My Dedication-Giving A Bit To Get Alot

[Aaesop]

This article does involve the Paladin/Druid community more but its easily applied to Warriors in certain places!

When you rolled a hybrid class you knowingly started something that could fulfill multiple roles. Having said that you should always bone up on the different roles you can fill and be current on them in tactics and gear.

An example of this I can share is with my own guild. Our healers had been away from the game for a while and we were short on healers.
My raid team had always passed me healing loot that our other healers didn't need. It was a "rainy day" mentality to it all. Which of course ended up panning out. Because I had picked up this gear I respecced holy and for that week I healed our Kara runs. Were we gimped? Meh, we were for the most part completely fine. We even made our first complete clear of the instance with me healing.
To be quite honest when I was first asked to respec to holy to heal for raids I was angry. I had felt that I had worked very very hard to amass a respectable set of tanking gear. I thought that I had gone above and beyond my expectations as a tank, and maybe some of my appeal coming from me being a Paladin. I felt that I was being pidgeon holed into a role I did not like.
But it was this very night that I had actually sat and thought about it. The thing I just mentioned above, I rolled a hybrid and should of expected times in which I would have to respec in order to help the raid as a whole. I've written about it and how one should spec out to help in the best they can.
The truth of it is that you can and should fulfill the spots that you are able to. This is of course to be taken in a manner that its within reason to do so. To rephrase that, it merely means if your raid team has a genuine need for a healer you should be willing to fill that spot if your able to do so competently.
I found because of my willingness to help the guild progress I was later rewarded. Our Gm at one point during the day said that he wanted the dedicated healers to get off their butts and raid, and that me and a shaman in our guild shouldn't be stuck healing when we can clearly provide better in our main roles. He gave me the nod telling me that I had been willing to help everyone out and that I was going prot for the raid.

This helps not only the raid out so much but you as well. Your willingness and desire to help the raid progress shines and your raid leaders and gm's see that. Just like any job you have in real life, you put in work and fill in for spots. The end result is that you get paid back for it. Your guild sees your a team oriented person, and because of that you raise guild morale. Having people that fill niches instills a feeling of family and makes for a tighter knit group for raids that is quite integral to success.

If your GM or raid leaders asks you to respec for a run, its normal to want to stay with something your passionate about of course, but don't shun it, its an chance to make your guild shine.

[Rhelahan]

Anyone who is passionate about raiding and about progression will do whatever it takes to make that happen. If my guild needed me to drop my shield and pick up an OH, I'd do it without question. I think that most folks who feel otherwise have other reasons for raiding, and are not thinking of the best interests for the team.

[fastidius]

It's a game. If you don't enjoy your role don't do it. Be open to trying it though if your not familiar with it.

As a warrior i will not respec to tank 5 Mans - I just don't enjoy standing there hitting sunder and waiting for the mob to die, I'd rather be DPSing and looking at numbers to see how i'm progressing.

Ill respec to tanking for a raid but after 7 years in EQ MTing and then coming to wow and being stuck in 5 mans for most of our lives (we need a shitload more 10 & 15 main raids, Heroics suck like EQ sucked after GOD) with no ability to swap to another role if we are prot specced is the most annoying thing in the world. Also why you can't find a Tank for PUGs. It's not a fun job unless your in guild groups because you get blamed for others mistakes.

You play the game to enjoy, If your asked to do something you have tried and don't enjoy tell them you won't do it long term and they need to find someone who will. Ill respec if a guild group asks me to tank something because theres no other warriors/druids/pallys on but never will i for PUGs

[Sinfonian]

It's interesting that a post like this is quite so timely as I can properly participate in it.

My guild had been having trouble with healer attendance. Not just spotty attendance all around, but regularly having only 1 or 2 paladins available to raid, of which one (me) was specced Protection. We were pushing Kael'thas and were (slowly) making progress on the fight.

After a few weeks of this, my guild leader catches me after a raid in whispers. He started off with the question: "How good is your healing gear?" Knowing where such a conversation was going, my only response was "How soon would you like for me to respec?"

Let it be known that I hate healing, I did it for almost 2 years raiding (with this same guild) before and after BC before I made the switch over to Protection. However, I love beating content and progressing the guild much more than I hate healing.

So I raid SSC and TK, healing my little pally brains out. I can tell you that there is little that is more boring than bashing your head on a hard encounter, doing your own job properly and waiting for the rest of the raid to "click", while doing something you hate.

On Thursday of this week, I was sitting in Vent before the raid when my GM comes into the channel and tells me that he knows how much it means that I respecced and was filling a different role than I preferred. He let me know that it was specifically appreciated and he was looking forward to having me be able to respec back as soon as it became feasible for the guild.

That very same night, our hard work came to fruition and Kael'thas finally went down. I was suddenly besieged by tells cheering me on to go respec to what I enjoyed doing. Apparently a lot of people had taken notice of the work I'd put in and were actively looking forward to having me back doing my normal thing.

The moral of the story (if such a thing can be taken from this) is that a guild doubly appreciates the contributions of its members when they entail some sort of unpleasant task or contribution or sacrifice made for the sake of the whole. However thankless or unnoticed these actions may seem, they are not.

[Sharlos]

I enjoy tanking. Raiding in itself is boring. I've tank almost all non-raid stuff so raiding is the logical progression.

If i wont be consitently tanking, then i'll spec holy and solely do pvp as i enjoy pvp healing almost as much

[Nicki]

I had this dilemna last night (well sort of!):

The raid was first going to TK to kill lootreaver whom i dont feel any trash drops are upgrades for me particularly at this time. I also had to eat dinner (the reason im not in a more hardcore raiding guild), So the guild leader decides to go for SSC to try Leothras as we have no shamans online. Now i'd just tanked morogrims murlocs the night before and i quote 'we are not getting rid of you any time soon'. Now Leothras is a fight that just seems to scream easier for paladin tank. I was asked to come on my shadow priest, for me this made me wish my shadow priest actually didn't exist.

Now this may seem very childish but watch this:
-Karazhan for fun starts, im online on my paladin. One group is started by a warrior tank the other is started by the raid leader that group gets 2 ferals I am not even asked until they are one short after moroes.
-SSC asked to come lurker on my shadow priest (I hate that fight...)
-Morogrim wanted as protection paladin for obvious reasons.
-Leothras wanted as shadow priest

Now heres the problem im not keen on becoming a tank that only enters SSC for 1 encounter, no im not doing it id rather tank several heroics. So tonight do I join for morogrim or make them realise how neat it is to actually have a prot paladin taking the damage from the murlocs? really the choice seems childish but maybe it will make them realise not taking me to leothras a fight where i felt i could excel wasn't such a good idea, hell I may be wrong completely but so far my tps on dual wielders is significantly higher than warriors..meh /whineadin out.

[Aaesop]

It really is about showing others that you want to go forward and that regardless in the capacity you help its your goal. It shines far with a semi intellegent raid/guild. Smart officers/leaders know what you do with your character as a 'profession' and realize you are at heart a tank and enjoy it. I know from talking to my gm that he at first was somewhat troubled in asking me to recpec because he knew either what i brought to the table or just knew what I enjoy doing. I'm glad I didn't make a fuss about it in the end.
Like it was said if you can do anything to give that extra push or to fill in an important spot, by all means do it. Afterall guild progression=your progression.
As an update I was in magtheridon with a friend guild and they had me tank absolutely nothing from the start, and I was honestly a bit miffed that I saw people with wayyy lower gear than me take mobs, it wasn't until I was on the last summoner that I realized I shouldn't be so quick to jump at the assignments or lack of assignments that I'm receiving, each person gets there chance to get something on their plate, its just a matter of not being spiteful and looking away when the food gets put on that plate