style="width: 600px; height: 399px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/69853">

With
the release of patch 3.1 Blizzard
presented the
Dual Spec feature which had most players of hybrid classes in an frenzy
of excitement. Being able to swap from spec to spec depending on the
needs of the raid at any given time was something most hybrid classes
have dreamed of since time unknown.



 Although strapped with a hefty price tag
of 1000
gold, this feature is well worth the price for any class with the need
to switch between healing and tanking, tanking and DPS or healing and
DPS. But what about Hunters, or any other pure  DPS class for
that
matter? Can you get any use out of it besides a lame achievement that
costs you 1000G?



 There are no real easy answers to these
questions.
While Dual Spec for the Hunter is not worthless, neither is it so
useful you should rush out and drop 1000 gold without significant
thought into the matter. As there are no black and white answers to
Dual Specing your hunter you must consider long and hard what type of
player you are and if having the option of two specs will be worth the
cost.



 The most obvious use of Dual Spec would
be your
choice of a  PvE Raiding Spec coupled with a  PvP
spec.
Since most  PvE raiding hunters are currently some form of
Survival (usually href="http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xml?cid=3&tal=000000000000000000000000000053051010000000000000000005000032500033330532135301321"
target="_blank"> 0/15/56
or some small variation of this), this
means if you prefer to PvP with any other spec whether it be
Beastmaster or Marksman you will be dropping a significant amount of
gold each time you want to  PvP or be forced to  PvP
in a
spec that you are not fully comfortable with. If you  PvP
daily,
or even just on the weekends, Dual Spec should be something you
seriously consider purchasing. You will find that in the end it will
pay for itself and save you a fair amount of time that would otherwise
be wasted flying to a trainer then choosing your talent points over and
over again.

  

More than a few Hunters
(including
myself) use our
toons to farm the gold and resources needed to fund our raiding
addiction. Besides, who doesn’t want to head into
Onyxia’s
style="float: right; width: 250px; height: 200px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/69856">Lair with a healer friend and dish out some sweet vengeance for
all
those times she deep breathed, wiped the raid, and you and your entire
raid spent the next 5 minutes walking halfway across the zone to get
your bodies back? Yeah, I know you know what I’m talking
about.  Farming herbs, ore, leather, cloth, or hulking
irritated
dragons you may find that aside from your normal raiding or PvP spec
you will be in need of a more soloing friendly spec. Beastmastery as a
whole tends to be the best soloing spec as it gives your pet more
stamina and allows for it to be able to hold mobs off you more
efficiently while you pew pew them mercilessly. It also allows you the
option to have exotic pets which are just…cool. So, if you
have
no other toons to do the farming for you, enjoying hearing your
Devilsaur stomp around, or if your hunter is just your farming toon of
choice, having a Beastmastery spec and a  PvE
(or PvP) spec
in backup as your Dual spec would be a very wise idea indeed.


  

 If you like to constantly try out the
newest specs,
or if the lure of  coming up with some wild ones of your own
calls
to you, the final Dual Spec option I will touch on in this article will
be ideal for you. A combination of a  PvE Raiding Spec
(or 
PvP depending on your preference) with any spec you would like to try
out will allow you the flexibility to try out any new specs
you
can possibly find, or come up with on your own. Since respecing only
clears the spec you are currently on, you can respec from your current
trail spec, to that spec that Rexxar demanded you try out in the dream
you had last night, while still holding onto your tried and true spec
as back up. Just in case your trail spec happens to turn out to be a
failure of epic proportions.



 I won’t pretend that I have
touched upon all
the possible combinations for Hunter Dual Specs in this article as
I’m sure the possibilities are close to endless. However,
this
should be a solid starting point for any Hunter curious if the
1000 gold for Dual Spec will be worthwhile for them. Dual Specing for
Hunters is a choice we all must each make as individual players with
varying play styles. Sit back, and ask yourself if a second spec is
something you would use, and enjoy. If the answer is no, the 1000 gold
is certainly not worth the price of just an achievement unless you are
rolling in gold. However if the answer is yes, collect your gold and
make the plunge. You won’t regret it.



 Do you have Dual Spec combinations you
would like to
share?  Think Dual Spec is useless? Come to our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=43693"
target="_blank">fourms
and
share
your ideas with the Hunter community!