I talk to a lot of people in the TOR community. Aside from posting there, I get messages on my wall; I get PMs; some people I even have emails with as they can’t stand using the forums, but like talking about the game. And, of course, I have my guild here, which talks about TOR on its own forums. That’s a lot of TOR talk…!
Throughout all of this, there’s an attitude which I wouldn’t call “prevalent” or even “common”, but it’s definitely out there in such numbers, that I think it’s worth talking about to some degree. The attitude is that, unlike a WoW, LotRO, AoC, or similar, characters in TOR should have a fairly wide set of options when it comes to gear.
This is a gear-based game, people tell me. As such, their Jedi should be able to equip Republic Soldier armour. And, hey, if s/he can do that, why not Beskar’gam? Similarly, there are people who want to play Mandalorians, but demand the “right” to use a lightsaber in combat. (Personally, I can’t think of anything worse than that last example…!)
The rationale behind most of this is that, unlike a fantasy game, this is an environment where a soldier CAN go and pick up a lightsaber. Or where a Jedi CAN go and wear some armour off a battlefield. After all, people see it in movies, and read about it in books, so why can’t they do it in the game, is their attitude.
For mine, I think we have to draw a line in the sand, if one has yet to be drawn by BioWare.
Make Jedi robes and lightsabers unique to that class. Make Republic Soldier armour and sidearms unique to that class. Make bounty hunter gear unique to that class. Make smuggler gear unique to that class… and so on and so forth, you get what I’m trying to say, right? Unique gear for classes.
And, sure, I know it doesn’t make “real world” sense that a non-Jedi couldn’t pick up a lightsaber and use it, but we need to draw a line somewhere, to ensure that classes are unique. If you come up against a Jedi, you want to see a Jedi in robes, maybe with a bit of Jedi inspired armour, and a lightsaber.
You don’t want a Jedi in Mandalorian armour with a honking BFG, no matter how much people waggle their Republic Commando novels in the air and say that Etain carried a BFG and Bardan has a bit of a fetish for dressing up like a Mando. Such things are exceptions, I believe, to the rule. Not vice versa.
So what do you think… should we have distinct classes, or are you one of these people who wants to be a Republic soldier wearing a Jedi robe and wielding a Mandalorian Beskad, or similar?