Can he get an AMEN?
Seriously, fire Elementalists are suppossed to be the classic "all-out damage mage". Every single one of the skills in the Fire line either deals damage or makes it so you can deal more damage (Attunement, etc). No support skills whatsoever. In fact, the Ele class in general seems to be intended as a "just nuke, leave the rest to the monks" class... The only way the Elementalist is given power to contribute to the party is with his sheer damage output, and I really don't think that's enough. While other classes are given creative ways to support the party (wells, interrupts, healing, tanking, etc), the Elementalist is left with only one possible occupation: nuking, and as such, should be able to do it far better than any other class. Warriors have superior armor and damage output to an Ele (on the whole).
I think it's sad that when I feel like playing a sheer damage-dealing role, I overlook my once-prized E/Me20 and put together my SS or MM necro build. It seems that not only are other classes more versitile, but also more powerful in the areas in which the Ele claims to excel.
Eles need a buff. I can't remember the last time I felt like I was an asset to the team with my elementalist... Even with Echo nuking, the damage just isn't good enough (especially in the later game). I won't even go into mob scatter...
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