ETA on Advanced Class change?

[LordArtemis]

Add in the cons:

increases the number of players with that are not geared and cost of swapping out mods since not likely to have any gear that fits the class (heavy armor to medium, weapons, etc. )

 

IMO this is not a valid con. Every character that is created faces this con.

 

Those that don't want to grind for new gear will ask (demand?) for cheap ways to get mods (unlimited exchange of current gear for other gear of same type since that is the only cure).

 

I do not post "give an inch" arguments. They are fallacies IMO.

 

Adds development time that can be better used elsewhere.

 

This will be added to the list.

 

There is no consensus on how often or how much to charge. Some (most?) want it for free and unlimited swapping.

 

I do not add pro or con arguments that state a lack of agreement provides a reason for or against.

 

Some choices need to be permanent you made that decision with full disclosure it was permanent.

 

I do not add belief or honor system reasons to the pro/con list from either side. They are personal, and fit into "I like it" or "I don't like it", which does not deserve a place on the list as it can't be argued.

[branmakmuffin]

I do not add belief or honor system reasons to the pro/con list from either side. They are personal, and fit into "I like it" or "I don't like it", which does not deserve a place on the list as it can't be argued.

I did pay my 5 pounds, so I do expect a good argument, though.

[LordArtemis]

New pro and con added to the list, 2 pros and 4 cons rejected. Also removed my personal opinions as that can display bias.

 

Current list, pros and cons as reported by participants.

 

Option 1

Level 10 to 15 - Allow AC Change - max 2 changes allowed - reduction to level 10 with change - 24 hour cooldown - once you reach level 16 AC is permanent - everything except XP and quests are unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 2

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - reduction to level 10 with change - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything except XP and quests are unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 3

 

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 2 changes allowed - no reduction in level - one month cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 4

 

Level 10 to 30 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 5

Level 10 to 46 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will up to 46 - no reduction in level - no cooldown - once you reach level 47 AC is permanent - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 6

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 7

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - Must level one character to max level in an AC to unlock legacy ability to switch AC for that class - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 8

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - maximum 8 changes per account, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 9

 

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum number of changes - must change at AC trainers on fleet - 1 Week cooldown - Option for AC change unlocked as Character Perk for 600 cartel Coins (or 1.5 million credits) - Each subsequent AC change costs 40 cartel coins (or 100,000 credits).

 

Option 10

 

Level 40 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

 

Option 11

 

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum number of changes - must change at AC trainers on fleet or at terminal on ship - 1 Week cooldown - Single use Consumable purchased from Cartel Market for 1,000 CC (resalable on GTN).

 

Option 12

 

No AC change allowed.

 

 

And this is the pro and con list as it stands right now. It is certainly open for more additions or corrections.

 

 

PROS

 

1. breathing life into characters that may have been abandoned and thus extending someone's stay in game, their enjoyment in game.

2. allowing people who only have fun playing through a story once - experiment with their character without having to suffer through the story they already know and aren't having fun replaying.

3. allowing people to keep using unique, no longer acquirable items, that include pets, speeders, crystals, armor shells, as well as legacy perk unlocks on a character they have grown attached to, while enjoying the game play style that works better for them, within the same archetype, rather than having to reroll from scratch and lose all the investment they made into a character.

4. making extra money for bioware by making ac switch purchasable with cartel coins.

5. increasing choices and options.

 

CONS

 

1) I would expect that many folks are not going to react well to this change if implemented.

2) They flirted with the idea before launch, even talked about it publicly, but in the end decided not to allow it. At the time folks were pretty dead set against it. I don't think it's likely the current environment has changed much since then.

3) Some classes could end up underrepresented due to bad design. Right now some folks stick with an AC they choose because they would have to reroll and do not wish to do so I would guess.

4) If restrictions are not in place this could end up being abused or exploited.

5) This will likely further demean AC choice.

6) Could cause FOTM issues.

7) If late game AC change is allowed it could end up causing folks that have an AC but do not know how to properly play it running Raids and Operations, making an existing problem worse.

8) Development resources could be better spent elsewhere on more popular content.

Edited November 6, 2013 by LordArtemis

[LordArtemis]

I did pay my 5 pounds, so I do expect a good argument, though.

 

And you give as good as you get Bran.

[branmakmuffin]

And you give as good as you get Bran.

But I can't even argue with TUXs in this thread.

[Suromir]

/looks at original date of thread posting.

 

/looks at current date and number of pages.

 

/notices absolutely NO word from BioWare

 

/wonders when people will open their eyes

[branmakmuffin]

/looks at original date of thread posting.

 

/looks at current date and number of pages.

 

/notices absolutely NO word from BioWare

 

/wonders when people will open their eyes

/wonders what the point of that post is.

[Suromir]

/wonders what the point of that post is.

 

/thinks Ron White was dead on

[branmakmuffin]

/thinks Ron White was dead on

/has no idea who Ron White is.

[LordArtemis]

/looks at original date of thread posting.

 

/looks at current date and number of pages.

 

/notices absolutely NO word from BioWare

 

/wonders when people will open their eyes

 

Looks at last post by Bioware on this issue with VERY WIDE, very worried eyes.

 

Looks at your post with very puzzled eyes.

[LordArtemis]

But I can't even argue with TUXs in this thread.

 

Dont you hate when that happens?

 

Just fart in his general direction. Or tell him he smells of elderberries.

Edited November 5, 2013 by LordArtemis

[DOHboy]

The reason I take the "gear swap argument as follows" I will use commando/vanguard as an example and will use the tank/healer classes.

 

Player is at a level sufficient that they are understanding their class (say 50) and realizing that they do not like tanking operations, flashpoints, or group content in general and overall mechanics of the vanguard class. They do not want to switch to (which is essentially) a melee DPS spec. So they decide to swap to commando healer.

 

Their load out would be such that they are in essentially end game or approaching and starting to get end game gear. However, because they swapped all the mods, armorings, enhancements and even the mainhand/off hands, and any augmenets are essentially worthless.

 

Player would probably not have a main hand weapon even available (at best take it from jorgan) to even begin running content.

 

The logical assumption that would be made (since honestly not really a bad idea, since this is why they put in the timer anyway) that the easiest way to handle this would be that any armor bought for comms could be returned to the vendor for an equal item (potentially this is what the CM would actually pay for).

 

I'm well aware it was a give an inch. But I do feel there is a hidden cost there that until remedied, a player is essentially naked until either they spend lots of credits to gear, steal from their companion, or hopefully saved up comms.

 

This isn't a I have to get gear eventually anyway, this is that at the time of swapping due to each class having unique weapons choices, odds are high that the person will not have an available main hand and/or off hand to use.

 

If you take it to the extreme. swapping from say a sentinel to a guardian the char will have zero armor (if not already adaptive).

[WestXv]

Dont you hate when that happens?

 

Just fart in his general direction. Or tell him he smells of elderberries.

 

No no no no no. Twas his father hath smelt of elderberries.

[branmakmuffin]

The reason I take the "gear swap argument as follows" I will use commando/vanguard as an example and will use the tank/healer classes.

 

Player is at a level sufficient that they are understanding their class (say 50) and realizing that they do not like tanking operations, flashpoints, or group content in general and overall mechanics of the vanguard class. They do not want to switch to (which is essentially) a melee DPS spec. So they decide to swap to commando healer.

 

Their load out would be such that they are in essentially end game or approaching and starting to get end game gear. However, because they swapped all the mods, armorings, enhancements and even the mainhand/off hands, and any augmenets are essentially worthless.

Explain how this is so different from going between DPS and heal or tank. I say, again, apparently DPS to heal/tank (or the other direction) is an easily mastered change whereas tank to heal (or the other way) is just too much.

[TUXs]

Dont you hate when that happens?

 

Just fart in his general direction. Or tell him he smells of elderberries.

 

The day is early...I'm sure you two will find something to disagree with me on as the day passes

[TUXs]

If you take it to the extreme. swapping from say a sentinel to a guardian the char will have zero armor (if not already adaptive).

 

Armor is easy to acquire - the desire to grind a new identical story to enjoy the game, isn't.

[DOHboy]

Explain how this is so different from going between DPS and heal or tank. I say, again, apparently DPS to heal/tank (or the other direction) is an easily mastered change whereas tank to heal (or the other way) is just too much.

 

Swapping within the same AC you at least have your main hand and weapons. And at worst you might be stacked heavy in alacrity

 

where as tanks are almost always stacked in def. Absorb. and Shield. Yes, even swapping from tank to dps requires plenty of gear changes and most people may have multiple gear sets, but again you are within your own AC and will still have your main hand weapon.

 

When you swap AC you will also need to swap your main hand. (single to staff, rifle to assault cannon etc).

 

The other extreme would be the JK/Warrior class. When you swap with in that. you will require swapping armor entirely (at least any that isnt adaptive) since one uses heavy the other medium. But the main hand would still be used.

 

Those were the key points i was trying to make. That at the moment you switch, you might be severely nerfed to the point of having no recourse but to spend credits to buy your way to a build. It is not as simple as just swapping trees, each AC is tied to a specific weapon.

[LordArtemis]

The day is early...I'm sure you two will find something to disagree with me on as the day passes

 

I disagree with your assessment on what will transpire as the day passes.

[TUXs]

Swapping within the same AC you at least have your main hand and weapons. And at worst you might be stacked heavy in alacrity

Do you PvP at all? I already have 2 sets of 100% different gear. This is like saying "you should only be able to PvP or PvE since you need different gear for the other activity"...it's silly. Gear is a piece of cake to get. 20min NiM run of any classic Op and they'll have a 4-piece bonus too.

 

 

I disagree with your assessment on what will transpire as the day passes.

See That didn't take long

Edited November 5, 2013 by TUXs

[DOHboy]

Do you PvP at all? I already have 2 sets of 100% different gear. This is like saying "you should only be able to PvP or PvE since you need different gear for the other activity"...it's silly. Gear is a piece of cake to get. 20min NiM run of any classic Op and they'll have a 4-piece bonus too.

 

 

 

See That didn't take long

 

Yup you have one set for PVP another set for PVE totally understand that. Might even had a third set for PVE for if you feel like swapping specs.

 

But do you carry around a blaster rifle on your commando? Do you carry a set of heavy armor on your sentinel? How about a blaster pistol and a knfe on your sniper? Double bladed saber on your sage?

 

How are you going to run that Nim EV when your sentinel (fresh off of a guardian) is walking around with an ear piece and two implants unless yous pent a bunch of money on new armor just after you swapped. Since nothign yoru guardian would have will work with a sentinel other than those. Unless you have all adaptive armor which at this point maybe most do, but not everyone will.

[TUXs]

But do you carry around a blaster rifle on your commando? Do you carry a set of heavy armor on your sentinel? How about a blaster pistol and a knfe on your sniper? Double bladed saber on your sage?

I sure do. My companions have the basic gear I'd need.

[ekwalizer]

Those are the only reasonable "con" arguments.

 

According to whom? The only person you can speak for is yourself.

[Vhaegrant]

Yup you have one set for PVP another set for PVE totally understand that. Might even had a third set for PVE for if you feel like swapping specs.

 

But do you carry around a blaster rifle on your commando? Do you carry a set of heavy armor on your sentinel? How about a blaster pistol and a knfe on your sniper? Double bladed saber on your sage?

 

How are you going to run that Nim EV when your sentinel (fresh off of a guardian) is walking around with an ear piece and two implants unless yous pent a bunch of money on new armor just after you swapped. Since nothign yoru guardian would have will work with a sentinel other than those. Unless you have all adaptive armor which at this point maybe most do, but not everyone will.

 

I actually do run around with a blaster rifle on my Commando, the C-61 Survival Carbine to be precise, for when I feel like a bit of a change in dailies. At that point it doesn't make an overly big impact on performance.

 

And it is very specific to Advanced class choice, the difference for a Powertech to Mercenary is no different than changing an offhand (exactly the same sort of change as changing generator to shield in the Powertech specs)

 

Not to mention you can pick up adaptive armour and other Cartel Market weapons at a ridiculously low price on the GTN.

 

Having to change to a different set of gear due to a change of AC is really not that more significant than gearing up a new set of vanity gear from a cartel pack because it looks nice

 

That aside, this is a cost of changing AC and in many eyes a perfectly acceptable cost to bare. As would be the cost of having to rank up the different abilities. If you have the potential to flip back and forth between ACs this would only be a one off cost, whereas the cost of the actual swap would always be there.

[DOHboy]

I actually do run around with a blaster rifle on my Commando, the C-61 Survival Carbine to be precise, for when I feel like a bit of a change in dailies. At that point it doesn't make an overly big impact on performance.

 

And it is very specific to Advanced class choice, the difference for a Powertech to Mercenary is no different than changing an offhand (exactly the same sort of change as changing generator to shield in the Powertech specs)

 

Not to mention you can pick up adaptive armour and other Cartel Market weapons at a ridiculously low price on the GTN.

 

Having to change to a different set of gear due to a change of AC is really not that more significant than gearing up a new set of vanity gear from a cartel pack because it looks nice

 

That aside, this is a cost of changing AC and in many eyes a perfectly acceptable cost to bare. As would be the cost of having to rank up the different abilities. If you have the potential to flip back and forth between ACs this would only be a one off cost, whereas the cost of the actual swap would always be there.

 

Everyone plays differently. I was simply stating that there will be people that when they see they can swap AC go to the vendor swap AC and suddenly they are completely naked (assuming do not have 100% adaptive armor) and are rather shocked that they do not have any gear and cannot get gear since this is the only set they have They will have to buy off the GTN before they can start running dailies/flashpoints for higher gear.

 

Yes its a one time cost, but you can already see the connections between those asking for AC swapping and those asking for us to use any weapon. They want it both ways. Is it as trivial as others make it out to be, probably not, is it as major as I make it sound, probably not. Do I want to run a flashpoint withsomeone who is running absorb, shield, and def. as a healer...probably not.

[Vhaegrant]

New pro and con added to the list, 2 pros and 4 cons rejected. Also removed my personal opinions as that can display bias.

 

Current list, pros and cons as reported by participants.

These are purely my opinions but I decided to read through the options, pros and cons and make a few observations. I'm aware that I've commented on the pros and cons before but I'm not referring back to that past, it will be interesting to see if my views have shifted drastically over the weeks

 

Option 1

Level 10 to 15 - Allow AC Change - max 2 changes allowed - reduction to level 10 with change - 24 hour cooldown - once you reach level 16 AC is permanent - everything except XP and quests are unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

I think the level restriction is far too low, the Advanced Classes haven't had a chance to diverge to any significance.

A limiting factor of two possible changes is more data to track.

Reducing back to level 10 adds the complexity of altering class story/ one off world quests data tracking.

24 hour cooldown seems arbitrary considering the other costs.

Permanent at level 16 defeats the point of allowing a choice based on how an Advanced Class plays with a full complement of abilities.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, my opinion is it is too punitive to be a realistic proposition.

 

Option 2

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - reduction to level 10 with change - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything except XP and quests are unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

While the unlimited level restriction is attractive, the 'max 1 change restriction' leaves the player in a situation with no ability to revert back to the original AC and the limiting factor of one possible change is more data to track.

Reduction to level 10 varies in impact, but for endgame consideration is really no different than saying roll a new character.

Reducing back to level 10 adds the complexity of altering class story/ one off world quests data tracking.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, my opinion is it is too punitive to be a realistic proposition.

 

Option 3

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 2 changes allowed - no reduction in level - one month cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

Full level range allows a player to see the full potential of an Advanced Class's ability rotation.

Maximum of two changes allows a player to get back to the original AC if they find the alternative was no more or even less appealing.

One month cooldown seems to be redundant with the above limitation.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, seemingly attractive for a player to get a one shot look at how the other AC plays and if they like it stay with it. Probably best used at a point where the full range of abilities are potentially available (level 46 onwards). However the lack of a cartel coin requirement sees a feature that would return nothing back to its development costs.

 

Option 4

Level 10 to 30 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

Level restriction is still on the low side, a full spec rotation isn't available until level 46 onwards.

A limiting factor of one possible change is more data to track.

The 'max 1 change restriction' leaves the player in a situation with no ability to revert back to the original AC.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, while it leaves the character at the same level it keeps the same 'dead end' nature of the 1 change restriction at a time when the player has no appreciation of the full rotation. Again with the lack of return on development cost. An uninspiring compromise that satisfies none of the requirements it needs to meet.

 

Option 5

Level 10 to 46 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will up to 46 - no reduction in level - no cooldown - once you reach level 47 AC is permanent - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

Full level range to judge abilities along with no restriction on number of changes in this period allows for reasonable appraisal of the two ACs.

Level 47 AC choice becomes permanent, based solely on the fact level 46 is the point you could have a full rotation if you specced out all in one talent tree, that is not always the case though.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, a seemingly good compromise that favours those that are indecisive in which AC to play while they level. It does nothing though for those players that find them selves in endgame content with a character AC they no longer enjoy or would like to change to better aid guild composition. Again lack of a cartel cost means no return on the development cost.

 

Option 6

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

No restriction on level, number of changes or cooldown.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, AC Swapping with absolutely no restrictions and no return on the development cost. At most there is the potential one off cost of having to rank up both sets of abilities and re-equip in gear. Just as unappealing to me as the current situation of no AC swapping.

 

Option 7

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum changes, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - Must level one character to max level in an AC to unlock legacy ability to switch AC for that class - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

No restriction on level, number of changes or cooldown.

Requires desired AC swap to already be levelled to max level.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, while initially attractive, it requires the player to already have the desired AC at max level. It is more likely the player would go back to that character if they enjoyed playing it so much and leave the disliked AC (or delete them). It makes a little more sense if it was opened up to the mirror AC as well (so a Mercenary could swap to Powertech if the player already had a Vanguard or a Powertech at max level) at least this way they aren't duplicating an existing AC. But again the lack of cartel investment means there is no return for the development time.

 

Option 8

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - maximum 8 changes per account, can change at will - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

A limiting factor of eight possible changes is more data to track.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, a somewhat arbitrary number of eight hangs over the head of the player and need to be tracked across all characters on all servers as it is account based. Sets up the player with the situation where all swapping abilities may have been used up on earlier characters. Again lacking in any return on development time.

 

Option 9

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum number of changes - must change at AC trainers on fleet - 1 Week cooldown - Option for AC change unlocked as Character Perk for 600 cartel Coins (or 1.5 million credits) - Each subsequent AC change costs 40 cartel coins (or 100,000 credits).

The lack of a level requirement was to allow a player to get a full complement of talent points and thus explore an AC and its three trees fully to gain an opinion before considering a swap.

No maximum number of changes is tied into the fact it is purchased using Cartel Coins.

The location restriction was to get around any exploits a player may conceive of using this in warzones or operations (at the time players could respec characters at the drop of a hat in the middle of a WZ).

The cooldown was to minimise the impact it may have on guild compositions during the Operation/Boss lock out period of one week.

The Cartel Cost was modelled on the current system of 'Field Respecialisation' and was a somewhat arbitrary value. On consideration, I would probably say these costs to be on the low side and would re-evaluate to 2,500 cartel coins (5 million credits) to unlock the feature and 100 cartel coins (250,000 credits) per use. (again room to haggle on the costs based on ingame economy and metrics)

 

Overall, this was one of my original suggestions and obviously I have a strong bias towards it

 

Option 10

Level 40 to 55 - Allow AC Change - max 1 change allowed - no reduction in level - no cooldown - no level gate for permanent AC choice - everything is unaffected - armor/earpieces/weapons for character and companions are removed and must be reequipped.

Level restriction is on the right side as a full spec rotation isn't available until level 46 onwards.

A limiting factor of one possible change is more data to track.

The 'max 1 change restriction' leaves the player in a situation with no ability to revert back to the original AC.

No Cartel Coin cost, thus no return on development cost.

 

Overall, while it leaves the character at the same level it keeps the same 'dead end' nature of the 1 change restriction, unlike 'Option 4' the player has the appreciation of how the AC is playing but still faces the potential of swapping into an AC they like even less. Again with the lack of return on development cost. I can't really push for this compromise as I feel it plays almost to 'entrapment' luring a player to try out the other AC and then abandoning them in it.

 

 

Option 11

No AC change allowed.

Not really an option as much as an ultimatum

 

Option 12

Level 10 to 55 - Allow AC Change - no maximum number of changes - must change at AC trainers on fleet or at terminal on ship - 1 Week cooldown - Single use Consumable purchased from Cartel Market for 1,000 CC (resalable on GTN).

A new 'Option' that I proposed a little while back.

Nearly identical to 'Option 9' except it simplifies the Cartel Market aspect and allows for the internal resale of the Consumable on the GTN.

 

Overall, this is probably my favoured solution at the current moment and obviously I have a stronger bias towards it

 

 

 

And this is the pro and con list as it stands right now. It is certainly open for more additions or corrections.

 

 

PROS

 

1. breathing life into characters that may have been abandoned and thus extending someone's stay in game, their enjoyment in game.

Judging from several of the threads started on the Suggestions forum this is one of the leading reasons why players ask for the AC swap facility.

 

2. allowing people who only have fun playing through a story once - experiment with their character without having to suffer through the story they already know and aren't having fun replaying.

Class story at best accounts for about a third of the questing (this is a guestimate based off the number of quests I get at each hub) and some of the most unique dialogue. It's a shame the flair and wit encountered in such content isn't a bit more apparent across the shared faction based world arc quests. That said I imagine there are many players that associate strongly with their character on the Class level rather than the Advanced Class level. The story provides the empathic link, while advanced class is a more abstract collection of equipment and abilities already seen in the ability to change talent trees.

 

3. allowing people to keep using unique, no longer acquirable items, that include pets, speeders, crystals, armor shells, as well as legacy perk unlocks on a character they have grown attached to, while enjoying the game play style that works better for them, within the same archetype, rather than having to reroll from scratch and lose all the investment they made into a character.

The addition of the Collection system alleviates some of these concerns with regards cartel pack acquired items. I feel that certain items should only be acquired through doing the content whether it be a quest chain to get a pet or a drop of an Operation boss. This is probably one of the weaker pros.

 

4. making extra money for bioware by making ac switch purchasable with cartel coins.

It's a business after all and it needs to generate income. This ties in more with 'con 8.' and whether expected return would offset the development cost.

 

5. increasing choices and options.

There are relatively few if any horizontal game play options, this has the potential to add one. A player may spend more time in endgame content acquiring gear to fulfil all of their roles, or may have the option to switch between roles they prefer (Heal <-> Tank). Although, associated with a cartel cost I feel this would still be less favourable than the current talent respecialisation options (currently free for subscribers).

It also gives a player the option for their character to effectively use a wider variety of weapons (although again I feel the cost would be too much for many currently wanting a more diverse selection of weapons).

 

 

CONS

 

1) I would expect that many folks are not going to react well to this change if implemented.

This falls heavily on the 'I don't like it' side of an argument and could just as easily be countered by the Pro 'I would expect that many folks are going to react well to this change if implemented.'. As the voice of forumites is seldom representative of the actual population playing the game this is largely unknowable and would have to balance on which is the larger population putting more money into the game, a metric only Bioware would be privy to.

 

2) They flirted with the idea before launch, even talked about it publicly, but in the end decided not to allow it. At the time folks were pretty dead set against it. I don't think it's likely the current environment has changed much since then.

I think this is where the quick fix solution of placing the 'This is a Permanent choice' warning comes from. Given that people were asking for AC swapping during beta just suggests that it is a long term complication derived in many ways from a players expectation that the class choice comes at level 1 and further choices are more of a specialisation.

I think the current environment has changed enough given the major transition over to a hybrid model for this to be reconsidered, as the most recent post on the subject from a Dev suggests.

 

3) Some classes could end up underrepresented due to bad design. Right now some folks stick with an AC they choose because they would have to reroll and do not wish to do so I would guess.

This is a design issue. If anything AC swapping should be seen as a positive to this issue. If 95% of Bounty Hunters are playing as Mercenaries it should be a clear flag they need to look into why Powertechs are not popular,

 

4) If restrictions are not in place this could end up being abused or exploited.

Most of the sensible suggestions are asking for restrictions. The main consideration is how much potential revenue could be generated through Cartel sales, would that be enough to cover development of the feature with the potential of additional revenue.

 

5) This will likely further demean AC choice.

Largely a subjective issue. I feel AC swapping places more importance on story and Class without removing the ability for those who prefer to focus on one specific role.

 

6) Could cause FOTM issues.

FOTM issues exist. It is one of the problems of trying to balance across a PvE and PvP environment. Like Con 3. if there is a sudden swing in the population balance between the ACs it's a very good indicator to the Devs that they have got their sums and predictions wrong.

On the other hand, from a players perspective if an advanced class is nerfed it gives them a potential solution until the devs can roll out a longer term fix.

Overall though I personally feel FOTM will exist until devs can separate out PvP from PvE, this would obviously mean the loss of Open World PvP but personally that's a loss I can accept.

 

7) If late game AC change is allowed it could end up causing folks that have an AC but do not know how to properly play it running Raids and Operations, making an existing problem worse.

Most players on entry to Heroic Mode Flashpoints and Operations have very little experience of the sudden difficulty jump. This is no different if you let them swap AC than if you tell them to go relevel an alt. It doesn't take much to learn the new rotations, a little longer (although with Oricon not much longer) to get a decent set of gear to participate in the harder endgame content.

The end point is that bad players are bad players no matter what while an inexperienced player can become a good player given encouragement.

You have to accept that PUGs tend to be the abode of the more antisocial, unable to stay in a guild, least likely to research content players. The best solution to this issue is to find a guild or friend those players you find that do play well.

 

8) Development resources could be better spent elsewhere on more popular content.

Wholeheartedly agree with this 100%. Despite my apparent obsession with this thread it actually rates quite low on features I'd like to see implemented.