Universality of Stats in Legion

So I'm not sure how this slipped by me, but there's some really big news for anyone who plays hybrids.

In Legion, it looks like Bonus Armor and Spirit are not going to be stats. That's a pretty huge deal on its own, as it means that tanks and healers will be able to use the same gear for those roles as they do for DPS.

But you might wonder what happens if you play, say, Enhancement/Restoration (though remember also that everyone will technically be tri-specced - with Druids and Demon Hunters balancing each other out for the average number of specs.) What if you're Ret/Holy, Guardian/Balance, etc.?

Well there are other changes coming as well. It looks like Rings, Necklaces, and Trinkets will no longer have primary stats, simply giving you a pretty big amount of secondary stats (they'll still have Stamina though, as historically the game has always kind of worked better when health pools are larger.) Cloaks will have primary stats, but they'll have all three, making them good for any role.

So min-maxers might try to maintain different sets for the specs they play, but for most practical purposes, the only thing you'll be switching out will be your artifact weapon.

I've got to say, this is potentially incredibly convenient. I loved being able to ditch two thirds of by off-spec gear in Warlords, and the idea of only having to hang on to the Ashbringer in my backpack when I want to do some soloing is really, really appealing.

On the other hand, I do wonder a little about what this is going to do to group looting and also just the feel of the game. I mean, it sounds like if a cloak drops off a boss, technically everyone in the raid is going to want to roll on it.

And yes, personal loot is becoming more the norm when it comes to loot drops, but I know that guild groups still tend to go master looter.

But even if loot distribution isn't an issue, there is a bit of a weird sense that everyone's going to be using the same loot. Granted, I'm sure it won't actually wind up that way, as the Fire Mages are still probably going to want tons of crit while the Retribution Paladins are probably going to still like lots of Mastery. But it does mean that the Fire Mage and the Fury Warrior are probably going to be competing for a lot of the same gear, which has never happened before.

Still, this could easily be one of those changes that seems momentous at the time, but just becomes the new normal. I know that I'll feel a bit better if I can just tune my stats for tanking and let Ret get by one my Protection gear.