Nowadays, you lucky kids have the Armory, and you can, on demand, look up the point-by-point spec of any player in the game. You can see who's Fire, who's Affliction, and who's Resto at a moment's notice, and gone are the days where you had to guess what spec a player was from the spells they cast.

Or are they? I'd hazard a guess that most players don't have the Armory on quick dial, and yet all players still encounter different specs of classes every single time they play. In an Arathi Basin, by the time you've looked up the other guy's spec on the Armory, the game is over.

So it's still valuable to know specs just by glancing at the spells players are casting, and this is a guide to help you do that. Want to know at a glance whether your main tank laying down Mortal Strike is really specced Protection as he says, or if he's got a few extra points in Arms than he should have? Want to know if that Warlock who sent a Felguard after you in the battlegrounds is specced Demonology or Destruction?

I've put together a handy guide to spotting specs of classes that aren't yours-- there are a few telltale spells in each class that will giveaway a player's spec at a glance, and save you the momentary trouble of having to punch their name into the Armory. I've also given you a short brief on what each spec can and can't do for you (so you're not asking priests in Shadowform to buff you with Divine Spirit). To check it out, hit the link below.
Fury
How to Spot: Most likely dual-wielding and in Berserk stance. Also keep an eye out for Rampage, an ability that pops up after they hit a crit-- it increases their attack power for 30 seconds, and is stackable up to five times.
They Can: Do damage, and lots of it. Fury warriors are almost like Rogues in plate.
They Can't: Tank as well as a Protection warrior. And as a healer myself, don't ever let a warrior, of any spec, tank while dual-wielding.

Arms
How to Spot: Mortal Strike is the big one-- it's an ability they can put on a target that causes all healing done to that target to drop by half. Arms warriors also get specializations for two-handed weapons, so if you see a warrior running around cutting people apart in PvP with a Cloud-style megasword, you're probably looking at an Arms warrior.
They Can: PvP, and well. That Mortal Strike is a killer, and combined with Improved Rend and Deep Wounds, they are the kings of scary status effects.
They Can't: Hit a lot. With a two-hander, it's all about power, not speed. But when they do hit, they hit like a truck.

Protection (a.k.a Prot)
How to Spot: They're usually wearing a shield and tanking-- Prot warriors can take damage, but they're not so much at dishing it out. Concussion Blow (or "conc blow") is another tell-- a 20 point talent that stuns for 5 seconds, and is perfect for stopping a mob headed for the clothies in its tracks.
They Can: Tank! Prot warriors are the best tanks in the game.
They Can't: Do much else. They're big on creating threat and controlling mobs, not doing damage, so prot warriors usually have a tough time soloing, and they stay away from (or just respec-- it's easier) for PvP.


Feral
How to Spot: If they're in Bear or Cat form when they cast Faerie Fire on you, they're Feral. Leader of the Pack is another tell (and a great buff to have-- it ups your critical chance, and Improved LotP now gives a chance to heal when you crit).
They Can: Tank, more than respectfully. In cat form they can churn out the damage now, too-- Mangle, the 41-point talent, is a scary little ability that can rip you apart.
They Can't: Heal as well as other Druids. Feral druids tend to spec deep into Feral-- they play the class so they can be an animal, rather than a Tauren or a Night Elf, so you'll rarely see them out of animal form.

Balance (a.k.a. Doomkin)
How to Spot: They're in Moonkin form, and shooting lasers (a.k.a. Starfire) like mad. Unlike Cat and Bear forms (which all Druids can do), only Balance Druids can be Moonkin.
They Can: Spurt out damage like nobody's business. Moonkin, formerly called oomkin for the fact that they burn through mana, are now called Doomkin and can top damage meters in both PvP and PvE.
They Can't: Heal in Moonkin form. While Moonkin form does give them a nice armor boost (not enough to tank, but enough to stay alive when they pull aggro), in Moonkin form they can only cast Balance spells.

Restoration (a.k.a. Resto)
How to Spot: Tree of Life (Treeform) is the most obvious, since it's a 41-point talent in this tree-- in that form, the Druid can only cast mostly healing spells, and they get a bonus to the healing and the mana cost. Omen of Clarity is another Resto talent, though not as deep-- it's a buff you'll see Druids put on themselves.
They Can: Heal, baby, heal. They can also do that funny dance.
They Can't: They can actually do Druid stuff just like other Druids (no Moonkin, obviously), just not as well.


Beast Mastery (a.k.a BM)
How to Spot: Their pet is gigantic and red. This is a result of Bestial Wrath, a talent that temp buffs their pet when used. You'll also see a Ferocious Inspiration buff show up on you when grouped with them-- it ups your damage when the pet scores a crit.
They Can: Kill stuff with their pet-- a BM Hunter's pet is a killing machine, not least because of Intimidation, a talent that allows the pet to actually stun its target for a few seconds. They can also solo like no one else-- a BM Hunter might be the best solo class in the game.
They Can't: Raid quite as well as other Hunters-- since most of their strength is in the pet, and their pet doesn't do well under AoE (which lots of raid bosses use), they're at a disadvantage in groups.

Marksmanship
How to Spot: Trueshot Aura is the best tell-- it's a groupwide buff that ups your Attack Power. Silencing Shot and Scatter Shot (man I hate Scatter Shot-- it disorients you for a few seconds) are also Marks Hunters only.
They Can: Break out the ranged DPS. Unlike BM Hunters, their power is in their ranged attacks, which makes this a nice class for PvP, although abilities like Silencing Shot and Scatter Shot work well in raiding situations also.
They Can't: Do much to you if you close into their dead zone or melee range. They can shoot you down, but if you survive their barrage, their bag of tricks consists of trapping you until they can get to range again.

Survival
How to Spot: Survival is probably the most unpopular Hunter spec, since it has lots of melee-related abilities (and it's for a class you'd be crazy to melee with). Still, since the expansion, Survival has gained a lot of ground in raiding, especially with Expose Weakness, a shot that increases attack power against the target for the whole raid.
They Can: Do crowd control. Nobody does Hunter CC better than Survival Hunters, since their traps all get boosts.
They Can't: Do any of the other cool stuff that Hunters can do-- frankly, the Survival tree needs work.


Arcane
How to Spot: As one of my guildies put it, Mages are very patriotic-- their hands are either red, white, or blue. Arcane-specced mages' hands are usually flaring white, as they often cast Arcane Missiles. Slow is the highest talent in this tree, but you hardly ever see that cast-- most Mages, even if they spec Fire or Frost, will go up to 21 points in this tree just to get Presence of Mind (POM), which makes the next spell cast an instant. Pyroblast is actually a Fire talent, but lots of Mages love to cast it with POM, so if you see a big fireball coming at you instantly, you're looking at a half-Arcane, half-Fire mage.
They Can: Conserve mana. Arcane mages have the best mana usage rate out of all three trees.
They Can't: Blow stuff up like Fire mages. Arcane mages are the nerds of the mage community-- they get nice bonuses, but they aren't as flashy as the other specs.

Fire
How to Spot: They are blowing you up. Pyroblast, Blast Wave, Scorch, Dragon's Breath and Combustion are all Fire Mage talents, so if you get hit with any of those, you're looking at a Fire mage.
They Can: DPS like a mofo. Mages spec for Fire to do damage, and they don't care who knows it.
They Can't: Control their threat. Fire mages like to pull aggro in raids, and their talents (especially Dragon's Breath, with its Disorient factor) are a little more suited for PvP. It's not that a good Fire mage can't control threat well, it's that most of these guys are pyromaniacs, and they can't really be bothered.

Frost
How to Spot: They're Iceblocking-- that's a 21-point talent in this tree. Frost mages also love Blizzard, as it not only does damage, but provides all kinds of nasty status effects to their targets. And if you ever see a mage with a Water Elemental, you're looking at a Mage heavily specced Frost.
They Can: AoE-- their CC bonuses make them perfect for handling all sorts of mobs in large numbers. They're also good raiders, as the threat problems that Fire mages suffer from are easily handled by Iceblock.
They Can't: Make things go boom like Fire mages can. Frost mages can do terrific DPS, but a great Fire mage will always beat a great Frost mage with the same gear.

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