Opinions on binding Character/Class/Attributes

I originally came from an MMO where you created a character based on race, sex, and city of origin. From there things were pretty open in what you could do with your character.

Roles were independent of the character, you might have leveled your skill as a magic user to level 30 but you could decide to play as level 1 knight for a change and level up your skill in that job w/o losing your place in you previous role. This didn't mean I was a level 1 knight with level 30 magic user talents though - the two roles were isolated from each other. But your character could choose freely between them.

Weapons were the same way. Some roles may have more inherent skill with a weapon (read higher maximum skill for a given level) however it was possible to train your character to be more proficient in any weapon over time. It also had an interesting side effect. If I had trained myself to use a sword really well and then grabbed an axe to fight things my level - I wouldn't be able to hit anything because I'd never "used" an axe before and didn't have any skill with it.

In a way you basically developed a character and then the jobs put level related maximum restrictions on a character. Where as in L2 it seems very class centric, your race/class are married together, and your character is given options based only on its class like: should I buy my Armor Mastery first or my Weapon Mastery first.

I was just wondering what kind of system people around here most prefer since I'm sure everyone else has played other MMOs.

I actually prefer a hybrid system where there are different tendencies for class types but the details are all left up to the player. In L2, I tend to be drawn to the classes with the most options and the least clearly-defined roles. It's probably because of that preference.

I prefer a skill based system where you can pick and choose the skills you like to build your toon. It's hard to balance it properly though, but to me it's way more fun. Way to late to change it for L2, perhaps in L3.

I enjoy what is done now, although I wish they just had one more thing-- more class changes. Like a new one every 10-20 or so levels-- it would add to a ton of customization. Customization is one of the best qualities an MMO can have-- I enjoy what the OP posted-- that type of customization is very cool.

I also, like bekkar, tend to choose versatile class types-- I love my summoner because I can change from a healing summon path to a melee oriented way of playing, or to a nuking style, and still be good in all three. And the ability to choose almost any weapon I want is so cool. Just two months ago I chose the beserker blade over duals for only one reason-- it looks cooler :D

i think uo had the best system. you had 700 skill points you could use on any skills you wanted.