Evokers (and Dracthyr) are one of the newest additions to World of Warcraft. They soared into the game in the Dragonflight expansion, giving players a new class option to pick from when building their ideal character.
The Evoker class is decently varied, with one Healer spec, a standard ranged DPS spec, and a DPS spec that’s geared towards supporting and uplifting allies.
All of the Evoker specs are fun to play and are viable in all areas of the game to some extent, but some are simply more powerful than others.
Here’s an in-depth guide to picking the best Evoker specialization in Dragonflight, looking at PVP, PVE, and everything else in-between.
Best Evoker Spec for Solo Leveling
To start, the best Evoker spec to pick for a smooth leveling experience is Devastation.
If you’re looking to level up quickly with a solid DPS spec that lets you handle mobs and speed through standard Dungeons at a good pace, this is the specialization for you.
One of the main reasons why Devastation is such a great pick for leveling up quickly is that the toolkit has a perfect blend between mobility, self-heals, and damage options.
This means that Devastation Evokers can take on large groups of mobs without much stress, and they can keep themselves in good condition, too.
If something goes particularly wrong during a quest or Dungeon, abilities like Glide (reducing falling speed with a 1.5 second cast) can be a great way to mitigate any damage and get away quickly.
Additionally, Devastation Evokers have strong AOE and multi-target cleave damage options. This makes completing kill quests and navigating new areas much easier.
This is fantastic, as the standard Evoker tree has some great AOE options as well, giving you plenty of options to pick from while exploring the world.
While Devastation Evokers aren’t the tankiest or sturdiest characters in the game, getting them to level 70 and into some decent gear is a lot of fun. The gameplay style can take some getting used to, but it’s well worth the effort as it’s a very rewarding specialization.
Strongest Evoker Arena Spec
Currently, there aren’t many Evoker specializations that are doing amazingly in Arenas. Not many popular comps feature Evokers either, although Preservation is a decent Healer for Mage Boomkin comps and Devastation is picked up by some for a DevDK (Frost) team.
That being said, the strongest Arena Evoker spec to pick up right now is Augmentation. This may seem like an odd pick, but this new specialization has a lot that it can bring to the table in both 2v2 and 3v3 match-ups.
One of the main benefits of playing Augmentation in Arena is the huge amounts of utility that you can provide for your team. Augmentation Evokers can help to tip the scales in your favor (pun intended) and have a lot of great ways to enhance a match-up.
For example, Ebon Might is an ability that increases nearby allies’ primary stat by 10% of your own. It also increases your own damage by 20% for 10 seconds. This ability favors DPS and Tank characters, so if you’re in an all-DPS comp, this can be a truly impactful move.
Augmentation Evokers are also exceptional in terms of survivability.
They have a cheat death mechanic of sorts with Defy Fate, which diverts fatal attacks, and plenty of damage mitigation options as well. Alongside this, they’ve got plenty of off-heal abilities and CC options to make sure that Arena partners stay safe during battle.
Best Evoker Spec for Battlegrounds
Following that theme, Augmentation is also the best PVP Evoker specialization to pick up for Battlegrounds right now.
This is mainly due to their team support and boost abilities. Ebon Might can affect up to 4 allies at once, as well as your own damage stat, which can help to change the outcome of a team fight drastically.
Another great reason to bring an Augmentation Evoker into Battlegrounds is their restoration and utility options. Healing isn’t the focus of Augmentation Evokers by any means, but being able to off-heal if you get caught off guard by the enemy can help to keep your team alive.
This spec also has some solid movement options, although lots of these abilities can be found in the standard Evoker talent tree. Rescue is particularly useful in RBGs, letting you fly to an ally who is in danger and swoop away with them to a safe space.
Augmentation Evokers aren’t going to be at the top of the DPS charts in most Battlegrounds (although you can get pretty close with the right gear) but if you learn the rotation well, you’re sure to start stacking up wins quickly.
Best Solo Shuffle Evoker Spec
Solo Shuffle is almost as new as the Evoker class, and it’s a unique PVP game option. The main things to look out for when picking a Solo Shuffle spec are survivability, CC options, and damage output that is sustainable over time.
With this in mind, both Preservation and Devastation are good picks for Solo Shuffle right now.
If you’re a fan of playing as a Healer (or if you want to try healing for the first time) then Preservation can be a lot of fun in Solo Shuffle. It’s a relatively fast-paced spec with strong healing abilities and some decent damage options as well.
Something that makes Preservation Evokers stand out in Solo Shuffle queues is the speed of their rotation.
Powerful options like Empowered spells don’t take that long to reset, and there’s a decent mix of long cooldowns that are worth the wait and short cooldowns that can help to keep an ally in good condition.
The playstyle is incredibly fun, and it’s quite flexible too. While Preservation Evokers might not be top of the charts right now in Solo Shuffle, they do fit into a number of popular PVP comps nicely, which shows how adaptable the spec is.
If you’re not a fan of being a Healer, Devastation Evokers are also worth checking out.
The reason they’re not an S-tier DPS spec for Solo Shuffle is that they can be quite unreliable in terms of consistent damage output. This doesn’t mean that they can’t pull off decent damage with the right gear, rotation, and management, though.
Devastation Evoker has a fun rotation and the Empowered spells can be particularly punchy in a PVP scenario.
Best Evoker Spec for PVE
Both the Evoker DPS specializations are viable in PVE content to some extent, but Preservation is currently one of the most popular Healer specs.
This is especially true when it comes to the Raiding scene, as Preservation Evokers are almost as popular as community-favorite specs like Holy Paladins and Holy Priests right now. It’s easy to see why- Preservation Evokers have a great toolkit and offer plenty of extra Raid utility.
Alongside the strength of the Preservation Evoker’s healing rotation, they have the potential to deal some serious damage during a Raid or Dungeon, too. Healers who can deal damage are incredibly valuable, especially in end-game content.
The standard Evoker talent tree offers plenty of extra utility for a Healer in a PVE scenario, too. Rescue is particularly handy, especially when trying to learn new mechanics.
Preservation certainly isn’t a perfect Healer spec by any means, as it’s quite limited in terms of range and they can be a bit unreliable during fights with high mobility requirements. They’re incredibly powerful, though, and with the right team, they can be extremely effective.
Best Evoker Spec for Soloing Old Content
Every Evoker spec is viable for soloing old Raids and Dungeons to some extent, but Devastation stands out as the best pick. It’s fast-paced, self-reliant, and still has access to all of the basic utilities provided by the regular Evoker tree.
The AOE damage abilities that Evokers have access to can make incredibly quick work of old Dungeon mob packs, and they can be great for scoring tricky old world achievements that ask you to make a certain number of mob kills in a specific amount of time.
In general, Evokers are very handy for doing mount and transmog runs. Their flying abilities make getting around old world content an absolute breeze, and they’re incredibly durable as well.
How to Learn A New Spec
Once you’ve picked which Evoker spec you want to run with, try checking out some of the easier Mythic+ Dungeons in the game to get a feel for your new rotation and set-up.
It’s good to take some time to get to know the spec, just so you know that you’ll be able to pull it off perfectly when you get to your endgame content of choice.
If you want to try out something similar to an Evoker, why not take a look at the best Mage specs or Warlock specs? They’re not exactly the same, but they’re two of the most varied ranged DPS classes in the game and you might enjoy playing them just as much.
