What many players are actually upset about isn’t the idea of merging classes itself.
It’s the fact that the developers pre-decided which skills to remove before player even had the chance to properly test the system.

It feels less like:"Players tested the system and certain skills were found redundant over time"and more like:"The developers already decided these skills had no place in the game"

The irony is that many of the removed skills weren’t even unpopular or useless.

They were core parts of a class’s gameplay feel, movement flow, combat rhythm, and overall identity.

The game keeps adding more and more content, yet they chose to remove the most important skills.
That’s honestly unbelievable.

That’s why many players feel that Transcendent isn’t really adding new gameplay.
Instead, it feels like the developers first removed parts of the class, then asked players to accept a stitched-together version afterward.

Player: You removed too many skills.
PA: We want to create a new class experience.
Player: The class identity is gone.
PA: Transcendent was never meant to be an extension of Awakening and Ascension.
Player: There’s actually less freedom now.
PA: Skill Add-ons more freedom.

It feels less like the developers are addressing player concerns, and more like they are explaining why their original plan is correct.