ETA on Advanced Class change?

Much easier to put blame: "It`s Bioware`s fault because I`m a lazy bum!"

No it is not. Changing Advanced Class may be seen as a change in play style, but the underlying mechanics of the Advanced Class have not been changed.

A player that has levelled as a Powertech and swaps over to Mercenary will have a character with the same mechanics as a player that has always been a Mercenary. They will not have a Mercenary that retains previous Powertech abilities as well. This means that balance of underlying game mechanics is preserved.

And I have done
Forum time is usually cast aside to my commute time or bouts of insomnia

I think the main divide falls on those gamers who are here to compete (and tend to have previous experience and expectations built up from exposure to other MMOs) and tie game mechanics to their core experience and those gamers who are here to absorb the story and the game setting.
Personally, for me, each Advanced Class has 3 entirely separate Specialisations within it, all have different play styles. The AC is an additional stage of Specialisation.

If you are serious about Ranked content or Nightmare Operations you need to form a group with players you know, whether it's from adding them to your friends list or joining a guild. Expecting the general player base to be up to the same high standards you set for yourself will always be a losing proposition. Not least because entry to level 55 PVP doesn't mean you will have PVP'd at all as you level. Many players will hit a more severe learning curve of needing more keybindings in PVP play than they ever used while they levelled through PvE content.

I enjoy playing new classes for the story choices, I enjoy playing a variety of AC's and Specialisations for the different roles.
You really don't learn to play to your strengths as you level. Typically if you are a diligent player clearing all content you will be 4-6 levels over content (consider this easy mode) if you are several alts into your experience you may have unlocked a huge presence buff that boosts your companion significantly.
Only when you come to the end game and content specifically made with the level 55 in mind can you start to knuckle down and really learn to play your class. Unfortunately, for the first PUGs of normal FPs you are likely to be carried through by over-geared players dropping back to pick up the daily GF rewards.

I would agree (although from evidence of other games dev time is better spent introducing more content at end game and raising level cap)
I think I've posted a few ideas on this thread about using new ACs to expand the role coverage of Melee DPS/ Ranged DPS/ Healer/ Tank out to all Classes.
The addition of new ACs is also the point at which I think AC swapping would be well received. It doesn't take away the opportunity of levelling a new character from scratch for those those players that like to level. It does place in a system that allows a player a greater degree of flexibility.

I would imagine a one shot use consumable purchased from the Cartel Market for 1,000cc (and able to vendor on GTN) places a single AC swap at an average cost of £5.80p. If you are using complementary CC from subscription you could burn them all to get one AC swap every other month.

Personally I see this as the strongest argument for allowing Advanced Class change. It is also the reason why I wouldn't mind ONE Advanced class change per character (with, say, a 7 days "refund" - aka revert to the original AC - available), however this one change would automatically expire upon reaching level 50 (yes 50, even when the current maximum is 55).

The easiest way to accomplish this would be a "clone" of sorts. Essentially, the team would rename your existing character and make a new lvl 55, with the other advanced class, and duplicate all of the items in your inventory. You would get all the same light/dark points, unlocks, everything. Your original 55, would be renamed and stored. Then, when you paid to change back to your previous AC, they would simply copy the new gear (if possible), and all of the inventory items.

However, since I am not a proponent of this type of change, nor do I have a dog in this fight, I am all for people having options. I think this option should run about 7500CC and come with a 30 day cooldown. This would insure people were serious about their change and the cost would cover the not-so-automated task of creating a duplicate character with a different advanced class. Just my 2 cents.

With the usual caveat that 'Armchair programming is a lot easier than real programming' I'd say that's a little more complex than the solution needs to be.
If you look at how the game already handles Class abilities when you go to a Class trainer. Before you chose an Advanced Class the Class Trainer will only display the core abilities for that Class. Only after you select your Advanced Class will the trainer then show the additional tab with the Advanced Class abilities on it.

This suggests to me that the abilities in the game all have unique identifiers and are already grouped into categories dependant on Class or Advanced Class.

Along side this, even if an ability is there on the Class Trainers panel you don't have to purchase it. This means there is the means to track and store the rank you currently have.

I would have thought the most you would need to do is have the progression of all abilities tracked, not just the ones you currently have access through because of your current AC choice.

Without knowing exactly how these variables are stored long term it makes it hard to estimate how easy or hard it would be to implement such a conditional.


Why so serious?
£40 for an AC change... so in other words so punitive no one would use it.
Not to mention, even if they could only implement it through a 'cloning' system it would still be 100% automated.

For many, an AC change would be a one off deal, for others it may be something they do every other week, or on an ad hoc basis to support their guild. For many others it would be a way to reflect the more realistic environment they see their characters inhabiting (yes, scary thought for the day, many gamers use SWTOR as a form of escapism to imagine their alter-ego running around in the Star Wars-verse, hence the number of calls for sandbox options, pazaak like mini games, player owned shops, player housing, and many more requested features) not just running warzones over and over. And for these players it is not a great stretch of the imagination to think a character that can completely change their role through specialisation could not just as easily change it through an AC swap.

As someone far wiser than I once wrote "...what exists, exists; what is, is, and that from this... bedrock principle, all knowledge is built...wishes and whims are not facts".

The devs have never contradicted their statements that AC's are different classes. That is how the devs see them. It makes no difference how many people wish AC's were not different classes so they cold have a slightly better leg upon which to stand when asking to change the PERMANENT choice they made.

The player who levels a powertech and is handed a mercenary will NOT have the same game play mechanics he had as a powertech. Those game play mechanics will now be determined by the mercenary class abilities. This makes changing class a change in fundamental game play mechanics. The change may be character specific, but it is a change in fundamental game play mechanics for that player.

You may be saying that the game play mechanics of each class may not change, but the game play mechanics for players who change their class WOULD change. This is far different than a mere COSMETIC change, such as species.

We already have a limit in place on how many times you can change your class, That limit is ZERO. Look at how many people are in this thread crying for that limit to be raised or even removed.

What makes you think that a limit of ONE TIME AC change would be enough? Heck, you can't even make the suggestion without leaving yourself an out.