Bye-Bye DPS...

So after BWL yesterday, I also respecced for the umpteenth million time. (Sidenote: My name's Paul and I am a respec addict. I'dve probably been able to afford two separate Epic mounts if I didn't spend all my gold on a new Talent Spec every few weeks.)

My most recent spec was an optimised damage spec which I heard about from Hunters doing Naxxaramas. By all accounts the only Damage-dealing talents in the shallow end of the Survival tree didn't apply in there or in AQ40 (a distinct lack of Humanoids, Dragonkin, Giants and Beasts in either). Their response was to reinvest points that they'd normally put in the Survival tree into Beastmastery, which made your pet tougher and able to do more damage. On paper, it seemed to be a good idea, but in practise, ten months of raiding have taught me not to send my pet into combat, and that's a hard habit to break. I'm too used to having my Wolf beside me in raids providing a useful buff to my ranged damage.

Given reports on Hunter DPS in Naxxaramas, and my own experiences that even our best-geared Hunters are being left behind in the DPS stakes as our Rogues, Warriors and offensive casters start to get access to BWL and later-level gear, I've decided to bow out of the damage race.

Don't worry, I'm not rolling a Paladin *grin*, but I've decided to respec to a 0/21/30 build that's focussed around having a bit more utility in raids than just "straight" DPS. This build is focussed around Survival in raids. Survivalist, Deterrance and Improved Feign Death will help me get out of sticky situations (like pulling) until the tanks and healers can get mobs off me. Survivalist also means I can take a couple more hits before showing up on the Healer's Emergency Monitors, giving me time to get the mob off me, then bandage, before I waste their mana. Surefooted also means I can sacrifice some of my +hit gear for resistance gear in certain fights.

I also went for both the trap talents, since they've proved pretty useful in Razorgore and Nefarian in Blackwing Lair and on the Core Packs in Molten Core. Improved Feign Death will also improve my chances of laying a trap in Combat.

And of course we have Killer Instinct and Lightning Reflexes to compensate for the loss of DPS from MM, giving me about 140 attack power and just over 4% crit chance in my normal raiding gear. That said, losing Improved Aspect of the Hawk, Barrage, Ranged Weapon Specialisation, and Trueshot Aura hurts my DPS badly (I'm still about 5 DPS down even with another Hunter's Trueshot Aura buffing me).