Breakfast Topic: Your Talent Points
by David Nelson 
Nov 13th 2006 at 8:00AM
Getting to level 10 is no major achievement, but it does come with some benefits, most notably your first talent point. Being a warlock for the last 9 months or so, and having respecced several times, I can tell you where my first talent points go...Improved Corruption 5/5. For non-warlocks, that means I can instant cast my corruption spell, meaning I have 2 instant DOTS ready to go at any time. I find it crucial, and even more so if I happen to be on a PvP server. I have tried speccing without it, but when I see the casting bar start counting down when I click the corruption button, I feel as if I have gimped myself.So, what is absolutely the one talent you can't live without in your class of choice? Is it an easy one, like the Improved Corruption, where you can spend your first five points on it? Or is it deeper in a tree and requires some fancy planning?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Scalin Nov 13th 2006 8:16AM
For rogues and warriors, it'd have to be teh +5% crit talents. For warriors that respec prot at 60 maybe not so much, but those first five points pretty much always go into + crit chance.
D.D. Nov 13th 2006 8:30AM
Nightfall FTW
Snorri Nov 13th 2006 8:47AM
As a Paladin I feel like the first 11 points need to be 5/5 Benediction, 5/5 Deflection, and then one point into Seal of Command. Which means at lvl20 you can get this AND Verigan's Fist. My average DPS went from 12-20 with a decent green to 50-90 with the Fist and SoCom.
Of course if you're talking about respeccing only after reaching 60 I would have to say 5/5 right into Divine Intellect. +10% INT? Yes please.
Gereth-llane Nov 13th 2006 9:00AM
I can't see myself soloing as a paldin without Seal of Command
Glod Nov 13th 2006 9:03AM
Blade Flurry: The most significant reason why I will never spec out of Combat.
fan Nov 13th 2006 9:08AM
As a warrior, definitly 5/5 cruelty
Morris Nov 13th 2006 9:28AM
I never spec a warrior without Last Stand anymore. Not even when I'm speccing up DPS warriors. Cause it's our only "OH NOES" button, apart from a silly fear thing that doesn't fear our target (but you can bandage cause it sort of stuns them)
For those non-Warriors, Last Stand is a 11 point Protection tree talent, which every 15 minutes lets us get 30% of our HP for a small amount of time, after which point it disappears and you go down to whatever HP you would naturally have left - usually down to 1HP and dead if anything is still hitting you.
As a Priest, I never go without Inner Focus. 3 minutes, free spell, and it's low in the Disc tree so it's simple to pick up.
Psyclerk Nov 13th 2006 9:44AM
I agree with the 5/5 Improved Corruption. My warlock is Demonology spec, but those first five talent points went into the Affliction tree.
For leveling a priest, I always take 5/5 Spirit Tap. It greatly extends the time between drinks. In instances and later on in raids, it's worthless, but it's awesome pre-60.
On hunters, I sometimes play around with BM specs or even survival specs, but I always work it so I have Aimed Shot out of the marksmanship tree. It is THE hunter opening attack in PvE.
I respec'd my shaman recently out of enhancement, but I still took Ancestral Knowledge (+5% mana) and 3/3 Improved Lightning Shield. Lightning Shield is the most mana efficient damage spell shamans get, and the talent just makes it that much better.
Matt Park Nov 13th 2006 10:25AM
I don't think shamans have one. Since our trees are based around "do you want to cast spells/hit things/heal" there's no one talent that all three need.
Within each tree though, elemental focus, thundering strikes, and Nature's swiftness are pretty much considered to be requisite.
Arras Nov 13th 2006 9:57AM
Blessing of Kings and improved Blessing of Might
Wartoad Nov 13th 2006 10:02AM
I live for Cold Blood. Being able to pick and choose my Crit has saved me so many times I feel gimped without it.
Elbows Nov 13th 2006 10:08AM
While I would agree that the first 5 points a warrior spends usually goes into Cruelty (+5% crit) the one talent that I believe almost every build contains is Tactical Mastery. This is the talent that allows us to retain up to 25 rage when we switch stances. It currently resides in the 2nd tier of the arms tree and has been the source of never ending bitching becuase it basically forces you to invest at least 7 points in arms whether you want to or not (You save 10 rage on a stance switch with 2 points, enough for an intercept or overpower).
Luckily Blizzard did the stand up thing and made the talent a partially trainable skill in the expansion.
Mordiceius Nov 13th 2006 10:15AM
Elbows..... will it be enough?
(sorry, bad inside joke there)
Sideshow Nov 13th 2006 10:46AM
As a rogue, my first is always "Master of Deception" now, which drops our detection in stealth significantly. It's very helpful at the early levels, allowing you be undetected around mobs that are your level and 1-2 above, which of whom would normally detect you.
Treize Nov 13th 2006 10:47AM
Cold blood; enough said.
Lex Nov 13th 2006 11:06AM
It's not always an immediate pickup, but whether Shadow, Healbot, or Lolsmite spec'ed almost every priest has healing focus. 2 points to make healing spells 70% uninterruptable, and right at the top of the holy tree. It's a no-brainer.
Kryz Nov 13th 2006 10:56AM
I don't see how hunters could live without Aimed Shot and Scatter shot. Same with mages and their Frost Sheild. I feel so naked without it....
Megilion Nov 13th 2006 11:30AM
Since this is my first main, I haven't developed a good sense of what's crucial in my talent builds, but as a Frost Mage, I'm partial to Shatter (which is a little deeper in the tree, but worth it IMO). For those who haven't specced a Frost Mage before, Shatter is a talent that increases the crit chance of all spells on frozen targets by 50% (not sure how this will work with the crit changes in the expansion). This coupled with Frostbite (which gives your slowing Frost spells a chance to proc freeze on your target) gives the Frost Mage a pretty nice overall crit boost.
Shat Nov 13th 2006 11:58AM
5/5 Cruelty for Wars. 20% crit chance FTW!
Bendax Nov 13th 2006 12:01PM
As a raid specced Paladin I cannot do my job efficiently without Illumination (5/5 100% chance to regain mana equal to the base cost of the spell on critical). Guardians Favor (reduced cooldown on BoProtection) and Seal of Command are tied for second.