Since my first adventure into the wilds with my little warlock,
the different specs seemed to have their own, distinct flavors. I'm not referring to the rotations, damage dealt, or even focus of each spec; those were present, too, but this difference was its own entity. Rather, each style had a unique aura that I felt while playing it, as if the goal was different for each player. The closest class that I can align this idea to is the rogue: a combat rogue is a tavern brawler, a thug who loves to ambush people in plain sight; a subtlety rogue is more of the street thief who is not terribly interested in attacking if (s)he can steal and get away; an assassin rogue is a ninja - kill quickly and by any means. For the warlock, each of the different styles had a similar spirit, but there was a little something that made it more... sinister.