Aug is a mistake because it feels like the developers had one foot out the door since its inception.
If you’re going to introduce a support spec, why not fully commit to making it an official role? 1 tank, 1 healer, 2 DPS + support?
There’s likely better dungeon makeup’s than the one above, but that’s only an example. Augmentation in its current state feels like a pseudo DPS that’s slowly having its toys broken in front of its face.
If you aren’t committed to the idea of a support role, REMOVE IT.
I very much enjoy Augmentation. What is your issue with it specifically? I cannot tell from your post what your problem with the spec actually is.
I think you might be referring to the buffs to healers and tanks going away in favor of being a DPS support spec…but honestly, having played it a bit this season, I don’t hate that change.
To me, it feels like the right direction to go in because overall, buffing the DPS is where Augment naturally shines and where it feels best (to me) in actual gameplay.
If you want Augment to be a fluid back and forth with backup heals and external defensives for tanks in addition to the DPS support…I don’t know, but that feels too nebulous to me. I really enjoy the “DPS by helping others DPS harder” part. I think a lot of people who main pure DPS specs find it very uncomfortable to sit lower on the meter and I think a lot of players feel lost without a specific set of analysis tools to self-assess with hard numbers.
But fully committed needs to mean actively working on MORE support specs to flesh it out and not give 1 spec a monopoly on the concept. Which then comes with at least considering different role makeups for groups (though it’d probably just settle on 1 / 1 / 2 (+1) with the +1 being either support or another DPS).
We can’t do a singular support spec. Either convert it to DPS or Tank, or start making more and lean into the concept.
OP main’s Augmentation and in it’s current state basically despite the changes done to it over the last two years have still left it a consistent pick.
I agree that at the core I like it’s design but I don’t think it’s fair for something to be a consistent pick at high content since it was introduced. Basically the message being sent is that a ‘support spec is needed’ if you go high enough. If that isn’t the case then why is Augmentation a consistent pick. If it is the case, give us more options that are competitive with it.
11.1’s changes are set to make it more in line with being a DPS buff rather than it’s tie to a party buff but the longer it goes on for the more I am inclined to lean towards Paris’s point of view on it.
Correct. I want Aug removed and Dev buffed / redesigned significantly.
100% agreed.
What is the future direction of Aug and why is there a general lack of developer notes when it comes to sweeping design changes to such a polarizing spec?
When something as impactful as Close as Clutchmates is brought back and Ebon Might nerfed, there should be a developer post addressing those changes.
Augmentation in its current state (and future) next to Devastation leaves anyone who enjoys both of these specs feeling severely whiplashed. Remove Aug and buff Dev.
It really isn’t… you have to make support a dedicated role like healer. A support and 2 dps has to outperform 3 dps or no one will ever take support. The reasoning being that if a dps dies it barely affects the other two while it nearly halves the supports output.
Class design can suck in MMOs. One moment you have someone who makes the class/spec you enjoy then the next moment it’s immediately trashed because the person behind it is gone.
Saw how that went after that Lock dev that got fired after MoP.
