Season of Discovery Spec Detection and Rules
Spec Detection Overview
This article goes through some of the decisions made for determining the players' specializations in Season of Discovery.
Spec detection in Vanilla has historically been based on spell usage and healing/damage contributions. This is because talent point distribution information has not been in the combat log.
Since Phase 4 of SoD, we're using mainly talent point detection to determine specs for players.
Please join us on Discord if you have questions, proposals for changes, or encounter any bugs.
Druid
Balance
Majority talent points in Balance tree.
Feral
Majority talent points in Feral tree, and failed Tank requirements.
Tank
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Healer
Most talent points in Restoration.
Hunter
Beast Mastery
Majority talent points in Beast Mastery tree.
Marksmanship
Majority talent points in Marksmanship tree.
Survival
Majority talent points in Survival tree.
Melee
At least 66% of your (Auto Shots + Melees + Raptor Strikes) must be Melees or Raptor Strikes. Pet melees do not contribute to this.
Mage
Healer
Chronomantic Healing (Healing), Regeneration (Healing), Chronostatic Preservation (Healing)
Fire/Frost/Arcane
Most talent points in the corresponding tree.
Fallback
These are used when there is no combatant_info, or when too few points are invested in any one tree. The first seen spell assigns your spec. Example: if you cast Arcane Blast and then Pyroblast, you will be assigned Arcane. If you cast Pyroblast and then Arcane Blast, you will be assigned Fire.
Healer: Temporal Beacon (Buff), Chronomantic Healing (Healing), Regeneration (Cast or Healing), Chronostatic Preservation (Cast or Healing), Mass Regeneration (Cast)
Fire: Pyroblast (Cast or Damage), Combustion (Buff)
Frost: Winter's Chill (Debuff)
Arcane: Arcane Blast (Cast or Damage)
Default Spec: Fire (only used if nothing else matches)
Paladin
Holy
Most talent points in Holy tree, using Divine Favor, or healing with Beacon of Light.
Doing more healing (including overhealing) than raw damage falls back to Healer too.
Protection
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Retribution
Most talent points in Retribution.
Priest
Holy
Most talent points in the Holy tree.
Discipline
Most talent points in the Discipline tree.
Shadow
Most talent points in the Shadow tree.
Rogue
Assassination
Most talent points in Assassination.
Combat
Most talent points in Combat.
Subtlety
Most talent points in Subtlety.
Tank
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Shaman
Elemental
Requires doing more damage than healing (including overhealing), and not fulfilling the Enhancement or Tank requirements.
Enhancement
Enhancement requires at least 20% Melee/Lava Lash/Stormstrike/Flametongue Weapon damage. (10% on Ghamoo-ra)
Restoration
Most points in Restoration tree, using Mana Tide Totem/Nature's Swiftness, or healing with Riptide/Tidal Waves.
Doing more healing (including overhealing) than raw damage falls back to Healer too.
Tank
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Warlock
Affliction
Most talent points in the Affliction tree.
Demonology
Most talent points in the Demonology tree.
Destruction
Most talent points in the Destruction tree.
Tank
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Warrior
Arms
Most talent points in the Arms tree.
Fury
Most talent points in the Fury tree.
Protection
Please view the Tank requirements further down in this article for full tank requirements.
Tank Detection
This is for:
- Guardian Druid
- Protection Paladin
- Tank Rogue
- Tank Shaman
- Tank Warlock
- Protection Warrior
Default Requirement
- Intention to Tank: You must spend at least 10s in your threat stance, or use specific tank runes (See below).
- Actually Tanking: You must take the most basic attacks from bosses (melee attacks, or spam spells like Aquanis' Frostbolts), or at least 70% of the most anyone takes. You must take a minimum of 5 for it to count.
Tank Runes
Using Abilities granted by the Rune counts for detecting the rune, even if it isn't present in combatant_info.
- Rogue: Just a Flesh Wound
- Shaman: Way of the Earth or Spirit of the Alpha (Self casted ONLY, minimum 10s uptime)
Specific Boss Requirements
Sunken Temple
All bosses in Sunken Temple now use the "50% of the most basic attacks that anyone takes" cutoff, due to the shift to 20 players.
- Dreamscythe and Weaver: Tanking at least 70% of melees from either boss now also marks you as a tank.
- Jammal'an and Ogom: Tanking at least 70% of basic attacks (incl. Smite) from either boss now also marks you as a tank.
- Atal'ai Defenders: The default basic attack check excludes Gasher. Tanking at least 70% of basic attacks from Gasher now also marks you as a tank.
- Avatar of Hakkar: Bloodkeeper of Hakkar counts as a boss for the purposes of basic attack counts.
Special Cases
Protection Paladin promotion can happen without RF if you take the most basic attacks from bosses of any player. This is allowed because base Righteous Fury is supported but does not log reliably, and there is no reason to cheese RF uptime.
Threat Stances
Each tank spec has a different threat stance. The requirements are:
- Warrior: Defensive Stance (or Gladiator stance with defensive stance only abilities)
- Paladin: Righteous Fury
- Druid: Bear Form
- Rogue: Blade Dance or Just a Flesh Wound
- Shaman: Way of Earth or self-casted Spirit of the Alpha
- Warlock: Metamorphosis
Join us on Discord to discuss or propose changes.
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