Pally Advice(spec change?)Follow

It really depends on your personal preferences. I started off as prot/holy dual specc but after a couple of weeks went prot/ret. Gearing up is slower as ret than it is as holy as there's a lot of competition for drops always, but I've found that in raid setting (Ulduar 10 or 25) it's actually better to be able to switch ret every so often for certain fights where 2/3 tanks are not needed. Hodir, Vezzax and Mimiron are examples of that.

As for yout ret gear, yeah, it needs work, but such is the case for everyone's gear, isn't it?

Of course, it also depends on your guild and playstyle. I don't do heroics too often, but as tank it takes me one minute or two to get a pug if I feel like running something. The same applies (mostly) to pre-3.1 raids most of the time, where I find it easy-ish to get things running.

One thing I can say is that ret is a nice departure from tanking or healing (which I do on my alt). It's more relaxed and a lot of fun every so often, though it's taking me forever to get my ret gear to the level I want to bring it to.

IMO, you should look into getting the EoV libram ASAP and EoH trinket as first upgrades in your ret set.

DPS numbers don't mean much on sapphiron, because it's mosre important to move out of Chills. Besides, it's in the air half the time so any kind of sustained dps is really impossible. Check the healing meters next time you fight sapphiron, Judgement of Light will probably be outperforming your dedicated healers on that fight.

Serious question:
Can Ret Pally put up 4k+ DPS on single target boss without Uld gear?

I ask this because I know without 4k DPS most people won't touch you in Uld and that is the big decision between Holy and Ret for me.

There are always a few fights where if the main tank goes down you just die. This lends to those who like to Prot/Ret. You can Ret while the MT fights - because if he dies - it's just a wipe (Usually). Example: ?What's the name of the boss in Naxx with the spores that turn off agro and increase crits??? Also - Example: Hodir.

However - guilds who have an 'off-healer' often ask that person to be a main healer. Suddenly you are short on heals - guess what - Tanks are generally easier to get. You're now healing.

Just remember - if you got Tank/Ret - you will probably be 90% tank, 10% Ret. If you are a Tank/Heals you could be an % - it all depends on your guild.