Damage Class Evolution (Simple Discussion)

[Apolyc]

I was thinking the other day, what if Blizzard decides to make each of the pure damage dealing classes able to fill one other role (such as tank or heal) obviously a spec would either have to be replaced or modified. So with that in mind, if they decided to do this, what secondary role with the class have, what specs would be removed / changed, and what would take their place?

Additionally, what effect do you think this would have on the player base, sub numbers, community, guilds, etc.?

This is only for PURE DAMAGE classes (Hunter, Rogue, Mage, Warlock) so the others are not to be considered for this discussion.

This is purely for the sake of discussion and I want to keep it that way so please no raging or "if they did that I will unsub"

[Feali]

Bring Ghostly Strike and Riposte back. Make a Rogue tanking specc.

[Apolyc]

Bring Ghostly Strike and Riposte back. Make a Rogue tanking specc.

What spec would be changed or removed that they have currently?

[Deleted]

Hunter Tank Spec: Beast Wrangler - agile barbarian-like hunter using spears/staves and the like, also chains (like Thunderlord orcs). Mechanics based on dodge, melee attacks, absorbs. Pet changed to guardian spirit/totem animal with buffs. Gameplay based on earning and spending extra resources (let's call it Predatory Impulse or something) that is immediately used for damage, healing or avoidance. I envision it as a fast paced, "spammy" spec where you don't usually bank resources but rather react quickly to changing conditions. Would excel against raw physical damage (similar to Guardians).

Rogue Healing Spec: Bard - healer based on cooldowns and juggling HoTs/empowers (like a mix between shaman and monk maybe). Unique 'Song' abilities: Song of the Wise to decrease healing spell cost for 10s for the raid and increase mana for the Bard, Song of the Bold to provide temporary buff to Leech, Song of the Valiant (raid-wide 4-second Ardent Defender on very long cd). Gameplay based on smart cd usage and preparing for incoming damage. Excellent healing on the move and sustain, to rival Druids.

Mage Healing Spec: Abjuration/Runemaster - healer based on absorbs and intelligent usage of mana burn and regen phases. Think of Arcane, but as healer instead of a dps: direct heals that provide more healing when you spam them, but at quickly ramping mana cost. In addition, Spell Wards would be used, which are location-based damage reduction and/or healing spells. Major raid cooldown: Mass Alter Time, healing all raid wide damage received in X seconds (3-4). Skilled gameplay here would be based on knowing when to make use of hard healing bursts and when to regen as well as on the ability to place and use the location-based spells effectively. Shielding and burst, to compete with Discipline priests and maybe Pallies?

Warlock Tank Spec: Demon Hunter - of course. Based on demonic fury, this would be an extension/new iteration of the warlock tank available for demo with the glyph. Would be based on maximizing uptime of dots and debuffs to maximize Fury generation, which is then spent of shielding the warlock (DK-style). Proactive, rather than reactive, gameplay (so on the other end of the spectrum than the Beast Wrangler tank). Good defenses against spell-based damage and debuffs, no parry/block and little dodge, so would need to be careful against hard-hitting melee.