take LOL where toon uniquness is not an issue, people play the game because they like the PvP rush or wtf
This is where I see their angle for classes (and day to day gameplay - sans PvP). I want dozens of small, hyper-specialized classes that fit an archetypal role. I don't like big rambling classes with various potential strengths like WoW's. WoW has a class system, and then an archetype system layered inside of that for some, but not all classes. It defies what I want classes to be, a role. When I advance my candidacy for an event as a paladin, you shouldn't need to know what KIND of paladin I am. You should know explicitly what paladins are for. That's the class. It does X. It doesn't do X and 6 and Queztacotl. It just does X.
Multi-classing could completely gouge what I want to see, but it might not. It might be just the appropriate amount of flavor and flexibility that I need to define something special like a warrior+dru/clr (nature knight a.k.a. paladin of tunare/karana). We'll see how it plays out, and I'm in no rush to judgement. The pendulum could swing either way on the "unique" aspect depending on execution.
You seem to be saying that because people can swap at will there isn't any unique whatever, but I don't see it that way. I see being able to swap readily giving them the freedom to make classes
moreunique. If you can become a warrior or steal a warrior ability easily, you don't need to provide all the tank archetypes with similar tools to achieve similar results to fill their role. So they can make purpose-suited, amazingly different classes while allowing players to grab the occasional crutch skill from another class to prop them up for a given situation.
Like, say the group needs root. Our whole gangbang strat for bosses was based on the druid's CC capacity and he went to sleep. Maybe his replacement, an inquisitor, could use the root from the necro since it works well with his abilities and suits the immediate needs of the group. Alternatively the group might have to dissolve or we'd be limping while we wait for a druid/necro to be available to flesh out the synergy we were achieving before. That's like a best case scenario. I don't know if SOE can achieve that or if they're even looking at it the way I am. It could go either way at this point, and a dozen ways in between.
I have very little faith in SOE to execute this correctly, but y'all are attributing things to their statements that aren't actually present. I don't think you're reading between the lines. I think you're letting prejudice color what you uncover.
That became a lot longer than I intended it to be.
