I get more excited the more I read and see about this upcoming game. They, of course, don’t have any of the big an exciting information yet; such as all the classes, races, etc, but just the couple of game play videos I’ve seen have me hoping this will be as fun as WoW has been. I’m sure I’ll start out playing a Jedi on the Republic side of things, but could probably be persuaded to try out a red saber 
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Do you have to pick the Jedi or Sith side of things, or can you be a character like a smuggler or someone who doesn’t take either side?
You have to pick whether you want to be part of the Republic or the Sith Empire. Within those two there will be several classes available. So far Sith has bounty hunter, and Republic has Trooper and Smuggler. Those are the only 3 classes that have been announced, but you can assume each side will have a Jedi or equivlent.