At what level should I consider switching to Carnage?

[Cowboyup]

I'm currently level 30 playing annihilation, at what level would it be safe to assume carnage is a viable spec?

[Ridickilis]

Well I went straight into Combat (Carnage) from the get-go, got my Ataru form right at level 20 and never looked back, so...now?

 

Based on what I have read from the community, it seems that the 'optimal specs' while leveling up kinda goes like this:

 

Rage spec first, stay in Shii-cho form in the early goings until about 22-25ish. Then re-spec to Annihilation until about 40, then Carnage.

 

Of course it really comes down to, "the best spec is the one you are most comfortable with".

Edited July 10, 2012 by Ridickilis

[Varicite]

I'm currently level 30 playing annihilation, at what level would it be safe to assume carnage is a viable spec?

 

At level 30, you can comfortably transition into Carnage and have most of the "core" of the spec, imo.

 

Like the above poster, I also did Carnage from 10-50, but I can say w/out reservation that both of the other trees bring a lot more to the table than Carnage will until about lv30ish.

Edited July 10, 2012 by Varicite

[Thundergulch]

I went Annihilation from the beginning and absolutely steamrolled mobs all the way to lvl 50.

I was doing missions 4 levels above me EASILY!

Keep Quinn geared up and you can take on anything, including Champions 4 levels above you.

[Nolenthar]

I still wonder why one would spec carnage, but well ...

[Omophorus]

I still wonder why one would spec carnage, but well ...

 

Utility and burst damage, especially in PVP.

 

I would generally recommend Annihilation to people primarily PVEing, as it doesn't really give up anything of note to Carnage against NPCs, and has additional sturdiness that can make leveling easier and/or less painful.

 

So to the OP's question... I'd answer when you consider switching from mostly PVE to mostly PVP.

 

There are certainly no shortage of people who use and love Carnage in PVE, and thanks to cumulative changes since 1.0 it really isn't any *worse* than Annihilation, but at least in my own experience, it rarely ever drastically outperforms either. Which is "best" is going to vary on a monster-by-monster basis, but the extra utility of Carnage is of less import when leveling and in endgame PVE, and the extra sturdiness of Annihilation is desirable pretty much always.

 

For Rated Warzones, I often wonder why one wouldn't spec Carnage, as its utility and burst are far and away the best and most "on-demand" of all 3 Marauder specs. For solo-queueing, though, it definitely is a harder sell as it's the most fragile spec.