Dual-Spec: The Necessary (VERY Necessary) Evil

[Jedi_Wannabe]

I think we need a dual spec system simply because so few players want to play dedicated healers and tanks. They are harder to level and often times very few are available. On our server its been impossible to find a group for any flashpoint because of a lack of tanks and healers. Late game it becomes more important to really embrace and "live" your role. As we level though being able to switch specs would be really nice and in my opinion would help more people see the content of the game.

 

DO you have any numbers to show there is a lack of healers and tanks? Remember that early game and late game are not the same thing. Some people still prefer to level as a DPS spec and switch later.

 

Also, just because people don't spec tank or heal at low level doesn't mean there are no tanks or healers. It's possible to tank and heal 1-49 with a DPS spec. That content just isn't very difficult. If people choose not to tank or heal, even when their class and spec are capable of it, Dual Spec isn't going to fix anything.

 

It's also unlikely that Dual Spec would be added before level 50 anyway. If players need Dual Spec to advance before level 50, then that content is broken.

[dargor-]

Haven't read the thread, nor very many of these since we've had I don't know, a thousand of them since the dawn of time. Why do they continue to appear when it's already been stated they plan to implement this at a future date?

 

At this point the debate shouldn't be whether or not dual spec is needed, but how soon should it appear. The sooner, the better.

 

Because when a mmo dev says "in the future" you never know if they mean 10 years from now.

 

I'll point you to the WoW dance studio and rest my case, so no, threads like this aren't useless, their purpose is to remind the devs that this specific feature should be higher priority than say, vehicle emotes (which got patched 2 weeks ago ... /facepalm)

[Jedi_Wannabe]

I'll point you to the WoW dance studio and rest my case, so no, threads like this aren't useless, their purpose is to remind the devs that this specific feature should be higher priority than say, vehicle emotes (which got patched 2 weeks ago ... /facepalm)

 

I'm wondering if the vehicle emotes was a feature that needed to be added so they could add something else later, like vehicular combat.

[formulaic]

another way to see the content of the game is to ROLL A HEALER yourself, novel idea eh? quit complaining there are no healers and make a healer. it's not an argument for dual-spec. on any legitimate level. the only argument for wanting dual-spec. is "I'm too lazy to play another character I think you should just GIVE ME ONE NOW."

 

"Sorry, but if you want to play this game, you've got to play a character that you don't like"

 

-> Forcing a player to level a character that they don't enjoy is a pretty good way to reduce server populations. I'm not sure if the developers intend to do that?

[il-jumper]

Dual Spec?

 

Give us 5 Specs so people can experiment, do different roles on mood and play pvp and pve without plenatly.

 

I want to tank in pve, for soloing I go dps, with my friends if someone else tank i go dps.

For PvP Tanks are useless, go dps.

 

As Shadow I need 1 PVE Tank, 1 PVE Melee DPS, 1 PVE Hybrid DPS, 1 PVP DPS

[Tewnam]

A healer being harder to level in this game is a myth carried over from other games that needs to stop. It is not any harder to level a healer in SWTOR than it is a DPS. You simply need to gear up a DPS companion and umm, heal them. They don't do as much damage as a player, but you don't lose all of your damage as a healer either. I level faster as a healer than I did as a DPS.

 

I haven't leveled my tank up high enough to say much for certain about them, but he's doing just as well so far at level 28.

[Abye]

You have very low standards when you say a dps compaion is good dps

[mnemonic]

I play a healer for both PVE and PVP however I would like to play two different specs for them

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#20...zZf0rr0MrZ0z.1 would be my PVP spec as you can see it adds quite a bit of CC potential (which helps to survive duh) but these talents have no use in PVE which I would use http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#20...0dGzZf00MZoM.1

 

I hardly use the AOE heal in PVP with so much movement most people just don't stand in it/see it or warzones like Huttball have no real use. Both specs heal just differently with Dual Specs OR cheaper respecs I would be a lot happier at the moment its just not reasonable to pay respecs over and over to play what I like for what situation I am going into. Thats my 2 cents

[allancue]

Is the blatantly exorbitant price on respecs supposed to:

 

a) Keep the hardcore guilds from getting too far ahead?

b) Put the onus on guilds to recruit players strictly for the purpose of spot substitutions?

c) Maintain some sort of RP lore/story space-time continuum?

 

Regardless, none of these answers justify a player's personal need to have to blow an entire day's farming income to be able to just respec for one day of raiding.

 

And before the trolls think they're so smart: Maybe there are a very small number of guilds out there that can actually down some of this hardmode raid content without subbing or respec'ing. However, if you've actually seen the hardmode content, you know that some fights are made a million times easier with 3 healers and some require absolutely 0 tanks. I have no problem with this - It adds a dynamic quality of difficulty and forces raid leaders to be creative.

 

However, if you're going to build content like this, you just can't stick a full day's price tag on a person's ability to:

 

a) Contribute as a dynamic member of a raid, rather than a temporary substitute.

b) Test a variety of opportunities to contribute even more to a raid.

c) Experience other elements of the game.

 

Heck. Maybe part of your plan is to make people commit more time to the burgeoning economy via the GTN just so they can raid. I get it: all these things are interconnected. Personally, though, if I wanted to be making money with a series of mid-90's dropdown menus, I could be trading stocks or ticket-gouging and not playing SWTOR.

Edited January 17, 2012 by allancue

[catarnGER]

i just want to hop onto that train, because i would really love to have dual specs.

 

 

even though you have to admit that if you go and try to optimize your performance on every boss you still need some respeccing, being able to have seperate specs for PvP/PvE or single-target/AoE Healing/DPS/Tanking would be so, so, so freaking amazing.

 

 

so 100 bumps on this thread to make it happen soon.

Edited January 18, 2012 by catarnGER

[Wrathoran]

I've been gaming for decades, and I've never agreed that dual-specs are necessary.

 

In the end, what every demand for them comes down to is "I want my ONE character to be able to fill MORE THAN ONE role."

 

You simply need to create more than one character. What every one of these requests is asking for is the need to not have to create and level a second character, which I do not agree is something the game should provide.

 

At the very least, dual-spec is most certainly not necessary, just a convenient time-saver.

 

it is your own opinion, i understand. For YOU , YOU feel like YOU prefer to reroll one role per character.

 

I prefer to do everything on a single character or at least do PVE and PVP in a role i like.

I love healing flashpoints and raid, i hate questing as healer.

I love tanking flashpoint and raid, i hate questing as a tank (less then a healer though).

I dont want 2 sith warrior, one is enough.

I dont want 2 mercenary, one is enough.

 

So how do I Bodyguard (healing) in pvp and Arsenal (dps) in pvp? With a dual spec. I wont roll two mercenary and do that boring story twice, gear up two characters. Most of the talent i would choose for PVP is not needed for PVE. Why would i want my trinket as a dps to come back faster in PVE? (removing stun,root etc.) As a tank perhaps but as a dps its unuseful but in pvp its really powerful. Why would i want my full auto to slow the target by 50% for 2 sec in pve? Alot of mobs shoot, cover distance with a jump etc, its not useful but in pvp yes.

 

This is your own opinion on the matter and i respect it but i fully dont agree. This game need a dual spec at least for PVE/PVP

[adingleberry]

I would love swtor 1000x more if it had dual spec.

[Eykooc]

I agree. Dual spec now only is good for this game for a ton a reasons that wore already sad before but i think is a must have.

[Nythain]

Dual Spec would make me so happy. I could...

 

Heal and DPS spec my sorcerer

 

PvP and PvE spec my mercenary

 

all without costing a fortune switching back and forth a billion times. my 2 cents.

[Caelrie]

another way to see the content of the game is to ROLL A HEALER yourself, novel idea eh? quit complaining there are no healers and make a healer. it's not an argument for dual-spec. on any legitimate level. the only argument for wanting dual-spec. is "I'm too lazy to play another character I think you should just GIVE ME ONE NOW."

 

Respeccing your character to heal isn't asking bioware to just give you a healer. Get a real argument.

[salamanderx]

it is your own opinion, i understand. For YOU , YOU feel like YOU prefer to reroll one role per character.

 

I prefer to do everything on a single character or at least do PVE and PVP in a role i like.

I love healing flashpoints and raid, i hate questing as healer.

I love tanking flashpoint and raid, i hate questing as a tank (less then a healer though).

I dont want 2 sith warrior, one is enough.

I dont want 2 mercenary, one is enough.

 

So how do I Bodyguard (healing) in pvp and Arsenal (dps) in pvp? With a dual spec. I wont roll two mercenary and do that boring story twice, gear up two characters. Most of the talent i would choose for PVP is not needed for PVE. Why would i want my trinket as a dps to come back faster in PVE? (removing stun,root etc.) As a tank perhaps but as a dps its unuseful but in pvp its really powerful. Why would i want my full auto to slow the target by 50% for 2 sec in pve? Alot of mobs shoot, cover distance with a jump etc, its not useful but in pvp yes.

 

This is your own opinion on the matter and i respect it but i fully dont agree. This game need a dual spec at least for PVE/PVP

 

I'd like to fly and shoot fireballs out my *** but I dont see that happening either... I'd believe it more than switching between dual specs every time I wiggled my nose too.

Edited February 6, 2012 by salamanderx

[MeanMartian]

I'd like to fly and shoot fireballs out my *** but I dont see that happening either... I'd believe it more than switching between dual specs every time I wiggled my nose too.

 

But you see, you flying around and shooting fireballs out of your *** would damage in game immersion, will likely be over balanced, and has only ever been asked for by one person.

 

Dual spec does not hurt game immersion in the least, is not over balanced, and has been asked for by a lot of people. My advice to you good sir, stop posting until you have something to say.

[SpankyMcFlych]

If you don't want dual specs in the game, then you need to let healers solo at the same rate as dps while doing dailies and other grindy type things.

 

It's as simple as that.

[Mcleavestein]

no no and no, that idea that I want a toon that can do everything is messing up the game play, choose your path, and live it

 

Why should I not be able to PvP and PvE effectively on the same character? In my current spec as Marauder, I do horrible DPS in PvE but do quite well in PvP. I shouldn't be able to be effective in both? I should be forced out of half of the game just because I want to be effective in the other half? Flawed reasoning.

[Caelrie]

I'd like to fly and shoot fireballs out my *** but I dont see that happening either... I'd believe it more than switching between dual specs every time I wiggled my nose too.

 

Are you new to MMORPGs? Dual (or multi) speccing is a common feature in modern MMORPGs, not some kind of unheard-of miracle.

[Duncker]

If you don't want dual specs in the game, then you need to let healers solo at the same rate as dps while doing dailies and other grindy type things.

 

It's as simple as that.

 

..Or be left standing looking for healer.

 

 

^^ Very much this ^^

[Vandewater]

I'd like to fly and shoot fireballs out my *** but I dont see that happening either... I'd believe it more than switching between dual specs every time I wiggled my nose too.

 

Play a BH.

[malyen]

Just say NO to lazy players that cannot be bothered to reclass and want to have their cake and eat it too.

 

You make a choice and you live with it.

Seriously .. get over it.

 

If you just can't STAND to live with it then use the proper game mechanics to change.

If you can't live with the consequences of the choices you make you have much, MUCH larger issues.

 

Actually..... dual specs are coming... so its you that is going to have to live with it.....

 

Some people amaze me..... Surely games are meant to be about fun and choice. I cant believe so many people seem to want people to be punished for wanting to have fun playing a game. I pay a monthly subscription to have fun playing a game....not quite sure how having more choice and fun makes me lazy?

 

Also it is repetetive enough playing the same story line on my Sage and Shadow, if I had to double up again, that would mean leveling the same class story 4 times.... I think not!

Edited February 7, 2012 by malyen

[imperator_sulla]

From my perspective on this my main is sorc heals and I've been pvping alot recently at lvl 50 but want to do pve end game as well. As has been pointed out there are skills that more orriented towards one or the other. As examples of skills that are essentially pvp skills in the corruption tree you have one that adds speed reduction to affliction and another adds a speed bonus to static barrier(and requires two points in another skill to access it). I took neither of these b/c they have little pve viability compared to other skills you can take, however if i could have a second spec for pvp purposes(which would also be healing focused) there's a good argument for taking those for the support role boost they provide especially in huttball (and being imp means playing alotta huttball). For me, not necessarily for all, I'd just like to have the second spec so i can have one committed to pve and one for pvp where i could without hesistation put points in skills that are clearly designed for it.

[GOYAFIDO]

Quoting myself from the misplaced dual spec thread under "Classes":

 

As has been previously pointed out:

 

1.) Dual specs are coming and this thread is a waste of time.

 

2.) We can already respec any time we want to. The only difference between dual specing and respecing is a trip and a silly amount of cash, that's it. Dual speccing is about convenience in a game, not an affront to "real life." SWTOR is just as far removed from reality as any other MMO for the purposes of fun and convenience and any argument against respecing that is not based on the idea of convenience being too much past a certain level has no place here.

 

What many, many people actually seem to be suggesting is that respecing ITSELF devalues the entire point of specs and of course the only solution to THAT problem is to allow NO ONE to respec AT ALL. We get one chance and one chance only. We don't like our spec then we reroll, yes? When patches come out that cause balance changes, well, that's just tough luck isn't it? Allowing people to change specs devalues specs and we need to maintain the integrity of our original choices, amirite?

 

For the "immersion" folks, YOU only get to die once, then you must reroll. Now THAT is realism.

 

Let me be the 1,000,006th person to suggest to all of you who think this way:

 

Feel free to never, ever respec no matter how many mistakes you make in your builds and for those deeply concerned about "immersion" feel free to reroll immediately after your character dies for the first time. At least those who choose to never respec or choose to reroll upon their characters first death will have their integrity...everyone else is arguing about how much convenience there should be...

Edited February 9, 2012 by GOYAFIDO