How to change your loot specialization in WoW

Whether you’re running through Mythic+ dungeons or tackling world quests, knowing how to swap over your loot specialization is a valuable skill in World of Warcraft.

Here’s how to change your loot specialization quickly in WoW, including when you can change your spec and how to make sure the Great Vault is dropping what you need.

How to swap loot specialization in WoW

If you’ve never switched your loot specialization in WoW before, it is automatically set to your current specialization—for example, if you’re playing as a Fire Mage, it is set to Fire Mage-specific gear by default.

To change your loot spec, right-click your character’s portrait in the game. Then, select Loot Specialization from the drop-down menu that appears, under the Loot Options heading.

Here, you get to pick from your default/current specialization, along with all of the specs available for your class of choice. Simply ticking one of them changes your spec—saves are automatic in this menu.

You can do this at any point during the game. Some players change their loot specialization while running through content like dungeons to alter their chances of seeing a particular armor piece or weapon drop, while others might do it to fit a recent role change for a raid.

Swapping this over is not permanent. If you want to change it back, all that’s needed is to open up the same menu and pick your new specialization. It’s a handy feature that can make gearing up a new specialization in-game a lot quicker and easier.

How to swap your Great Vault loot specialization in WoW

To swap your Great Vault drops, all you need to do is change your loot specialization in the drop-down portrait menu as shown in the previous section—but the important thing is to make sure that you do it before you open your Vault so you get the right drops.

If you don’t sort this before opening your Great Vault, you get the same default specialization gear that you would’ve ended up with anyway. Make sure this is sorted before you head to Dornogal to grab your gear.

If you’ve been swapping your loot spec back and forth, it’s important to note that Blizzard does not offer loot swap services, meaning you’re stuck with whatever drops from your Great Vault or dungeon loot and cannot change it.

Always double-check your current loot specialization before looting to avoid any disappointment and to make sure that you get something usable for your favorite specialization. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if you’re chasing something valuable like a new weapon.