This is the end(game) -- Ding 80

Eagle-eyed reader Treseck beat me to my own announcement -- ding 80! (Und ja, ich verstehe -- dein Englisch ist viel besser als mein Deutsch.)

Treseck also caught me doing something strange. Why am I currently specced for Careful Aim instead of Catlike Reflexes? Originally it was because I wanted more dps than my tank spec afforded me, so I could concentrate on leveling faster and just getting to 80. Careful Aim may not help me directly, but the RAP increase does help my pet, so it was worth it for the dps gain.

Then there's the lesson I learned while attempting to tank Halls of Lightning. When I'm wearing a full set of tanking gear, my pet can soak up tons of damage, but doesn't generate nearly enough threat. To boost his Growls, I need a balance of tanking gear and regular RAP gear. So I've remained in a dps spec, farming money to buy some quick BoE dps epics to mix in with my tanking pieces.

I have no idea if my dps is competitive for my gear level or not. At 77, I was doing around 1000 dps. I'm not sure where I am right now, since I just traded out dps pets for a devilsaur I have to level up to 80. The benchmarks my guild offered me for a dps role is 1500 for heroics, 2000 for Naxx. And it makes me wonder, if I level up the devilsaur, finish collecting some solid dps gear, work on my mana problems so I can stay in Aspect of the Beast instead of Viper... am I actually in a position to deal viable dps? If so, the dual-spec feature suddenly becomes attractive, as I could MT/OT or deal damage, depending on what the group needs. It's not all about damage meters, and if I can be of use in both roles, that's some serious group utility. I want to finish collecting a dps set of gear anyway, so I might as well see how far I can push it before I go back to tanking full-time.