So I had this epiphany last night while talking to my DK friend about off-spec gear. Perhaps others have beat me to it, but this just clicked in my mind: to be of the most use to my team in the future, I’m going to have to be a really good healer (-buffs nails-) and adequate DPS. Dual specs, spell power, “bring the player not the class”, instance design in WotLK — it all adds up to having to be more flexible with your role. I actually wouldn’t doubt if future raid instances have bosses that need variable numbers of tanks and healers, which was kind of the bane of raid leaders in TBC.
My first reaction to this was indignation. I don’t want to be a hybrid! I want to heal! I’m one of those weird martyr players that LIKES being the uber healer who can be killed by a squirrel in 1-on-1 combat. However, I also like a good challenge, and I have to admit that my brain is already percolating with ideas of new gear and specs and DPS rotations.
But those folks who really do only enjoy one thing are going to be at a disadvantage, and what about those classes that CAN only do one thing? Dual-spec doesn’t mean a lot to rogues, mages, warlocks, and hunters for PvE. This is where the ‘player over class’ concept weakens. If all those classes can do is DPS, they really should be able to do more DPS “out of the box” to compensate for the fact that they can’t tank or heal in a pinch.
In any case, I have seen the future and it is full of hybrids. And… I think I’m okay with that.
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For people still just starting the Love is in the Air event, a few points that might not be obvious:
* Gifts of Adoration come from civilians, not guards.
* Pretty much anything that would make you say, “Where did you get that?” (picnic baskets, Love Fools, candy, dresses, etc.) comes from the hourly Gift of Adoration.
* Cards and Pledges are from guards, with the third item from civilians.
* If Ironforge civvies are being camped, go hang around the Keymaster in the Dwarven District of Stormwind. Same goes for Stormwind civilians and John Turner in IF.
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The Ice Stone has melted! (from the WoWInsider Twitter)
Their compensation is that they never have to tank or dps. If everyone liked doing those things Blizz would not be tripping all over themselves to increase tanks and healers so that the selfish dpsers can continue to sit around and press their “1″ key while watching tv. Giving them more dps defeats that purpose.
Ooh, just as I posted this I heard about the new dual spec information. This looks really good, and quite reasonable to switch during raids.
My intent when dual specs come out, is to make my alt spec Discipline, and maintain my current Holy Spec. I bring a LOT more to our raid as a flexible healer, than I do as a healer cum DPS.
On the other hand, I hope (but of course won’t demand) that other healy priests choose Shadow as their alt.
For Paladins, Shamans, and Druids, there really is no alternate healing spec, so of course I’d expect Ret/Prot/Enh/Ele/Balance/Feral alt specs.
We currently have a Shaman and a Pally, who are Resto and Ret, respectively, who routinely respec to Elemental and Holy to help our raid. It will certainly be nice when they can do this with a single button press!
Kestrel’s last blog post..DPS: How to Earn Your Healer’s Love
Stee: I was going to say that your post had a dismal view of the average DPSer, but then last night our standard boss chatter (“Hex them”, “Adds incoming”, etc) was interrupted suddenly by a DPSer talking about something they were watching on TV during the fight. >.0
I’d like to think that most people prefer complexity and challenge with their gaming. La la la la.
Kestrel: I applaud your double healing specs! In my particular situation, I always have a fantastic diehard holy pally (who says his second spec will be healy) around to cover the tank(s), so Disc is less appealing. Also, I have to admit, I like the idea of keeping DPS on their toes to “beat Liore”.