Should all races have access to play all classes?

Really? Because last time I checked you could be a Dark Elf Cleric in Everquest 1.

Why are people talking about "Good & Evil" or "This Good God & This Bad God".

I'm pretty sure they said there isn't going to be any good and bad moral standing like that, just actions based on the path you want to choose.

Gods in EQN are not "good or bad". They are gray. The God of War is also the God of Nobility. Yes War brings about death, but fighting for your country and your beliefs is not necessarily a bad thing.

If you choose the God of War and play that style, you are just the guy that wants to be that dominant force on the battlefield, that roars in triumph through victory, a soldier, not because you are suppose to be a evil blood seeking serial killer.

Agreed. The only stipulation, however, is that this is just the beginning. The races and lore are going to change and evolve, possibly into something very close to what we already know about and expect in EQ.

There could be. I like it with NPC's in very limited numbers. However, when you open it up to everyone then that unique "smart Ogre" isn't very unique.

How far are the devs willing to go from what EQ was? Will EQN be EQ in name only?

Faction and faction related things were HUGE in EQ... and some classes are faction based. "Evil" races could do this - "Good" races could do that... "Neutral" races could do some combination of both...

I don't want to see dwarven or high elf shadow / death knights if lore says that these are good races... I don't want to see troll paladins if lore says that this is an evil race...

I want to see classes that follow lore.

Personally, I don't like playing a bunch of alts. About two characters is the maximum I want to have to manage and still be able to explore the entire game.

I know which bit you're talking about, it was in the second part of the Lore panel I think, but hell if I can remember the exact wording. But yeah, not so much good or evil gods anymore; more shades of grey.

the truth, it hurts don't it?

If you side with the orcs to destroy a farmer's farm (is that redudant? ) you're PROBABLY a bad guy.

But as it stands, they said that Dark elves aren't the same anymore, which I kinda like. It was always annoying to be a dark elf enchanter and always be hated by everyone, because dark elf. -_-

So you are saying people in Norrath don't have free will, in your view.

I agree with a penalty for choosing a class over another but the system needs to be as open and free as possible. Let me switch between classes, I shouldn't have to roll a new character to experience part of the game.

The thing that makes this hard at this point in time is that "lore" is not established yet. They have said absolutely nothing about how different races behave *all of the time*. In fact, we have examples of the elves being benevolent and being oppressive just in the introduction to the different eras of lore.

My preference would be to have race/class restrictions only during creation of your character. Once you are out in the world you should be able to collect any class there based on your efforts.

If classes are meant to be collectables and the intention is to release many more post launch then I would like the chance to pursue them all. It would be disappointing to have a new class released that I could not pursue because of a race choice made months perviously.

I also agree.
Good times in WoW that only the Alliance had Paladins and Horde had only the shaman.
I also agree with the idea of the lore based classes, actually a race of brutes who live in caves can not be mages. Mages require much study and masters. But shamans would be a choice completely normal, since many of these people "thugs" believe in spirits and deities.

Playing the way you want doesn't have to mean having it all at the same time. When I decide to choose 1 class over another, I'm making a statement about my character. I had the freedom to make the initial choice, but then I also have to live with the consequences.

It just clicked to me, what I've been trying to say. Everyone wants freedom, but what about the consequences for that freedom to choose. As a player if I am able to choose any class initially during character creation, then I had the freedom. Once I make a choice, I may limit my future choices, but I never ever had a lack of freedom to choose originally. Everyone will be able to log in for the first time and choose a race, and based on that original choice they may limit themselves in other choices. BUT........that makes all of my choices important; I actually start to care about my choices and value my choices BECAUSE there are limitations and I can't have it all; so I begin to choose the ones that mean the most to me. Race/class restrictions (in my opinion and observations) actually engage peoples emotions more than a free for all willy nilly all race all class.

he might not beat the ogre in a arm wrestling contest, but again the ogre wouldnt win in a manual dexterity contest if by the same measure. restrictions are rediclious and stereotypes, and need to be broken.

I think part of the point is to also Blur the lines a bit Good and evil are not absolute, there are many shades of grey. Its what i kept thinking when they talk about emergent AI. I want to play a nuanced character, one with moments of weakness, and triumph. And maybe my story is one of a great fall of a mighty paladin twisted to the dark side, or the redemption of an evil sorcerer.

Restrictions limit the amount of RP. Sometimes limiting factors can increase creativity but i do not think that will be the case here.

I'm a fan of restrictions, but I liked the way EQ2 would allow you to switch sides early on as long as you played through the story line for it. I had a High Elf Shadow Knight and a Dark Elf Monk, but they both had to go through a long quest line in order to earn that privilege. I'm not big on barbarian, troll or dwarf wizards, gnome and high elf shamans, or dark elf druids.

This would be a great idea. It solves the too many ogre wizards problem, while still giving people options to RP.

Making a blind decision isn't really a freedom of choice.