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I think one of the real killers for elementalists is that they do not start with their elemental focus
Yes. Very much so. One of the first “goals” for any Elementalist must be to secure an elemental focus.
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And you don't want to get me started on raw power - possibly the worst thing to be introduced into the second edition!
As written in the 2nd Edition Rulebook, it is quite massively overpowered.
(And yes, very much of the "blam-blam" school of role-playing.)
I have had my players face an Earth Elementalist created using both Raw Power (as written in the Player’s Guide) and the “no limit” to spell level. While the Elementalist proved a challenge, he was far from all-powerful (despite being given – unreliable – support from a fay creature). What the fight showed was:
a) The revised Raw Power does not inflict sufficient damage to be crippling,
b) It chews up MP at an alarming rate,
c) As does casting higher level spells.
On balance, the Elementalist is better off
not using Raw Power and, instead, making creative use of the spells they have…
(However, the players didn't know what they were facing. The novelty made it worthwhile.)
I'm not entirely sold on Raw Power. I think I will need to play-test it some more to decide one way or the other.*
* The Player's Guide version, obviously. The one in the Rulebook is clearly overpowered.