7 Things I’ve learned about Specing

Posted by H@IL on 07 17th, 2009

Categories: Tanking & Cooldown Rotation Tips | no responses

I’ll admit it. I’m an Armory addict. There aren’t many people never mind many tanks that I haven’t Armoryed before. I’ve always been fascinated with how people play and how we all take such different approaches to this game. Specs especially are an interesting one to look at because there’s really no excuses for a bad spec. Your spec isn’t the way it is because of bad luck or lack of gold. Your spec is your own doing and you have the exact same choices as I do.

I feel that we’ve now hit the point where we’ve got a lot of it figured out though. We’ve tested a lot of things and made a lot of mistakes not just as individuals, but as a community. From the trials of time, here’s some things I’ve learned about specing.

1. 5 or 15 Points in Arms. No more, no less.
Which is to say, Impale is not a huge Stop sign. You really don’t put 10 points into Arms in order to get Impale. You put 12 points into Arms to get 3/3 Deep Wounds. On the other end, there’s really no spec that should have exactly 8 points in Arms. If you’re going for less than 15 points, you’ve got better options in the Fury and Protection trees than a few extra points in Arms.

Of course, the one exception to this whole rule is that the Unrelenting Assault spec features 37 points in Arms. Suffice to say, it’s in a dramatically different category than traditional specs and the regular rules of specing just aren’t going to apply to it.

2. Gag Order buffs Shield Slam, always.
The text on Gag Order, I must admit, is not only very poorly worded, but also poorly ordered. That said, here’s the facts. Gag Order increases Shield Slam damage by 10%. It does this all the time. Take it.

3. “I have plenty of rage” is not a reason to skip Focused Rage.
The most common conversation I’ve had over the past months is,

Me: “Why aren’t you taking X?”
Bob the Tank: “I’ve already got plenty of rage.”
Me: “If you’ve got too much rage, you’re not Heroic Striking enough.”
Bob the Tank: *random excuse* -or- “Oh.”

Focused Rage is an amazing talent. The reason that so many people are excited about Rage on Avoidance is the exact same reason why you should be excited about Focused Rage. It allows you to go all out sooner and reduces the chance of Rage Starvation.

4. Puncture isn’t worth it.
Which is funny because isn’t it just a weaker version of Focused Rage? Yup, it is. But that’s the problem. It’s weaker than Focused Rage, a lot weaker. In a Protection tree packed with options, it’s just not worth reducing the cost of a skill you’ll be using only half the time when there’s so many better choices available.

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5. Incite is one of the Last things you should drop.
Now, I’ll freely admit that a very focused Survival spec can exclude Incite. However, it really should be one of the absolute last threat talents removed when choosing a Survival spec. Simply put, if your spec is anything other than 5/15/51 then it should include Incite.

6. Armored to the Teeth is your first 3 Fury points.
Cruelty was a great threat talent in the Burning Crusade. We’re not playing that expansion anymore though. Armored to the Teeth since it’s conception has always been a better use of talent points than Cruelty. Outside of that, Booming Voice isn’t worth taking unless one is going to venture deeper into the Fury tree. As a result, no matter what your spec’s orientation is going to be, if it’s walking into Fury, the first 3 points should be in Armored to the Teeth.

7. There’s no reason to skip Improved Heroic Strike if you’re already there!
This ones an oddity. The mistake I’m cautioning against here is putting 15 points in Arms and not taking Improved Heroic Strike. Essentially, if you’re doing this you’re assuming that those 3 talent points are better spent in Iron Will or Tactical Mastery. I can’t help, but feel like this approach to specing is a symptom of #3. So, I think it’s worth repeating:

“If you’ve got too much rage, you’re not Heroic Striking enough.”

What have you learned?

We’ve all tried things and continue to try things, but the reality is that the standard specs are the standard specs for a reason. They all have room for a bit of a personal touch, but be cautious with how you make a spec your own. It’s very possible you’re not personalizing it, but instead nerfing it. And, I don’t think any of us want that.

Original post: 7 Things I’ve learned about Specing