Frankly, the current weapon-types are fine, but they feel a bit restrictive. I'm not suggested "Let everyone use everything", but maybe add one or two options for each AC? Here are kind of the ones I'm thinking about:

Commando - Blaster Rifle

Powertech - Assault Cannon

Mercenary - Blaster Rifle

Vanguard - Sniper Rifle

Scoundrel - Blaster Rifle

Operative - Single Blaster Pistol (think James Bond)

Gunslinger - Single Blaster Pistol

Sniper - Blaster Rifle

Jedi Guardian - Double-bladed Lightsaber

Jedi Sentinel - Single Lightsaber

Sith Juggernaut - Dual-wield Lightsabers

Sith Marauder - Single Lightsaber

Not sure what I'd change about the Consular/Sorcerer AC's, if anything.

Also, I'm not necessarily saying they *should* make these changes, merely that I don't see any real down-sides. If you think this would impact the game negatively somehow, then by all means, chime-in with your point of view! Otherwise, how would you guys feel about that? Or would it just be stripping away too much identity from the existing AC's, you think?

I'm of the camp that dislikes the lack of weapon choice. I'm all for more option to expand customisation.

I could possibly see three ways of implementing a system like this...

1) New Advanced Classes

A new Advanced Class or two that opens up new weapon combinations for each class. I would like to see a Bounty Hunter/ Trooper advanced class that makes use of techblades and techstaffs given it seems to be the default choice for mandalorian companions

2) Weapon type independent of ability

I noticed when playing a commando that the stock strike ability uses a different animation with their Autocannon than when they use a blaster rifle. The possibility to expand this to a greater extent so that more classes can use a variety of weapons. Could lead to a large workload given the number of combinations and some balance issues depending on the damage of weapons.

3) Vanity option for use in Solo play

There exists tucked away in the legacy options the ability to unlock 4 unarmed attacks. They are simple attacks that level up with the character and largely of use for roleplaying// easier solo content as many of your abilities are greyed out for not having a weapon equipped.

Increase the options to cover a basic attack form and maybe one or two other animations using that particular weapon type. A fun option and one that still means it's necessary to specialise in your chosen weapon if you are doing harder content.

Sure. They're cosmetic items anyway.

TUXs, soon we will be bestest buddies.

OP, I think we're stuck with the limitations. Although it would seem an easy fix for Commandos, at least, would be to allow them have their special abilities with either a cannon or rifle equipped. Another thing that seems easy would be to just make all rifles "rifles" and let the Sniper AC determine whether it "snipes."

TUXs, soon we will be bestest buddies.

 

OP, I think we're stuck with the limitations. Although it would seem an easy fix for Commandos, at least, would be to allow them have their special abilities with either a cannon or rifle equipped. Another thing that seems easy would be to just make all rifles "rifles" and let the Sniper AC determine whether it "snipes."

Ditto lightsabers. I'd be willing to bet that my 'sin would be skilled with a single-blade, but double is the only choice. Lightsabers could work the same way you described for rifles.

Yes. No stat changes, just different weapon and animations (most of which already exist). I would love this. Single blade for an assassin and marauder. <3 Always wanted to be a single-saber melee damage dealer and the only choice now is a crappy guardian/jug :[

This feature + traditional robes would make me reroll Mara/Sent all-over from scratch! ^^

There is an option here: plenty of animations already exist and there is no reason why it couldn't be programmed so Overhead Slash animation gets replaced with Maul. Heck. Crushing Blow looks exactly like one of Assassin's abilities!!! Same for Retaliation. Sents also have good few abilities which have animations for both one and two saber versions.

Number of already existing WOULD WORK with new weapons. Shatter/Plasma Brand, for example, would still allow Guardian to perform an acrobatic jump and strike with dual-bladed lightsaber without clipping. Impale also applies in this case, as Juggernaut is holding the lightsaber in such way that he wouldn't hurt himself with two blades.

Ditto lightsabers. I'd be willing to bet that my 'sin would be skilled with a single-blade, but double is the only choice. Lightsabers could work the same way you described for rifles.

There might be animation issues with single- vs. double-blade light sabers (same with single- vs. dual-wield). But I'm just guessing.

Yes. No stat changes, just different weapon and animations (most of which already exist). I would love this. Single blade for an assassin and marauder. <3 Always wanted to be a single-saber melee damage dealer and the only choice now is a crappy guardian/jug :[

On that tangent, Jugg/Guard is no "crappier" than any other Force class. They can even look exactly the same as any other Force class.

 

On that tangent, Jugg/Guard is no "crappier" than any other Force class. They can even look exactly the same as any other Force class.

Crappier in terms of dps capabilities, group utility and pvp survival in their dps specs. ;p

Crappier in terms of dps capabilities, group utility and pvp survival in their dps specs. ;p

No worse than Assassin/Shadow. No "multi-role spec AC does top-tier DPS.

Frankly, the current weapon-types are fine, but they feel a bit restrictive. I'm not suggested "Let everyone use everything", but maybe add one or two options for each AC?

 

Also, I'm not necessarily saying they *should* make these changes, merely that I don't see any real down-sides. If you think this would impact the game negatively somehow, then by all means, chime-in with your point of view! Otherwise, how would you guys feel about that? Or would it just be stripping away too much identity from the existing AC's, you think?

This kind of thing has been brought up before and there are certain... difficulties with some options as class-specific powers and animations are based on the kinds of weapons allowed. Originally, some of that was to give A/Cs a specific, identifiable look. With the (thankful!) advent of adaptive armor, the "identifiable look" portion of the program has pretty much been nullified.

With all that as background, let's look at your suggestions and perhaps offer one or two more:

Commando - Blaster Rifle

This seems like it would be one of the easier weapon expansions on the list. I can't think of many cannon-specific animations that couldn't come from a rifle. HOWEVER (and this same thing will crop up below as well) it would likely require creation of a stronger "Commando Rifle" that would have the same stats as the Assault Cannon so there would be no discrepancy in power output.

Powertech - Assault Cannon

While this would seem as feasible as the reverse in the example above, I would ixnay this on immersion-breaking. Bounty Hunters need to move fast and lugging around a huge assault cannon doesn't seem very hunter-ish. I don't think this suggestion works too well. HOWEVER, swapping the Powertech's single blaster pistol for a Blaster Rifle should be more feasible.

Mercenary - Blaster Rifle

As with the Powertech, I know many fans would LOVE to see all Bounty Hunters, including Mercs, wield Blaster Rifles. It's VERY SW Iconic.

The problem here is that Mercs are dual-pistol wielders and many of their powers "require" dual wielding. While that doesn't seem insurmountable, it does mean you'd be looking at more than a cosmetic change. (I don't imagine that dual rifle wielding would seem very visually reasonable.)

So the only way THIS happens is if new animations are created for a rfile-version of the Merc's dual pistol powers. I would guess this would be VERY high on the "want-to-have" list if BW ever decides to QOL the A/C's weapon selections.

Vanguard - Sniper Rifle

This wouldn't make much sense from an immersion standpoint. Sniper Rifles require some precision aiming, and vanguards are soldiers-on-the-go. I could understand a sniper tree for troopers, but that would be messing with the very basics of how ACs work, and THAT would be a discussion for another thread.

I think I would like to see Vanguards (and Commandos, now that I think about it) have sidearm pistols that they use. We already SEE them used in cut-scenes - may as well include them. The down side is - there are no powers that "use" them - you could perhaps visually substitute them for generators/shields - but that might be a stretch just for the sake of a visual)

Scoundrel - Blaster Rifle

This would seem to be a fairly easy visual to pull off. I would prefer a Rifle to the "Scattergun" secondary weapon that we've never seen a SW character use, ever.

It would get tricky, however, in regards to the Imp Mirror (using a knife which DOES make sense in character)

Operative - Single Blaster Pistol (think James Bond)

Makes sense from a character standpoint - and a swap one-for-one of a pistol for rifle wouldn't seem to be too difficult (it might require creation of "Operative's Pistol" to make up for any differences in power between the stats on a rifle versus pistol) but I think this also ranks high on the "want-to-have" list of visual QoL changes.

Gunslinger - Single Blaster Pistol

Same problem here as with the Merc. Gunslinger powers all revolve around "dual-wield" and it would require some retooling (or extensive-enough additions) to allow some kind of "stronger pistol" to take place of dual "regular" pistols.

Thematically, I like it. Never cottoned to being FORCED to dual wield, especially since we don't get any nifty chow-yun-fat dual wield moves. OK, so that's not SW, but that's what comes to mind with dual-wielding. A choice between single and dual would be NICE, but this isn't one to hold your breath on.

Sniper - Blaster Rifle

Place this one under "Kinda-Maybe" - I can see it making sense for the Sniper under the middle and right AC trees, but NOT under the "Sniper" tree which requires all that special sighting/aiming and such. I'd like the idea of not needing a sniper rifle for the other trees, but now you're into more coding and (again) creating a "sniper's blaster" that has the look of a rifle but the punch of a sniper rifle to keep power output standard. That's a fair bit of work there...

Jedi Guardian - Double-bladed Lightsaber

Jedi Sentinel - Single Lightsaber

Sith Juggernaut - Dual-wield Lightsabers

Sith Marauder - Single Lightsaber

These all fall under that same "dual vs single" heading, and have as much to do with stats behind the scenes as they do with visuals in the scenes. Because animations by AC are tailored to type/amount of lightsaber, you run into difficulty there, too - which would require creating multiple animations per AC to compensate AND multiple weapon types per AC (single, double, dual) so the comparative stats equal out.

Nice in theory but seems like a LOT of re-coding/re-animating so these would likely fall to the bottom of the "if ever" list.

My thoughts, anyway.

TUXs, soon we will be bestest buddies.

 

OP, I think we're stuck with the limitations. Although it would seem an easy fix for Commandos, at least, would be to allow them have their special abilities with either a cannon or rifle equipped. Another thing that seems easy would be to just make all rifles "rifles" and let the Sniper AC determine whether it "snipes."

Geezus...I need to rethink my position if Bran is agreeing with me

I actually do like that, call them "rifles", "blasters" and "sabers"...let people pick the "look" they want. It harms nothing and allows more diversity in-game...which is a GOOD thing for an MMO.

First off they can't do this because weapon abilities have been tied to unique animations that assume a weapon type. All new animations would be needed.

I'm of the camp that dislikes the lack of weapon choice. I'm all for more option to expand customisation.

Yes, please make this game more generic than it already is. We have dps that can heal themselves, tanks that can dps, healers that can tank in wz's and dps.

The reality is that the class specific weapon in this game is the only thing that continues to make classes unique. Classes do not have unique gear or looks. It's the weapons that keep the classes unique.

Sure. They're cosmetic items anyway.

sure, have my sentinal running around carrying an assault cannon since why not purely cosmetic and animations/skills are no way tied to the weapon for that class.

snipers and gunslingers are equivalent classes but animations and skills are tweaked to take into account dual/single weapon, rifle vs pistol etc. changing the weapon will require a change in animation and a change to abilities. Firing a mortor volley from by blaster pistol really doesnt' make a whole lot of sense.

First off they can't do this because weapon abilities have been tied to unique animations that assume a weapon type. All new animations would be needed.

 

 

 

Yes, please make this game more generic than it already is. We have dps that can heal themselves, tanks that can dps, healers that can tank in wz's and dps.

 

The reality is that the class specific weapon in this game is the only thing that continues to make classes unique. Classes do not have unique gear or looks. It's the weapons that keep the classes unique.

Yes, by all means let's limit the visual choices that lets players really customize their characters to create GREATER diversity because one person seems to think that it will instead somehow make everyone look the same.

Who CARES if classes look "unique?" We want CHARACTERS to look unique. You won't see slingers using lightsabers or sith using assault cannons, so what does it really harm if a bounty hunter can use a rifle like we see in the movies?

Also - what healer ever TANKS anything? Love to know that one.

Crappier in terms of dps capabilities, group utility and pvp survival in their dps specs. ;p

Um I don't know what rock you've been under but jugg/guards are pretty much the best pvp dps if they're smash monkeys at least much better than maras and sents with the shared skill tree.

sure, have my sentinal running around carrying an assault cannon since why not purely cosmetic and animations/skills are no way tied to the weapon for that class.

I imagine we are talking about just opening up tech weapons to tech classes and Force weapons to Forces classes. Although from a "realism" standpoint, there is no reason a Jedi could not train with and learn to use an assault cannon. Whether or not he or she would is another topc.

snipers and gunslingers are equivalent classes but animations and skills are tweaked to take into account dual/single weapon, rifle vs pistol etc. changing the weapon will require a change in animation and a change to abilities. Firing a mortor volley from by blaster pistol really doesnt' make a whole lot of sense.

Whereas firing it from my "crossbow" make loads of sense. No change to abilities required.

Animations are a concern, of course.

Yes, by all means let's limit the visual choices that lets players really customize their characters to create GREATER diversity because one person seems to think that it will instead somehow make everyone look the same.

 

Who CARES if classes look "unique?" We want CHARACTERS to look unique. You won't see slingers using lightsabers or sith using assault cannons, so what does it really harm if a bounty hunter can use a rifle like we see in the movies?

 

Also - what healer ever TANKS anything? Love to know that one.

well the devs who made the game placed unique class abilities and animations over multiple options in weapon types for every class

I for one agree that unique animations for every class was a better decision then allowing mercs to use blaster rifles and assassins to use a single bladed saber. the classes combat animations I feel fit the classes very well. ability animations in this game are way better then other mmo's I wouldn't want to lose that just to add the option to use a single blaster pistol or a 2 handed weapon.

if the classes kept unique animations then of course more options the better but I don't think that is possible, or at least not financially viable to change after launch

Mercenary - Blaster Rifle

As with the Powertech, I know many fans would LOVE to see all Bounty Hunters, including Mercs, wield Blaster Rifles. It's VERY SW Iconic.

 

The problem here is that Mercs are dual-pistol wielders and many of their powers "require" dual wielding. While that doesn't seem insurmountable, it does mean you'd be looking at more than a cosmetic change. (I don't imagine that dual rifle wielding would seem very visually reasonable.)

 

So the only way THIS happens is if new animations are created for a rfile-version of the Merc's dual pistol powers. I would guess this would be VERY high on the "want-to-have" list if BW ever decides to QOL the A/C's weapon selections.

I just thought I'd point out on this one that a Mercenary is just a mirror class of the Commando so all of the animations to go with a Blaster Rifle/ Assault Cannon are already there to be stolen

well the devs who made the game placed unique class abilities and animations over multiple options in weapon types for every class

 

I for one agree that unique animations for every class was a better decision then allowing mercs to use blaster rifles and assassins to use a single bladed saber. the classes combat animations I feel fit the classes very well. ability animations in this game are way better then other mmo's I wouldn't want to lose that just to add the option to use a single blaster pistol or a 2 handed weapon.

 

if the classes kept unique animations then of course more options the better but I don't think that is possible, or at least not financially viable to change after launch

The Devs who made the game also created highly limited armors and clothings - and (wait for it, wait for it) REALIZED THEY WERE WRONG AND THAT'S WHY WE NOW HAVE ADAPTIVE ARMOR THAT EVERYONE CAN WEAR.

You are maybe the only one who thinks that weapon restrictions are still a good thing. They are NOT. The only thing that prevents opening up weapon usage is that specific animations and powers are based on single/dual wielding. Once those can be worked out, then we will get true character customization, which is what everyone except you wants.

sure, have my sentinal running around carrying an assault cannon since why not purely cosmetic and animations/skills are no way tied to the weapon for that class.

 

snipers and gunslingers are equivalent classes but animations and skills are tweaked to take into account dual/single weapon, rifle vs pistol etc. changing the weapon will require a change in animation and a change to abilities. Firing a mortor volley from by blaster pistol really doesnt' make a whole lot of sense.

I was thinking there would be some obvious design restrictions that only a fool would ignore - saber classes would be allowed to use any saber, rifle/cannon classes any rifle, pistol classes any pistol or blaster rifle...but it's ok, I know you like to demonstrate absurdity.

well the devs who made the game ...

Are all gone?!

I was thinking there would be some obvious design restrictions that only a fool would ignore - saber classes would be allowed to use any saber, rifle/cannon classes any rifle, pistol classes any pistol or blaster rifle...but it's ok, I know you like to demonstrate absurdity.

It can be so easy to argue with you sometimes and yet here - impossible.

Either we are both right, or expect the Apocalypse next Tuesday (hopefully not both).

I just thought I'd point out on this one that a Mercenary is just a mirror class of the Commando so all of the animations to go with a Blaster Rifle/ Assault Cannon are already there to be stolen

you could not just replace the tracer missile animation with gravity round if the merc decides to equip a blaster rifle / autocanon, well you could but it would be out of place and awkward. they would need all new animations or at least significant tweeks and commando animations do not include single blaster versions of merc abilities, power tech has some but not all.