Are there "classes" in Spiral Knights?

I just started playing Spiral Knights. So far everyone looks to be basically the same, but are there eventually different "class" paths that you can take? It looks like the game is mostly gear based, so maybe there are de facto classes based on the gear you level up (ranged, melee, healer)?

What I've been able to determine so far

• There are no explicit classes in the game, it is solely based on your gear.
• There are three types of weapons in the game: sword, gun, and bomb. Characters have all 3 types, but may focus on upgrading one type over the others.
• There doesn't appear to be any healing or support type items, everything is either about doing damage to enemies, or preventing damage to yourself.