At the point when I played Allegiance, the game was still sparsely populated, and I was able to join several games and play many different roles. However, in the early stages, most people will find themselves in the fighter pilot persona. This is actually where you'll probably see most of the action, as you're literally thrown onto the front lines. Often, action in the form of extremely intense combat can begin after just a few minutes of gaming. Players or bots do attempt to bring order to the chaos, but you'll still find would-be heroes and those with Rambo syndrome going off in all directions, ending up as little more than cannon fodder.
Teamwork plays off big time in Allegiance.
The 3D-space combat can be extremely confusing, so playing the offline tutorial really helps. Allegiance is set up with many quick game sessions where you log on to the site, join up with a team, and then head out for some action. But combat is not all there is to this universe. You can take the role of other important character types in the game, including a turret gunner defending a key base. This job doesn't carry the glory or respect of the flyboys, but you'll probably never find yourself floating home for half an hour in a life pod.