Out of all the skills you could update and 'improve' on Ele, they chose this one...You are not Whinging... it is crap.
Yes, the new arcane wave is complete rubbish. A farcical misunderstanding of what players are doing when they play Ele. Not everyone is running an appliance-meta-lackey build n GW2! Some people are stringing together the original developer's mechanics vision in game... like blasting, whirling and leaping through fields... yes in 2024!
They should restore the older instant cast skill ASAP. Just put it back the way it was... no mistake or admission is needed... just quietly do that on the next update... many will be grateful... a couple will not guess.
Nothing is perfect, but the old skill enabled you to blast the fields of any class at 900 range... And do all kinds of other things with the now mashed-up-and-destroyed-at-last-update 'Arcane Lightning' trait 😛 You used to be able to play with the old skill and trait... so be creative. Have some fun. Boy do we need it in this game!
Ele is a flow from one thing to another.... so the previous arcane wave skill fit that ethos... quick, efficient... The new arcane wave is a clunky piece of junk. It is a delayed leap but not a field leap when it leaps, and the blast is delayed so by the time you activate it everything around you has moved on anyway and you are standing in your jump zone like a chump! What a waste of space...
If they want to update something. What about scepter water attunement, it is complete &^&!!!!... that really does need work... no condition cleanse or heal!! No real utility. Naff all really...
BTW, while we are at it, make earth trident skill 5, 'Murky Water', be a local smoke field... that way you can actually stealth inside WvW bay with a blast for a fun getaway.. yes it is a 1200 range target skill currently... WtF...
So yes, next time they should just look at the stuff that is obvious junk and update that...