The Mob that is Great but Could've Been So Much Better (and my far-fetched solution)

A lot of mobs in Minecraft are fairly basic, and there isn't much that can be added to them. Cows are for meat. Skeletons shoot arrows at you. There really isn't much need to add any additional functionality to these mobs. Sure there are always ways they can be improved - cows could do with more skins and skeleton AI can always be improved. But there is one mob in particular that comes to mind that is a really great mob....... but it could've been SO much better. It's a shame to see how this mob was the start of something so incredible, but ultimately wasn't. This mob could've been the best in the game. It is extremely unique, has some really amazing concepts, really sticks out from all the other mobs in the game in the best way possible...... yet at the same time feels incredibly half-baked. This is a mob that could've and should've been a mini-boss, but instead it just became an easy foe that can be punched to death even on hard mode. I am of course talking about the Evoker.

Amazing (On Paper)
Conceptually, the Evoker is perhaps the best and most unique mob in Minecraft. An illager with an awesome design that uses literal magic spells. It is the only mob that is capable of summoning another mob as an attack - the Vex, which in itself is one of the most unique and cool-looking mobs to date. It also conjures up fangs from the ground that ignore armour. It can even summon a ring of fangs around itself to defend itself. And it can turn sheep from red to blue. On top of that, the Evoker drops the best item of any mob drop in the game - the Totem of Undying.

But when I do manage to take down an Evoker and it drops its totem..... I never feel like I've earned such a powerful item.

Here's the thing. The Evoker is absolutely fantastic on paper. But when you go head-to-head with one, you realise how much of a pushover they are. They have no defence against bows or any ranged attack. They only have 24 health, meaning they can be taken down in 2 hits if your bow is decently enchanted. 3 or 4 hits if your bow is unenchanted (but by the time you are facing Evokers, your bow is probably enchanted). Their fang attack which evades armour... is one concentrated beam that often misses - I find I have to actively TRY and get hit by this attack. The Evoker rarely utilises the ring of fangs, and you will never need to use melee combat on these anyway. They are also weak to iron golems.

When I fight Evokers, the fight is over very quickly. The Evoker has all these spells, but doesn't stand a chance against even unenchanted gear. Heck, I've even been able to punch them to death with my FIST.... ON HARD MODE!

The Evoker could be so much more. And given their role in secluded mansions and raids, they should be. To really make that totem feel earned, Evokers should put up MUCH more of a fight.

Fleshing Out Evokers.... A Lot.

Evokers are like wizards, and traditionally wizards have "levels" depending on how strong they are. I feel Evokers should have the same system. Evokers can be of level 1-5, each level they unlock more and more skills, have more health, and are harder to beat. The evoker's level is denoted similarly to a villager's level, by tiers which are visible by the colour of the seam on the Evoker's robe. Level 1 is stone (grey); Level 2 is iron (rusty colour); Level 3 is gold (yellow); Level 4 is emerald (green); Level 5 is diamond (cyan). Each level may also have an increasing amount of "stars" on their robe.

Level 1 Evoker (Evoker I)

Spawns - Commonly within the ground floor in Woodland Mansions; Patrols (Easy/Normal mode)

Abilities - It can summon the single row of fangs and change the sheep colour, that's it. It can't summon vexes.

Health - 16

Drops - 0-1 emeralds; 5 exp

Level 2 Evoker (Evoker II)

Spawns - In the last level of Easy-mode raids; Patrols (Hard mode)

Abilities - This is the evoker we currently know. It can summon a single row of fangs, summon vexes and change the colour of sheep.

Health - 24

Drops - 2-5 emeralds; 10 exp

Level 3 Evoker (Evoker III)

Spawns - Wave 4 of Normal/Hard-mode raids; in the upstairs of Woodland Mansions.

Abilities - All the abilities of Evoker II, but has some additional defensive skills: it has a spell to reverse arrows and tridents straight back at you, possibly dealing damage to you. It has an anti-Iron Golem defense spell as well, being able to blow them back 16 blocks when an iron golem hits them.

Health - 32

Drops - 4-7 emeralds; 1 enchanted book (lesser enchants); 15 exp

Level 4 Evoker (Evoker IV)

Spawns - Wave 5 of Hard-mode raids; last wave of Normal-mode raids.

Abilities - All the abilities of Evoker III, but now it attacks 25% faster (cooldown time = 3/4 that of previous levels). It has a regeneration I spell (that counts towards the spell cooldown). Its fang attacks are stronger: the offensive fang attack now forms 4 rows that fan out towards you. When summoning vexes, four now appear.

Health - 40

Drops - 8-12 emeralds; 1 enchanted book (more powerful enchants); 20 exp; 1 totem of undying (20% chance)

Level 5 Evoker (Evoker V)

Spawns - Woodland Mansion: 0-1 (easy), 1-2 (normal), 2-3 (hard); Wave 7 of Hard-mode raids; 1 in each bonus wave in Normal and Hard-mode raids.

Abilities - All the abilities of Evoker IV. The Evoker's attack cooldown speed is half the Evoker I-III. The regen spell is now regen II. Its fang attack now consists of 8 rows that fan out towards you, making the attack a lot harder to dodge. Its defensive fang attack now makes more rows of fangs reaching further out. When summoning vexes, five now appear. On top of all else, this evoker can teleport: it creates a cosmetic explosion (doing no damage to you or griefing any terrain) and disappears, then re-appears 1 second later with a similar cosmetic explosion up to 10 blocks away.

Health - 48

Drops - 16-20 emeralds; 1 enchanted book (powerful enchants); 25 exp; 1 totem of undying (100% chance).

The two highest levels of Evokers are almost like mini-bosses, and are extremely tough to beat, requiring a lot of strategic attacking and alternate ways of attacking e.g. potions or explosions. Thus, obtaining a totem of undying will become a lot harder and feel a lot more deserved than the way they currently are.

This new system seems far-fetched, sure, but only because the Evoker we have is quite frankly a bit lame in comparison to what we could have. Having tiered evokers is also a great way to introduce a much stronger evoker but keep the one we have now.

Final Word

The Evoker is a mob that could really challenge the player's combat skills and have the player use a variety of different techniques and gain some really great rewards for doing so. But in their current state, that challenge is not there. It has the potential to be, but it's just not currently. I feel this tiered-evoker system also allows the evoker to unlock its full potential and become the all-time best mob it always wanted to be.

The Evoker we have now is already a great mob, and it is already one of the best. But it's such a shame to see so much wasted potential. To see how amazing the Evoker could've been.