Ok, hope my post gets read as I see Anet devs actually active arround here!This is mostly coming from a player who doesn't raids, I do T4 content periodically and I enjoy open world very much, being my main activity.I have a Firebrand, Holosmith, Deadeye, Spellbreaker and Weaver, and I have to say, boy, Eles in all specs have it hard... I just find too many downs in the class itself when compared to the pros. To begin with, I feel the current damage output of Core and specs doesn't justifies the low HP pool. We are supposed to play glass cannons, yet other squishy classes, like Guardian and Thief, have a WAY easier time pulling out high damage numbers without complicated rotations, not to mention, both have great survibability in the form of Aegis and Lifesteal like Invigorating Presition. Holosmiths get Hard Light Arena and they can block attacks and gain regeneration with propper traits. A Tempest loses lots of damage just to slot in some survibability, and a Weaver hits like a wet noodle while being eliminated by oponents. Why other proffesions have simple ways of surviving and pulling out high damage numbers when ours, with such low survibability, can't manage to do the same, if not better? Even worse, when this class struggles to complete open world and story conent unless slotting lots of survibability like earth against something like fire. Again, the rest of the classes can go full damage trait lines because they melt stuff so quick it doesn't even matters. This is even more visible when playing Weaver, having to go on melee range with few survival tools in such a fragile class. Now, I think the class has some sort of identity crisis, trying to be a generalist yet not being able to do good at any role right now. We know Fire attunement is direct damage, Water is healing, Air is Mobility and Critical Strikes, and Earth is Defense and Condition damage, yet, most of the class mechanics involve switching attunements often to achieve something which, I believe, should be covered by one of the attunements... It gets really weird when you read Air is High Damage, as in the description, yet Dagger's Lightning Whip Hits for about 890 damage per hit in some mobs... The effectivity of Ele should be tied to the gear we wear, I mean, we can't expect to go using zerker gear and healing lots and doing good condition damage, but even now it feels like the Attunements aren't really tied into something particular. Even in Zerker, Fire and Air won't deal enough damage for example, and in order to do so one must use weird builds like Fresh Air Tempest whose bets source of Damage is Overcharging Air attnement and... not much in between. TLDR. I think the class complexity and low HP pool doesn't justifies the lack of damage and utility it really brings to the table, specially when other classes can survive and deal damage easily.
