Now just wait a sec
So, yes, this is another rank change. Before you do this:

Let me explain first!

A quick recap
The reason for all these rank changes is due to the fact that this is still a very new clan, and getting the feel and motivations behind our members is a huge learning curve for me. My original plan for this clan was to focus almost completely on casual play, giving people a friendly group to play JKA and not worry much about skill or competition. Eventually I realized that skill and competition was still important to a lot of people in this game, so I sought out to cater to those people a bit, while still allowing for the other people to be happy as well. It's been an interesting balancing act, and it'll never be perfect for everyone.

Since testing out the recent change with the added tier, I decided that didn't really do much to help, it just added another rank for people to get to, and spread out responsibilities you gain in each rank. The issue remained though, that in order to get promoted, you needed to contribute to the clan in some way that you may not even have an interest in, but still show that you are loyal and active. Many have shown their frustration with this system, so I think what I've done has fixed that.

A summary of the changes
This could be confusing to comprehend, but bear with me. It's quite simple. Right now, you should know that the ranks start at Padawan, then move into Jedi ranks: Sentinel and Consular, and then move to the Jedi Knight ranks: Assassin and Shadow, and then to Jedi Specialists: Battlemaster and Sage, then Master, Council.

The first change is the removal of the Specialist tier. Simple. Back to how it was before.

Here's the big change. All split ranks are now being turned into "roles" that you can choose to apply for. This means you can be a Jedi or Jedi Knight without having any responsibilities if you wish. The roles (such as Sentinel or Consular) are just titles that you trial for to gain the benefits that they provide. So ranks will basically be the same as they were, but check it out:

Padawan --> Jedi --> Jedi Knight --> Master --> Shadow Council

The split ranks are now roles, or benefits that you can choose to attain if you wish. They no longer determine your rank, unless you want to get to Master. In order to attain Master, you must gain all roles in both ranks. So this means not everyone will have a role. In fact, I don't expect many people to have them at all. They are for people that will actually do the job they allow, and are wanting to utilize their skills towards the clan.

Restrictions
There are restrictions on attaining roles, however. If you get promoted to Jedi and you want to also be a Sentinel, you can must apply via the form found on this page. You must be willing to both take the trial, pass, and then continue to do what that role offers, such as teaching, competing, modding, etc. Applying for the role doesn't mean you will get trialed ASAP. It could be a week later, it will depend on my schedule and if we think you are ready for it.

Cross-training is still a thing, since it's required for any Master or Council member. You must gain all roles in order to get past Jedi Knight. Once you are a Jedi and you decide to take on Sentinel, you must wait at least 4 weeks before you can apply for Consular, minimum. Before you are trialed for a cross-trained role, one thing that will come into play is if you've utilized your current role enough. If you trialed for Sentinel but haven't done any teaching or refused to play in competitive events since then, you won't be able to get Consular until you do, regularly. This is to avoid people attempting to move up the ranks with as little work as possible.

Same applies to Jedi Knight ranks, however if a Jedi Knight decides that they want to aim for Master but didn't take on a role or cross-train, they may still trial for roles. You cannot attain a Jedi Knight role without the previous Jedi role. You simply trial for those roles as normal. If you plan on gaining all the roles from the beginning, just apply for one and wait 4 weeks and apply for the next one, that's the most logical way to go about it. I don't expect too many people to decide late that they want to.

Trials
Trials will be a bit different as before. The current trials for split ranks will still coincide with their respective roles, with a few changes. In addition, Jedi and Jedi Knight ranks will have brand new trials, that will focus less on testing skill and more on other things. Should be some fun stuff! All trials are still private, and only basic hints and pointers are to be given to people curious about them.

Tags
Since we use colors for tags in-game, I had to find a way to do this without causing insanity. Colors will not reflect your role. Any current Sentinel/Consular/Assassin will all have the same color, and be the same rank and authority with anyone in that rank. Roles do not give authority except in a teaching or hosting manner. If one Jedi has no role, a Jedi with a role can't claim to have authority over them.

Tags will be as follows:

-=- Jedi
-=- Jedi Knight

I chose black because it's a more neutral color, so people can use their own color scheme with it easier, but I also didn't want to reuse green and blue because people would get extremely confused, especially members that aren't as active that will hear about this weeks away from now.

All other ranks and colors are unchanged.

TL;DR
I'm going to try my best to bullet point this monster of a post.

Ranks are slightly changing, mostly the same but allowing for casual promotions
Promotions are based off of activity, loyalty, attitude, behavior
Sentinel/Consular/Assassin/Shadow are now called Roles
Roles are for people actually willing to take part in the jobs they provide
Roles are completely optional, geared for people wanting to utilize their skills and knowledge for the clan
There is no shame in not taking on a role; its better to not have a role than to have one and not do your job
To get past Jedi Knight, you must have trialed for all 4 roles
You cannot attain a Jedi Knight role without the previous Jedi role
Trials will still exist for ranks, but be more similar to the Padawan trial
Sentinel/Consular trials will change slightly but mostly be the same
In-game tag colors are -=- for Jedi, and -=- for Jedi Knight. (solid black ⁰, and white with black)
Roles will be designated on the member page and forum, by colored boxes and title on individual pages

No doubt you will have questions. Either post them here or on Discord. Discord might make it easier to explain. Also, read the rank page for a visual guide on understanding this.

NEW RANK PAGE

Hopefully this will work a lot better and keep us from changing it again anytime soon. Even though I said that last time. :p