Did you know Star Wars: The Old Republic's structure is much more akin to an MMO like World of Warcraft than its less-structured space-stepbrother EVE Online. Early Access Players can login on December 13? Do you know which class you're going to play? I think I can give you some help.

Players must decide if their character will join the Sith Empire or The Republic. There are 4 main classes available for each faction. On the Empire side players can choose from Sith warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter or Imperial Agent. Those who prefer the Republic may select among Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler or Trooper. When players complete their quests on their starting world, (around level 9 or 10) they will be able to further specialize their character by picking one of the two sub classes offered to each class. For example, the Bounty Hunter basic class turns into the Mercenary and Powertech advanced classes. You can again only choose once. After you've branched into your advanced class, you'll share a few skills with the other class but you'll also get a whole slew of unique ones. All of the advanced classes conform to at least one of the standard MMO (holy trinity) of healer, tank (a character designed to keep enemies attacking them and not allies), and damage dealer. There is room to specialize within your class with a system akin to World of Warcraft's original talent trees.

Each faction has four basic classes available to them. Your class choice not only determines available abilities, but also determines how your main storyline plays out. Even within the story there is a lot of wiggle-room, though; choosing different dialogue options during conversations can cause some serious shifts in the storyline.