I didn't have the time to read through the entire thread, but I did skim through the replies and the OP.

First, thanks for reaching out Crim, been awhile.

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned or pointed out, but I remember back when I was a strong advocate for bears/strength/strength sets, it ultimately showed that future changes have to made to the bear class alone, not the strength sets. Due to the hybrid-ness of the PL classes, buffing up the strength sets (even if it's just Hit %) would buff the other two classes at well, even if bears are "supposed" to use these strength sets.

In the end, all I can chime in is that the benefits of stats for bears should be improved (if it still hasn't been, I would have no idea since I'm no longer playing). Otherwise, a full strength bear would never be a more viable build versus a dual-spec.

Apologies if I've missed the point completely or repeated anything. Glad to see there are still people passionate about the class though