Thought this really random idea up the other day. Even with all the new missions and stuff, Spiral Knights gameplay has always been more or less the same.
Progress through levels, hitting switches, slaying monsters, maybe kill a boss, take elevator, rinse, repeat.
Why not switch it up a little bit? We have three very distinct and functional classes outside of the main game, all of which could be viable for their own type of mission.
- Make missions where you play as a Striker, very quickly raiding a gremlin base and then getting out as fast as possible!
- Make a defensive mission where you guard Haven and the Knights against an enemy onslaught with the mighty Guardian shield!
- Make a real Recon mission, where you have to infiltrate an enemy stronghold, get intel/sabotage/assassinate a target!
Hell, even make a Mann vs. Machine or survival mission, where all three classes can work together to achieve a goal! Maybe even a three stage mission where Recons go in first, sabotage as much as they can, then Strikers come in, taking down enemies along with the Guardians who try to keep everyone alive and well defended.

You could even take it a step further and have Knights choose and specialize in one of these classes, like how a few of the more famous Knights have. OOO could even make more armor that would work better with certain classes, recharging their special abilities faster in one branch and amplifying it in another. Or even re-purposing armors that are seen as less effective by the community to fit into these roles. These could even be brought over into Lockdown as well if players feel like it.
Plus, yay, more armor for costumes!

I think it'll add a lot more variety to the missions and the game itself. Would add some more replay value to the missions as well.
What do you guys think?