Faction change: Republic to/From Empire

[Vicrodhe]

Hello, i would like to have the possibilty to change faction. Me and many other players.

Personal reason doesnt matter just make it possible and throw a 10 dollar fee(for example) on it so its a WIN WIN situation.

 

No you want to change then reroll. simples.

[Terkov]

I love idea of faction change by choosing it in story line. It's easy to say "reroll", but ppl who say it didn't consider some ppl (like me) want to use sniper rifles and play rep or us cannons as imp

[jggoodyard]

A faction change does not have to be your "Sith warrior" playing the jedi story, or your "Jedi Knight" playing the sith story. In wow you can change from an orc to a human *gasp*! does not mee you are an orc helping the humans kill murlocks.

 

It could simply be your character's race staying the same

(not unlocking the race for your whole legacy just somthing that would be included in the paid faction if it happened to be a different race ( $25-$30 ))

then with that character, start out where the class would normally start out and continue from there. Like if a Jedi Knight changed to a Sith Warrior he would look the same just be in korriban about to face trials at the level your previous character was. That way you would get a chance (if you wanted) to see the opposite factions story line and class story line.

 

Bam.

Blizzard was able to change a ton of class related quests when faction changing. I'm sure the paladin alliance quests vs the horde one were not the same at all.

 

I know if they did come out with this choice I would spend a TON of money on it.. looking back on what I did to my characters on wow..

[Altyrell]

It would cost too much money and cause too much of a headache. Not to mention IF they were to ever allow a Republic Player Character to change sides and become a Sith Imperial Player Character, then they would have to lose their Class Ship, Class Companions, Any Class Specific Equipment along with no longer having any future Class Story, possibly making it so no one at all has any future Class Story ever. Edited December 24, 2012 by Altyrell

[darklordpotter]

I love idea of faction change by choosing it in story line. It's easy to say "reroll", but ppl who say it didn't consider some ppl (like me) want to use sniper rifles and play rep or us cannons as imp

 

Then the adaptive weapons thread is for you.

 

This idea has a lot of problems with immersion like say your SI inquisitor defects and then a Jedi sees them throwing lightning and pain around like it's going out of style. They really should report you to the Jedi Council at that point or if you become the mirror class in terms of abilities - project rather than shock for instance then why not run a JC to start with. Not to mention that by about lvl 30 if you have been doing planetary quests the other faction really, really hates you.

[Abkhazia]

Plenty of people absolutely HATE levelling and gearing up so rerolling isn't much of an option. I am amazed at how people are so entirely not getting it. You aren't a sith warrior that went turn coat to the republic, you are a jedi knight that happens to be the same level gear and valor that your sith warrior was but are as advanced in the story line as a lvl 1 would be. Might need to run through tython and then coruscant to get your ship but that isn't much of a hassle as a high level with a speeder who can skip any and all side quests at will.

 

It's too big of an oppourtunity to make money for me to believe any sane company would ignore such a feature.

[Autorch]

I'm not at all amazed that people don't get it. You could post a suggestion to eliminate all loading screens and you'd still get a pile of loyalists who would insist that this is the way BioGod intended the game to be.

 

Count me in as supporting the feature. For pay, available only at level 50 and only if you've completed your class story.

 

You then become the opposite class and faction, are stripped of all ranks and titles (this is only fair, as you acquired those ranks and titles in the context of another class and faction).

 

If your gear no longer works (and this would only be a problem with one piece of gear--the weapon type), that's your problem. And it's a trivial one at best.

 

All companions switch to be the new companions with affection levels reset to zero and their default gear. You lose any Legacy perks on that faction side from completing the story, or that you got from maxing their affection or completing their conversations, unless you had done it all a second time with the same base class.

 

It would be like having 1 "class set" of companions and story achievements subtracted from your faction Legacy, which would eliminate it completely for anybody who hadn't played the same base class to 50 more than once. All previous companion gear gets bundled up and mailed to you.

 

Done. Nothing breaks, nothing is unfair. If you don't like losing your titles and work that you did for companions, don't make the switch. End of story.

 

If this "breaks" the "story" or the "game" for you, don't use the feature. For the rest of the world with an iota of detachment, who see these characters as time and money investments and who want control over their investments as they should, they get the option.

 

Frankly, given the lack of server transfers and the forced transfers that have happened, the guilds that have fallen apart and the entire population base changing under your feet if you've stuck with the game, NONE of which you had any control over, providing this feature seems to me more of a fix than a breakage.

[Leokul]

Please continue; what heroes have undergone a factional shift of allegiance to support an opposing power?

 

Well..........

 

 

In fact, one of the main characters of the Knights of the Old Republic series!

 

Revan was a Jedi Master > then the Dark Lord of the Sith and a servant of the Emperor > then a Jedi Master again!

 

In balance though, there is an argument to the fact that none of it was his choice and he simply went through a series of mind blankings,; conveniently forgetting his own memories of the Emperor even when we was re-written as Darth Revan (from the "Revan" novel) OR as Kreia suggested that he fell willingly to reforge the Republic to fight against the Emperor (from Sith Lords)

 

His own wife Bastila was also briefly the apprentice of Darth Malak but turned back by Revan.

 

 

As another example; Darth Vader's Sith Apprentice: Galen Marek, who wasn't a hero to begin with, hunted and killed Jedi for his master and butchered "loads" of people even from his own side in the name of secrecy managed to accidentally create the Rebellion, switch sides, then die..... but his clone rejoined it and captured Vader

 

 

The precedent for switching sides IS there, I personally am not so certain it works in a story based game unless you can actually factor it into the player's story... such as through a defection side plotline.

 

Perhaps a faction change could be implemented in game if/when you max out your light side / dark side points and are at lv50 with no more class content, then you get the opportunity to fall / redeem yourself to the opposite side. If you want to switch back again you'd need to go through the rigmarole of maxing out your points on the other end of the alignment and defecting again... would need a lot of work on the part of the player, but isn't that the point if you're so commited to changing back and forth?

 

Paying for the ability to instantly switch sides back and forth when you get bored just seems wrong in my opinion,

the plotlines are there to be enjoyed by the classes they are written for, though I can see the comparison with other games and appreciate the appeal it provides to players.

 

I am amazed at how people are so entirely not getting it. You aren't a sith warrior that went turn coat to the republic, you are a jedi knight that happens to be the same level gear and valor that your sith warrior was but are as advanced in the story line as a lvl 1 would be.

 

Completing all the content with one class, then carrying that progress over into the start of a different class' storyline also just itches me as wrong and is probably not how the game was intended to be experienced. If you want to start again as a new class, just roll up a new character and play through at the correct difficulty... rather than simply speed through it all with your one supercharged character and not appreciate the challenge the game was meant to provide.

 

On a continued note to that point, there is merit in allowing players to restart their existing class storyline from the beginning on classes they have already maxed out (perhaps on Hard Mode?)

Edited December 25, 2012 by Leokul

[Taoreta_Senshi]

Nobody would give a damn thing about their chatacters story being screwed up if they were already lvl 50. They would have already completed the story line for that characters class. It would be fine once the expansion comes out as well seeing as your character would already be the on the Empire/Republic. I bet 99% of the people that would want to faction change wouldn't give a damn about their story if it meant being able to change factions. Plus Bio-ware would make a **** ton of profit off of it anyways. The fact that you say that it would ruin the story alone isnt enough not to have it. If they wanted this game to be based solo on story they wouldn't of made the game an mmo they would have just made KTOR 3 and so on and so forth. I personally think that they should implement the faction change.

[Altyrell]

Nobody would give a damn thing about their chatacters story being screwed up if they were already lvl 50. They would have already completed the story line for that characters class. It would be fine once the expansion comes out as well seeing as your character would already be the on the Empire/Republic. I bet 99% of the people that would want to faction change wouldn't give a damn about their story if it meant being able to change factions. Plus Bio-ware would make a **** ton of profit off of it anyways. The fact that you say that it would ruin the story alone isnt enough not to have it. If they wanted this game to be based solo on story they wouldn't of made the game an mmo they would have just made KTOR 3 and so on and so forth. I personally think that they should implement the faction change.

 

It isn't about already completing the current 3 Chapters then changing sides, it is about screwing over everyone else who would rather have More Class Chapters get added instead. Sure we won't get any new Chapters in the Makeb Expansion, but that doesn't mean we won't have the possibility of getting a New Chapter for each Class in the 2nd Expansion or the next Expansion after that and so on.

[paowee]

I would love to pay to be able to faction change one of my toons. I just do not have that much free time to level another one to 55...

 

Maybe limit faction change to a one-time deal?

Edited October 17, 2013 by paowee

[Telos]

Could you elaborate? Is there some particular reason you can back with evidence that would show this to not be canonical, or perhaps generally a bad idea?

 

The class you chose has its own story and companions. That's the reason.

 

Not defending BW, just stating facts. I always said (back in beta) that tying characters to one single story was a mistake, as was tying companions to story, but nobody listened to me.

[MajikMyst]

I'm not at all amazed that people don't get it. You could post a suggestion to eliminate all loading screens and you'd still get a pile of loyalists who would insist that this is the way BioGod intended the game to be.

 

If this "breaks" the "story" or the "game" for you, don't use the feature. For the rest of the world with an iota of detachment, who see these characters as time and money investments and who want control over their investments as they should, they get the option..

 

Did it ever occur to you, that you are the one that doesn't get it.. All your post does is remind me that some people don't know squat about programming..

 

While the effects on story and everything else is really just a small part of the issue.. The real issue is swapping companions.. Yes, they will have to be swapped.. That is no simple task when it comes faction changes.. There is also titles.. Those would also have to be changed.. And since this game deals greatly on story.. It will have to be dealt with.. Whether you like it or not.. Story is in the game and will have to be dealt with..

 

It isn't a simple issue..

[trueKieran]

Wont happen for the simple fact it creates too much problems.

 

Each class has a specific story relevant to their faction. Switching sides would destroy that story and prevent any further leveling because you cant get quests anymore.

 

A Sith Inquisitor is going to be royally screwed joining the Republic... none of the stories would support such a character and its going to be silly watching the scripted missions treat you like a Jedi when your actually a Sith.

 

The only viable possibility is it can ONLY be done at level 50 with all class quests completed. However, if any future content comes out - you would be completely shafted unless Bioware magically retailor content to account for this.

 

Suddenly 4 story lines have to be altered to accomodate 8 possible characters.

 

Result: Dream On.

 

Well put. A faction change would require so much work to be done and so much to be changed that expecting it to be available is pretty unreasonable.

[Jamalzero]

I support the idea of a faction change. So long as it has the following prerequisites:

 

-Character must have completed class story.

-Character swapping to the Empire must have Dark V.

-Character swapping to the Republic must have Light V.

-Character must have 10000 affection with ALL companions.

-Character must complete Makeb story line.

-Character must have all datacrons.

-Character must have a Completed Codex.

-Character must pay 20,000,000 credits to swap factions. (so this would be a rare thing to see and not a server full of "What The F***'s")

 

If those requirements are met I say swap factions as you see fit but the hefty price would keep this at a minimum and make people work for it....because as cool as this idea is its only gonna be worth it if not a lot of people can achieve this.

[Lunafox]

Hello, i would like to have the possibilty to change faction. Me and many other players.

Personal reason doesnt matter just make it possible and throw a 10 dollar fee(for example) on it so its a WIN WIN situation.

 

This, would be an absolutely brilliant story idea. It would be utterly wonderful if our Jedi could truly fall to the dark side, or for that matter a Sith could be 'redeemed' and join the Jedi. I think the potential for a breathtaking story would be enormous . To be able to have an imperial smuggler has always been a hope of mine. Had one in SWG, and I loved it.

 

But alas, I don't see those lazy sods that work here taking the trouble to do something this amazing for us, sadly. They consider us lucky if they actually nip together another daily run for us. -_-

[Karnesh]

Faction betrayal with it's own story...i've always been baffled by the fact that everquest seem to be the only game with that option(correct me if i'm wrong!) and i love it...the fact that there was a faction of exiles...mostly thats where all the PvP hardcore dudes went because it was FFA outside the Exile den.

 

say you can start your betrayal at level...20 like in everquest, it's a good level for betrayal, you will then get to a station where people with their own minds and agendas will meet you...like a planet with a network of pirates or something like that...you can either join them or try to make contact with the other side...of course when you do this there is no going back.

 

The cool part would also be if you have a Legacy, it will be brought up in some conversations that someone in your family is a defect and shames your family name for it.

 

Maybe a certain corruption level would be required to turn from jedi to sith and no requirements of corruption for other classes and the other way around. And maybe some classes could not be turned at all. Im not at all an expert in starwars lore, but this i would think that this is betrayal is a very good idea, i have missed that option since back in the day when i played EQ.

 

I have seen posts like these on many mmo forums, but this option never arrived in any of them, this game have more potential for a betrayal type of questline, defecting players and exile factions. Warzones could hav exiles as some kind of "mercenaries" and in dungeons...im not entirely sure since they then would not be able to enter the fleet or cities at all.

[ChaoticNuetral]

Faction switch/ re-class is something that has been requested since 2011 they didn't care what you wanted then why would they care now.

[JediQuaker]

It's not a matter of "caring", it's matter of lore + technical issues (programming expense, etc). Edited May 11, 2021 by JediQuaker

[DragonSire]

It's not a matter of "caring", it's matter of lore + technical issues (programming expense, etc).

 

Well you could always do it the easy way. Everything pre 75 is the past so your decision hasn't happened yet. So only new content would acknowledge your faction change.

[ethanredmace]

A faction change would be cool. A Sith could still be a maniac or a level headed Sith like Lana Beniko who wants to stay Sith but doesn't hate the Jedi and join the Republic, while a Jedi could possibly become a Sith be it dark or light. It'd be funny if there was an option to stay a Jedi among Sith since most Sith don't like Jedi. A Sith trooper or Imperial trooper would be cool. It'd also be interesting if they could become a general like Rakton, a Grand Moff, or a Black Ops leader. An Imperial smuggler is a cool idea, but the smuggler could be working both sides for all the cash. Bounty Hunter primarily working for the Republic and taking some Imperial jobs on the side would be interesting. They maybe could hand command of the Alliance over to Gault Renow, Skadge, Shae Vizla, Lana Beniko, or some other character if they chose they don't want the responsibility.