Just because you have no personal interest in combat styles doesn't mean that I or others are not excited. You are free I assume to not pick a second combat style. And even if a second combat style choice is forced on you there is nothing stopping you from playing your preferred combat style and ignoring the second one. There are many reason why someone might get exciting for combat styles. To name a few of my favs.. a) Sets the foundation for new combat styles in the future. I have wanted to play a Mandalorian mele tech user with a vibrosword (or using the new Beskar Spear) since the game launched. I see a future where that might be a thing now. Or how about a melee force healer combat style like a Paladin? The potential for new combat styles is very exciting! b) My guild plays Pub for raids so I basically was forced to play Vangard because AP PowerTech is my fav spec to play. I hate everything about Vangard. Now I have a future where I can play AP PowerTech on a pub toon. Flexibility and player choice is not a bad thing. c)It will allow me to reduce the number of toons I actively play. I love a good alt as much as the next person but my game time is way more limited now that it was when I was younger. Now I can play 1 toon and cover all the roles in my group if needed instead of having to level and gear multiple toons. Cheers, Jeremy

Wow I never imagined this thread blowing up like it has when I started it! LOL! The existing toons being stuck with their original advanced class and it auto converting to our primary combat style is disappointing for sure. I am glad the devs did originally intend for us to be able to switch. Maybe this is something that we can look forward to in the future? I did get some good mileage outta my Vangard but its time for him to die I know I could technically just add PowerTech to him but that seems like a waste of a combat style if I am also stuck with Vangard. Perhaps I will recreate my Trooper when the expansion drops as a dark side PowerTech full of hate and frustration with life LOL. I also gotta be honest here the mirror switching really feels designed backwards to me. Existing toons that have done the story and have gotten the chievos are effecting punished for playing the game while new toons who haven't finished the story and haven't done the chievos are rewarded with the mirror choice? Does anybody else feel like this is the exact opposite of how it should be? Cheers, Jeremy

I wonder also in light of this confirmed new information if it would be possible even allow Tech Users the ability to switch their existing combat style to the mirror choice like force users will be able to? That would give existing Tech Users at least something to choose moving forward in light of the technical issues brought to light. Thoughts? Cheers, Jeremy

Hi Jackie Thanks for dropping into the thread and giving us clarity I really appreciate it. I am disappointed the team ran into technical issues allowing existing toons the capacity to switch. The intent to originally allow us is something I guess. Can you confirm the team will be looking towards allowing existing toons to make the change at some point once they get past the hurdle? Or has the design decision been made and this is what the future looks like? Cheers, Jeremy

The problem with this quote is it is far too vague and open to interpretation to make any conclusions. I have read it over many times and half the time I think we will be able to switch existing styles and the other half I feel like existing toons will be stuck. Anyone at Bioware reading this could you please clarify for us how combat styles will work with existing toons? Will existing toons get to pick 2 new combat styles or are we stuck with one combat style and we can pick 1 new one? Cheers, Jeremy

Does anyone remember at launch you had to hit the fleet and talk to an NPC to pick your advanced class? Like the tech and mechanics to allow existing toons to pick a new combat style are there already. Seems pretty simple to me? Even if you load an existing toon into the game at launch with their original style just allow us to talk to an NPC to change it as a one time thing giving existing toons the choice of 2 new combat styles. It would be even easier if upon character load on an existing toon no combat styles are pre selected and the player (who has completed the Chapter 3 story reqs) just picks 2 combat styles. I don't get why existing toons are being punished here? Combat styles are the literal hallmark feature of the expansion. Bioware has been talking about combat flexibility and choice with the combat style system and existing toons end up with less choice? It makes no sense to me at all. Plz Bioware allow existing toons the flexibility and choice to pick 2 combat styles. Cheers, Jeremy

For the record I have absolutely no issue with existing toons that haven't finished their Origin Story to the end of Chapter 3 not being able to switch or change their existing combat style. This would be consistent with what Bioware has stated and aligns with their overall design objective. Much as you have outlined. However existing toons that have fully completed their Chapter 3 Origin stories should be able to change their existing combat style and pick a new one to add to their toons. I just don't see any reason why they shouldn't? Cheers, Jeremy

Nothing was said in yesterday's live stream and as far as I have seen there has been no confirmation or explanation as to how existing characters will pick/confirm their combat styles. All we have to go on is the PTS where existing toons only get to pick 1 new combat style and are stuck with their existing combat style. Cheers, Jeremy

I will just add to the other responses here that force users being able to pick their mirror combat style is NOT the same thing as being able to completely and freely choose/change your original advanced class/combat style. And as been pointed out this is only available to force users in its current form. Tech users do not have any option to change/choose their "default" combat style right now. Please Bioware do NOT force existing toons into a combat style. Give us the option to pick 2 new combat styles. Cheers, Jeremy

I think we all should try to keep this thread bumped and maybe even ask the question during the live stream this week. We definitely need an answer here 100% Bioware. Cheers, Jeremy

If things play out like currently on PTS that would be a big fat nope I am trying to lobby for combat style choice here! Bioware plz for the love of all wookies! Give existing toons the choice of 2 combat styles! Cheers, Jeremy

I made the toon because my guild raids pub side and PowerTech AP is my fav "combat style" which meant VG was my only option. I really don't like the VG animations or sound effects at all. I tolerate them to play with my guild. I got so excited about combat styles because I assumed based on the information we got that I could change my VG to PowerTech, and supplement that with another new combat style. I am leveling a new toon now because it doesn't appear that existing toons will have the option to change their existing combat style....and well I prefer Smuggler to Trooper anyways. So a Smuggler with Scoundrel and PowerTech will work out fine. Still it doesn't seem fair that new toons get to pick 2 new combat styles where existing toons don't. It feels punishing to existing players to me and honestly doesn't make sense if they are trying to separate Origin story from combat style. Cheers, Jeremy

Dear Bioware Please don't assume existing toons want to keep their original advanced class/combat style. New toons get to pick 2 new combat styles so should existing toons. If your intent here is partly to separate Origin Story from Combat Styles why are you forcing a combat style on existing toons that already have an Origin story? This makes no sense to me. Please give our existing toons the choice of 2 new combat styles. Thank you Jeremy

They have stated on record that new characters get to pick their first combat style right out of the gate and that the second combat style opens up after finishing chapter 3 of your origin/class story. What they have not indicated to my knowledge is how combat style choices will work for existing characters. Do existing characters get to pick 2 new combat styles? Or are they stuck with the one they chose before and only get to pick 1 new one? Cheers, Jeremy

Hey LordCamTheGreat I agree it would make the most sense however if you read the direct line. "If you have an existing character when Legacy of the Sith launches, when you log into the game, you will be able to choose a Combat Style immediately. You can choose a Combat Style similar to your previous Advanced Class or choose something new. The choice is yours!" It says you will be able to choose "a" as in one Combat Style immediately. It says nothing about your second combat style at all so thus I am looking for some confirmation as to exactly how this will work. It kinda reads like you will be picking your second combat style once you login implying you are stuck with your original combat style. Cheers, Jeremy

Greetings everyone I am wondering if it might be possible to confirm how the combat styles choices will work for existing characters upon launch. We know new characters will be able to select 2 new combat styles during the leveling process. For existing characters will we get to pick 2 new combat styles as well? Or are we stuck with the combat style we logged out on and we get to only pick 1 new combat style? Ideally for example on my Trooper (Vangard) I would like to pick PowerTech and Gunslinger. Cheers and thanks for reading Jeremy

Dear SWTOR Devs At a minimum suggestion, please reward pvp dailies and weeklies with pvp cmd components like you did with comms in previous years. For pvp only players the grind feels a tad too long. Having bonus components added into the mix would lessen this and make gearing still worth an effort but not as daunting as it is now. As an additional suggestion, also allow lowbies and alts to earn cmd components via pvp as they level and provide a component transfer option like was done in previous years with pvp comms. This one might add complications and is kinda optional in my view. Would be nice though Sincerely, Torunnson (Jeremy)

Hey all I thought I would throw my 2 cents in here for what its worth. I am no experienced Shadow player by any means. My Sin is 60 and runs and raids in Hatred and I am levelling a Shadow who is 39 atm so I know the Serenity spec well enough to know I am against these changes. I also play a Vangard as my current dps "Main" in operations and I don't think reducing the range on Shadows this much is right for a few reasons. 1) We will have no form of gap closer that does any damage. Force Speed is wonderful but adds nothing to our dps. Knights leap does some damage at least and other melee classes like the Vangard have gap closers that do some form of damage. 2) This is important not only for gap closing but the current operations really require some form of hybrid range to be competitive in dps. On my Vangard with the 15 m utility I can continue dps'ing even when disconnected from the boss or having to avoid fire and such. What I would propose is to leave server force as a 30 metre ability and reduce Force in Balance to 15 metres or even 10 metres as it is proposed but give us some form of utility to bring the range up by 5 metres like Vangards have. Heck increase the damage of server force slightly and remove the dot if that would make a difference. I know Shadows/Sins are supposed to be a melee class but so are Vangards. The hybrid melee range skillset is in part what draws me to them. I don't think these changes are the right move. Cheers, Jeremy

Greetings... I would like to suggest a mechanic by way we (playing as our advanced classes) can choose from at a minimum different weapons, but eventually this mechanic could open up a variety of weapons for all classes. It may not be possible or desirable to open up every weapon for every class (i.e. having smugglers, trooper, agents and bounty hunters wielding light sabers) but having a variety of weapon choices would open up some very interesting game play possibilities. The inspiration for this comes from me really wanting to use a melee weapon on my PowerTech/Vanguard. So the examples below will describe how I see this mechanic working on a PowerTech/Vanguard. How I see it working. First of all we already have a good variety of non lightsaber melee weapons including Electrostaffs, Tech Staffs, Techblades, and Vibroswords in the game. The problem is our advance class characters generally can’t use any of them. These weapons are restricted to use by our companions. The solution? Weapon-based skill lines. If you attach skills to weapon lines then you can grant access to anyone wanting to wield a new weapon with a set of skills they can use, and upgrade. So the Vibrosword for example could have a series of skills (Many of those skills already exist by way of our companions already) that could be used to tank or dps. As your character progresses you would visit the trainer and you would see a third tab in addition to your base class and advanced class named by way of the new weapon line you are using. Clicking on this weapon type would present the player with new skills as you level in the same way we already get our base and advanced class skills. Players could then mix and match any of their class skills and their new weapon-based skills on their action bars. With the awesome adaptive gear system, the infrastructure for adding appropriate mods, and enhancements to your new weapons already exists so upgrading your new weapon should be as easy as it is now. Trainers could also be used to buy the weapon proficiency you are interested in as well. This could open up a new revenue stream in the Cartel Market as players will want to buy new weapon skins for all these new weapon types they can train and use. Thank you for your consideration. Jeremy