Max character slots will increase to 18, and we'll be giving out a free character slot voucher as a login reward (one per account) in order to unlock it. If you're capped out on a server, make sure you log into one of your characters before making your Gunner so you can use that voucher and get your free slot.

It's confirmed that race changes will NOT be allowed. I want to say this was addressed during the Twitch stream on Oct 20 (we also addressed being able to only make Elin Gunners for a limited time - that's not the case. You'll have all the time you need to create one) but I could be wrong about the date.

In any case - to have an Elin Gunner you have to create a new character.