ETA on Advanced Class change?

you keep saying that you can't, and yet people have.

methinks you are projecting.

and I have played both commando and a vanguard. well... mercenary and vanguard, but other then animations, commando and merc are basically mirrors. sure it plays very differently. but so does affliction warlock, vs demonology warlock, versus destruction warlock (and yes, i played my warlock as all 3) and so does holy pally vs retribution pally vs protection pally (again, played all 3)

very VERY different. and yet warlock is STILL a warlock. troopers and bounty hunters also use identical stats, and yet you don't see me claiming that they are the same class. they ARE however mirror classes.

when you are logging in to your character in TOR. what does the login screen say while leveling? it doesn't say vanguard chapter 1, or commando chapter 1. it says TROOPER chapter 1. when you have "class quest" in your journal - it's the same for vanguard OR commando. the same class vendor sells gears for both AC's. your codex specifies entries about companions, stories, etc - as trooper. in your skill window you have 2 sections for your abilities. your advanced class? and you CLASS. your interrupts and your stuns? are class wide, not limited to advanced class. your crowd control can vary, but that also varies from class to class, for instance agents regardless of AC can slice droids.

last but not least its called "advanced" class. wording is pretty deliberate.

and yes, if we picked out advanced class at character creation this would probably be different. but we don't. the way the game is currently set up? advanced class is specialization, NOT a distinct class.

Is it? Show me youtubes of level 50+ people finishing group content with no AC selected. If you find one, I'll concede it is actually optional.

.

trooper
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=574656

jedi

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=549229

and here is a agent

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=251639

nuff said

Is it? Show me youtubes of level 50+ people finishing group content with no AC selected. If you find one, I'll concede it is actually optional.

Nuff said indeed. Thank you for showing you have problems with reading. Where are these characters completing hard mode flashpoints and ops?

I am DEAD serious. I'm not even going to debate why. I pay my subscription. I pay for my characters. Nobody should tell me how to play or what button to hit and when or what spec to play or OMG FOTM or PvE vs PVP or WHATEVER.

I don't think it's cool to try and dictate how other people play the game. If I'm in a group and someone keeps choosing need then I won't play with them anymore. That should be enough. It's not my place to tell them what to do. If I'm in a group filled with Juggernauts because they are FOTM then I will find another group. It's not my place to tell people what spec to play. Period.

Having an opinion is one thing, trying to dictate or bully people into playing the way you think is just wrong. See all of the examples I listed and linked in my post above?

Why is that a requirement?

There are plenty of people who literally never do any group content. Seeing as how it isn't required. . . .

Because in RO, I also had a level 90 novice. The character wasn't really good for anything other than killing weak and basic mobs. Throw anything harder at it and it dies. Same in lineage 2. Some people went to max level as basic classes, because they couldn't be bothered to do the class quests. They had less skills, were squishier and worthless in pvp and harder pve.

So yes, you can say AC is optional. So is going off of ord mantell. You can hit level 50 on ord mantell, even at level 49, each mob there will give you 1 XP per kill. Does that mean going off ord mantell is optional? Or does it just mean that other than for the challenge itself, not going off is bloody silly?

whether its silly or not, is just your personal opinion.
the fact that its possible and doesn't involve cheating or exploits does in fact mean that its optional

Yes, I agree it's optional. Just like going off your starter planet is optional. Or using armour is optional. And so on.

But what that does have to do with the fact that once you change your class from trooper to commando, your class is no longer trooper, it's commando.

Frankly, I hope in the future they introduce more branches. Like, say, at level 60, commando branches into two or three more classes, all of which are again different and unique. They keep all the commando's skills, but specialize further in one area.