I want to hear opinions. There are a lot of augmentations in the best teams for m+ pushing, but how good is Aug right now, and what is the condition to play them at a high level? Inviting Augs in Pugs ( talking about keys between 25-27) is a giant DPS loss (imo) to bring more survivability. Also, checking higher keys logs, I see that the Aug DPS contribution is terrible.
Aug is like .3 healers .2 tanks .8 DPS yes they are great
If you’re doing a lower level where your tank and healer don’t need help the only thing you see is .8 DPS even though the tank and especially the healer are having an easier time.
If Aug provided no survivability they wouldn’t be brought. There are other weaknesses with Aug like when one of your two real DPS are incapacitated think Waycrest Manor tree boss. Also one real DPS dying is really like 1.4 DPS dying in m+ with Aug.
5 Likes
The general consensus on the forums seems to be, anything before the cutting edge is a dps loss since all the players don’t know how to line of cooldowns properly to make perfect use of the Aug buffs, but makes up for that by making the group studier.
Once you reach the cutting edge though, where players know what to do, their ability to increase group survivability, as well as turn certain dps specs into tactical nukes make them appealing.
Logs are wrong and bad and Blizz doesn’t care. Aug is doing a lot of damage and logs are completely broken and useless.
2 Likes
I really invite them because of the tank and healer; of course, the healer will heal a ton more with Source of Magic + Main Stat buff, and the tank will survive more with scales, but in terms of key overall dps and timer, I find a LOT easier bring 3 real dps specs, the difference feels huge as far as the tank Survive or the heal keeps alive the party.
I prefer July. Aug nights can get a bit cool around here.
4 Likes
Depends on the dps. If you have average dps the Aug might not make a lot of difference, but if you have two good to very good dps being buffed they’ll burn through M+ trash like butter.
2 Likes
I think that even if you have the 2 best DPS in the world it escalate, let’s suppose that the 2 best DPS in the world have the DPS to make a +31 with augmentation. If you bring those 2 dps, the third best dps in the world, they will have dps to make a +33, as long as they survive. I have seen logs from m+ above 29 and for example in Black Rock augs are like 150K dps lower than the top dps.
My 5 man got our first couple 25’s in last week and we run Havoc/Enhance/Arcane. I think you can do that range w/o one fine.
Also, yeah I believe firmly at this point you’re trading about 25-30% of a real DPS for Aug’s utility.
2 Likes
I love them in my group but I don’t want to play them.
5/10
aug is directly correlated with how well the other dps (and tank) in your group do. bad dps means aug also does bad. good dps mean aug does well. they also bring some other nice things too, like a poison dispel, a bleed dispel on a longer cd, blistering scales, some offhealing, a last stand sort of effect, and a little extra movement.
in most groups they’re nice to have.
you’re trading 150k dps for the extra survivability aug brings, because you run into a wall if dps is your only consideration.
They’re a good safety pick for any mid+ key group especially with their kit giving them access to pretty much every utility sans brez and they can jist run engineer for that (2 cleanses, Aoe stun, healer mana regen, 2 displacements, cheat death, aoe root, single target cc, mid cooldown interrupt, tank defensive, a lust) and being ranged theyre likely to have a lot of the annyoing mechanics focus them so others can worry less.
Their only real weakness is seperation type mechanics like atal totems, watcrest goliath thorns or meuhzalah splits, since those require the aug to do dps themsleves by incapacitating a buff target or just seperating the group entirely.
In keys before a 16 you can ignore pretty much everything with good dps though so they dont really shine. Your tank and healer will have a more relaxing time with one in the group but for raw dps/speed youll be better off just with 3 good dps for low stuff.
In the Highest of high keys the survivability they provide to a group is top tier which is why theyll probably stay a prime pick for pushing.
1 Like
Ehh sometimes having an aug makes the key feel generally better, depending on the aug player, it will feel like 2-3 levels easier. Only sometimes will I bring an aug, most of the time… just find another DPS
A good aug with good dps is awesome. A good aug with bad dps is terrible and shouldn’t go aug. A bad aug with any kind of dps is terrible. That’s my take on it anyway.
1 Like
100% yes its too good.
My understanding is that they’re currently a DPS loss, but a big survivability gain due to the utility they bring.
Aug is great if your other players can make use of their buffs and utility. Their damage sucks (bad tank level DPS) and really is only moderately ok in big trash pulls since almost everything they cast is AOE/cleave related.
But Aug basically is giving up a lot of their potential to massively boost the other people in the group. It’s the ideal spec for a left of bell curve to play because the spec is very easy (not BM hunter simple but close) and basically gives a lot of their potential to the other 2 DPS who hopefully are more capable players.
Where pugs get it wrong is thinking the aug = auto win mode. If your other 2 DPS suck, the aug isn’t doing your group favors. If your aug is a high competency player paired with left of bell curves, they would literally do more for the group as devastation because giving up the high capability players DPS to boost very subpar players doing lackluster DPS and/or dying early is a massive net loss.
Plus certain fights really need to have the group support the Aug. Vorkal is a good example. Normally the 3 DPS each takes a totem but there is no chance in hell the aug can solo theirs before the other 2 DPS can theirs hence the tank and maybe even the healer need to tunnel into the aug’s totem and/or the other 2 DPS need to swap and help out too.
What’s still insane is how many more group applications you get if you got an Aug in the group.
People are still carrying these guys at lower keys, it’s insane. At lower keys they provide almost nothing (relative to the level of skill you see at these players in lower keys, no offense).
I know it sounds very strange but at 20 and below a Devoker would honestly speed things up more than an Aug (granted your group knows how to play and doesn’t require additional durability)
I used to think they were useless until I started doing decent sized keys. If healing a key feels like a difficulty rating of 8, an Aug Evoker takes it down to a 5 or a 6. I still don’t know how they accomplish this, but it reflects in the lack of stress.