My Offspecs!

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Ysera&n=Nidal

This is my Protection Pally. I started him out as Holy but switched to Prot around lvl 39 because I found out about AoE grinding. What a blast that is and it is a very fast way to level. The key is Holy Shield and Reckoning, once you are lvl 35 you have access to those two talents and away you go. I regularly grind 3-6 mobs at a time that are my level or one above. It is simply a blast to see mobs kill themselves on my shield (don't forget your shield spike!)

I also enjoy tanking with Nidal. Keeping my party members safe and getting a run done quickly and efficiently is very satisfying. Again I love the ability of a Prot Pally to grab 3-6 mobs and hold aggro on them while the rest of the party goes to town AoE style. Want to see happy Mages and 'Locks? Let them cut loose on a group of mobs and not have to worry about aggro=happy toons! Only a Prot Pally can frontload a ton of threat and then produce enough against multiple targets to allow Mages and 'Locks to unload with their AoE spells. Fastest instance clearing you will ever see.

http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Ysera&n=Chimera

This is my alt Balance Druid. One more level till the coveted Moonkin form! Can't wait till I get my OP Moonkin Dance! I've really enjoyed the Druid and absolutely love being Balance. It is a refreshing change of pace from Nidal as the playstyle is completely different.

I've leveled him very quickly so far, in fact don't believe the people who tell you to level with Feral because it is faster. There is no reason to play a spec you don't want to play just because it may be a touch faster. If you want to play Moonkin end game then spec Balance from the beginning and stick with it, you'll level just fine and will gradually master the spec rather than trying to get used to it later.

I've been camping the 30's bracket for a little while and have to say my opponents have come to fear the Balance Druid! After a bit of a learning curve, I've settled into a gameplan that puts me solidly into the top 3 or 4 in damage output and healing in every game. I'm often number 2 in healing while maintaining number 4 in damage, compared to the top healer is usually at or near the bottom of the damage meters. All that and I usually cap the most flags as well! The versatility of the Druid in the battlegrounds is impressive so don't miss out.

The Offspec

Love us or hate us we are here to stay! I plan to use this blog as a sounding board for the cause of the Offspec. There are many Offspecs in WoW, which for clarity I'll define as a toon which is specialized in a tree that is considered by some (or most) to be 'underpowered' or 'not useful'.

For some reason, the general culture in WoW has developed an antagonistic attitude toward players who choose to play an Offspec. We are often treated rudely and in many cases are given derogatory nicknames which are then adopted as a label/definition of the Offspec.

This is of course unfair to the players of Offspecs, but not entirely unexpected considering human tendencies to categorize and then judge without thought. This is how predujices are born and how they are maintained. Not to mention expectation bias...but that is a topic for another day. :)

I myself play two Offspecs, a Protection Paladin named Nidal and a Balance Druid named Chimera. Both on the Ysera server and both in the awesome guild Anam Cara. I thoroughly enjoy playing both characters and plan on leveling both to 70...but more about the toons later.

For now let me just close with what will be the overriding theme here--Respect the Offspec!