PTR Augmentation Evoker Buff Priority Rework Reviewed - Pull Timers, Class Stacking, and QoL

10.10.2023 - 04:53 / wowhead.com / Class

In this week's PTR build, Augmentation Evokers received changes to their buff priority that reduces the viability of Augmentation class stacking. Our Augmentation writer, Jereico, reviews the recent changes and discusses some of the unforeseen consequences and remaining issues.
Augmentation Evoker Guide

Changes to Buff Targeting

• Developers’ note: Our goal with these changes is to reduce the power of stacking as many Augmentation buffs as possible on the same 4 targets in raid scenarios. We want to support having multiple Augmentation Evokers in a raid, but also prevent having 4 of them feel required to do maximum damage. By forcing these buffs to spread themselves out, it should still be viable to have multiple Augmentation Evokers without being overpowered.
• If 2 Ebon Mights are already active on an ally, Ebon Might will now seek a nearby ally with fewer than 2 Ebon Mights.
• Ebon Might’s priority to apply to other Augmentation Evokers has been reduced and will apply to other damage dealing roles first.
• If 2 Presciences are already active on an ally, Prescience will no longer be able to be applied to that ally.
• When casting Prescience with an enemy selected, its priority to apply to other Augmentation Evokers has been reduced and will apply to other damage dealing roles first.
• Shifting Sands now prefers to apply to an ally who does not already have Shifting Sands.

In short, Ebon Might and Prescience are now capped at two per player, and Shifting Sands will now prefer to maximize coverage before stacking. These changes to buff targeting directly address two major points raised in last week’s article: that stacking Augmentation Evokers is highly effective from a damage standpoint, but it requires a high degree of setup and coordination, particularly given the problem of buffing other Augmentation Evokers.

With the changes to Ebon Might and Prescience, top guilds may still find value in deliberately building compositions around four or more Augmentation Evokers–after all the spec is still quite powerful and also continues to provide considerable defensive utility–but most raid groups will now find a sweet spot at two or fewer, which is highly manageable.

Additionally, the change to how Augmentation is prioritised by other Augmentation Evoker buffs is an incredibly welcome change, and the extent to which it improves quality of life by reducing the need for complicated setup and