IMO Evoker should be available to ALL races, but not in the way that most people think. In the case of Evoker “race” should have only applied to the visage form, with the dragon form still used in combat and fully customizable regardless of race.
Again, why? That’s a solution in search of a problem, there’s no reason all Dracthyr shouldn’t simply keep Soar as a racial regardless of the character’s class.
The logic is that Hover, a labeled Evoker skill, is another expression of draconic control over their ability of flight. Therefore, the suggestion is in line with Dracthyr that go the path of Evoker having better control over their wings as well as stronger wings overall, thus they’re able to Soar, whereas all Dracthyr are capable of TBC-style Flight. Just as some Worgen that choose Druid are capable to shapeshifting into many MORE things than base Worgen, but all Worgen are capable of Running Wild.
The only reason I’m thinking of making a Dracthyr is to get my hands on their weird dragon horse mount things. The vendor in Valdrakken won’t sell to me. Because I’m an orc.
They were made in a lab specifically to have the ability to wield all 5, because such a thing was seen as impossible otherwise. It’s like DnD Sorcery. Their abilities are innate to them.
Someone trying to learn would have to figure out and master Life magic (and how to combine it with fire) Nature magic, Time magic, Arcane magic (and how to combine it with frost), and Earth magic. As well as how to use them all at once. Which, if possible, would take a very long time
A mage studies their entire life for just one or two of those (but has the added benefit of having a more versatile array of arcane magic and knowledge at their disposal)
Also… Like half of the evoker’s kit is them using their wings and flying around the battlefield. It’d be difficult to translate that for other races, on a technical level. At which point you might as well leave evoker as its own class, and create a new class “Sorcerer” for the other races which is pretty much the same thing, but with the dragon flavor stripped away.
A ‘long time’ is not ‘impossible’. And, as you said, they were essentially lab-grown. This means there’s a research, development, and most importantly an application process to get this product. Starting with dragon-types might be the simplest way forward, but there is certainly a way to splice these abilities into non-dragons, perhaps by transferring just enough dragon in there to awaken these affinities.
And I don’t see it as difficult as all to translate in. They could either be visage-esque in appearance when they take the class (essentially without a Dracthyr form), or it’s spectral and temporary (Paladin Wings) until the ability is concluded. Then, retool the racials of the Dracthyr to make them more compatible with classes other than Evoker (and perhaps move some of those retooled racials into Evoker to emphasize its connection to all things draconic). Blizzard has wholesale revamped races before, this would be no different.
I mean if it were feasible/possible i don’t think Neltharion would have had to play god in the lab and create a new species for it. Nor would his children have had such trouble recreating what the dracthyr can do in new creations. The only way i could see it working in the lore for non-dracthyr is “extreme magical accident”
This feels very lazy to me. The idea of slapping see-through dragon wings on people whenever they hover
Evokers were the ‘Cream of the Dracthyr crop’ so to speak. Evoker being racially locked is fine, for now at least.
I would like to see the race opened up to other classes eventually for sure, but it will have to wait for 11.0 probably so they can untie the racial abilities from the class tree.
The exact same thing could be said about Demon Hunters. Illidan’s process was refined and researched and is repeatable, as evidenced by the existence of other Demon Hunters. Yet no one saw their strength and decided to try it out for themselves? Illidan is skilled, but not impossible to copy. Neither, for all his skill, is Neltharion. Just as there are Dracthyr that can’t cut it to be Evokers, there are likely non-Dracthyr with enough draconic affinity to cross the bridge.
I could see things happening akin to ‘Prey’: Putting things other species can do into the player. So it’d be transfusions or communions or whatever the Gnomish/Goblish horrorshow would dream up.
I mean, I love my evoker (dps and heal), so I guess if you don’t, it’s whatever?
Here’s the thing: if you think that devastation evokers are “mage-but-worse” then how would you fix it? Have not seen concrete suggestions. Feelings are not a design strategy.
Example: Increase evoker offensive range to the same as mage or warlock, but re-work mastery so that evoker damage and healing at close range is buffed.
That’s a horrible idea, btw, but it’s an example of what I’m talking about. If evoker is bad, what would be good?
Not really the point of the thread to make it a balance thread, but the lack of range is definitely noticeable in all aspects. Transitioning from 40y to 25y is a sour taste. Plus, charge feels clunky as hell. It feels like a poor man’s Champions Online without any of the dynamism CO actually had.
Again, however, mechanical balance discussion isn’t the focus of the thread here. The focus here is how Dracthyr get unshackled from Evoker as their sole class.
In short, you want to play as a Human, but you’re asking for Gnomes to be made taller instead of just playing as a Human.
If you want to play as a draconic humanoid that doesn’t breathe fire or make use of wings, Drakonid are right there waiting to be made playable. Why play as a Dracthyr that chooses not to fly or do other inherently draconic things when Drakonid are right there, realizing your every desire?
You’re conflating ‘don’t want to’ with ‘couldn’t’, and even then that’s not a hard stopping point. There could be any number of reasons why a Dracthyr isn’t an Evoker. They couldn’t pass whatever training there was, or they were disillusioned by the drawbacks of the Evoker style, or they were enchanted by another pathway that Dracthyr didn’t initially offer, etc etc. A billion different ways for an intelligent being to go ‘hey I wanna do this instead’.
Just because your natural gifts point you in a particular direction doesn’t mean you’re obligated to follow. Nor does being suboptimal in a way lock you off from pursuing a passion.
You could play as a tall Gnome that used their Gnomish Engineering to shrink the world around them, too. It’s justifiable. But you’re sort of missing the point of being the diminutive race that makes up for its lack of stature with intellectual pursuits. There’s a betrayal of the core concept there. Just as an anything-but-Evoker Dracthyr would be. It exists to service the Evoker class concept. Anything else is a betrayal of that core concept.