It’s all about the Spec

With the new BC Talents, revamped Honor System and Arenas all hitting town on a server near you next week, most class forums are all about the re-spec.   Character specs in the World of Warcraft can make or break your character.  The spec needs to match your play-style, where you are in your leveling progression and the type of content you’re focused on.  You can get by with a gimped spec early on in the game, especially if you group a lot.  However, once you hit the end-game five man dungeons, or poke your head inside the raid dungeons, you’d better be set to perform.  If you can’t there will be questions.  People will check your gear and ask you about your spec.  You'll get more advice than you want and some people have very firm beliefs about class specs.  So it's best to know what you're doing, why you did it and be able to defend it.  If you can't, you'll be marked as a nub.

If you’re new to the spec game be sure to check the class forums and ask veteran players in your guild.  I've found that most specs are created to address these categories of game play:

• Leveling – Experienced players tend to choose a spec that facilitates quick leveling.  This is usually not the same spec that they want to have in the end-game.
• PVE – If you tend to group a lot and do instances in the upper levels, you’ll want a spec that allows your character to play its standard role in group content.
• Raid – Once you hit 60, soon 70, people who are going to disappear into the raiding instances, will usually pick the dominant/cookie-cutter build for that class.  Depending on your guild restrictions about raiding characters, some opt for hybrid builds but it’s not that common.
• PVP – Twinks, regardless of level and end-game PVPers, will want to spec to the build that provides the most survivability plus defense or offense, depending on their class.  Damage classes don’t seem to have as much controversy surrounding their specs.  And not to be dismissive, but tanks are tanks.  I find that most drama revolves around the healing classes when it comes to PVP.  Some want to do damage in PVP and only healing occasionally – Shadow Priests as an example.  While others want healing to still be their primary role but they want some offensive skills from whatever trees they have available.  Most of the conflict in spec’g comes from Raiders who also do a considerable amount of PVP.  It’s hard to serve two masters.  Just ask priests in guilds where spec'g holy is required, regardless of what the priest might want to do when they're not raiding.

Regardless of which I decide to play in TBC, I will be spec’g for PVP.  According to the billing, we’re supposed to be able to level inside the instances in TBC instead of doing world mob grinding when you’re sick of quests.  So surviving PVP – both in world and the BGs would be my primary concern.  This means that I shouldn’t need to drop back to a leveling spec while progressing through the new content.

I’m heavily into solo play and that’s how all of my toons were leveled.  However, I’m not as enamored of WOW as I once was, so grinding 10 levels won’t be on the menu.  If I can’t have fun in the instances or BGs, it will be auvoir.  But I digress, back to specs.  Do I go for the pain of dealing with the deficiencies in the priest class or go for the solid game-play of the warlock?  I’m more inclined to play my priest because I hadn’t quite gotten enough of her, as much as I was just sick of the content. 

If I go with my priest then she will stick with the heavy Disc build – even more so, because there is a 41 point talent worth having now.  I’m looking forward to Reflective Shield and Pain Suppression.  I can’t wait to pop them on the sneaky little rogues and druids.  Yeah, suck down some damage while you’re pounding on my bubble, I’m mitigating your damage and getting off a cast or two.  I’ve been in many fights that were SO close.  If I’d been able to land any other damage while trying to run once we were both low on health, they would have been dead.  Well now they will either stop hitting while I’m bubbled to avoid reflective damage or it might just be enough to knock ‘em dead.  And then there’s Shadow Word:Death.  That’s going to be a good one.

So what class are you taking to 70 first and what spec will you be sporting? Since I'm on hiatus, I won't be partaking of the patch next week.  By the time I load up, the kinks will be worked out and whatever mods can be repaired will be live and ready to rock.

Comments

[Kinless]

My first character to 70? That's a tough one.

I'm not too sure it'll be my level 60 Shaman. Sounds like the "viable" PvP build is the Resto one. Talk about gimped trying to level up solo. Or I just go all out Enhancement and not worry about PvP and Raiding. Raiding's not really in the picture anyway. But to lose out on the PvP sets?

My 60 Warrior? Warrior. What's it good for-ior? Ab-so-lute-ly nothing. Read a beta test forums post by a level 70 tank talking about tanking in the Beta. And being a good tank is important even on world mobs in the Outlands. Seems Druids and Paladins make better tanks. And rage "normalization" (read "nerf") is supposedly kicking the PvPers butts. So... not sure.

My 57 Hunter? I've seen soooooo many hunter bots with pets named "Cat" or "Boar" that I'm ashamed of the class. Duskwood is swarming with new bots as the gold farmers level themselves up again on new accounts.

My 45 Rogue? Mmmmm....

My 38 Druid? Flight Form! Mangle? Hmmmm.

My 30 Pally? Avenging Wrath! Crusader Strike! That Captain America Shield Throw thingy.

Regardless, I'll be lucky to be able to PUG the new 5-mans. I barely can get into any of the current end-game ones now. Never seems to work out timewise. And no raiding at all.

Tier 5? I don't even have access to Tier 1 anymore. That ship's sailed and I'm not on it.

Frankly I have no burning desire to reach 70, because once I reach 70 I'll be so outclassed by clothies in Tier 5 with hardcore raiding and pvp gear and equipment, it'll be like sheep to the slaughter. Baaa humbug to that noise.

My Blood Elf mage, if he gets past level 16 will be my highest mage ever. And I know the Shaman class.

I love living in Azeroth. It's still supplying oxygen to my freetime hours.

[Saylah]

Hi Kinless, for me it's not getting to 70 so much as which toon do I take to the new content, as it's very doubtful that both will visit Outlands. Reading your post makes me reconsider the Warlock because she's in full epics now thanks to my son who's a raid and loot whore picking her up when he got tired of his Hunter and Pally. He got her the the three T2 set pieces I was missing plus replaced all of her trinkets, main-hand and off-hand with a variety of epics. She has more gear than I know what to do with. :-)

My priest on the other hand is in tailored Blues and not an epic in sight. If I start right away, I can get her in PVP gear which is all I really want and fill out the rest with 5-man drops along the way. But she definitely won't be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to gear. :-/

[Cap'n John]

My Hunter has his Tier 0 set, with the Tier 1 Gloves and Tier 2 Helm. Weaponwise he's wielding Lord Alexander's Battleaxe and carries the almost obligatory Dwarven Hand Cannon, after all, he is a Dwarf ;) I'll have absolutely no issues with dumping my Tier 0 gear in favor of better Greens and Blues from the Outlands. My only other character that I can currently see taking to 60 is my Gnome Warlock, and he'll probably go on to 70 as well simply because I doubt I'll do many of the 60 Instances to get his Tier 0 gear :P

[zizzle]

ok well who is the "poster" of this is it Saylah or Kinless?

[zizzle]

ok well besides that what is the best twinking class? At first i thought rouges now i think paladins and im sorta lost but i really want a warlock and i really think there are just so awesome ok well i yea plz help!

[Saylah]

Rogues are really good for PVP and I've run across more than my fair share of twinked ones in WSG. They don't stand out as being quite as special in AV where there are masses of people. They might sneak up on someone but there are so many others around that they're vulnerable at that point of someone getting them.

Warlocks are hot and I have a special bias because my first character was a Warlock. They are very powerful and have a very flexible playing style and always welcome in a group. Can't say that about Rogues. So if you want to level one be in a good guild. Sometimes its hard for Rogues and Hunters to get into groups because there are so many of them and groups will generally only take 1.

If you're doing to do that level 19 Twink bracket then I would say Rogue. Warlocks to become really uber until much higher levels.

[zizzle]

ok well what would you say is a good spec for a hunter??? at level 48???

[Capn John]

It all depends what that lvl 48 Hunter is doing. If you're Solo-grinding or doing the occasional Instance I recommend the BM tree almost all the way. If you're into the PvP scene then I recommend the Survival tree.

I'm not positive about the other classes but from my experience re: Hunters, Warriors, Priests and Warlocks, each of the three trees is designed for a specific purpose. One tree will make you better suited to solo-grind, one tree will spec you to best help out a group in an Instance, and the third is the PvP tree.

[Saylah]

Capn is right. BM works great for solo leveling and the occassional group, whereas PVP you need survival.

[zizzle]

ok well one quick question... what would be the best spec for a paladin (the quickest for leveling of corse, and the best for end game?)

[souleagle]

to lvl, i vote ret, but if u have gear with intell boosts, then go holy, cuz overall it does more damage but it eats mana like a B****. Endgame, if u raid, ull be holy, end of story, cuz guilds are stupid and wont even consider a tank or melee pally. If u go pvp, then go 11 ret (for SoC) and then prot at least through reckoning, then ull be set