Considering the posters points above one at a time - 1) A single character fulfilling all roles is no bad thing. It's good for those characters who like flexibility over specialisation. For those people who dont have time for dozens of alts and want to invest time in one character, and be rewarded for that investment. When you say this you make it sound like one char and tank, heal and dps at the same time which is patently untrue. And furthermore, having hybrid classes that allow this type of gameplay are also a staple of other MMOs - sorry son, you can't have it both ways... 2) I agree, other games don't allow you to switch classes. They don't also force you to play for tens of hours to get to the class selection stage. They also have detailed information as to what the classes can do in and out of game so a player can make an educated decision before committing the time and effort. The AC system is backwards - you put the time and effort in first, only to find out you don't actually like it or it isn't what you expected. 3) You can't have it both ways, you can't say that the playstyle of one spec is totally different to a different spec in the same AC, yet when AC's are effectively removed cry "oh you're removing classes". That's absolute nonsense, if AC locking is removed you don't LOSE the other specs, indeed the exact opposite happens, it means paying players have the freedom to choose how they want to play the game, when they want to play the game. The fraction of players willing to put in days of gameplay to "roll another alt" are very small, remember as a poster on this forum you are a tiny fraction of the gameplaying community and your views are quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things. If it discourages rerolling, it's not going to stop altaholics playing. Who cares if the game only has four classes, if the specs are as varied as you claim then allowing players to embrace MORE of them on one character means more happy players and more variety. 4) Why is that a problem? Because you like rerolling? Not everyone does. I certainly don't, I don't have the time or inclination to see the class story for other sith classes, let alone republic. I CERTAINLY don't have the patience to watch the sith inquisitor one develop AGAIN just so I can do a different role. Please consider the thoughts and feelings of others rather than simply be selfish. Rerolling doesn't matter to everyone. 5) This is essentially the same point as #4. However let's face it, the stories are essentially fixed and the only real variance is whether you choose light or dark. The outcome to flashpoints and missions change SLIGHTLY in some cases, but after it's finished, you're still the same - it just affects the colour of your lightsaber. The AC system for me is the single biggest failing of this game. It's not QQing or whining, it's a general grievance and frankly any reply that is along those lines is a waste of everyone's time and effort - please, grow up and dont do that - let's discuss it like adults. You only complain about QQing because you can't construct a meaningful, valid argument. I came to SWTOR totally and utterly new. I didn't play in the beta, or even really know it was coming out until a friend suggested we join and play together. I understood, however, the trinity mechanic of tank/healer/dps. I liked the idea of being able to fulfil any role to give me flexibility in how I played the game, and to increase it's longevity. I understand some choices in games need to be permanent and deserve due consideration. My complaint is how woefully presented this choice is. It's very implicit, even for an SWTOR or MMO beginner, that character creation defines what your character will look like. However, my complaint is that the implementation of these advanced classes AFTER this breakpoint is massively confusing. There is very little in the way of online information regarding how these classes work, and trust me - none of it I found after hours of searching categorically spells out that an AC choice is permanent. The best I have found are some hints that it's permanent. Articles say that Sith Inquisitors, my class of choice, can tank/DPS/heal. They then mention that for tanking/healing, you need to be a Sith Asssassin which does xyz... for healing.... and so on. The official, bioware literature on this matter is tremendously vague. However, it's very clear based on feedback that this is really not that clear. In fact, the ONLY point I have seen this stated anywhere is in game, at level 10. Of course I might have missed this, but the fact numerous people are missing this is a sign of extremely poor design and advertising of said design. Find any SWTOR guide and you'll see matrices of classes and roles, with Inquisitor ticking all boxes. That implies strongly that an inquisitor can do all roles does it not? Bioware offers very little in the way of clarification in this matter. In fact... looking at their class videos, the Sith Inquisitor one is a prime example of how confusing this is, why so many players are falling foul of it and how it's being highlighted as a very bad design choice. The video shows you start out as an inquisitor, kills a few people then shows the sorceror or assassin paths. Sorceror first - lots of force lightning ensues and they get their top tier gear. Then... the video BACKS DOWN THE PROGRESSION PATH IT HIGHLIGHTED and shows the assassin! Go watch the video! The promo material itself suggests you can back down one tree and into another. My friend who plays WoW heavily and tracked this game with a good degree of enthusiasm was convinced Assassin and Sorceror were two different specs from the same class. I indeed believed that "Advanced Class" was a byword for spec.... but that's because that's what the prevailing available info for someone not utterly intimate in the game's development suggests! Those of you on the "it's clearly announced, but lets discuss" side of things please consider things like your previous experience with SWTOR, perhaps in the beta? How closely did you follow development? How you might feel if your extensive research pre-game led clearly to one conclusion only for the actual implementation to be radically different. And finally consider that this topic keeps coming up, it's not going away - you might not care, but people don't like this. There aren't 12 million subscribers, there are 1 million, and this kind of thing turns players off the game completely... and the game dies. It's not an accomodating design feature, it turns players off when you invest days of time only to not fully realise the implication. Days of time, yes. You might skip through this stupidly quickly but not everyone does. Don't assume you are the majority. And for a game so heavily reliant on story, your solution to this is "roll an alt and skip the story"? Foolish thinking! My friend has quit SWTOR after having played for three days over xmas/new year to get to level 12 (bear in mind that server congestion means we can't all play 20 hours a day too). He thought a sith warrior could either specialise in DPS, or tank. Now he's locked into a marauder that basically DPS's in three slightly different ways. I put it to you that when you consider this without your blinkered, fanboy hats on, with year's of pre-knowledge others don't have, the SW TOR Advanced Class system is severly lacking and an example of poor game design. I for one champion the revision of this system as speedily as possible. If you want TLDR version I expect you're a QQing muppet and despise you, but in a nutshell - 1) If AC are to be considered "true" classes this kind of binding decision should be made clear to you, before you even launch the game. 2) Official bioware info on it's websites strongly implies AC choice is not permanent. 3) The only official warning that AC choice is permanent is made after tens of hours of gameplay. 4) AC active restrict player fun and shorten subscriber lifetime, particularly given the single largest selling point is the storyline.