With the way the levelling is set up I can't see any need for classes
I expect I will be picking a background for my character that will determine what they initially know
I've always felt classes in RPGs were an artificial idea that didn't reflect how people would learn and develop at all well

I suppose with the new levelling system and character building, pre set classes wouldnt serve much use.
But I really hope they will let us enter a class name, if just for cosmetic purposes.
As gpstr said: To appear on your stats list.

A system that uses skills to define a class isn't the best way to do things. If you gain levels through an experience system it works fine, but if you gain power by increasing skills then it makes it more difficult to make a class that isn't awkward and unwieldy to play.

This is my experience with the system for years. I think that the classes in the elder scrolls were too restrictive. They were just a collection of skills that didn't really complement each other.

Now that there are no choices to be made it feels like we are losing something. As I see it we are. We are losing a flawed system that I, for one, hated.

I'm fine with no classes, but I agree. I would hope the game will let me put in a class name somewhere, but if not I might add it via mod. I know this is just a knit picky thing, but that's just something I would like to have.

Char gen classes are a mangling of many things that should be separated.

Race and birthplace: chosen at char gen.
Background profession and biography traits: chosen at char gen.
Initial reputation and possessions: chosen at char gen.

I can see a class as a char gen receipt to help create chars quickly. But some things should not be in a class because role-playing will suffer.

Reputation titles: how npcs call you depends on what you did in the game, the allies and enemies you made, your guild affiliations.
Current profession: this depends only on your skills and the quests you have completed later.

You may be known as a mage-warrior hero north of skyrim or the famous nightblade assassin south of skyrim. I wish skyrim would allow us to have one or two secret lives in the game.

The problem is there are just too many possibilities for "classes" now. With the perks and the ability to dual weild not only spells but weapons (and i heard shields?). One tweak of the class might take it from one to another. Not only that but it would defeat the purpose of your evolution as a "Class". I also think it might take some of the power gaming out of the series. None of that "I gotta put my max points in this or else my mage or warrior or whatever won't be the most powerful mage/warrior out there!" I think they want you to focus more on the story, lore, gameplay rather than the individual points. I welcome this change.

Rather than classes I'd like my character's profession/rank within a certain guild/faction to be addressed and treated as more than a mere milestone by the game.

Have a class based on whatever guild you join? That's the only sort of labeling I'd like to see. Essentially, if you're in the Dark Brotherhood, you'll be generalized as an assassin, regardless of what you actually do. That's just because of what the guild does.

I always picked a custom class anyway (paladin) and sure it was nice being able to have the RP experience of saying "I am a paladin, I go around, save people, kill demons, and if you mess with me I will not hesitate to shove this holy sword up your ____" But I agree with the devs on this one. Choosing a class in the beginning limited you too much. If you foundout after making your theif/assassinb you really wanted to go around in heavy armor and squish people with a warhammer, well I guess you could try that buty because blunt and heavy armor arent major skills and dont fall under agility and speed you would have a hell of time getting that to happen. You can still be a class in Skyrim it is just your 'class' is based on how you play. If you run around in heavy armor with a sword and bored and slay dragons your still a knight, the only difference is you don't have a mneu saying it.

I'm anxious, but open to the loss of attributes, classes, birthsigns and the systems behind them. "You are what you do" sounds great, but may feel the loss of crafting an in game back story.
What will those of us who enjoyed aspects of those old systems be left with? Racial traits and likely superficial physical characteristics?
It may be strange for me playing a true nobody, "out of the womb" as someone mentioned.

Also, since we can only create our character in game, will they give my PC one spell from each class, like they added Rest. and Dest. to Oblivion? This detracts from my customization of my character. The developer applies choices to my character at the beginning that I cannot control. Classes allowed me more controls over who I started with, and I enjoyed the restrictions and the challenges they sometimes presented.
In this way, won't my character begin the game as master-of-all and every new character will be subsequently identical.

What other players call redundant, are layers to me, and apparently a few other players. I enjoyed tweaking my specializations with no concern about leveling. Racial traits, birthsigns, major skills, specializations (ooh, and alternate start mods!)...layers. While I appreciate the developers' reasoning, I can envision missing it in the new system.

If I feel Skyrim lacks this, what can I replace it with? If I truly miss it, a custom class title box, facial tattoos and scars won't likely replace it...but again, I'm open minded.

i say do away w/ the class system. even in morrowind and oblivion my class i would just make myself, and my classes would be named things like "BAMF" (bad ass mo fo for those who didn't know)
i would much rather just lvl up my skills by how i use them. if i use axes, heavy armor, and archery i'm pretty sure the game can see that i like to use those combos and i'll level up mostly by those.
i do like being a BAMF though

Job titles exist for the sole purpose of defining rank not responsibility. It's impossible to define classes in a free form system without imposing restrictions on the player's form. The only way to do it is to let the player state what their specific class is but then dialog can't reflect this so your right back to square one with a meaningless title. Since it's meaningless it doesn't need to be in the game. It's all in your head dude and that's where it needs to stay.

Ya, for RP purposes I wish but hey who is to say that my Argonian cannot be an Assassin and a Shadowscale? :stare:

I think the whole point of classes in RPG games is to impose a set of restrictions on the player, and to set them the challenge of doing well within those restrictions.

This isn't a bad thing. Really, it's what games are all about. It's why every single game in the history of the world has had rules - to restrict the players and see how well they do within those rules. In chess, you're only allowed to move each piece in a certain way. You're generally considered to have failed if you step outside the rules (for example, by moving the King at high velocity into your opponent's face ).

So, you create a mage character. Do you understand the strengths and weaknesses of that character (the restrictions imposed on you) well enough to win the game? Can you also do well with a rogue character? If not, can you do better by learning the rules better? Classes set a challenge for the player, which is part of the fun in those RPG games which have classes.

However, classes in RPG games rather assume you're investing enough time in one game (or one rule set) to really learn how to play several different characters. If you don't have the time or inclination to repeatedly replay a game, then classes can be burdensome. Rather than being a challenge to overcome for the fun of it, they become an obstacle to having fun. And if they're implemented badly in the game's rules, then they're just no fun at all.

Skyrim has ditched classes. The challenge in Skyrim is to play well within the restrictions the game imposes on all characters. Players can, if they wish, impose restrictions on themselves - and can, if they wish, cheat by breaking their self imposed rules if those start getting boring.

Hopefully Skyrim's rules on levelling faster by investing practice in a few skills, along with the fact we can only select a subset of perks in any one run-through, will reward those players who like to replay the game - but won't punish those who are only going to play it once or twice.

Exactly. So who cares if we have to include it in the character name, or just realize that's what our character is. Not sure why we need a slot in our menu that tells us what our class is with a description of what that means.

Classes can be implemented in game, but in different way then before, since there is no more major and minor skills and attributes but class specialization and limited number of perks.
Class can be implemented as perk templates with predefined chosen and leveled up starting perks, advantages of such way
-Easy NPC specialization creation, just chose class template and NPC will receive all needed perks without need manually chose out of 280 perks, and then just level up some of them.
-Easy start, since not need manually chose all starting perks for %PCname
-Expand roleplaying not all like play as blank characters from start
-Expand roleplaying NPC will again have classical classes, as well there will option to make completely new specialization for the from scratch manually choosing perks and skills.

No need to make classes as main chose they can be optional as before was custom class creation, but as option they really improve RPG part of game, since playing a role (defined by borders and rules of scenario) is primary goal of classes, while blank character is more like improvisation on fly.
Not need replace them, they can work together as options, TES always have options why not leave them in Skyrim?

As starting traits can be achieved and some racial perks, and character starting advantages and disadvantages, and even Birthsigns, if system was changed thats must not mean thats classical features must be axed, features must be adapted to new system.

If such features to hardcoe for beginners, leave them in advanced mod or in hardcoe mod, I believe many fans of TES will thanks for thats.

Yes it does make sense removing [censored] from the game makes production cheaper