I completely agree. We end up sacrificing so much just struggling to keep up with the other classes. They’re almost worthless in PvP (imo), and PvE becomes exploited fire dps glass cannon hoping to kill before being killed. WvW is an utter pain. It is entirely dominated by thieves, mesmers, and rangers. It just isn’t fun to be an elementalist anymore; once you get past the initial allure, you quickly realize how lackluster it is in comparison to EVERY other class. Every class gets to swap weapons, more health, armor — everything — while elementalists get 3 useless elements and a whole lot of dying. You can’t even counter these poor gameplay mechanics with traits. You just lose. Hell, rangers can nuke harder, and farther. Just make a ranger and save yourself the frustration. Unless you’re like me and can’t give up on the severely underpowered, yet cool looking class.
Basically, WE NEED A BUFF. Make elementalists more balanced or the gameplay will suffer.
/rant