Hi all! We wanted to share some thoughts on a few of the questions we’ve been hearing here and in other feedback. Thank you for the thoughtful feedback and interest!
The team had many discussions about which specializations to pursue for the class. Ranged DPS was locked in fairly early, as it offered the best opportunities to embrace well-known dragon themes: Soaring over the battlefield raining destruction, unleashing a beam of energy from your mouth, or scorching everything in front of you with a massive breath of fire.
For the second specialization, we were really excited to explore themes more unique to World of Warcraft. The Green dragonflight’s connection to Azeroth and the Emerald Dream, the mind-bending time magic of the Bronze, and a bit of the Red’s duality of life and death, are ingrained in the rich history of Warcraft but haven’t been wieldable by players until now (with the slight exception of Green magic, which Druids certainly pull from with their connection to the Dream).
Additionally, reflecting on the previous classes added to the game, we’ve added just one Healer, and never a Ranged DPS! We’re thrilled to be able to offer fresh, new playstyles in those roles.
When Neltharion created the Dracthyr thousands of years ago, he had an express purpose in mind for them. They were trained to embrace the awesome power of the dragonflights that he had gifted them and become Evokers, which Neltharion saw as a superior combatant. As they reawaken in the modern age, leaving their home to explore a wider world that is entirely unknown to them, they are clinging to what they know in order to survive. As they integrate with the Alliance and Horde over time, could they learn to pick up an axe and be a great warrior? Quite possibly, but that’s not where their story is starting in Dragonflight.
Evokers have a few spells that were shown in the deep dive video that we’d like to provide more details on.
The first are empower spells, an entirely new type of cast that can be “charged up” to increase some effects of the spell. We know that holding down a key isn’t a great form of input for everyone, so players will be able to choose whether empower spells use a “Press, hold, and release” style of input or a “Press once to start, press again to release” style. We’ve been keeping accessibility in mind throughout the design process, and have been playtesting with both forms of input since the beginning of development.
Empower spells get stronger in some manner the longer they are charged (up to a limit), such as hitting more targets or causing longer-lasting effects, and there will be situations where releasing them early is advantageous or more efficient. For example, the current design of the empower spell Fire Breath is that it does instant damage in a cone in front of you, and then additional damage over time. Empowering Fire Breath for longer increases the duration of the damage over time effect, while the instant damage is unchanged. Depending on the health of the enemy you’re fighting, spending less time charging Fire Breath could be better than fully charging it! Being able to release a spell early when you’re in danger, or using that casting time more efficiently if the later stages of the spell aren’t necessary, are new avenues for players to express mastery in varying combat situations.
The ‘bombing run’ type ability shown in the deep dive is Deep Breath, which is not an empower spell. The Evoker chooses a destination (like with movement abilities such as Heroic Leap or Door of Shadows), and then instantly lifts off and flies to that location while spewing flame beneath them, dealing massive damage to enemies in their path.
Evokers should be able to go back and complete the majority of questlines and content from previous expansions, such as the zone storylines, but we don’t currently have plans to create bespoke class content for them in those areas. Our development focus is on making Dragonflight as awesome as possible, and ensuring Evokers will enjoy the Dragon Isles alongside the rest of their allies!