The Augmentation Evoker: Boosting Party Damage in World of Warcraft
The Augmentation Evoker, a new WoW class in Forgotten Spirits, boosts the damage numbers of party members instead of dealing direct damage. Comparable to Final Fantasy 14’s Dancer or Dungeons & Dragons’ Bard, the Augmentation Evoker enhances the performance of the entire group. They’re the players who lead raids in the MMO, the ones who, at first, will get kicked out of groups for “low DPS.” But, as the numbers soar higher and higher, the Augmentation Evoker will find their place in World of Warcraft.
Unfortunately, despite their potential, Augmentation Evokers are already facing backlash. Players are looking for any excuse to kick someone out of the group, and an Augmentation Evoker’s buffs are an easy reason.
“Ever since Augmentation Evoker was released, I’ve been getting kicked out of groups because the DPS assume I’m not doing anything or that I’m a dps-er in disguise,” one Augmentation Evoker on the World of Warcraft subreddit writes. “I’m not a dps-er and I’m getting kicked out of groups because of it.”
“I was kicked from a group the other day because ‘I was low dps,’” another player shares. “I’m an Evoker and they were a Frost Mage tank and a Moonkin dps. I was pulling more than both of them combined.”
These screenshots, taken from the Wyrmrest Temple Discord, showcase just how much the Augmentation Evoker’s role is misunderstood.
Blizzard has said that the game is “not designed around damage meters,” which exacerbates the issue in the numbers-driven game. However, popular damage meter addons like Recount and Skada currently fail to accurately track the contributions of Augmentation Evokers in groups. When the meters reflect the increased damage output of the Augmentation Evoker’s party, then the high numbers are because of the spec.
Unfortunately, for those who have experienced the power of the Augmentation Evoker, the response from the wider WoW community has been discouraging. Certain players are simply looking for an excuse to criticize others. In my own personal experiences, I’ve witnessed this in the comments of various Mythic+ runs in the recent Dragonflight event.
However, one positive thread on the Augmentation Evoker highlights the division within the WoW community. “I’ve been in a few groups where people have kicked people for being an Aug Evoker,” one player writes. “But I’ve also been in groups where people saved a spot for them.”
“I’ve been running Mythic+ with an Aug Evoker for the past few weeks,” another says. “It’s been an incredible experience every single time.”
The impact of the Augmentation Evoker’s buffs is significant, especially when applied to multiple players or an entire raid. The hope is that, as players experience the spec for themselves, they’ll become more knowledgeable about the mechanics and will stop kicking out Augmentation Evokers.
However, the responses observed so far – including the comments I’ve seen in my own Mythic+ runs – indicate otherwise. If you’ve had similar experiences, let us know in the comments below, and we can start to address this issue in the wider WoW community.
