Guild Wars 2

Just a friendly warning from a mage player for years, don’t even bother making a elementalist, I WISH someone warned me about how weak and pathetic it would be before I wasted so much time lvling it and gearing it up thinking maybe gear could overcome the weaknesses.

Anyways long story short, don’t listen to everyone who says we are viable, they are only comparing a pro ele vs a fail other class player not a avg player vs avg player.

So yeah WAIT till they get changed IF they ever get changed before even bothering with it.

Good lord. Did this inferiority complex really need another thread? It’s not nearly as bad as most people are making it out to be.

Rainshine.5493:

Good lord. Did this inferiority complex really need another thread? It’s not nearly as bad as most people are making it out to be.

It is even worst then most people make it out to be.
Elementalist is a free kill for any avg player.

I’m still waiting to see an explanation to elem being the only one without an interrupt on downed state second spell, having 10k base health when lot of abilities can hit for 10k, will require so much effort to deal less damage then an auto attack hip shot from an engineer.

Why can my necro kill an elem in 6 auto attack from the scepter? And that even if he miss form since it’s condition damage. This make no sense to me. No sense.
Necro have nearly twice the amount of base HP as the elementalist and yet they are as much light armor caster as elementalist.
Why is that so?
I want an explanation on why elementalist looks so stupid compared to other professions.
And I’m tired of people saying elem is balanced. Theses people havn’t played other professions or havn’t played sPvP at all.

The class was so much more fun during beta. We were just as fragile, but we had the burst to even it out.

It does remind me of what happened to mages in wow. I just hope we do not have to wait 7 years for Anet to simply reverse the changes they made from BWE-2 to now.

Or at least have a little more interaction with the community. All they’ve addressed in these forums is the underwater elite, which we’re grateful for if not confused as to it’s absence for so long.

Some sweet nothings like “we’re looking into it” would calm a lot of people’s frayed nerves.

Hmm so they did change stuff from the beta? i was wondering since in the betas my ele dealt way more damage than the one i have at the moment, i dont regret rolling guardian, very fun @ 80.

Was really looking forward to playing ele, leveled mine to 60 and stopped, then rerolled guardian, i liked the ele, because i always loved mage classes, but the amount of work you have to put to get the same result as another class was insane.

I wonder why they didn’t separate skills from pve and pvp like they did in the first game, considering we have like 10000 less spells.

i remember in the beta (including first closed beta) i could run with elementalist and Hurl Rock was doing 2k damage – 3k crits from each rock hurl, doing something around 10-12k damage from the 5 rocks it was throwing. Dragon’s Tooth needed setup, but with immobilize from signit of earth was actually worth doing since it was hitting for 7k, and 12k when targets had weakness.

Then i go on holiday and come back 1 week after launch, and find ele’s in this poor state. Its disheartening really

my god, i was hoping elementalist would get better with gear, but now that i have 400 crafted mh/oh and 3 pc 400 crafted gear, i struggle killing one lvl 80 mob right outside of town alone.

The damage is pathetic, i am seeing 500- 2k max hits with chain lightning. My warrior whos only crafted 400 gear is a greatsword and a ring does 2k basic attack hits consistantly. His chain attack which is similar to the elementalist chain lightning does 1.5k to upward to 8.5k end hit.

My warrior can take on 3-4 lvl 80 mobs at once without even going under half hp in half the time that my more geared elementalist kills one lvl 80 mob in the same loaction in orr.

I thought maybe i was doing something wrong, but checked multiple times on several forums and all i read is that i am using a perfectly fine spec and that elementalist is bad.

Do not bother with an elementalist.

Rainshine.5493:

Good lord. Did this inferiority complex really need another thread? It’s not nearly as bad as most people are making it out to be.

Oh yes it is.

fix elementalist we are very spongy and can only hit hard up close with daggers howeva then we are the weakest class by far FIX US i have full lvl 80 rare gear and crnt take out 2 mobs at one and as for the story quests i have to have a ranger come do them with me as ele is not strong enuf to solo them

If you’re soloing mobs, then I’d recommend using staff, due to the controlling abilities you get. I do agree the damage has been significantly nerfed, and that the max dmg build involves going right up to enemies when you’re the squishiest class out there. All i can say is that they can fill a support/cc role, not so much dmg.

Elementalists are probably the worst class to be in sPvP.

However, they are still pretty decent if not good in every other aspect of the game. I’m not sure what the problem is. Grinding the events in Orr at L80 it is rather fun to see my AoEs crit for 2500 on 10+ mobs every second, and Cantrips offer me a lot of survivability.

yes aoe we are very strong but wen can u use it in a dun or soloing mobs we carnt wich makes us so weak we rly need to be ballanced with outher classes as there is no such thing as a tank or healer just support evry class should have a powerfull single target attack

my lvl 22 warrior does twice single target damage i can do on my lvl 80 full rare gear elle

Everyone is complaining about the single target damage. My friend plays a Warrior and we do a lot of things together. He was watching me play and was amazed at how i could pull 5 or 6 mobs and kill them all at the same time. Also my guildies have commented multiple times about how when they do explorablables with me, its so much faster because of the amount of dps an Ele brings. Fights with multiple targets are cut in half it seems. We don’t notice the difference because we’re always there.

If you’re truly having trouble killing things in the Ruins of Orr or Orr, then you’re prolly just standing there letting the mob whail on you. Try moving around and using your dodge/cantrips. Really makes it easy.

Do CoF with a staff as fire spec. I do 40k damage to the last boss easily in 10 seconds. And that’s with mostly condition damage gear on. On bosses, I prety much stay earth attuned and keep my dot on him, which ticks for about 100 with 3 stacks on might on me.

What? i don’t feel any weak.

Staff aoe damage is sick.

Vanisher.9216:

What? i don’t feel any weak.

Staff aoe damage is sick.

Vanisher ….what AoE DMG ?

• Fire that is either Weak (2nd skill) , 180 radius (3rd skill) or a lucky strike chance for Meteor shower ?
• Water that has 1 dmg skill (2nd skill)that needs 2 seconds ?
• Earth that has 1 skill (2nd skill) that needs 4 seconds ?
• Air that also has just 1 (5th skill) skill that only effects corners of circle in 280 radius ???

If a player gets hit by ANY of those skills then he’s a ….. veeeeery special kid ^^
For the love of Lyssa even mobs avoid Water and Earth

Doc.8930:

Everyone is complaining about the single target damage. My friend plays a Warrior and we do a lot of things together. He was watching me play and was amazed at how i could pull 5 or 6 mobs and kill them all at the same time. Also my guildies have commented multiple times about how when they do explorablables with me, its so much faster because of the amount of dps an Ele brings. Fights with multiple targets are cut in half it seems. We don’t notice the difference because we’re always there.

If you’re truly having trouble killing things in the Ruins of Orr or Orr, then you’re prolly just standing there letting the mob whail on you. Try moving around and using your dodge/cantrips. Really makes it easy.

I would also advise your friend trying out GreatSword or a LongBow …. it’s like Elementalist 2.0
Double dmg, double the HP

Doc.8930:

Everyone is complaining about the single target damage. My friend plays a Warrior and we do a lot of things together. He was watching me play and was amazed at how i could pull 5 or 6 mobs and kill them all at the same time. Also my guildies have commented multiple times about how when they do explorablables with me, its so much faster because of the amount of dps an Ele brings. Fights with multiple targets are cut in half it seems. We don’t notice the difference because we’re always there.

If you’re truly having trouble killing things in the Ruins of Orr or Orr, then you’re prolly just standing there letting the mob whail on you. Try moving around and using your dodge/cantrips. Really makes it easy.

I have both an Ele 80 and a vastly worse geared greatsword warrior. The warrior is like 3 times the damage and this involves pressing “2” then “3” and in case the mobs (I always take multiple to save time) are still not dead I press “4”.

I am having a lot of fun playing an elementalist. I woulndt change it.
I dont mind not being the most powerful class, but I have kicked out of parties or not invited into dungeons because of the perception that my class is weak and that makes me really sad.

If you’re having trouble hitting mobs, then you’re doing it wrong… But I do agree elementalists feel weak compared to how squishy they are. Magnetic Aura can only do so much…

lol what a load of crap, elementalists are fine, you just have to adapt to play them well, like any other class in this game.

You have to move, you have to attunement swap often and you have to use abilities carefully.

If you stand there, in one attunement, and just spam everything with no though…..then you die, and quite rightly. Its so a L2P issue its not even funny anymore, the amount of QQ from every class tells me they are pretty balanced. Warriors have perhaps too much burst, thiefs as perhap too hard to kill, but generally all classes are perfectly viable.

I wish I would have known how weak they are. Anet says they are going to take time to look into balancing the classes, yet they make many changes for other classes and they had no problem nerfing us to the ground after each short beta event. Which is it? They can take out the nerf bat after 3 days, but they can’t boost us after 3-4 weeks?

Let’s break this down:
PVE: We are okay, just okay. Not great. Many talk of being kicked from groups or not invited to dungeons because why take a weak elementalist when you can steamroll with a warrior/guardian.
WVWVW: Again, certain play styles might do alright like standing back and just spamming AOEs with your staff. Not really my cup of tea.
SPVP/TPVP: This is where our weakness shines. We do less dps, have less HPs, are more squishy, have no downed state interrupt, and are basically free kills for any average player or barely above average player of another class.

So they can nerf us to oblivion after a beta weekend but then it takes months to give us any boost? I don’t get it.

… Some ppl just need to learn to play as Elementalist, specialy when i read ppl typing that Elementalist will die on a zone level 80 with one mob …

I’m an Elementalist my self, on Orr i can handle more then 5 mob’s on me at the same time … even an Elite mob ( the big ones with one eye ) i could kill alone … remenber that he call the little worm’s and such.

So stop complain how much the Elementalist are underpower compared to other classes and learn how to play with Elementalist

Ele is probably the best class for Zerg events in Orr. I love it when a large groups of mob spawns and my Dragon’s Tooth, Ring of fire, Phoenix, Fire grab combo kills a good amount and makes sure I get credit for every spawn.

thamathar.4389:

… Some ppl just need to learn to play as Elementalist, specialy when i read ppl typing that Elementalist will die on a zone level 80 with one mob …

I’m an Elementalist my self, on Orr i can handle more then 5 mob’s on me at the same time … even an Elite mob ( the big ones with one eye ) i could kill alone … remenber that he call the little worm’s and such.

So stop complain how much the Elementalist are underpower compared to other classes and learn how to play with Elementalist

THIS! Just, this. Finally someone that gets it.

To everyone QQ-ing about the ele, LTP, seriously =/

Premixed.4567:

It’s funny how the ‘learn to play’ people never actually think to teach and just belittle.

My ele is only late 30’s and already finding pretty much everything must be kited / cc’d to hell because 5-6 hits and I’m dead. After having tried a warrior in the mists, and am going to level it proper after some sleep, I get the feeling it will be able to stand toe to toe with the same enemies and not lose more than 20-25% hp, and would be even better if I was actively dodging etc.

If standing there toe to toe boringly clicking 2 skills is fun for you, i say go girl \o/

i really enjoy my staff ele, i can handle multiple mobs attacking me with no problems at all, i enjoy the kiting, CC and pre-planing the spells that take a few sec to go off.

During dungeon runs i am pretty sure i have the lowest repair bill, i see other dying way more then me. (still laughing at that warrior that died at least 30+ times because he didn’t know how to dodge and move out of the red circles of doom :P )

Its L2play, if you can’t handle playing an ele, then go play a faceroll profession if you prefer that kind of play style…

these strange things happen at the start of mmos, one class seems to play and feel very poorly in the eyes of many in comparison to other classes

to say there’s something wrong with the attunement switching playstyle for maximum damage is silly

to say there’s nothing wrong with elementalists is also silly
fact is we do have issues

its too difficult and costly to effectively setup our damage in pvp without going into 3rd tier earth, this is also very latency intolerant so Australian players who have to play on US servers will have a disadvantage

we have a mandatory 10 points in arcana for attunement switching buffs, if you dont take that trait in arcana your probably bad

conjured weapons are utterly useless outside of immensely niche situations or tagging large amount of mobs in pve and are not worth using up a slot skill

elementalists need a general vitality and toughness buff, as well as extra toughness when using a scepter/dagger or dagger/dagger

dragons tooth either needs to be an aimed AoE or fall much faster, basically so the only way to dodge it is to actually use an evasive maneuver instead of just walking out

we ultimately need to be less reliant on roots to complete our burst white using a scepter

i feel most of these changes will have little negative effect on us in pve and i believe we need more emphasis on attunment switching

player need to learn to switch attunements more, there’s nothing wrong with that

Premixed.4567:

It’s funny how the ‘learn to play’ people never actually think to teach and just belittle.

My ele is only late 30’s and already finding pretty much everything must be kited / cc’d to hell because 5-6 hits and I’m dead. After having tried a warrior in the mists, and am going to level it proper after some sleep, I get the feeling it will be able to stand toe to toe with the same enemies and not lose more than 20-25% hp, and would be even better if I was actively dodging etc.

Ok well start by improving your defense. Take the auto arcane shield at 25% health trait. Then take the arcane shield active skill. You can now block those pesky 5-6 attacks you mention.

Try using a focus and scepter. Against a single target start with earth. Apply bleeding. When they get close use scepter 3 to blind. If they are still attacking use focus 5 to make yourself invulnerable.

Oh no they are still attacking! Switch to air. Focus 5 is a knockdown. Run away from the mob while zapping with air 1 + 2. If they attack use Air 3 to blind.

Still not dead?! Switch to earth. Summon earth elemental! Keep zapping and if you need to run through the earth skills again.

What about water? Water 4 cripples! Use the time to move out of their range.

Dont stand their and expect to kill the mob before it gets to you. If this sounds like it too much work when a warrior can just smack it with a gs then please go play the warrior.

Having played every class in sPVP (the only thing that matters, and shows how each class fares vs. another), Elementalists are a joke, a complete joke. They’re a free kill with a terrible downed state being the only class that cannot interrupt a stomp.

thamathar.4389:

… Some ppl just need to learn to play as Elementalist, specialy when i read ppl typing that Elementalist will die on a zone level 80 with one mob …

I’m an Elementalist my self, on Orr i can handle more then 5 mob’s on me at the same time … even an Elite mob ( the big ones with one eye ) i could kill alone … remenber that he call the little worm’s and such.

So stop complain how much the Elementalist are underpower compared to other classes and learn how to play with Elementalist

Oh, those guys? I do those as my level 80 thief. Using that as an example isn’t helping your case. I can also solo Kol on my guardian. Not saying its hard, but using enemies that have predictable attack patterns, hit slowly and not often is a bad thing to use. I see those enemies as a way to test my dps. “I can kill a Risen Giant in so and so seconds!” type thing.

Premixed.4567:

It’s funny how the ‘learn to play’ people never actually think to teach and just belittle.

My ele is only late 30’s and already finding pretty much everything must be kited / cc’d to hell because 5-6 hits and I’m dead. After having tried a warrior in the mists, and am going to level it proper after some sleep, I get the feeling it will be able to stand toe to toe with the same enemies and not lose more than 20-25% hp, and would be even better if I was actively dodging etc.

If u want to stand still and kill mob’s … Elementalist isn’t for u, reroll another class ….

With my build at the moment ( Suport ) I have to keep moving all the time, kite them, CC, slow them and such and I love to play this way. I could make a build to handle more damage, but an Elementalist will never can handle the same damage as an heavy armor will handle … who think it should …

Selveen.8695:

Oh, those guys? I do those as my level 80 thief. Using that as an example isn’t helping your case. I can also solo Kol on my guardian. Not saying its hard, but using enemies that have predictable attack patterns, hit slowly and not often is a bad thing to use. I see those enemies as a way to test my dps. “I can kill a Risen Giant in so and so seconds!” type thing.

Was just giving an example that Elementalist aren’t weak as some ppl are saying … the ppl just need to know how to play with what they have …

The real question is how all of you fake elementalists can type anything beyond

1,1,1, 2,1,1,1, q,1,1,1,4,1,1,1, 5,1,1,1.

I wonder how long till people in those other classes start complaining all they do is " I swung a sword1,1,1"

I just logged in to say also that elementalist is my biggest disappointment in the game So much work for so little results…lowest HP and Armor with the lowest damage. The number one rule I have learnt so far in MMOs is that glass cannon classes have high dps to counter their weakness. But it seems GW2 brings the evolution even to this one…

And people say that Elementalists are ok, they probably play a signet GS warrior and this is their first MMO in their life yet they want to appear “cool” in the forums…how long the devs will ignore the problem?

Also how we are more versatile than others? 4 out of 20 spells are auto attacks and most of others are useless…we cannot switch between melee/range too. How they hell we are considered versatile class while the other classes are not as much versatile and even better?

@DonQuack

Thief(dagger): 3, 3, 5, auto attack, F1, 2, 2.
Thief(sword+pistol): 5, 3, F1, repeat. Or 5, Caltrops, Dagger Toss.
Guardian(mace+focus) 2, 3, 4, repeat.
Guardian(G.Sword): 4, 5, 5, 2, 3
Necromancer(Staff): 3, 2, 1~

With 1 being auto attacked I don’t have to press it, and for the 3 classes I play I rarely touch it. All I do isn’t “I swung a sword1,1,1”. I find your post offensive. Good day, sir.

+1 lol

Sorry I come from GunZ. I never auto attack. Turned that silliness off.

I come from GeeDubz1 as an ele so Ive been hearing this for years, so now its like

/sigh this crap again?

Premixed

It’s funny how the ‘learn to play’ people never actually think to teach and just belittle.
My ele is only late 30’s and already finding pretty much everything must be kited / cc’d to hell because 5-6 hits and I’m dead.

Someone turned me on to Glyph of Storms recently, and I thank them for it. Cast in earth it’s an AoE blind that persists for several seconds. Very nice as a group support skill OR solo.

Early on eles really are very squishy; a lot of their defense comes from traits. Elemental Attunement (10 pts in Arcane) is lovely, you get protection every time you attune to earth (take 1/3 less damage) and regen when you attune to water. The 5-point Earth trait is also nice passive defense.

But yes, you’ll always have to move well.

Rohirrim

And people say that Elementalists are ok, they probably play a signet GS warrior and this is their first MMO in their life yet they want to appear “cool” in the forums

My 80 is an ele. My highest alt is level 16, a guardian. Is it easier to play? Yup. Doesn’t mean the ele is, as the OP states, “weak and pathetic” and not viable.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the ele is 100% perfect and cannot use any tweaks at all. I DO think the eles’ downed skills could use a look. I think underwater combat is unfun, largely because of the very low damage overall coupled with a lack of available combos.

But that’s not how people are phrasing it. They’re all “the sky is falling” and almost nobody wants to listen to any constructive advice from people who are finding the class viable. They just want to QQ because they want to stack full berserker’s gear and then implode.

All of you “L2P” kids need to look at more than just PVE. You think that because you can AOE 5 mobs at once then elementalists are fine? That doesn’t take any skill. PVE mobs are a joke that run straight at you and act predictably. What does that have to do with SPVP/TPVP? Elementalists are seriously underpowered in SPVP/TPVP. They were nerfed down to the ground. We’re just asking for some damage boosts since afterall we are supposed to be glass cannons. Anet forgot to add the cannon part. I can do more damage in 3 seconds with my thief than I can do in 10 seconds with my elementalist. Is that fair? I know the class inside and out better than most of you “L2P” kids. They are broken. Try any other class in PVP and you will see.

Sorry OP, but you’re just plain wrong. Elementalist isn’t underpowered or weak, just hard to learn, because it really emphasizes a lot of the things that are different between GW2 combat and standard MMO combat.

If you know how to play, it’s plenty viable. And don’t give me that nonsense saying “BUT IF YOU DON’T KNOW-” I don’t care. If you don’t know how to play, you’re going to fail, period, regardless of profession. Doesn’t matter how much work that knowing is. Some are going to be easier than others. This happens in all other MMOs, and yet people still complain about it, as if it’s ever going to change.

Elementalist is the profession you play when you want something complex. You either deal with it, or reroll, but don’t you dare say it’s not viable, when itkittenwell is.

I didn’t read all the replies here.

I did lvl and Elementalist to 80 though and I have WvWed alot on them. At this time I am in the process of playing alts. What I can say is.. Elementalist is a bit of a flop compared to other classes. While it is not “hard” to level, it is certainly not as easy as the other classes I have touched. So from a pve point of view, many may enjoy this.

From a WvW point of view, if you are not hanging with the zerg, aoeing from the back lines, aoeing from keep walls (basically staying where you are protected) then you are a dead duck. You are one of the hardest classes to play well in 1v1 (and small group situations) and you are one of the least effective when built for dps. Anyone who says otherwise just hasn’t played the other classes extensively.

DrakeWurrum, I understand the point you are making AND everyone likes how elementalist takes skill. However, the current maximum potential ‘cap’ an elementalist can hit from an ‘average player’s absolute-best-performance needs to be raised so it can be more rewarding and friendly as a profession. If a player is only average at a class, it doesn’t mean he deserves to pay a lot more for repairs fees and have his fun robbed.
Mind you, i’m not even talking about the frustration of BAD players, but just AVERAGE players. Player’s who want to choose elementalists may choose it out of theme, or aesthetics. The undesired complexity may… cause some frowning I hope that’s not what ANet desires out of profession; A strictly “SKILLED ONLY PLS” warning sign slapped on to the class.

It does take much more effort and clicking but i seem to do just fine in pvp. they could use a small damage buff to their auto attack’s and heal abilities. Maybe some better traits for MH dagger like 10% dmg reduction while wielding dagger in main hand.

Atm i find it hard to die to 2 people at once, takes forever to kill guardians though.

Soylent.4197:

Having played every class in sPVP (the only thing that matters, and shows how each class fares vs. another), Elementalists are a joke, a complete joke. They’re a free kill with a terrible downed state being the only class that cannot interrupt a stomp.

Well put.

In sPvP Elementalist is just bad. Unless it’s a highly skilled elem vs a bad player with ANY of the other classes, the elem is toast. You can argue that it’s not a 1v1 class, and that may be true, but you have to be able to hold your own 1v1 because it’s inevitable that you’re going to be put in that situation, like it or not. If you die every time you meet someone 1v1 you’ll spend most of the game lying on your back or running to fights.

Even if you never 1v1 somehow, it still doesn’t do much more than anyone else in the big scheme of things.

Z

DrakeWurrum.6049:

Sorry OP, but you’re just plain wrong. Elementalist isn’t underpowered or weak, just hard to learn, because it really emphasizes a lot of the things that are different between GW2 combat and standard MMO combat.

If you know how to play, it’s plenty viable. And don’t give me that nonsense saying “BUT IF YOU DON’T KNOW-” I don’t care. If you don’t know how to play, you’re going to fail, period, regardless of profession. Doesn’t matter how much work that knowing is. Some are going to be easier than others. This happens in all other MMOs, and yet people still complain about it, as if it’s ever going to change.

Elementalist is the profession you play when you want something complex. You either deal with it, or reroll, but don’t you dare say it’s not viable, when itkittenwell is.

This is wrong… maybe it IS harder to learn and harder to master… but take an equal skilled player with the same level of mastery in ANY of the other classes, and not only is the elementalist dead 1v1 BUT doesn’t bring as much to the table as the rest in a group fight.

It just doesn’t have the sturdiness or damage that other classes have.

Z

Wow. I’m not sure how I’m playing any differently than others, but I honestly don’t have these “weak” issues on my ele — and can solo a rush of 6 or more mobs — albeit it’s a slow fight, but i can do it and survive. I think my max of getting jumped is 8 and surviving .. any more and I wind up faceplanting. But I tend to be a cautious player, and go slowly so I don’t agro too many at once.

/copied quote from Elementalist class description, this is why it made me mad, I read this and they make elementalist sound very good.

‘’Elementalists are multi-faceted spellcasters that channel elemental forces, making fire, air, earth, and water do their bidding. What they lack in physical toughness, they make up in versatility and the ability to inflict massive damage in a single attack.’’

^ So wheres this massive damage in a single attack that it talks about….

Very few of the descriptions on the main site are accurate at all.

It makes me wonder who they got to write it.

Rohirrim.9328:

I just logged in to say also that elementalist is my biggest disappointment in the game So much work for so little results…lowest HP and Armor with the lowest damage. The number one rule I have learnt so far in MMOs is that glass cannon classes have high dps to counter their weakness. But it seems GW2 brings the evolution even to this one…

And people say that Elementalists are ok, they probably play a signet GS warrior and this is their first MMO in their life yet they want to appear “cool” in the forums…how long the devs will ignore the problem?

Also how we are more versatile than others? 4 out of 20 spells are auto attacks and most of others are useless…we cannot switch between melee/range too. How they hell we are considered versatile class while the other classes are not as much versatile and even better?

Not my first MMO, not signet warrior here. Elementalist are more than fine in PvE and WvW.
Out of my 20 staff skill i see 2 or 3 useless autoattacks INCLUDED.
Staff have probably the best aoe dps in the game.

Stop exagerating guys, elementalist aren’t that bad, they might need a little help but in regards survivability.

Of course im ignoring sPvP, we do suck there.

I think the profession is fine in general for PvE, some tweaks needed but overall every explorable has been decent playing as Elementalist and solo play around Orr is pretty easy with a good condition build (though I use 30/25/0/15/0 just to speed the kills up a little). Can’t complain about event tagging, and WvWvW is laugh with the staff.

But for sPvP/tPvP it’s pretty frustrating on many occasions. Landing combination skill kills is hard work against anyone with a brain, and being stomped every bloody time when downed can also drive you around the bend.

It is my opinion, that the title, as well as the opinions stated, in the OP are entirely unhelpful to the Elementalist class, and development.

I would also like to add, that I after playing as an Elementalist to max level, have never felt that I was insufficient, although I have certainly been challenged to the very brink of my ability. I have welcomed the extra challenges of learning to play a complex class, and I have developed my own play style without consulting any other players.

I have not played any other classes, and will not comment on the relative power of the Elementalist.