Specs

[Kailand]

Well, I was asked what some cookie cutter specs for hunters were, so I thought I'd put them down

Standard Raid hunter build (BM - highest DPS spec):

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...000000000000000

Alternate Raid Hunter Build (MM)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...000000000000000

Raid buff survival Build (SV)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...210322300520351

*Added to appease holy

Arena/PvP Mana Drain Spec (MM)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...000000000000000

Arena/PvP Drain/Endurance spec (mm)

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...500000000000000

I would also like to add, that any hunter build that is built for DPS will have 20 points spread out as follows. If they don't, then they are severly limiting their DPS:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...000000000000000 (if you are the only hunter and run with physical DPS)

or

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classe...000000000000000 (if you run with another hunter who has improved hunters mark)

Also for those who are Survival like me... only one of us needs to be in a raid, more than one survival hunter in a raid is a waste of a DPS spot, as expose weakness does not stack, so the hunter with the lesser agility should respec BM (the defacto raid spec and highest personal DPS spec).

Edited March 28, 2008 by Kailand

[Waldonnis]

I'll post some warlock and mage specs as well, but need sleep first

Sleep acquired:

Mage:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obhVZxgGzfcsoeRt0h

Here's a cookie-cutter 10/48/3 deep fire raiding build. I have a variation of this on Verissi and enjoy it quite a bit. It's lousy in PvP, but very good for raiding, since the focus is heavy sustained damage, boosted crit rate, improved spell hit, and some mana efficiency with MoE and elemental precision. There's some room to play around with points, since you can always boost Playing with Fire by removing points in improved fireblast, etc...but overall, it's more just for personal taste at that point.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oZxgGzfcIoeRtVG00o

This is a new build that's floating around for raiding. It incorporates icy veins for hasted casting, but can be a bit mana-intensive since it lacks clearcasting. Again, there is some room to play with points, especially in the frost talents, but I'd recommend only playing with the second tier talents there. Having improved frostbolt is handy on fights like Al'ar (fire immune).

There are tons of solid frost builds out there for PvP/Arena and I won't write the novel that it would take to explain them all. Some prefer arcane/frost for some control with a punch, while others enjoy heavy frost builds for maximum control and survivability. All seem to be pretty successful in the hands of a practiced mage, so I encourage experimentation to find your own style.

Warlock:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=IZsxczIozZEt0tr0zhhi

This is Waldonnis' current demonology/destruction build and it brings one thing: tons of direct damage. It lacks any kind of survivability and has only one instant-cast DoT spell, so I wouldn't recommend it for anything but raiding. Another bonus is the simplicity that it brings (shadows, then chain-cast shadowbolts for max damage output) and some flexibility with demonic sacrifice buffs. At upper levels of raiding, most warlocks that I know end up going with some form of this build since the damage is unmatched by affliction or demonology-heavy builds. Tweaking some of the unimportant demonology talents for the various ranks of improved healthstone is about all that I would change.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=IEMrVMfzVtbocxZxx

A good, all-around affliction build and similar to what I used for quite some time. There's a ton to like about this build for 5-mans and even some larger-scale PvP (AV) since it brings nice DoT damage, dark pact (use the imp for this...great mana regen on that little guy), instant-cast AoE fear, siphon life, nightfall, and tough-to-interrupt draining. Variations of this build are numerous and include such things like shadowburn, malediction, or shadow embrace. PvP-wise, this is a "die fast, but take everyone down with you" build, so expect to be killed a ton, but your opponents will be thinking about how much they hate you as they are waiting for their rez or stuck trying to out-eat your DoTs.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=IA0rVRbzoZbxczIiz0es

This is the "Vrugz, Hatemonger" build for PvP and generally known as SL/SL (siphon life, soul link). Many variations exist on this, but the combination of siphon life, soul link, nightfall, and soul siphon make for an unreal amount of survivability. Many warlocks choose to ignore suppression and put more points towards either a felguard or improving their DoTs, but the key talents listed above are always included. Pair this warlock up with a paladin healer and it basically takes 3-5 Alliance puggers to take them down.

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=IV0MZMxZxx0trhtVuAo

This is Katak's build and has been for pretty much ever This is definitely not a cookie-cutter build at all and only one warlock I know has been able to make this shine in both PvE and PvP, but it's a very nice destruction-heavy build all around. PvE-wise, it brings the heavy damage talents in destruction for the same style of play that I enjoy with my demo/destruction build. PvP-wise, the addition of shadowfury, conflagrate, and improved searing pain give options for cast time and an additional level of control without using fear. It's definitely worth noting that it takes a ton of comfort with this build to make it work well for you, but given enough practice, you'd pretty much wreck anyone one-on-one, including our traditional Achilles' heel: warriors.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Waldonnis

[Holyssa]

Here's some paladin specs, but keep in mind this is coming from a tank's perspective:

~http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=sZVhxIx0zMgqtVbx

Cookie cutter tankadin spec, with 3 points left free for anything else (Improved Seal of the Crusader, Pursuit of Justice for all you slowpokes, or even Seal of Command if you're feeling crazy enough to play DPS-roulette). At higher avoidance levels, Reckoning isn't absolutely necessary (the higher your avoidance, the less you get hit), but can be very helpful for a surprise burst in DPS. I personally kept it because it provides a generous mana boost with Seal/Judgement of Wisdom combined on most mobs. Seal/Judgement of Light with Reckoning can save your life also.

If you still plan to main heal or off-heal, start gearing up: it's still very do-able, but you need to do some number crunching to fill in specific gaps.

~http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=sVxuZVhtIx0zMgqt

Holy's old pseudo-healadin build from many moons ago, back when she was a Karazhan main healer. Improved Lay on Hands can be a good lifesaver, and there's just enough points in the Holy tree to function as a Heroic healer. Again, it helps to have gear back it up, since mana conservation is very iffy.

~http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=sZVhtIx0dMMqtVbx0G

Anti-caster tank build. Eye for an Eye & Spell Warding make those casters a bit less painful as an offtank, and it can really annoy people in PvP that tend to zerg the paladin first with a barrage of spells.

~http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=sZV0tIx0zggqtVbx

Holy's current build. Similar to the cookie-cutter spec above, but Reckoning was kept for mass AoE-grindage in exchange for the +hit talents. Hey, a paladin's gotta farm somehow, right?

Well, I was asked what some cookie cutter specs for hunters were, so I thought I'd put them down

Hmm...are there any specs that work particularly well for PvP? My hunter (*points to Kaerina's link in sig*) is MM/SV spec, but I'm looking for a secondary opinion.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Holyssa

[Kailand]

Holy, I added the arena specs. for BG's spec doesn't really matter. For arena and pvp deterence doesn't matter all that much (that's what entrapment and scatter is for) basically the trade off is your pet vs your health with the two builds I posted. One thing I should adds is pets.

Scorpid for PvP - this is the best PvP pet since its poisons mask your stings.

for raiding if you do not have an elemental and an enhancement shaman and your crit rate is about 30% (BM spec)

Windserpent > Ravager > Cat/Raptor

otherwise

Ravager > Cat/Raptor

[Holyssa]

Holy, I added the arena specs. for BG's spec doesn't really matter. For arena and pvp deterence doesn't matter all that much (that's what entrapment and scatter is for) basically the trade off is your pet vs your health with the two builds I posted. One thing I should adds is pets.

Scorpid for PvP - this is the best PvP pet since its poisons mask your stings.

for raiding if you do not have an elemental and an enhancement shaman and your crit rate is about 30% (BM spec)

Windserpent > Ravager > Cat/Raptor

otherwise

Ravager > Cat/Raptor

Hrmm...I have a Ravager with the highest rank of Gore/Bite, Great Stamina, Avoidance, and some in Natural Armor. I was going to ask what works best for PvP, but it seems like Scorpids are the way to go.

I also have a freshly-tamed Trachela sitting in my stable. Is it worth keeping as a pet designed to annoy the crap out of people in BGs?

[Kailand]

Holy, I added the arena specs. for BG's spec doesn't really matter. For arena and pvp deterence doesn't matter all that much (that's what entrapment and scatter is for) basically the trade off is your pet vs your health with the two builds I posted. One thing I should adds is pets.

Scorpid for PvP - this is the best PvP pet since its poisons mask your stings.

for raiding if you do not have an elemental and an enhancement shaman and your crit rate is about 30% (BM spec)

Windserpent > Ravager > Cat/Raptor

otherwise

Ravager > Cat/Raptor

Hrmm...I have a Ravager with the highest rank of Gore/Bite, Great Stamina, Avoidance, and some in Natural Armor. I was going to ask what works best for PvP, but it seems like Scorpids are the way to go.

I also have a freshly-tamed Trachela sitting in my stable. Is it worth keeping as a pet designed to annoy the crap out of people in BGs?

I've seen birds used in BG's and they are annoying, but they are more of a grinding/soloing pet. Basically for BG's it doesn't really matter what pet you have, as gear is more important.

As for abilities, I always train the max ranks of Great Stamina, Growl (its free), Avoidance, Cobra Reflexes. Then I will train a DPS ability (claw if they have it, otherwise bite, but not both) and a pet type specific ability (Gore for Ravagers, screech for birds, lightning breath for windserpents, scorpid poison for scorpids, etc), and since I'm impatient I will pick up dash/dive. Alot of hunters will put points into resistances (shadow and frost for pvp, instance dependant for raiders) but I dislike training resistances as with careful management it's not really required, and usually go for armor to use up the remaining points.

[Waldonnis]

One thing to note about scorpids is that it makes a druid/paladin's life much more difficult in PvP if used correctly. Stacking the poisons on top of DoTs gives you that much more to get rid of to get to the real damage-dealing stuff. Otherwise, they're more of an annoyance than anything else damage-wise.

Also, builds are posted above for warlocks and a couple of raiding mage builds.

[Scryll]

Rogue specs:

~Combat Swords This is the premier rogue raiding spec. Most rogues speccing for pve take some variant of this, as does just about every raiding rogue. Most of the talents in the Combat tree are required, while the later points spent in Assassination can be traded for a bit more survivability or utility from the combat and subtlety trees if you really want them. A somewhat controversial variant takes Fist Specialization along with Swords to get crit-enhanced fist mainhand swings from an offhand sword-spec proc, but a general dearth of fist weapons makes it hard use and upgrade. We might be seeing more of it with the new badge-bought fists, along with a straight Combat Fists spec. Scryll's played Combat Swords for most of the last three years and is presently playing a variant without poisons or much Lethality to get improved CC for five-mans. Combat daggers is generally considered sub-par to this, post-BC.

~Mutilate Mutilate is just a very fun play-style. Fast and furious, and it works well for both PvP and PvE, with the exception of the few remaining poison-immune mobs. Constructs, most undead, and many elementals can now be poisoned, which removes the major PvE weakness the build had. While the above spec works fairly well for PvP, some prefer this Mutilate/Subtlety build for better stunlocking and defense.

I'll leave the hemo and Shadowstep builds to someone who understands them better. Those builds are almost all oriented solely for PvP.