Breakfast Topic: How do you choose your spec builds?
by Amelia Ramstead 
Aug 6th 2011 at 8:00AM
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the AOL guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages.
I confess that when it comes to my specs, I am incredible lazy. I'm not dual-specced. I don't have a PVP spec. I'm just a standard PVE frost mage. I didn't even change to arcane when arcane was the only way to be a "proper" mage. I'm not into theorycrafting, and I would rather let someone else do all the work. I poke around the internet for awhile, find a spec I like, and copy it. I then stick with that spec until major changes are made and I have no choice but to fix the spec.
Some of my good friends are the total opposite. They loiter on theorycrafting websites, crunch the numbers, and constantly tweak the numbers until their spec seems ideal. A few days later, they are ready to tweak some more.
Where do you fall on this spectrum? Are you a theorycrafter who loves the numbers game and could spend hours trying to devise the perfect spec? Would you prefer to sit back and yank someone else's perfect design? Or are you somewhere in the middle? Do you study the builds and then come up with something of your own, roughly based on the work you've seen?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
raposo02790 Aug 6th 2011 8:07AM
I google builds then I poke around, thats the extent of my theorycrafting.
Phaelan Aug 6th 2011 10:04AM
try wow-popular.com for specs, that's where I go, usually give a pretty good idea of what the majority of players are using and then the top variations on the specs. There is also options for glyphs and gems
Gendou Aug 6th 2011 8:07AM
Elitist Jerks or other well-researched sites (WHU, Shadowpriest.com, etc.) combined with a bit of common sense.
SR Aug 6th 2011 10:05AM
This. (More on the common sense part)
Blizzard went out of their way to make sure even monkeys could customize their specs to their liking. Being lazy and blindly copying specs usually ends up with that player not knowing the full potential of their own class. Trust me. I've had many RDF encounters where a DK would ask "Oh, Frost isn't a tank tree?" or refuse to use Death Strike just to spite me. "WE'RE DOING JUST FINE LOL" (Nevermind that Tricks of the Trade was on him every cooldown... Scourge Striking without diseases or a ghoul means zero threat). But then again, there's a lot of people out there who lack the basic courtesy to do what's considered the bare minimum.
But back to the original topic, with the way specs are now, there should be NO reason to be that lazy and copy specs or not bother looking at talents. The whole act of doing so just SCREAMS idiocy and blatant disregard for common courtesy.
Sleutel Aug 6th 2011 10:56AM
SR, the top specs are top for a reason. Granted, if someone just copies a spec without reading WHY you want to choose those talents, or what rotation you should use for them, then yes, that's silly. But most specs posted on EJ and other theorycrafting sites come with explanations, rotations/priorities, and sometimes even variations based on your current encounters, raid's needs, and playstyle.
One of the beautiful things about playing a game is that all mechanics are exactly the same for everyone, everywhere. This means that when someone does the math, that math is true for everyone. You may have different goals for your character that would push you to tweak your spec, but if your goal is a common one like "maximum DPS," then there is going to be one single best way to spec your character (for a given fight, anyway). I know we all like to be precious and unique snowflakes, but most of the time, taking advantage of someone else's research into the best spec for your role, WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHY YOU'RE TAKING EACH TALENT, is a smart move.
SR Aug 6th 2011 11:26AM
Well, yeah. I don't have problems with people using sites like that to get guidance and correct mistakes.
It's the difference between two students comparing answers for their homework.
Some will actually look at the answers and learn from it, and some will simply copy off of the site, and eventually fail the test.
Shoikler Aug 6th 2011 8:11AM
I pick one of the specs for a character -- sometimes I know what it'll be at creation, sometimes not -- and that's what the toon has for life. It becomes part of the characterization.
As I'm leveling, I put the points where they seem to be best at the time, and I don't look at the "optimal" builds until sometime in the 70s or 80s, mainly to see if I made any real mistakes; if there are glaring ones, I'll go ahead and fix them, but even then I won't change trees.
Brett Porter Aug 6th 2011 8:21AM
This is what I do as well. I'll look on places like WI, EJ or wowpopular.com to see what the spec generally looks like at 80 so I have an idea, but place them where they are useful right then, or possibly in a few levels.
I won't re-spec until 85 usually, but even then my end result is pretty close to heroic/raid optimal.
Noyou Aug 6th 2011 4:42PM
I used to put the points all over to see what I liked best. I know this was sub optimal even before it became obsolete. Now I usually choose my spec based on leveling solo. At 30 I usually spec into something I can use in dungeons (however I rarely step into a dungeon while leveling). In most cases I fall in love with my leveling spec. The only time I have not was when I finally tried my Lock's Demon offspec at lvl 84. With the new changes to fel hunter I fell in love with that. I have hard times playing afflic now which is sad.
One of the things I like to do is check out other peoples specs I see around town and compare them to mine. I probably start doing this around 50-60. One site I like to use is wow-popular for glyph and build ideas. Ultimately you have to find a balance between optimal play and your playstyle. If you aren't having fun or comfortable with it - it doesn't really matter how good it is.
razion Aug 6th 2011 8:14AM
I'm a PvPer, so I tend to just make my own builds with talents I feel are comfortable for me. In order of importance to myself regarding talents, I'll first take mobility, then control, and if I can't get to any of the rest I'll put everything else in, if a damage tree, damage talents, and leave survivability near the low end of the spectrum, although it usually ends up in my builds (though I will rarely sacrifice, say, damage for too much of it).
Mookin Aug 6th 2011 8:15AM
I like to be competitive, so I will normally go with the basic recommended "cookie cutter" spec. But sometimes there are some talents that are just too cool or useful to pass up. So I modify the cookie cutter to compliment my playstyle or whatever the raid might need.
MusedMoose Aug 6th 2011 8:16AM
I look up stuff on this site, oddly enough; the "101" articles are often very helpful, and some have discussion of each individual talent so I can understand why it's useful or not. I also check WoW Popular for common builds. And naturally, I tweak them for my personal use, if I know I'll get more use out of one ability than another.
Hob Aug 6th 2011 11:12AM
I agree. The 101 articles at WoW Insider have almost always been the best, most helpful sources for information I've found. I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder from one class-writer, whose advice was almost always, "Meh, go spreadsheet it, no seriously," but I don't actively play that class or read those articles anymore, so that's not a dealbreaker for me.
It would be nice to have a "State of the Class" round-up every so often - maybe six months? - linking back to the articles that are still considered current or relevant.
One of the best things about the 101 articles was how the authors analyzed each talent, not just in terms of what they do, but how they would normally be used: "This is a PvP talent, this is useful for leveling but not end-game, this is a required raid talent but if you're not raiding don't bother, etc."
For the most part, yeah, I copy talent trees unless I know the class fairly well. But even then, I'm likely to make tweaks if I feel that some choices were made specifically for PvP or raiding, and there's a different talent that I'd rather use.
GhostWhoWalks Aug 6th 2011 8:20AM
I make builds based around what I want out of a character, whether it be for farming (my Affliction Warlock, who took Demonic Embrace http://www.wowhead.com/spell=18699 and Fel Synergy http://www.wowhead.com/spell=47231 for increased survivability) or maximizing their effectiveness in Heroics (like my main, an Unholy Death Knight). I don't go with what other people say is the optimal build, I go with what matters to me and what I want to emphasize.
But then, I'm a longtime RPG gamer, so making personalized builds for characters is my bread and butter.
Me#1atWoW Aug 6th 2011 8:25AM
I don't look at specs on the internet. Recently, my pally went holy, and I just "figured out" the spec, putting talents into what looked useful. Same with gems, and enchants, for that matter. Why should I let someone else tell me how to play? If I think the spec/gem/enchant looks to be good or useful, I'll use it. If recount/omen/whatever numbers say differently, then I switch it up.
omedon666 Aug 6th 2011 8:34AM
Character concept, hands down.
If I choose a conceptual spec for a character and their personality, I don't care if it's the bottom spec on the most leet website, that is their spec, and that is what they do. In my "defense", I tend to be experienced enough to make pretty much any spec "work", but even if that wasn't the case, this is the attitude I encourage to everyone who asks my opinion: stick to your concept, because the quickest way to be useless to yourself and everyone else is if you're not having fun.
With Blizzard making it their goal to make every spec "viable" (and that word gets butchered from its actual meaning in WoW circles), it is their job to make sure us conceptual players aren't "wrong", with how well the three specs of any one class play out in an intuitive fashion.
Shoikler Aug 6th 2011 3:21PM
For some of my characters, I am exactly the same. [When I said I sometimes know what the spec will be at creation, this is why.] For example, my main rogue is a thief; I may have been reading Raffles and Arsène Lupin novels at the time. There's absolutely nothing in the game mechanics to allow it -- sadly you can't even pick the pockets of friendly NPCs -- but I still imagine that character spending the nights doing second-story work. Assassination and Combat simply don't fit that characterization, so I went with Subtlety, even though it was (and may still be) considered far and away the least of the specs. It's what the character demanded.
Noyou Aug 6th 2011 4:42PM
Yeah. I wish more people did that. I hate the attitude that if your DPS isn't spot on "You suck" especially pre-85. I hear a lot of BS coming from people running dungeons while leveling. I spec heavy into PvP/utility myself and even if I were to switch to my offspec I would be so not used to that rotation it would be about the same result. My advice is always- pick a spec and playstyle you have fun with and try to tailor it the best you can. As long as you aren't doing something that totally gimps yourself you should be fine.
klink-o Aug 6th 2011 8:37AM
The talent trees are so brain dead simple these days you hardly have to try to come up with a sufficient spec. With 31 points required to reach the bottom and unlock secondary trees and with trees average 35-40 points total it's not hard with even a basic understanding of the class to pick a few weak talents to skip. Then you're left to decide in which starter talents from the other two trees to stick the last 10 or so points. And unless you're looking to absolutely min/max (which means you'll probably just take a cookie cutter spec anyway) the starter talents are either obviously not for your spec (damage increasing talents for a dedicated healer) or similar enough that it doesn't really matter.
Sinderion Aug 6th 2011 8:54AM
I like to kill big things, 'cause they're too damn big. I put points and stats in places that help big things die best. Sometimes that's on a website. Sometimes, due to gear available, that needs some more tweaking to squeeze out max performance.
Often, but not always, the cookiecutter spec and stat priority are based primarily on having best in slot gear. Obviously 99.9% of us are not in full best in slot gear. Attention must be payed to your personal stats.
If killing big things is not high on your priority list, or you dont feel like learning enough about wow to make educated guesses and analyze feedback about where your stats should be, then w/e.
I like killing big things. Thats the only reason I go through the trouble.