I am making this post to clarify a few things because it seems based on the PTS that changing your initial combat style is going to be heavily limited. Specifically I will be focusing on the 1st combat style slot since it seems to be the one that cannot really be changed for existing characters only (New characters are unaffected)

As a sorcerer in the Sith inquisitor story, you cannot change your original combat style to anything else other than Sage. Meaning you cannot change your Sorcerer combat style to a Sentinel combat style for example, you can have sentinel as your second combat style though.

For tech classes it is even more limited, if you are a mercenary bounty hunter your original combat style cannot be changed, you can only add a combat style in the second slot, you cant change your initial combat style slot to commando for example even if it is the mirror combat style of your original. You can put commando as your 2nd combat styles and if you dont pay attention to what the game says, i wouldnt be surprised if some people get confused when they realize they still have the mercenary combat style at the end.

What does this mean?

That making a new characters is going to be the way if you want to have an origin story completely separated from its previously attached combat style.

If i want a powertech-Sniper combat styles in the trooper story i will need to wait for 7.0

If i want a gunslinger-mercenary in the agent story I will need to wait for 7.0

If i want to be a mercenary-Sniper in the bounty hunter story you can have an existing merc character and simply add a sniper combat style to the 2nd slot once 7.0 drops so in this case you dont have to wait for 7.0 if you want to prep.

This change isnt as surprising because I am assuming it could be quite hard code wise to change the original combat style of an existing character that has gone through the story but more importantly it will lead to people making new characters if they want to fully use the new combat style system that is completely separate from origin stories.

It isn't 100% clear, but at the end of https://www.swtor.com/info/news/article/20210806 they say:

There a few different ways you will make this decision:

• If you are creating a new character, you will first choose your Origin Story, then your Combat Style. This offers you the choice up front, so you can start your journey with the story and play style combination that works for the type of character you want to play.
  
• If you create a boosted character, you will choose your Origin Story then Combat Style in a similar way to new character creation.
  
• If you have an existing character when Legacy of the Sith launches, when you log into the game, you will be able to choose a Combat Style immediately. You can choose a Combat Style similar to your previous Advanced Class or choose something new. The choice is yours!
  

The third bullet point can be read either way, that you choose your *first* style from the ones the character would be eligible for if you created it from scratch, or that you choose your *second* style.

Well, except that by default F2P (not sure about Preferred) players won't have access to a second style, so (if the choice is your *second* style) they wouldn't be able to choose a style at all at that point.

And that word "previous" ("similar to your previous Advanced Class") does suggest that it's the "first" style, since being a Commando/Commando wouldn't make much sense.

You can choose a Combat Style similar to your previous Advanced Class or choose something new.

Sounds like exactly the system we have on pts right now.

On an existing character you can choose a new combat style, similar to your previous advanced class OR(not and) choose something new.

This clearly implies 1 choice, not multiple.

And as a mercenary for example you can choose the commando combat style which is similar to your previous advanced class, the problem is it takes up the second combat style slot, if you do that there is no extra combat style slot hence the "You choose something similar OR something new"

The wording imo does seem to support the system we have on PTS even though I know many would have preferred otherwise, but I am not surprised since if old characters are limited, people are incentivized to start new characters which usually keep you busy and playing for a while till you reach the current story.

How absolutely backwards does this game's engine/code base have to be for this to not be possible?

They've already added the functionality for switching combat styles and giving each character a second one What could possibly be standing in the way of getting this same system to function on existing characters?

How absolutely backwards does this game's engine/code base have to be for this to not be possible?

 

They've already added the functionality for switching combat styles and giving each character a second one What could possibly be standing in the way of getting this same system to function on existing characters?

Nothing. The OP is getting people to hyperventilate. Until the product goes live, don't pop an artery over what you see on PTS. It's not a finished product.

How absolutely backwards does this game's engine/code base have to be for this to not be possible?

 

They've already added the functionality for switching combat styles and giving each character a second one What could possibly be standing in the way of getting this same system to function on existing characters?

It could be that or it could also be the fact that by having such limitations to existing characters you incentivize people to start fresh with a brand new character, and with all the story content and stuff to go through on a new character you are sure that they ll be playing for a while aka profit.

Many combinations like power tech sniper in the trooper story will only be possible for new characters so I feel many might start fresh and become more invested in those characters since they are gonna be more unique their pre-7.0 characters.

Nothing. The OP is getting people to hyperventilate. Until the product goes live, don't pop an artery over what you see on PTS. It's not a finished product.

You are free to believe whatever you want until the very end, I ll stick with the signs that suggest this as the most obvious outcome rather than blind faith that things are gonna turn out the way I want with no evidence to even support such hope.

You are free to believe whatever you want until the very end, I ll stick with the signs that suggest this as the most obvious outcome rather than blind faith that things are gonna turn out the way I want with no evidence to even support such hope.

Read again what *I* posted, the reasoning, rather than what you claimed were my words, but were in fact *BioWare's* words.

Specifically, the reasoning that if they say you can choose something similar to what you had before, they aren't saying that you can choose to be Commando/Commando (or similar for other previous Advanced Classes), but that you can choose to have Commando/something as a replacement for being Commando, or that you can choose A/B where neither A nor B is a Commando style.

I might be wrong, but (a) I doubt it, and (b) you're sounding very much like you want it to be broken so you can complain bitterly about it afterwards.

Read again what *I* posted, the reasoning, rather than what you claimed were my words, but were in fact *BioWare's* words.

 

I might be wrong, but (a) I doubt it, and (b) you're sounding very much like you want it to be broken so you can complain bitterly about it afterwards.

I have, and like I explained what you linked sounds exactly like the system we have now, nowhere does it say anything opposite, I would understand if some people were confused by the wording hence me making that thread cuz I am feeling that is gonna cause a big backlash but I personally have no problem because I like to start fresh so I am not complaining or planning to, i am just warning the clearly many people who are falsely under the assumption they are gonna change the initial combat style of their current characters.

The thing is the xpac is coming in less than a month, more importantly the combat style system is mostly finalized, why would they specifically not allow you to touch your first combat style as tech, and even as a force user you are limited to only changing your first to mirror aka sorc to sage and no other options.

In the force cutscene it specifically mentions 1st combat style and gives you the option to change to a mirror one, nothing else then moves to second combatstyle. For tech characters nowhere does it talk about your first combat style, you choose a second one and its over.

It feels pretty clear that if they intended otherwise there would either be a note that a major part was unfinished or more importantly the system would allow for other options or have dialogue that implies it, nothing like that is implied.

Like i said, the bioware post you linked currently supports what I am saying, it doesnt say anything different which is why the use of the word "or" very specifically, as a merc you can have commando as your 2nd combat style, but that eats your 2nd combatstyle slot OR you can have something new as second combatstyle.

Like i said, the bioware post you linked currently supports what I am saying, it doesnt say anything different which is why the use of the word "or" very specifically, as a merc you can have commando as your 2nd combat style, but that eats your 2nd combatstyle slot OR you can have something new as second combatstyle.

OK (not really OK, but read on), but why does it say that I can choose similar to my previous advanced class if it's talking about my *second* combat style? Why would they let me be a Commando/Commando or a Mercenary/Mercenary? Does that make any sense?

OK (not really OK, but read on), but why does it say that I can choose similar to my previous advanced class if it's talking about my *second* combat style? Why would they let me be a Commando/Commando or a Mercenary/Mercenary? Does that make any sense?

I am confused, why do you think by similar it means the same? By similar it is clearly referring to the mirror playstyle so Commando/Mercenary or Mercenary/Commando, which is how it works in pts, you can have your mirror playstyle but it will take your second slot. It specifically has your current combat style greyed out to avoid what you said, but not what I said about commando/merc

Or something new refers to all the other available tech combat styles.