Same moves, different trees?

[Rooflesstoofless]

All subclasses share a lot of the same basic moves across the board. I had read somewhere that BW intentionally set classes up this way so that healers and tanks could level as efficiently as their dps counterparts.

I've been in flashpoints and heroic groups with Commandos who are spec'd dps but did the instance as heals. I've
"tanked" (term used loosely at low levels) lower level flashpoints on my Shadow even though I am spec'd as dps. I'm used to the WoW dynamic where you don't want a healer spec'd spriest as your dps and you don't want a spriest trying to do heals...likewise for most classes in that game...so this throws me a little.

Is there a certain level where classes start to pull away from each other? For instance, is there a certain level when dps spec'd Commandos can't heal through flashpoints or heroics?

[Stevegasm]

In WoW, with leveling dungeons, you could always play with non-spec'd characters. It's just that nobody will group now that there is dual spec. But to answer your final question, I am leveling my shadow in tank spec, and at level 20, the telekinetic shield ability is puts it much farther ahead of DPS spec. The level 30 and 40 abilities put it that much further. Although I have less experience with my scoundrel (level 15), just looking at the trees, it is the same thing. The level 20 and 30 abilities add a lot of utility.

That being said, if you can do a heal spec, it's probably in your best interest, as companions make questing a breeze, and then group questing, all of which are dailies offer the quickest XP. On my server at least, healers are hard to come by. But so is a good tank. Luckily, on my server, most people don't seem to try to WoW AOE stomp through the group quests. It's pretty fun to see strategy used in groups again.

[vizzle]

Well, it would be stupid to design flashpoints where a healer needs to be specced into the healing tree to be able to do it. You can't do that, because a healer at that level WON'T have very many talents yet, simply because he's still low level. So early levels have to be balanced around what the class has, regardless of their spec, because they don't have enough points to spec yet.

[Khelor]

You also have to factor in skill level. They probably design it so that a low to average skill level player can accomplish the various roles in these flashpoints. So a highly skilled dps commando of X level may be just as effective as a lower skilled healing commando of the same level. There's quite a few factors that you have to take into account. I should assume that eventually the specs will play a more significant role in player viability though. When exactly this would happen, I have no clue.

[Semihage]

I think around 30+ you start seeing that..

Personally I don't mind mixed roles in easier mode instances.. As long as hard modes are tuned so that spec is absolutely required, I am ok with things just being easier in normal.

That being said though, I still think a dual spec is required sometime in the near future.. Right now it's not game breaking because most heroic quest groups can be done with non-specced tanking/healing.. But going forward I think the game would really benefit from it.. The itemization is already pretty good for dual tress imo so you can take a dps gear and just start tanking with it and you get pretty good results (in fact you probably would have an edge on threat holding vs an endurance heavy gear).

[Sanguinesun]

Later levels begin to really define the roles more since there are more skills gotten and trees fleshed out.