tri-spec
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Patch 5.3 PTR: Ghostcrawler clarifies Tri-Spec
I think WoW Insider was sufficiently cautious when we posted about the datamined tri-spec feature, saying, and I quote: This is the PTR, and stuff can be datamined that never actually makes it to live Even if it does get tested on the PTR, it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be implemented Sometimes stuff gets put in the files just to mess with us. And today, from Ghostcrawler's tweets, it looks like we were right to be cautious. He said the following this morning: @nathanjaworski Just an experiment. You can datamine a lot that may not come to pass anytime soon (e.g. Defense of the Alehouse). - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) March 28, 2013 So it seems like those who took this as confirmed may have been hasty! It seems reasonable that it's an experiment, rather than a confirmed element coming into WoW. There was a healthy discussion around this, and the fear of excessive homogeneity associated with it, and it's definitely not a decision that should be made lightly. Are you disappointed? We're not sure that we are. It'd be nice to have a third spec for your main spec, offspec and PvP spec, but would you really use it to its full potential? Do people really want to carry three sets of gear in their bags? Do note that this doesn't mean it's definitely not in, either. What are you hoping for?
Patch 5.3 PTR: Third Talent Specialization datamined
If this little tidbit from the Wowhead database is to be believed, we may be receiving tri-spec in patch 5.3. Now, before you begin speaking in tongues or leaping out a window, some caveats: This is the PTR, and stuff can be datamined that never actually makes it to live Even if it does get tested on the PTR, it doesn't necessarily follow that it will be implemented Sometimes stuff gets put in the files just to mess with us So let us calmly and without panic contemplate what this could mean. How much could triple specialization change the game? Would you use it? Should it be as costly as dual specialization was when it debuted? Does it favor certain classes too greatly or does the hurdle of gear provide enough barrier to keep jack of all trades from dominating the game? What are your thoughts on this potential feature? Update -- In reply to our request for comment/verification, Blizzard notes the following (best summed up by a tweet from Ghostcrawler on the matter): @adamholisky We haven't announced triple spec. With that in mind, take anything data-mine-able with a grain o' salt. - Greg Street (@Ghostcrawler) March 25, 2013 Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
Reader UI of the Week: Laar goes with a tri-spec setup
Each week, WoW Insider and Mathew McCurley bring you a fresh look at reader-submitted UIs as well as Addon Spotlight, which spotlights the latest user interface addons. Have a screenshot of your own UI that you'd like to submit? Send your screenshots along with info on what mods you're using to readerui@wowinsider.com, and follow Mathew on Twitter. Oh boy, do I have a treat for you all this week. Laar is our UI subject this week, and I was immediately impressed with not only Laar's courageousness to tri-spec for a heroic raiding guild but at the ease with which the World of Warcraft user interface turns on a dime. No other MMO UI out there can transform itself so quickly to become something utterly new from spec to spec. Going tri-spec is daunting. I don't know if that's the type of dedication my brain can handle these days. College, maybe. Back then, I could multitask. Now I'm an old, sad man. Don't let my shame and sadness get you down. Let's take a look at this awesome UI!
Blizzard: No triple spec on the horizon, but it's not ruled out
When Blizzard introduced the dual spec system in patch 3.1, speculation almost immediately turned to the concept of the "triple spec." The idea seemed like an all-too-real possibility, gated behind the caveat of "We want to see how the system works first." Two years later, we have plenty of information on how the dual spec system works. Its initial price tag of 1,000 gold kept it limited only to the most serious of players, but even that high cost couldn't keep the more casual set away. The pricetag has since been slashed all the way down to a mere 10 gold, making it something that everyone can, should, and will train. Dual spec has become so popular that Cataclysm's new stat system seems as if it was built around it. You can now be a successful shadow priest and healing priest in the same gear; a feral DPS druid can change into an able feral tank with very few gearing changes. Dual spec's been such a terrific and natural fit that it's hard to imagine the game without having it. To that extent, it's been a smashing success. And so, if dual spec has worked so well, why not consider triple spec? For paladins and druids especially -- both of whom can heal, DPS, and tank -- it'd be a godsend. Triple spec would lead even more people to create a PvP spec, an aspect of the game that Blizzard wants more of us to experience. Unfortunately, triple specs aren't on the horizon, or so said Community Manager (and blue poster) Bashiok on the official Blizzard forums today: So ... Why don't we have Tri-spec yet? Obviously having an array of possible specs to choose from would be convenient for any number of reasons, but it would also encourage situations where people are using it to shift their builds around for each individual encounter or task. Those are the kinds of options that quickly stop being options, and instead become a requirement. And as they become a requirement our necessity to design and balance around it changes it from a nice convenience option to a core piece of the game design puzzle. source
