ETA on Advanced Class change?

This is a bad idea, why even have advanced classes if you can flit between them.

If you want the other advanced class, level it up.

this like others in this post, it's about AC's not ...SPEC, what's you are talking about is more DUAL SPEC, swap from dps to healer, dps to tank, dps to another dps (pvp for ex.) not AC

AC's are really unique in this game right?, in Wow as some people says, if you choose to play a druid you have just a run from 1 to 90 as a druid with a possibility to have 3 different spec, you don't have to choose between druid and shaman at lvl 10..

in this thread, i think, you ,even the Op are missing the point, if BW want to add dual spec, it will be brilliant, but switching AC a disaster

Advanced Classes are considered your Class. Just because they share the first ~10 levels and share a story doesn't mean you should be able to swap between them like your different specs.

I really hope Bioware gets rid of the option at level ~10 and makes you pick your Advanced Class at the character select screen.

Even if Bioware does allow this in the future, the people who want it will still not be satisfied because

- it'll cost too much
- there will be a cooldown on the ability
- their gear won't change stats to match their new role
- their gear won't change to match the offhands and relics of their new role (PT with tank relics to a Merc DPS)
- they don't like their new Advanced Class and want to change back, for free, and bypass the cooldown of course.

Really.. if you unenjoy or dislike this game so much that starting a new toon to try something out or do something you might like is not an option for you, why are you playing?

I understand not all people have vast amounts of time to play and leveling a new toon might take people month(s) or even year(s). But it shouldn't be about the speed at which you get something, but the experiences you have doing it.

There's as much/more difference between my RIFT mage's tank spec and any of her ranged dps specs than exists between most base classes on here.

I don't think there'd be any catastrophe if people could switch ac's. I'm honestly bewildered at the vehemence of some against it. It seems like there's a naive assumption going on that ac's are hard.

I'm reasonably certain the game would go on, none the worse for wear.

ACs are different from classes in Wow or Rift. ACs are like they took the Druid class (druids have 4 specs) and split it in 2. In Rift any one class can play any role including Ranged or Melee DPS, Tank, Healer and Support, with or without a pet and a myriad of variations on top of that.

You are missing the point that switching ACs would be nowhere close to switching classes. ACs are not classes. ACs are micro classes.

Good design would be:

AC isn't cheap but still affordable. Making it for the 5% top players is useless.

First switch back to initial class between a week range would be cheap, because if a player don't enjoy his new AC you still want him/her to play the game, especially if it's his/her main character.

Gear stat must not change and people won't mind, trust me. However you can make it so they can buy/grind a basic gear set, for a price... think PvP gear.

But before AC changes we need multi-speccing that would help the game and the CM sales.

For example I'd go with a PvP template, plus a Tank one for groups and finally a DPS one for solo sessions on my main. Then on one of my alt I'd go keeping her Heal template for groups, DPS for soloing and eventually invest in a PvP template too.

For now on the first one I mostly only Tank and I'm about to get rid of healing on my alt because it's tedious in soloplay.
End of story = one less healer for PUGs and one less tank for PvP and well well less gear being grind, crafted or even bought.

The only reasonable position against it is "Not worth the dev effort," which is the same as saying "I don't like it."

For it we have "I like it" and at least the potential to make real money for BWEA as they would no doubt charge CC for it.

Well, I believe my suggestion a few pages back would be a good compromise. It provides maximum flexibility in role without the need to trivialize AC choice.

and some folk say...on a quiet night...you can hear the corpse of the horse...still being beaten.

No they aren't. This is a lie being perpetuated by a few and this very website disproves this fallacy.
http://www.swtor.com/holonet/classes
Disliking an AC is not the same as disliking the game. To equate the two is preposterous. Suggesting people just quit playing is irresponsible because that hurts the game a helluva lot more than some guy swapping his AC would.
This is an MMO. It is ALWAYS evolving and the player base is always in flux. MMO designers need to give their customers the flexibility to be fluid as well. This is a game, nothing more.