Dual spec for the Hunter

With the release of patch 3.1 Blizzard presented the Dual Spec feature which had most players of hybrid classes in an frenzy of excitement. Being able to swap from spec to spec depending on the needs of the raid at any given time was something most hybrid classes have dreamed of since time unknown.

Although strapped with a hefty price tag of 1000 gold, this feature is well worth the price for any class with the need to switch between healing and tanking, tanking and DPS or healing and DPS. But what about Hunters, or any other pure DPS class for that matter? Can you get any use out of it besides a lame achievement that costs you 1000G?

There are no real easy answers to these questions. While Dual Spec for the Hunter is not worthless, neither is it so useful you should rush out and drop 1000 gold without significant thought into the matter. As there are no black and white answers to Dual Specing your hunter you must consider long and hard what type of player you are and if having the option of two specs will be worth the cost.

The most obvious use of Dual Spec would be your choice of a PvE Raiding Spec coupled with a PvP spec. Since most PvE raiding hunters are currently some form of Survival (usually 0/15/56 or some small variation of this), this means if you prefer to PvP with any other spec whether it be Beastmaster or Marksman you will be dropping a significant amount of gold each time you want to PvP or be forced to PvP in a spec that you are not fully comfortable with. If you PvP daily, or even just on the weekends, Dual Spec should be something you seriously consider purchasing. You will find that in the end it will pay for itself and save you a fair amount of time that would otherwise be wasted flying to a trainer then choosing your talent points over and over again.

More than a few Hunters (including myself) use our toons to farm the gold and resources needed to fund our raiding addiction. Besides, who doesn’t want to head into Onyxia’s Lair with a healer friend and dish out some sweet vengeance for all those times she deep breathed, wiped the raid, and you and your entire raid spent the next 5 minutes walking halfway across the zone to get your bodies back? Yeah, I know you know what I’m talking about. Farming herbs, ore, leather, cloth, or hulking irritated dragons you may find that aside from your normal raiding or PvP spec you will be in need of a more soloing friendly spec. Beastmastery as a whole tends to be the best soloing spec as it gives your pet more stamina and allows for it to be able to hold mobs off you more efficiently while you pew pew them mercilessly. It also allows you the option to have exotic pets which are just…cool. So, if you have no other toons to do the farming for you, enjoying hearing your Devilsaur stomp around, or if your hunter is just your farming toon of choice, having a Beastmastery spec and a PvE (or PvP) spec in backup as your Dual spec would be a very wise idea indeed.

If you like to constantly try out the newest specs, or if the lure of coming up with some wild ones of your own calls to you, the final Dual Spec option I will touch on in this article will be ideal for you. A combination of a PvE Raiding Spec (or PvP depending on your preference) with any spec you would like to try out will allow you the flexibility to try out any new specs you can possibly find, or come up with on your own. Since respecing only clears the spec you are currently on, you can respec from your current trail spec, to that spec that Rexxar demanded you try out in the dream you had last night, while still holding onto your tried and true spec as back up. Just in case your trail spec happens to turn out to be a failure of epic proportions.

I won’t pretend that I have touched upon all the possible combinations for Hunter Dual Specs in this article as I’m sure the possibilities are close to endless. However, this should be a solid starting point for any Hunter curious if the 1000 gold for Dual Spec will be worthwhile for them. Dual Specing for Hunters is a choice we all must each make as individual players with varying play styles. Sit back, and ask yourself if a second spec is something you would use, and enjoy. If the answer is no, the 1000 gold is certainly not worth the price of just an achievement unless you are rolling in gold. However if the answer is yes, collect your gold and make the plunge. You won’t regret it.