Transmog yourself into an Avenger!
6 blue posts to read before Diablo 3's launch
Cross-realm zones coming soon
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsDual spec issues and how to fix them
by Eliah Hecht 
Apr 18th 2009 at 8:00PM
Dual spec is very handy, and I've already started relying on it for increased flexibility in setting up my 10-man raids. However, as may be expected with a new feature, it is not without its bugs. From extra talent points to missing talent points to things not switching correctly when you swap specs, I've seen a lot of errors pop up over the last few days.
Fortunately, most dual-spec errors can be fixed by one of the following steps:
- Reload your UI.
- Log out and back in.
- Reset your UI entirely (I haven't seen this help anybody with dual spec issues, but the blues are suggesting it, as always).
Of course, if none of this works, a GM can usually set it right. Ancilorn is also suggesting some work-arounds for specific issues, so go check his post in case you're having resistant issues.
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
skippyj Apr 18th 2009 10:49PM
I was having trouble with specs being lost when switching between the two, or not showing up at all even though they were spec'd (improved mortal strike showed as spec'd, but mortal strike didn't). What worked for me was resetting my ui entirely on my laptop (which had fewer addons), then before putting addons back in on that machine respecing both of my specs. Now they stay put, even on my desktop machine which has quite a few addons and never had the ui reset.
Paul Apr 19th 2009 2:46AM
I had a missing point and a point I couldn't spend, and I've not even got dual spec. For me talents were just broken full stop after the patch and I had to spend 1g to reset them to fix the problem.
I'm a tad frustrated with Blizzard over this. IMHO players should not be having to delete folders, reset UIs or doing "try this.. or try that" fixes to try and fix what imo is a major bug. It's a bit concerning for me that the Blues just don't seem to know why this is happening and are having players try their best to apply fixes.
I didn't have a problem with my talents pre-patch so why should I have to start deleting all my mods to try and fix this bug?
I dunno.. sometimes I worry that mods will be removed from the game... or perhaps taken "in house" where Blizzard open an iPhone style "App Store" where they approve mods before they publish them on their site.
verc Apr 19th 2009 6:11AM
Blizz changed a LOT of code in this patch, and a ton of addons broke. In fact, a ton of addons break every patch. It's important to sort those out and re-download the updates before starting to get too upset.
And if you didn't get an answer in the first two days, try again. They've probably calmed down. Heck, they may not have known what was going wrong the first day or two, but probably have had time to figure it out.
Gothia Apr 19th 2009 2:57AM
I didn't have any problems with dual specs, but I did have problems with lag and U/I's. 1st thing to do is update all of your addons and do not check load out of date addons. Use the debugger program to see if any of your loaded addons are causing errors and disable them also. It is hard to put all of the blame on the programmers if everyone in game is using outdated 3rd party programs. Read the Insider posts for Dual Specs and you shouldn't have too many problems.
Aries Apr 19th 2009 3:04AM
I've been very patient with Blizzard during extended maintenance and things of that nature. I understand how it goes, and that these things are needed.
But, come on. Do it right, or don't do it at all.
When you bring the servers back live, please ensure everything works first. I would rather have the servers be down for days but have everything functional when they finally come back up.
This is not the case for 3.1.
My dual specs are broken - constantly erasing my talent points and showing "ghost" talents (talents I have specced into but don't show up in my talent tree when viewed). I have to reset my action bars and redo the points everytime I switch specs. I've deleted the wtf/cache/interface folders to no avail. Both my talent specs get erased and messed up constantly. It's getting irritating to have to redo my talent trees every damn time I log in or switch to my offspec.
But it's not only dual specs that are broken, but so are regular single talent toons. My pally dinged 32 tonight, and right when that happened, all my talent points were erased and I couldn't spend the new talent point. My entire talent tree turned grey and there was nothing I could do. The only way to fix it was to visit my trainer and pay for a complete respec. If I have to do this every time I ding (or switch specs in the case of my higher level toons), I'm sorry but I'm done with the game.
GG blizzard. Way to implement yet another incomplete patch just to please the fanboys who can't go a whole day without logging in.
pietrex Apr 19th 2009 4:25AM
Blizzard has stated many times that things which work fine on the PTR can prove bugged on the live servers because of increased numer of players and... some other reasons, which I don't remember at the moment.
Pope Apr 19th 2009 3:41AM
Disable your add ons, delete your WTF folder, works as intended...look anyone can be a GM!!!!!
Alyviel Apr 19th 2009 6:46AM
I don't know if it's been mentioned before and if it's a bug or intended, but it might be worth noting that if you try and put a glyph on your inactive spec, it puts it on your active spec. I didn't realise this would happen and burned an expensive new resto glyph when it went into my balance spec, even though I clicked on the resto glyph pane.
Arivia Apr 19th 2009 7:44AM
Just a head's up, I was talking to a GM a few minutes ago regarding a talent reset on my druid and they mentioned that a previous Customer Service form mail about the talent issues had been recalled for being inaccurate - she sent me a second, updated one. If you're having trouble, it might be worth getting the new information.
Aaron Apr 19th 2009 8:14AM
I really doubt lost talent points are due to user addons, and is rather stupid to suggest it when the fact you switch to that faulty spec, the abilities from those talents lost aren't even on your bars, or even in the spellbook (the spellbook - which addons do not even affect).
Lorsty Apr 19th 2009 2:05PM
You'd be surprised what addons can do if they're not updated or if something is buggy with them.
I mean, do you remember a certain quest helper addon that caused a lot of people to get disconnected in places like Lagaran, a problem which only fix was to delete that one addon?
Either way, it's obvious they will ask you to reset your UI because they have no control over third party addons, etc. They can't help us "fix" the interface if it's no longer their interface because of all the changes made to it.
tlarkin79 Apr 19th 2009 9:49AM
Mine is still broken. They expect a lvl 40 to spend 1000 gold on this. I'm sorry, but blizzard is just encouraging gold selling with this requirement.
KaonNemesis Apr 19th 2009 9:56AM
Its an issue with the new talent confirmation option. Turn it back off and you won't have any issues. It's not an add-on problem or an issue with your gui, its Blizzard's fault and don't let the GM's tell you otherwise. I had the same dual spec issues every one else had and as soon as I turned off that option, spent my talent points again that had been "forgotten", and then I never had the problem again.
Mitawa Apr 19th 2009 10:42AM
I kept having an issue with my talent points unspending themselves and not crediting back when I zoned. I.e. I'm level 80, have 0 points to spend, and nothing but 0/0/16 in my feral spec. (Now with point-loss resto power!)
I was actually able to fix this by enabling the second spec, then switching back, and the points magically reappeared.