A little about me, I am a mglad Dev Evoker. Highest xp 3k, top cr 2800 in 3v3. Currently top 3 in SS as of writing this
Dev is currently one of the weakest specs overall in PvP particularly in 3v3 arena. Dev is better in SS due to the 2 min passive timelimit of 50%+ dampening
Strengths
-Cleave dmg is essentially ST dmg spread 3 times
-Solid mobility
-Rescue is one of the best defensives in game and can be used in a lot of ways
-Time Spiral is very powerful for your team
-Time Stop when used properly is very powerful
Weakness
-Horrible Magic Defense. Most classes have anti-magic abilities. Dev does not
-Is very weak into classes they cannot kite or avoid their dmg. All casters, hunters, DKs, etc. A lot of games just feel you are taking extra dmg none stop and can do nothing about it
-Very low self healing or self sustain. Embrace and Blossim barely do anything. Leech is horrible
-Range is abysmal. Obviously this is the class, however I do not understand why Dev has thia handicap. Yes some classes would heavily suffer but I will post how to fix that later, but right now more classes than not have an advantage over Dev due to the range. You cant even really pillar hug because running away will put you out of range to fire back and the other team can still blast you. And if you are doing dmg in this way, one blink or teleport away and the other team is safe.
-Your main Damage is a channel. This is rough. Easily kickable and if you fake it you lose the essence to do another one anyway. This means you either need to bait kicks on other schools or eat them.
-Rescue is countered by rooting target or Evoker. They are fixes this thank god
-Pet classes passively greatly nerf your dmg. Mass disen can be eaten by imps or ghouls or anything. This guts your valuable damage on enemy teams. Demo locks are Dev’s biggest counter due to this
Suggestions
Theses are generally just my opinion on how to make Dev fair and more competitive on the ladder. There are very few Devs getting into rank 1 range each season. I think just 1 or 2 and probably less even getting the title. It is rare I ever que into one
-Make Disentigrate unkickable
This one im on the fence over. First off Dev’s dmg kit is very bare and there is jot much you can do. It is all about buffing Disen to make it as strong as possible. Making this unkickable will definitely be a massive buff. With all the micro ccs, groundings, reflects, and kicks…it would be nice that you have a chance to actually do dmg more conistently. Also with the loss of the S1 teir set, I fear this will be a massive nerf to Dev in PvP. I do not know how the S2 set is performing, however the S1 4-set is a 15% dmg buff which is huge. Both bonuses buff Disentigrate hard, next season will rely more on essence abilities which are far far weaker in comparison.
-Remove Obsidian Mettle and Nulifiying Shroud from Dev
If Disen becomes unkickable then mettle should no longer be needed. Disen is the only spell Dev has that will kill someone. ES doesnt do enough anymore and FB untalented is just MD fodder. Nul Shroud is also not needed, first off it isnt THAT useful right now but with other changes I am suggesting I think it would be over powered
-Replace Dev Scalecommander Hover Reset and make Hover last as long as the CD
The class should be mobile, but not as mobile. If we have less hover blinks then that would help other classes have more uptime. If Hover has the same cd as hover’s uptime then that will keep Dev moving but make them less slippery
-Buff all self healing
-Buff Disentigrate and all Blue spells to 35 yards
I dont think many people know how bad a 25 yard range for a caster (especially one with very few protect spells) is. You need to be practically in melee range all the time. A caster can blink away and break your Damage channel. You will ALWAYS be in range of damage and cc if you are able to do damage and CC. Running away can cause you to do 0 pressure instead of peaking in and out of a pillar to do less dmg. You having to push in all the time means your healer also needs to push in. This puts them at bad ranges they are not normally used to playing at. This also why you see less Devs on the ladder because no one wants to play with them or even knows how too. It is infuriating being on a team with a BM hunter and watching them try to make range the dps. You then also have to do the same because if you do not, your healer will be split in 2 spots and you will fall behind…meaning the other team’s healer has all the room in the world. Dev has to deny space…that is the whole point of the class. A 35 yard range with less hover mobility would solve this and make dev more balanced and better to play with.
-New pvp talents.
We lost Dream Catcher which is fine.
Swoop up’s cd is too long and tbh with a 25 yard range the ability isnt good and would take a lot of coordination to get value out of.
I suggested removing 2 more for balance sake.
I think some sort of magic shield or Blistering Scales for Dev would be huge. Dev cannot peel that well. The sleep walk buff is going to help but passive defensives for partners would be incredible
Again these are just some things I think would put Dev closer in line with other casters. I think due to Dev’s range it is incredibly stupid the spec doesnt have more self sustain. Dev’s dmg is very easy to stop compared to other specs. Obsidian Mettle obviously helps but …using your major defensives so you can get your offense out is a toxic and bad design. It is also rediculous that Dev has to take the dmg it does in order to fire back. It has next to no tools to protect themselves in those situations. The spec heals less than Hunters do. If it has to have a 25 yard range then it needs the tools to keep themselves alive. Warlocks can just stand still and heal more than Dev. Dev MUST cast everything and cannot protect themselves while doing it. At least ele has mostly instant casts and magic defense.
Dev’s only strength is kiting and most classes have absurd mobility that Dev barely is stronger than. Outlaw, Sub, DK, Feral, WW if they play smart all do very well into Dev. Sin is probably the easiest melee to get away from but obviously they have a lot of shut down. Warrior is pretty good at controlling them more often then they understand. Ret has great ranged dmg. Surv is mostly ranged dmg.
So Dev’s ability to kite is practically useless as often as it is a strength due to the low range. The hover and range changes I suggested balance that better
Dev currently is to easy to shut down, cannot sustain itself at all, has to tank everything in order to do damage back, has weak peels outside of rescue, and has no magic protect
Every change I suggest was aimed to fix these issues while not making them overbearing or overpowered.