So, I’d noticed that when I was doing a few LFR’s before my sub lapsed, I’ve actually not seen a single Evoker, other than the one I ran in an LFR.
Purely anecdotal, of course. But it did prompt me to start digging. This “Data for Azeroth” site seems pretty interesting, but in particular is this:
https://www.dataforazeroth.com/stats/classes/
It really just confirmed my belief they would be the least played class, but even I’m shocked how rare they are.
It seems pretty clear that this is a problem. But similarly, I think what the problem is, is also pretty clear.
Just as we saw when the expansion was first announced, people like the IDEA of a “playable dragon”, but the Dracthyr weren’t what we were looking for. And clearly, they still aren’t, despite people being generally positive on how they actually play.
Clearly, players just don’t like how they look.
I see four different avenues to address this. In no particular order:
- Give them full transmog
This seems the most obvious fix. Obviously, that’s still an enormous amount of work to invest, however it’s a standard held by literally every other race in the game.
- Give them more races for their Visage form, Visage in combat
This one would be relatively easier to implement, I think. There’s zero reason for Dracthyr to be locked into a BE male or Human female form. Similarly, people might be less disappointed with the Dracthyr form, if they could maintain their chosen Visage during combat (save for temporarily shifting for certain attacks).
- A bulky, “Male/Body 2” option
I definitely think this would be lower on the list of potential impact, but it’s certainly one that would be well received. Even if it’s not expressly labeled as “male”, it’s pretty obvious the kind of body-types that Warcraft is known for. People really dig Drakonids, or even something like the Stoneborn General from Shadowlands.
- Proper “Dragon form” to choose from
This is honestly the option I personally had been hoping for from the beginning. If Evokers are meant to be “playable dragons”, then why not go all-in on that concept? I’d LOVE to be able to shift into a smaller, scaled-down version of your Dragonriding mounts, and by all appearances, they SEEM to have all kinds of animations that would suit an in-combat form for the Evoker.
Any of these avenues would be great, and if more than one could be implemented, that would be even better. Although I’d personally be a bit bummed to see the focus put squarely on your Visage form (since I’d be concerned it would prevent them for fully embracing the “dragon” aspect, like a melee/tank in the future), but that’s just me.
At the end of the day, it’s pretty clear that there is an issue, and it’s disconcerting it has been left unaddressed for so long. With so much care going into making some pretty dope transmogs this expansion, not to mention Evokers getting a cool new Legendary and apparently a new Spec, it would be nice to see them get some visual options to really round them out.
I still believe that concept of a “playable dragon” is still super freaking awesome. I just wish my Evoker felt like it truly captured that same fantasy.