piece.
Teleport-or-swap (Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition): Benign Transportation is reportedly a 30-foot self-teleport that can instead trade places with a willing creature.

Gating

Sorry! ties the swap to chance: the 11 is one of four in a 44-card pack, and swapping gives up the 11-space move. Oracle of Ages makes the Switch Hook an at-will item, limited by valid targets and safe landings. The MOBA forms are ultimates on mana and long cooldowns: 120 mana for Urgot in 2010, and 100 to 200 mana on a 46- to 30-second cooldown for Dota 2’s current Nether Swap. Divinity: Original Sin 2 charges action points and a memory slot. Pokémon spends PP and, in Scarlet and Violet, reportedly lowers the success chance of consecutive uses. Deadlock uses only a cooldown.

History and provenance

The earliest documented use cited is the 11 card in Sorry!, adopted by Parker Brothers in 1934, which lets a player “change places with any Margin Men of an opponent”. The wording comes from the 1939 United States rules in a 2012 reprint, the earliest rules cited; no 1934 copy is cited. Those rules cite a 1933 British version, and the game was reportedly patented in Britain in 1929. Men & Magic (1974), Greyhawk (1975), and the Players Handbook (1978) contain no position-exchange spell. The earliest cited video form is the Switch Hook of Oracle of Ages (2001). DotA’s Nether Swap is reportedly older than Dota 2 but undated; Urgot brought a swap ultimate to League of Legends in 2010, and Ally Switch reportedly dates from Pokémon Black and White (2010). Earlier video swaps remain unsurveyed.

Notable examples

Notable examples, in chronological order. Notes describe how the ability behaves in each game; gating is what limits its use there; the latest reference is a widely played game from 2020 or later.
Game	Year	Medium	Gating	How the ability behaves
Sorry! Parker Brothers	1934	Board & card	Consumable	In the 1939 rules a drawn 11 lets the player move one man 11 spaces forward or instead change places with any opponent's man on the margin squares; the exchange ignores the Safety Zone entry restriction. A player who can do neither, or does not wish to swap, forfeits the move. No copy of the 1934 rules is cited.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages Flagship (Capcom) for Nintendo	2001	Video	At will	The Switch Hook, found in the Skull Dungeon, is fired like a hookshot; on contact Link and the object trade places, so stone jars and gems carry him across lava and pits, and the boss Eyesoar is disoriented by the swap. The landing has to be safe: the guide warns against materialising in lava. It uses no ammunition; the Long Hook upgrade reportedly extends the range.
World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment	2004	Video	Cooldown	The monk's Transcendence: Transfer, reportedly added with Mists of Pandaria in patch 5.0.4 (August 2012), reportedly reads "Your body and spirit swap locations", up to 40 yards, the spirit being one the monk left earlier with Transcendence; it is now on a 45-second cooldown. The second figure is the monk's own placed spirit, which puts it near a blink to a marker.
League of Legends Riot Games	2009	Video	Mana, Cooldown	Urgot's ultimate, Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverser (2010), targets an enemy champion within 600 range and channels for one second, suppressing it; the two then swap locations, Urgot gains 80/105/130 armour and magic resist, and the target is slowed by 40% for 3 seconds. It cost 120 mana.
Dota 2 Valve	2013	Video	Mana, Cooldown	Vengeful Spirit's ultimate Nether Swap "instantaneously swaps positions with a target Hero, friend or enemy" and interrupts channelling. Enemies take 150/300/450 magical damage; allies and the caster gain an equal barrier. The 2026 files give 850/975/1100 cast range, a 0.4 s cast point, 100/150/200 mana, and a 46/38/30 s cooldown; it works on spell-immune units.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 Larian Studios	2017	Video	Action cost, Cooldown	Nether Swap, an Aerotheurge skill (Aerotheurge 2, one memory slot), reads "Make two characters switch places. One of the characters can be you." Range is 13 m, corpses can be swapped, and Fortified or Grounded characters cannot be targeted, so the user may exchange two other figures without moving.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Latest Game Freak (Nintendo, The Pokémon Company)	2022	Video	Per rest	Ally Switch, a Psychic-type status move with 15 PP and +2 priority, swaps the user with its ally in a double battle, so attacks aimed at either land on the other; it fails in single battles. In this generation consecutive uses reportedly can fail, with a success chance of 1/X, X tripling after each success, as with Protect. PP are reportedly restored at a Pokémon Center.
Deadlock Valve	2024	Video	Cooldown	Paradox's Paradoxical Swap "fires a projectile that instantly swaps your physical position with the target enemy hero", pulling an over-extended enemy into Paradox's team; a miss wastes it. Reported values are 25 m range, 150 damage, and a cooldown of 95 or 110 seconds depending on patch. The game is in an invite-only playtest.

Provenance

Earliest documented use: Sorry! (1939), board & card. Confidence: low. The claim rests on the 1939 United States rules of Sorry!, in a 2012 Winning Moves reprint under licence from Hasbro, whose 11 card lets a player "change places with any Margin Men of an opponent"; the year is that of those rules. Parker Brothers adopted the game in 1934, but no copy of the 1934 rules is cited, so the swap at that release is inferred. The same rules adapt their hints on play from a 1933 British version, and the game is reportedly a British design patented in 1929. Men & Magic (1974), Greyhawk (1975), and the Players Handbook (1978) contain no position-exchange spell. Chess castling moves king and rook in one turn without an exchange and is a movement rule. The earliest cited video form is the Switch Hook of Oracle of Ages (2001); DotA's Nether Swap is reportedly older than Dota 2 but undated, and earlier video swaps remain unsurveyed.

Sources

Parker Brothers. (2012). The Rules of Sorry! (as found in the 1939 United States version). Winning Moves Games, under licence from Hasbro. Rulebook Detailed Rules G; Amplified Card Rules, The 11; Hints on Play. Accessed 2026-10-24. The 11-card exchange with an opponent's margin man, its exemption from the Safety Zone rule, the 44-card pack, and the reference to a 1933 British version.
Prima Games. (2001). The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages: Prima's Official Strategy Guide. Book Oracle of Ages walkthrough, Skull Dungeon (Switch Hook); boss Eyesoar. Accessed 2026-10-24. The Switch Hook used "to shoot at an object to change places with it", trades with jars and gems, and the warning against materialising in lava.
Riot Games. (2010). Urgot, the Headsman's Pride (champion page). Website Hyper-Kinetic Position Reverser. Accessed 2026-10-24. The one-second channel, suppression, swap, resistances, 40% slow, 120 mana, and 600 range (Wayback snapshot of 27 September 2010).
Valve, via SteamTracking GameTracking-Dota2. (2026). Dota 2 hero data (npc_dota_hero_vengefulspirit). Website vengefulspirit_nether_swap. Accessed 2026-10-24. Current cast range, cast point, mana cost, cooldown, and damage and barrier values.
Valve, via SteamTracking GameTracking-Dota2. (2026). Dota 2 localisation (abilities_english). Website vengefulspirit_nether_swap. Accessed 2026-10-24. The tooltip text, including the swap with a friend or enemy hero and the interrupt.
Smogon and Pokémon Showdown contributors. Pokémon Showdown move data (data/moves.ts, data/text/moves.ts). Wiki allyswitch. A simulator's reimplementation giving 15 PP, priority 2, the swap with an ally in doubles or triples only, and the consecutive-use rule of the current generation.
Cande Maldonado (Dexerto). (2026). Paradox (Deadlock hero guide). Article Accessed 2026-10-24. Paradoxical Swap as a projectile that swaps the user's position with the target enemy hero.
Valve. Deadlock (Steam store page). Website Accessed 2026-10-24. The playtest status, with access by friend invite and the release date to be announced.
Fextralife. Nether Swap (Divinity Original Sin 2 wiki). Wiki The skill text, Aerotheurge 2 requirement, one memory slot, 13 m range, swappable corpses, and the Fortified and Grounded exemption.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. (1974). Dungeons & Dragons, Volume 1, Men & Magic. Tactical Studies Rules. Rulebook Spell lists and spell descriptions. Accessed 2026-10-24. No spell exchanges the positions of two figures.
Gary Gygax. (1978). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook. TSR. Rulebook Spell lists and spell descriptions. Accessed 2026-10-24. No spell exchanges the positions of two figures.
Wikipedia. Sorry! (game). Wiki Parker Brothers' adoption of the game in 1934 and its British origin.
Warcraft Wiki. Wiki Transcendence: Transfer. The tooltip, range, cooldown, patch date, and the removed energy or mana cost.

Cite this entry

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Updated: 2026-10-27
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West, James, Jr. (2026). "Swap." Game Mechanic Compendium, updated 2026-10-27. http://localhost:4321/abilities/swap

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