Entries in homogenization (1)
Dual Spec Is Not All It's Cracked Up To Be
I'll admit that Dual Spec is going to be a game changing mechanic. There is no denying that. The ability to trivially change from one layout to another, glyphs, button layout and talents all together, is an exciting idea for most classes. While appealing to the PvP/PvE crowd - that is, the players that switch back and forth around their raid schedule - Blizzard also believes that the changes will create more tanks and healers per realm. How many people will go DPS with a Tank/Healer off-spec, rather than a PvP survivability or solo PvE off-spec remains to be seen. Then there is the issue of one's ability to play their vastly different spec... I'm not saying that the idea isn't a valiant effort on Blizzard's part to fix the various issues it's tackling. If anyone can pull off such a drastic change, it's Blizzard and their slew of talented designers (oh, right). My pessimism creeps in because Blizzard and the general WoW populace seems to think that the mechanic will fix all of these issues. Poof, everything is perfect. Hasn't Patch v3.0.8 taught us anything? All things considered, I think these problems will be eased, not solved. The PvP/PvE crowd will be the only sect entirely satisfied. Although they may start wanting a Tri Spec setup, ya know, for solo PvE. The quantity of tanks and healers will be split with the PvP crowd, while quality comes with practice. The first few months could be rough as new or rusty tanks and healers get back into their groove. I still expect to see plenty of LF2m Tank/Healer either way. Then there is my concern for SolidSamm. What about the non-hybrid classes? Warlocks, Hunters, Mages and Rogues are all designed to do one thing, DPS. Without the ability to offer drastically different specs (don't forget, pet tanking is going bye-bye) we could be left fighting for far fewer spots in raids than before. If you had the option to take a geared face-melter who could also heal if someone leaves, or an arrow-flinging Hunter, why would you confine yourself to just the Hunter? Dare I say that the feature will create more homogenization? Scary thought indeed. Initially, I was ecstatic about the Dual Spec feature. After mulling it over with a certain Horde buddy, I wouldn't mind it not coming with Patch v3.1, or at all in its present condition. Are you as paranoid about the change as I am, or are you entirely for it? There are also the issue of Dual Speccing loot drops. I won't even get into that. This is one of those things were I hope I am wrong, but I can't see all my points being incorrect.