I'm a firm believer in being able to separate what you play for PVE from what your character might be for RP. I have no reason to believe, for instance, that paladins suddenly completely forget whatever the heck they were doing the moment they pick up something that isn't a one handed sword, or that a dragoon will suddenly swallow his tongue because he tripped and accidentally punched something instead of stabbing it.
tl;dr no, probably not. Combat-seasoned characters will have new toys that they can play with but that might not necessarily mean that IC they stop being paladins or whatever else.
tl;dr no, probably not. Combat-seasoned characters will have new toys that they can play with but that might not necessarily mean that IC they stop being paladins or whatever else.