First off, I must say that I’m not much of a min-maxer. As far as how I spec a character, I just go with what looks good, and if it feels good, I stay with it. I don’t run the numbers and try to squeeze it for everything its worth. So just keep that in mind when proceeding.

With 1.4, we each got a free respec that I was eager to use on my Marauder in order to check out the changes to the Brutality spec line. So far, I’m enjoying it. It’s a nice change from Savagery, and I can tell I’m putting out more damage per hit, but I’m not quite sure it “feels good” in comparison and I sometimes question if it’s more or less useful from a utilitarian perspective.

But this got me thinking; the nice thing about the Marauder is that each of the spec lines plays completely different, and none of them are what I would call a “bad” choice. Each of the lines are pretty unique and really allow you to plan an MDPS the way that most suits you. The Marauder’s specs are like weapons-grade versions of Rock Paper Scissors.

Rock – Monstrosity – The Monstrosity spec allows you to raise one eyebrow and talk smack like Dwayne Johnson. If you hit /rock while using this spec, you’ll place your hands on the sides of your WWE sized belt and yell, “Can you smell what my oversized hand is cookin’?!” But seriously, the Monstrosity spec is the most robust of the three lines in terms of meatiness. It has a nifty self heal proc which can save your butt in smaller fights, but is mostly pointless if you get under serious fire. But then, what spec isn’t. The cone AoE damage is tons of fun in group fights, and even thinking about all those numbers being displayed on my screen right now has me thinking of respeccing. The problem is, all of those numbers you’ll see are pretty low in comparison to the single target damage you get from the other two specs. So, Monstrosity is the spec for people who like to live a bit longer while sacrificing some of the ability to kill.

Paper – Savagery – So far, this is still my personal favorite. It’s more of a utility DPS spec, given the various debuffs and DoT’s. I love how you have different abilities at your disposal based on the type of enemy you’re currently attacking. Is it a tank? Debuff their armor. Is it a healer? Make their healing hurt them. Is it another DPS? Make their hurting hurt them. Add that to the bevy of DoT’s you can throw on someone and you’re the virtual equivalent to a paper cut; painful and annoying as hell. Savagery also has what I find to be the best looking mutations. I just love shouting “Eat at Joe’s!” every time I have the crab claw.

Scissors – Brutality – This is probably the most “straight forward” spec line. It’s damage, plain and simple. You see that guy over there with the red name? Go hit him with your T-1000 blade arm looking thing. Seriously, get away from me with that thing. At least in my experience, Brutality has the most DPS per thwack in the Marauder’s available repertoire, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the most damaging; that all depends on the situation. It’s a load of fun for sure, and I’ve found that during my time with this spec, I’ve felt more like a “DPS” class, and less like the guy loosening the pickle jar for someone else.