Another Layer of Complexity Reveals Itself

I was chatting with Skuggan/Konstig about our 'toons. He's got a lvl 60 priest, among several other lvl 60s, and I was playing my then lvl 49 warlock. Skug said he'd just created a new toon, a warlock, and was already at lvl 21. (That's so Skuggan; he's a machine!). He said he was really digging the 'lock. I complained about how hard it was to get my 'lock leveled these days, and he suggested I respec. He said he's spec'd his lock on total destruction. Mine is spec'd toward affliction and demonology, with the intent being to party with others in a particular role. He was right though, for soloing, this sort of sucked.

The next day I thought I'd try the respec. Now it is important to realize that respec'ing costs. The first time it's 1 G; thereafter it goes up in cost quickly. Also, I just had a bad feeling that I was about to foobar the toon. But did that stop me? Hell no.

So I respec'd for destruction. THen I tried to play Hallgrima against some stiff PVE in the Badlands. Oh look, two of the deadliest spells require soul shards! Ack. In no time I was out of shards. I found the destructo version really tough to play. I had no feel for it. I panicked and ran back to the warlock trainer to respec back to normal.

Feeling like a wuss, I decided I'd better consult the forums for some insights. To my great relief I found a thread dedicated to the topic: Warlock Talents 101. Okay...but...the configurations are quite variable and the arguments for each config. quite compelling, albeit a bit cryptic due to jargon I have not yet acquired. Clearly one problem I must solve is how I wish to play my toon. Am I going to be predominantly PVE, PVP, or what? Now I have just been introduced to PVP through a couple of raids and a couple of Battlegrounds (BG) experiences, which will be the subject of another post. I can see going into a PVP server. But for now, I think I"m mostly PVE in instance parties and solo.

I tried to go back to my old config., but ended up with more pts in destruction anyhow. I feel pretty comfortable playing it this way. I plan to respec more destructioni when I hit lvl 60. I am still trying to digest the Locks 101 and continually reread the threads after ingame experiences.

But the point of this posting is, as the title says, to share my consternation and admiration for yet another layer of complexity in the MMORPG that is WoW. This thing is an onion. And...the community seems to rise to the challenge and co-construct, share, and stockpile a good bit of thoughtful, practical and speculative knowledge.

BTW:

The talent calculator is an interesting tool. YOu can not only mess with different configurations of points, but you can also create a persistent link to your array so that you can post it in the forums for comment.

And here's my current config, given my 40 points.