I’m coming back to WoW after a few years off. I’m wondering which classes have the most similar gear between specs. In case that’s not clear, which classes can switch between their 3 specs most easily without major gear changes?
I’m not nearly enough of an expert in multiple classes to directly answer your question, but I can give you some things to look for.
As main stats now swap to match your spec, here will be the most important factors you’ll be looking at when playing different specs:
(1) Secondary stats. On most pieces of gear, that will be the deciding factor. For some specs, they’re all pretty close and so they don’t matter much, for other specs, the right secondaries can make a huge difference. (Although some of this depends on your level of play. If you just want to do LFD and LFR, it won’t matter that much.)
(2) Azerite traits. Unfortunately, the best traits are spec-specific. Azerite gear can be respeced (and has traits available for all specs) but doing so regularly can get costly. I don’t know that there is any class that can avoid this.
(3) Trinkets. Probably the biggest one here is healer-specific trinkets that give mana or healing. There are plenty of stat stick trinkets out there, though, that can work for multiple specs, especially if you aren’t looking to do the hardest content with all specs.
(4) Weapons. Most physical damage specs have pretty rigid weapon type requirements, and will require different weapons between specs. As an example, assassination and subtlety rogues use daggers, and outlaw uses maces, swords, and axes. (And there are abilities you can’t use if you have the wrong weapon type.)
Weapons don’t main stat change, so any class that uses different main stats between specs will need different weapons as well. (Druids, for example don’t have weapon restrictions for abilities, but do have different main stat for specs.)
Off the top of my head, the following classes should be able to share weapons across all specs:
The “pure” casters: Mage, Priest, Warlock
Demon Hunters
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I’d add Hunter and Rogue to Udiza’s list as well. Although Hunter at least does require a polearm-type weapon rather than a bow or gun for SV spec.
As mentioned, secondary stats, Azerite traits, and trinkets are probably going to be the biggest obstacle, since primary stats are now flexible.
Until your at endgame - raiding, M+, or PvP - the secondary stat impact between specs isn’t going to mean that much… so your mostly limited by the primary stat and the weapon type.