ETA on Advanced Class change?

The sad thing about this is.

It breaks down to a very simple and fundamental thing.

Anti-AC change supporters- Offer only their choice and that's it. They are enforcing how other players should play the game, based solely on a selfish nature.

Pro-AC change supporters- We offer a choice whether you take up the AC change feature or you don't. Either way, the player gets the best of both worlds.

Once these anti-AC supporters wipe the foam from their mouths. Then we can start accepting terms and restrictions on how an AC change system should happen.

Some already did, but once again the anti-AC supporters only offer restrictions that make it pointless to AC change! How shocking

As a AC change supporter- I don't want unlimited AC changes at a moments notice.

1. High CC/Credit cost
2. Allow change from 11-55
3. Let them change 3 times total
4. Let it be a week long CD.

I think that's fair. Actually I might consider removing that 3 times total cap, why should there be a cap? No reason for that, just add a longer CD. I will settle for 3 though for now, just to throw the anti-AC change party a bone.

Re-roll is a choice. However, re-roll should not be the ONLY choice. More than one great concept for a QoL issue has stemmed from ideas from fans. Many of the improvements to SWTOR have been fan related. Being able to move from Tank to Healer to DPS by visiting a trainer should be a workable option. The only difference between this and field respec is having access to all 6 trees instead of just 3. And, now that adaptive armor is the new norm, you could go from medium armor as a Sentinel to Heavy armor as a Knight just by visiting the trainer and re-ADVANCED speccing.

We should invite MORE options into the game... not fewer.

Reroll

This seems to be the only option a the 'No AC Change' camp want to offer. While it is valid in the sense that I can absolutely reroll and play as the other AC there are several factor where this loses validity.

1) Story focus - for those who play this game for the story, we are actually likely to only ever make 8 characters as nothing about the game changes between advanced classes save for 2 skill trees, a portion of your abilities, and your available roles. All of that is inconsequential to why we play, the story. Being able to change AC after we come to find we don't like it, is important to use as we don't want to redo the story and in essence delete our character. Remember we aren't looking to fast track to end game on any character.

2) Research tells you only part of the story - I thought I would like healing as an Operative as I loved my Resto Druid and Warden Cleric but I was wrong, the healing for Operative at my current level (32) leads me to believe the style of healing on Operative is not for me (seems more akin to Disc Priest which I never liked)

3) Parent Node Class - as a agent I have 1 story regardless of AC, 1 ship, and 1 set of companions. To a player like myself focused on the story and journey, restarting is a huge endeavor.

4) Immersion - it actually makes sense that I would be able to receive training and re specialize. After all I am a member of a mighty military, and military's quite often allow for their soldier to receive additional specialized training. It would make 100% sense for my Agent to go complete some sort of quest to learn how to become a sniper.

The question is always why not? If you don't like the option do not use it. If someone does they can use it.

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

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.


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.


I have decided to support option 1, option 7 but would prefer option 10. I like the idea of option 7...you have to level an AC to max level to get a legacy unlock you can use to switch to that AC inside the class for another character account wide.

I still prefer no AC change, but I'm open to support 1 and 7.

I would also add what I would like to see happen with respect to AC.

1) Bioware would come out and publicly state, in no uncertain terms, that AC IS YOUR CLASS.

2) Make AC choice mandatory at level 10, move all abilities under the AC heading in the abilities pane and remove the base class header, move all trainable abilities from that point forward under the AC header on the trainer.

3) Remove all references in the game to your base class that can be removed once you choose your AC.

4) Add a small quest line at max level that is AC specific, where they refer to your AC directly.

IMO this would make the choice more meaningful.

Option 1 is to early to really decide, you will have only put enough points into you skill tree to get to tier 2 and you will only have a handful of you AC specific abilities.

Option 7 is pointless, because one already has the class and in the case of the story driven player they aren't given the ability to change there one character of X class to the other AC unless they already rerolled which in there case is the thing they are trying to avoid.

Best option:

Open it to a 1x AC change between level 25-35 , level 50 or level 55 with a cost of 1K CC .

- The level restriction gives the player plenty of time to decide if they don't like the current AC, either they can decided while leveling, or at max while playing endgame.
- The 1x means that this is still meaning full as if you end up not liking the other side of the grass, too bad.
- The CC cost forces it to also be a thoughtful as it becomes a monetary purchase not just a credit purchase.

Sometimes, there IS only one option. I'm not saying that the devs can't change their stance, but is is not necessary that they do. Every player already has the option to have that other AC.

The devs specifically designed this game so that no ONE character could fill all three roles. Allowing class changes would negate this intentional design.

Of course it's not necessary. It's a game. No part of it is necessary.

And, again, if they make that change, that's their decision.

Just as it is their decision if they choose NOT to allow class changes, which they have not, at this time.

In the time that this thread has existed, everyone of the entitled masses wishing to change their class could have leveled that other class to 55 and probably gotten that new character well geared. I guess some people would rather ask for something to be given to them than to actually put forth the effort to get what they want.

Again with the anger.