There are several factors we know of in Cataclysm that will effect how gear is distributed. One, more than one raid instance going at a time. Locked out of one, you can go to the other that week. Gear is the same. Two, gear mastery. This will help encourage people and groups to stick to their intended armor type. Not prevent 100% stop people from choosing other armor, but, minimalize it some. Three, stat changes to gear which will also encourage sticking to primary armor type. Four, changes to talents of specs which will also encourage specific armor choices. Five, reforging. Six, more drops from 25 man boss kills. Gear will be dropping at relatively the same ratio in 25 mans that they are in 10 mans.

So I think it wil balance out the gearing some for offspec hybrids. I also think there are factors that may not be open to public consideration yet. Which means we all have to take a 'wait and see' attitude about it.

I am a hybrid myself. Shaman. And honestly, until ICC came out, I didn't worry so much about keeping both specs decently geared. My offspec would be a little behind, but through random gear drops and the quantity of badges I could acquire before, it at least did not stagnate. Since ICC came out, while I've been able to gear up my main spec just fine, the offspec has fallen behind. We only do 10 man raids. That is a factor, but not the major one. We've always just done 10 mans, and my offspec gear never suffered previously. Because of the way that ICC was designed to start out 'tougher' making the progress of gear and badge drops slower than before, the high cost of badge gear and the type of loot that drops off the bosses, those are the major reasons that my offspec has fallen behind.

Those are the things I'm not sure about come Cataclysm. The cost of getting gear is what's keeping me from upgrading my offspec right now. Not so much who gets the priority for a drop and who doesn't.

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