People keep using the same line to defend respecs, and it has begun to wear on my patience. That line is..

"What do people who don't want respecs have to lose?"

This is usually followed by some personal attacks, something about speccing out of FotM, something about fear of newbies, and general name-calling. So I'm here to clear up the confusion and shut down a few rather virulent badposters.

If we give a respec, Imagine we have Alex. Alex spent his SP willy-nilly, just playing and testing. He didn't have a plan in mind, so if he gets a respec he can start over, plan accordingly, and put points into his favored playstyle. It's all good... for Alex.

In case you didn't get the hint, Alex is players who want respecs.

Then after the respec, we have Bob. Bob spent his SP wisely, making each choice count. He has all his points placed in carefully thought arrangements, and doesn't regret a single level. When he puts his points in again, he puts them back in the exact same place. His game hasn't changed at all, and he is upset that the game rewarded Alex, who screwed up his SP, and snubbed him.

In case you didn't get the hint, Bob is everyone else.

The Alex's of the game refuse to see things from the point of view of the Bob's. Those of us who had a plan get nothing for it, and feel like all our work was for naught.

A simple solution would be to give some goodies out along with the respec, or make it a choice between goodies and respec. The former would probably be easier on CCP, but either would give the Bob's something instead of just telling them to sod off.

Please cease that easily refuted point. The vets aren't scared of the newbies. If anything, the newbies should be scared that the vets could respec all 10-40 million SP. The anti-respec mindset is pretty easy to understand if you choose to do so. I specced into, let's say Laser Rifle I. I can still spec into ARs, ScRs, SLs, ANYTHING really. That's the point of the game. You can spec into anything given enough time investment. If you let people respec every few months it cuts down both the interest of the new and the repercussions of the permanent. For a personal example, I have enough SP saved up to proto both the new guns being added in 1.7. I chose to save instead of spend, which hurt me in the short term. I could proto them out immediately, but that would be a very Alex thing to do. I could also just put a single level into both and tinker with them. It doesn't cost much and I can get that back from a few quick fights. Then I can pour the banked SP into whichever I end ep liking, if either.

But what if we get a respec? Not only will that hurt me, because I chose to bank SP, it also kills any permanence of choice. Why not throw this to level V, enough people will be whining for another respec in a month to get me out of it. Why not put all my points into a single niche, I'm just a respec away from getting a weapon in another category. Why shouldn't I pound all my SP into the new thing, I'll get it back in a month. Why can't I just try a new role every few months until the whole game's intrigue is torn away? I could just do it the way the game intended and unlock everything over time, but why should I when they will always cave for a respec?