As far as I'm concerned this is the only point against multi-spec'ing that is vaguely valid and its a weak one at that. With multiple specs a loot system needs to be designed to support it. The game needs to understand what spec you're using at the time and adjust the Need before Greed setup accordingly. This isn't what I'm asking for, i want to be able to do roles within my own class and experience all facets of the game within the boundaries of what my class can do. On my Scoundrel I want to be able to enjoy healing PVE, PVP and also DPS where required. That's 3 different specs (4 if you want PVP and PVE versions of each) with the way the game has been designed. I don't want my Scoundrel to tank as there is no skill tree designed for it, nor any abilities to support that, that's not what I asked for. You're arguing a point that noone made. I don't want this and noone in this thread has stated they do. WoW created their own problems by having classes that could tank, heal and DPS all in 1. They should have given the pure DPS classes a secondary role instead. In a nutshell...l2read.

Thanks for the support guys and the lack of flames (except 1 moron) really is a credit to the community.

You may be right, I think I am insane.

And do you not PVP? Do you know that some abilities in skill trees have only PVE or PVP purpose?

Tri/quad spec situation... I'm PVE tank, but I have a DPS offspec because we don't always need tanking for raids. I've just used 2 specs. hrm...I like to PVP too in DPS mode, but I kinda suck because I didn't pick any PVP based abilities...a third spec sure would be handy. My guild needs a PVP healer but none are on. If only I had that fourth spec to use I'd save the day. Alternative: Roll 4 seperate characters and level them to 50, then try to manage gear on each one seperately...won't happen, I've already quit. Only so many times I can take the same areas and quests.

You still can, adding multi-spec doesn't change the fact you can just play the same spec forever. Noone forces you.

Basically, at 34 my full healing spec Scoundrel is really painful to level. most the time I'm a heal bot for my companion and killing is sooo slooooow. I'm often forced to stealth through content while i watch Troopers etc just smash it. I'm pretty much at the point now where I'm ready to reroll. By the time balance changes come around, we'll be 50 and not care or have quit. I don't want respecs to be free, either make it a one-off high cost to purchase permanently (WoW, Rift) or make it a small cost every time you want to switch. I'd go for number 2 personally, makes it more accessible to casual players and from a design perspective it makes the money sink goes on forever (MMO economy requirement).

where do I start with this one... Everquest, really? I played Everquest, for 5 years actually in one of the best early raiding guilds on the planet (Afterlife - Mithaniel Marr), but I sure as hell aint goin back anytime soon. Everquest was a game created over 12 years ago, but lets face it, Everquest was legendary in its time, but had no competition (UO barely) and was but a drop in the ocean compared to the current MMO market. At peak Everquest had less than 500,000 subscibers and it was highly criticised for its timesinks, class imbalances, bugged content and ridiculous raid requirements. How is that in any way changed by having multi-specs? It really has no bearing whatsoever. You assume that people are incapable of being good at 2 roles which is not true. Again, an invalid point, you still have the same name (don't get me started on the pitfalls of name changes). Also, the subscriber bases and worlds are so huge now you rarely run into the same people often unless you choose to. DnD is not an MMORPG, not even close. Its a paper and dice based role playing game played with real life friends. it has completely different gameplay, communication and social interactions. Its hardly "Massive"...Apples to Oranges my friend. Am I too set in my ways? Mirror meet Darth Freki. I'm pretty sure I was playing online multi-player games before many people here were even born. I've been down the text based MUD games on bulletin boards, to the internet, then UO, EQ, DAoC etc etc, believe me, I've played over 30 MMO's, and I can think of 2 that had multi-spec'ing while I was playing - WoW and Rift. If anything I should be set in the way that you're arguing for, but I'm not. This last paragraph is ridiculous, doesn't even deserve a response. Henny Penny.

Personally I think the people most affected are: - "Those that want to heal but also quest as DPS" - Raiding Guilds - PVP'rs - Small groups of friends that are looking for gameplay diversity without rerolling - Those that don't want to level up again I think that's almost everyone isn't it? Those that don't want it, don't have to use it. I don't think you can lose by implementing a multi-spec system.

I totally get where you're coming from, but I think that response is a bit one dimensional and outdated. Without trying to sound like a tosser, in WoW on my Druid, I was a great PVE tank and PVP healer too. Luckily there was only dual spec there, because I freakin sucked at DPS lol. What about...Razhah the guy that saved our raid because he could heal as well as DPS, without him we would have had to cancel. In essense, I agree with you, but years and years of MMO gaming tell me that character identity isn't much use if you can't complete content because you're missing key positions - the drawback of the Holy Trinity design. One thing I also forgot to mention in the OP was what about the design opportunities it gives Bioware? You could have 3-4 tanks and healers in the raid, but switch some to DPS where less were required e.g. DPS race type encounters. Lastly, thanks for some of the great responses, whether you agree with me or not the general tone of this post has been respectful and courteous.

That is true from a single player perspective, from a server or guild perspective long term game survivability, yes, it is a must in my humble opinion. ever been in a guild where natural attrition makes the guild lose a great healer or tank, how hard is it to recruit another well geared, and trusted tank? If you have dual specs you can gear up backup players for those positions and move them in accordingly.

So don't? If an elitist tells you to eat **** are you going to?

I gotta agree with the OP really, I've noticed a few quests in Coruscant that takes you down into the fighting, then send you back to the Senate to speak with 1 NPC who just sends you back to where you came from. Don't get me started on the Senate design, I get the need for large scale environment for immersion, but putting all the quest NPC's at the back end of that massive building (after running up that ridiculously long red carpet) is just stupid. Other quests use the Holo. No consistency here really and just a lot of frustrating running. Also, sprint at 14? Why even have it? Just let everyone run at sprint speed from level 1 and slow them down when in combat. So many pointless design decisions. Be creative and put timesinks into things that are FUN.

Apologies for the wall of text, but I feel pretty strongly about this. If you're a TLDR type person, please leave now. Constructive debate is welcome, but flaming...not interested. Don't get me wrong, I'm REALLY enjoying the game, despite not being a Star Wars fan. So far the gameplay has been fun, the storylines great and the PVP is pretty well balanced (at this early stage). I don't believe people should be able to change AC's on the fly (though the possibility should exist for extreme cost but that's another post!). I do however believe that Dual-Spec or Tri-Spec with the ability to change it on the fly (out of combat) is a requirement for this game for the following reasons: 4 Person Groups and the Holy Trinity I think 4 person groups is a design flaw as the ratio of DPS to Tank/Heals is way too low. Dual-Tri specs give people the ability to switch on a needs basis which adds flexibility and makes grouping, guild recruiting and raiding SO much easier to manage. I think the group size alone makes instant respecs a requirement. PVP When you introduce PVP battlegrounds into a game and make it available from anywhere in the world with a short queue time, you MUST make respec'ing on the fly available. Also, when you have abilities in the skill trees that are clearly PVP oriented and almost useless in PVE, you must have a system that supports the ability to switch on the fly. If you don't, you force players into a decision between making a character for either PVP or PVE. This will result in casual players leaving the game fairly quickly if they enjoy both types of gameplay. Player Expectation All the most recent successful games have the ability to change specs on the fly, its become an expectation of players to have that flexibility. Do you deny that feature just to "be different"? Rift's Soul Tree switching was fantastic design imo, you were almost never short on tanks/healers and it made the game so much easier to play. It helped form better communities of people as people were coming and going with different characters as much as they didn't suit a required role. No clearly defined reason not to If Bioware can give us a clear and logical design reason for not offering this feature then I'll accept it, but there seems to be no reason not to offer it except for those that like to punish themselves or stick to old traditions. If you don't want the feature, don't use it and you'll be none-the-wiser. Good for business Giving people the flexibility to switch roles will also give them greater reason to play for longer which of course we all know is what Bioware really wants...longer subscription = more profits and that's just good business. ------------------------------- I'd be interested to see the counter arguments for my points, please feel free to do so in a constructive and respectful manner.