Why does everybody pick on Elementalists?

Yeah right..eles are always wanted for a group, try being a class that is realy hated, like Assasin, stick up for them if you want to.

I have only fought against a couple of good Assassin players. Most people playing assassins are incredibly straight forward in their playstyle and it doesn't do the profession justice. I think the profession gets a bad rep from that.
They are mid/close range spikers that when played well can literally dance around the battle field. One assassin I fought against made me want to play one, although I still haven't. I was in awe of his 'deadly dancing' skills!
A very well played assassin is the coolest thing to watch.

Try telling that to the groups i want to join.

This thread is comical at best. Eles picked on? ROFLMAO .. then wth are the assassins and mesmers feeling? We won't even bring up the MILLIONS of mending and w/mo comments. Seriously any town any district you will see someone wanting an ele. I remember seeing some poor bastard dervish spamming for a group for 3 days he was there everytime I logged on.

If guru people seem anti cookie cutter it is ... yes I am going to say it ... twits that are a tad too full of themselves. Please get over yourselves. Just because you can walk to the store on your hands to be different does not mean it is the most efficient way to get there.

If I find myself to be unfortunate enough to be in a pug ... I PRAY they are using a "cookie cutter" build instead of something they dreamed up. Ring of fire ... I am a mesmer wondering why my degens are ending so fast. What do I find? A leet forward thinking r/mes using his secondary as a primary. Obviously his 10 in illusion would be far superior to my 16. Many people do not use "cookie cutter" builds they looked up ... many skills just plain obviously go together.

The problem with the damn cookie cutters is that they stop thinking out of the box ( and I don't mean running inferior builds ).

Whenever there's a new area released, and their cookiecutter build doesn't work anymore, they start complaining on the forums, instead of trying to solve the problem. And we all know what happens next...

I want the sin class being broken like the elementalist (ouarf) if I can see in every mission "Group looking for Sin" every 10 seconds like them.

Part of the problem is, indeed they dont think out of the box but also its not the cookie cutter build itself, if its effective and the player is effective then im happy, but mostly either the build is not effective or the player is not effective, i notice people with a cookie cutter build are generally more stupid and can only think in one way, and only being able to think in one way results in disaster!Those with the imagination to think up of their own EFFECTIVE builds would likely be smarter and more skilled overall, and the builds help much to.

You however, seem to be under the impression that all self thought up builds suck, most likely because you think the people that create them are idiots, while such people do exist by far not everyone making there own build is dumb, and if the person is not dumb its a very usefull build.

But this realy is a double-edged blade.

I don't think "self thought up builds" suck (assumption the mother of all f ups). I am not sure that I have ever looked up a build for anything to be honest. The closest I ever got to cookie cutter was the original protbond 55 build and a friend told me what I needed. You prove my point on egomaniac very nicely. Compare number of copies sold to number of registered members (most are not here for builds). Obviously the majority of gw people are not looking up their builds here.

In 20 months and over 6 thousand hours played ... I have run into almost every moron in guild wars. If you are in a FoW pug and have 2 eles you don't want to find out that one of them is a free spirit using ice spear and not ms. Many places have certain builds that work best debate it all day long but it is what it is.

I am not reposting to bump this to the top, there are a few more things that I wish to say.
1 Most players that start an Elementalist do not relize that they cannot be played like the rest of the professions.
2 Most players who have an Elementalist either will nopt help out a new player with his build or the new player will not take some advice.

An Elementalist due to their low armor and inherent low HP due to some of the builds, needs to stay in the background. They do not make good tanks at all (I know all about this as my 3000+deaths will attest). In my opinion any Elementalist that insists in running to the frontline just deserves to die and be left there for a bit to teach them a lesson (this has happened to me). A good Elementalist should be concidered more of a support character than a frontline fighter, the damage is the same whether we are in the back or the front, but we are much safer in the back.
The way the aggro is set up, especialy in PVE the one with the lowest HP and Armor will be targeted first. Meaning the Elementalist will always be the first to die if he/she gets too close. Most players do not know this and need to be told.
A good Nuker is always wanted in almost all areas, but finding one can be a problem.

Mega Mouse

why?
because any guy that puts on the aeromancers or any of the nightfall armours deservers to be picked on!
seriously! with those armours youre just a walking target screaming - throw rotten tomatoes at me!!

they have the same armor and same hp of all other caster...

Ok, this thread is a few days old now, but it looks like I could have some fun with it.

Elementalists do not get picked on in game, not by the vast majority of players. The only times I've been picked on as my ele were by two examples of what is commonly known as an idiot:

In the first case, it was well over a year ago, back when people thought that you had to be a W/Mo or a Mo/W to farm anything. I hit on a nice little build as an E/W incorporating Deadly Riposte, Armour of Earth, Gladiators Defence and Magnetic Aura that I used to farm the Griffons in Prophets Path. For whatever reason, I was taking a break in Augury Rock and had got into a conversation with a few other people there. When I told them that I used an E/W to farm, I got called just about everything from a noob to a liar. Well, the saying goes: 'Never argue with an idiot - they'll bring you down to their level then win.' So, I just went and farmed some more, (That was how I made my first 100k)

The second time, it was so stupid, that it still makes me laugh...

I was called a noob... (This person was deadly serious )

...

...

...

...

For not wearing a skimpy outfit!

I can't remember exactly what I said back to them, but it probably involved a GTFO, as well as several other swearys - not the nicest I've ever been. Suffice to say, I didn't oblige them.
For the record - this is what I dressed like at the time:

Umm, anyway, yeah, so, common idiocy aside, the only other thing eles are attacked for is the whole too weak/strong debate. And you have to be a fool to not realise that Anet are never going to be able to please everyone in that respect.

Yay! Another Green ele

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

.......................not wearing a skimpy outfit gets you called newb? o_O

One word "rebirth" thats the reason i "have to" run as wammo, someone needs to save the squishys

Eles used to suck before Nightfall.

NF came out with Sandstorm and Searing Flames.

Eles don't suck anymore.

And lo it came to pass that eles with their Nightfall skills entered PvP and the established players were sore afraid.

They prayed to the Great God Devteam of Anet saying

" Oh Great one, we are afflicted by these upstart eles. We can tolerate them as runners and healers and occasionally jiggly dancers, but why have you given them powers to damage us? Eles should not be made thus. We will tear our hair and gnash our teeth and generally whine and bitch until they are punished. We beseech thee to take up thy mighty nerf-stick and deal them such a blow that they will never again rise up above their appointed station as mere utility characters!"

And it would appear that the Great God Devteam was moved by their entreaties and resolved to act.........

ROFLMAO! Full marks for originality (kept looking for a burning bush)

LMFAO!!

That is one of the reasons i dont like female elementalists,more wear the most revealing stuff they can find and try to act cute, not a welcome behaviour style when fighting for my life..the dancers in public zones is fine though..you walk past them and nothing happens..no big deal..but in groups..that entire outfit already gives me the idea that this person is a bit to fond of scarcely dressed women and a bit to uninterested in being a skilled elementalist..and i somewhat get the feeling they just tossed some fire skills together because the damage numbers are high ( and only keeping that number in mind..there are other factors ) and others use fire magic to.

Somptimes a completely whrong thought but the whole thing just..dous that to me.

And this is why i think that way..people actually prefer such elementalists,but for the skills or the clothing?

Idiots..

I know I prefer mine for the whole package - she's not been green for a long time now, but here's what she looks like atm:

-ie just about as covered as you can get Still, yeah, a do laugh when people say stuff like that... even if theyre as serious as that guy...

Also, obviously, I get regular dirty looks for refusing outright to run fire - a just dont like it, so a don't and indeed, won't do it

I've changed to Earth in Recent times, but I've gotten to know Water, Fire and hoping to learn Air next.

Close Minded newberts ftl

we pick on eles b\c of their ghey dance ^^ plain and simple.

That is untill they get a tune up next week [balanced]

with nightfall the ele got a bit off there initial vibe back, which was lost due to all the nerfs eles had to endure. So thats why eles are crap, the have been hit buy the nerf hammer way to much, and a new nerf is coming for the already balanced nf skill because of the whining off people.

Hmm, that may be the theory anyway. Problem is with wammos most seem to have the "I can take him" mentality. I watch out for this and react accordinly. If a fight starts to go badly and someone shouts "Fall Back"...I NEVER notice the wammo running for his life...I think for the following reasons:

1. He has Mending. Mending makes him invincible.
2. He has Frenzy. He can take anything.
3. He's a hero, in his own mind. Most wammos have the folliwing playing in their heads as motivational music:

umm....ok....sorry....got a bit sidetracked where was I? Oh yea, I am usually the first to run away and res the team...and this usually includes the wammo. Many many times I have been the only one to run away and had to res the entire team - and I'm a "squishy" btw.

I also hate fire but don't refuse to go fire when asked. I will often try to sway whoever's asking to come around to my way of thinking that is fire is boring and samey. I use all 4 Elements and switch on a regular basis although Air is a general favourite of mine.

Lol Beaver u should publish that cover version of that song

i play generally play through all the elements For example in Tryia, going Fire In Maggumma and the Shiverpeaks (due to fire weaknessess) going Earth in the Crystal Dessert (due to AL ignoring skills) going Water in Hells Precipase and going Air in the rest of the Fire Isle. I make my build to fit whatever i happen to be doing and what type of foes im going to be encountering)

Well, it's a decision I made a long time ago. Besides I don't do pugs at all as any of my elementalists - everything I do is alliance/guild/heroes, so I suppose I'm lucky in that respect. Honestly, there are plenty of people who enjoy playing fire out there - my guild leader amongst them. I don't play any of my characters as 'intended' though - my whole alliance is a bit like that

Because 70% of the male ones are drop dead good looking.

Seriously though. I have noticed a gazillion eles standing around in ToA when there is favor, and people are yelling "GLF MORE FOR FOW SELF INVITE 5/8" and no one accepts any of the nukers. What I can't stand is the "There's only one way for nuking to be done, and any other way is a bad way" mentality that a ton of people have. My brother has been trashed for running a blind ele in FoW (He left, and the Abyssals and Shadow Rangers demolished the group) I have been trashed as well for bringing Flameburst into FoW (excellent when you're up against those things with Spell Breaker)

The single-mindedness of certain Eles aside, there's also the over-annoying female ones that slip into groups. They act like prissy princessess the entire trip, demanding that all the rares be handed over to them, and refuse to do anything except spam their wand.

I think people always pick on Elementalists because there's too many single-minded people, elitists, and idiots playing Eles. Elementalist is an excellent class if you handle it right - the problems are that:

1) A 13 year old boy takes one look at starter armor for female elementalists, goes "O_O!" and make one to use as eye candy as he drags her through the game, never learning how to play an elementalist properly.

2) The ele came from a PvP guild, and therefore has a "My way is the only way" mentality. Runs a single fire build that would not stand a chance without the battery necro, and with his PvP titles bullies other elementalists into running the same build. That leaves rather inexperienced elementalists running builds that are defenseless.

3) The people who run split elements "But if I lightning surge them, and run forwards, I can use Smoldering Embers and Aftershock for added damage!" I have nothing against them, but it greatly helps when you use only one element.

@Taurucis
I mostly agree with your post except one thing:
Split element builds can work, but with no more than 2 elements. For example, Rust + Gust, whirlwind/aftershock, iron mist/lightning spells.

Fire eles are overrated IMO.
Fire eles suck because:
They fall apart vs heavy armor
Long recharge for most skills
Most skills cost 15 or 25 energy, unless you want to be a flare spammer

Air eles FTW. I play a dual attune blinder in FoW. The Abyssals and Shadow rangers can't hit my party. Lightning damage is good through armor and I can hit decent 80s on shadow rangers with orb. I love dual attune too. Blind flash for 2 energy FTW.

I once tried playing renewal/meteor shower. It sucked badly. Half the time i ended up wanding or leeching because I had no energy or my skills were recharging. I only had one attunement BTW. The other half of the time I was pinging my energy for the Battery necro to give me energy. Renewal meteor shower is a stupid defenseless gimmick with bad energy management IMO.

Go look at the updates since last ~November. Count how many elementalist skills have been buffed in damage, had lowered activation times and energies, lowered recharges, or even had exhaustion removed. There have been MASSIVE elementalist buffs over the past couple of months. The ONLY way that elementalists have been "nerfed" at all is making mobs run away from concentrated AoE damage over time, which might I add only really affects firestorm, breath of fire, searing heat, and a few other spells. Meteor shower still works fine, as does every one-time use AoE spell, and there are plenty of spells that weren't at all affected by the AI update.

So, no, eles have not been hit with the "nerf hammer" at all. The sole reason that they haven't been used in GvG as damage dealers is because they are horridly energy inefficient, and can't take long drawn out battles. This is why they are mocked so much (along with the fact that they're probably the second most favorite choice for new players, and as such there are plenty of REALLY crappy nuking builds being used, and plenty of eles who insist on rushing up to use flameburst and the like). I have NEVER seen an ele been kicked from a group unless it's clear that he doesn't know what he's doing, and I have seen rangers, necros, mesmers, sins, and rits all been kicked for an ele.

I rarely pick on elementalists, but when I do it's just because I needed one so badly only to realize that my ticket to success is actually a E/N spamming rotting flesh and life siphon. This would typically be in RA, or a group for a mission that I really needed done quickly. It's incredibly frustrating to know I could be going through pve twice as fast or winning an RA match if some elementalist had a decent build.

Elementalists are by far the most useful class for pve if done right, in my opinion. If I have two searing flames heroes, cynn, and the earth hench with sandstorm, nothing else matters. I could have two wammos with orison of healing as healers if I wanted, just because mobs die in only a few seconds. The exception is torment.

The sad truth is that most pvp and pve cookie cutter builds are cookie cutter builds because they work incredibly well, and there is very little that you could do to improve them in most situations. Searing flames and sandstorm eles, RoA and burning arrow rangers, shadow prison warriors/assassins, and ZB monks all capitalize on obviously superior skills. So superior that a great many of them will be nerfed into oblivion in a week or so.

I will say that I respect people having fun by experimenting. If that's how somebody has fun, so be it. What I do have a problem with what usually comes with experimenting, which is people not looking at the effectiveness of their build objectively just because they want to take pride in a build that they came up with. "My build is perfect" is a pretty common response that I get when I try to help people with their obviously terrible builds.

Weird builds are weird because only a few people use them. 99.99% of the time that's because they accomplish the same thing slower and/or less efficiently than a cookie cutter build, not because people are mindless sheep. People use cookie cutter builds because they think they think they're the best build they could use for a given situation.