Is Elf really worth keeping in CTF

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of elf. However, I don't think you've really given any points as to why Elf should be removed. If I were to personally expand your list:

Pros:
- Is a viable counter against Soldier / Archer
- Earth element is decent AOE control / damage
- High mobility (is the only class that can fly through the air unaided by blocks)
- Wind element allows players to make quick turns at high speeds during pvp
- Possibility of constant high damage output (chained pure element shots)
- Shield holds ability to reflect chemist potions / ninja pearls & eggs if timed correctly, allowing elf to negate chemist and ninja knockback from projectiles (which is pretty useful)

Cons:
- Weak armor
- Pure element can be difficult to chain
- Lack of arrows
- Archer is better long range / Mage is better mid range / Nearly everything is better short range

^ I'm not an elf main by any means (I've only played the class like 6 times), but there are more pros to elf than "creative".

Also, even though elf may not add a ton of influence into a game (my opinion), that doesn't make it a factor we need to eliminate from CTF. In other words, if it's not hurting the game, why should we remove it? People like Gala, Ray, and Sprae are able to use elf effectively, so that doesn't mean elf should be removed. Although it's only been a few times, I've seen elf being used very effectively (like progamers's elf caps), and I think those moments show that elf has enough potential to become an asset in a match. Time will tell if people find the right way to use elf to the point where it becomes a staple defender or offender.

 

From what I've seen, a huge part of "elf being weak" is the newer map style. There were 9 old maps set the other day, and on 7 or 8 of the 9 maps, elf could play a huge role in.

 

Elf takes a lot of focus to be used effectively. There's a lot of things that you constantly need to be thinking about. You need to be watching for projectiles like arrows that can headshot you; elf shield is very useful but not if you don't know an archers position or if and when you are being shot at. Playing with hit boxes on can be useful for easily being able to see arrows. You also have to constantly look at your arrow supply on offense and know how many arrows you need for a certain maneuver. All the good elfs are able to change where they go with wind element based on how many arrows they have. I'm bad so I just remember that, for example, it takes 12 arrows to get from the flag room to the top of the middle on blackout. Next you need to know how to use each of the other elements in different situations. Gala is probably one of the best players with the pure element. He can quickly string shots together and do massive amounts of damage. Earth element is a little easier to use, and you see a lot of elfs using it on defense to hold down someone or force them into the void. Some people don't think that the water element isn't very useful other than for yourself. But if you look at Ray you can see him usin water element in the flagroom to counter the pyro very consistently. With all of these things in mind, like Kevin I think that sprae, gala, and ray are a couple of the very few people that are very effective with the elf class. I think it takes a lot of practice but you can get very good at the class, so I don't think it should be removed

 

My summary because I'm still in bed and lazy to read all the replies... Elf just needs a buff.

Personally I'd buff the water element and pure element. I'd make a change to earth when it comes to it getting caught in medic webs and the affect of it lasting in that area. I'd also probably give a slight more buff on wind but unsure on that.

 

Pffffft it's not a counter to archer because it doesn't really kill it well, more like removes the chance of dying once you see an archer. Random headshots are still a thing.

 

I don't even know how to play Elf, so an improvement would be a nice tutorial X-D

 

Well of course I'd like to keep Elf because I find it a fun class to play, but imo the gamemode could do fine without it.

Elf is generally somewhat-decent in every role. Not a very good capping class due to how squishy it is and the limitation on it's overall strength, not a very good defender unless you spam earth element or are a decent pvper (in which you are, you might aswell choose a class like heavy or chemist over elf), it's ok at midfield but its dps is pretty low so unless you know how to wind combo or chain pure shots like a god it's not very useful there either. Support is a joke right now because of how weak the water element is. Albeit, it's useful in very specific situations.
Right now, the only negative implication of removing Elf is the absence of its shield. This makes it a good counter to classes like mage and archer (when it actually works, cmon fix it >:V) but then again Ninja does counter pretty well against those two anyways.

I love the class to death but if it was removed I doubt the game would change at all really. There's just very few people that actually use it and even then it's not that amazing at any particular role. Sure, I would be bummed if it was gone and I'm sure others would be aswell but as the gamemode overall it wouldn't matter too much.

 

im da best fashionista fuk u 4 hating on my kit
ur just bad

 

Buff Yes, Removal no

 

Better armour, less steak. Easy fix

 

I personally think elf is pretty strong right now, especially when you learn to use it correctly.

 

Miskey... Spamming earth on Skywars isn't using it "correctly" it is still weak.

 

No, I mean as am offensive class.

In every possible category it's basically a worse soldier as far as capping goes though. Although soldier is pretty damn broken. Elf is definitely not as weak as people think it is.

 

Elf isn't actually that weak. And it's hard to the point where there are only 3 good elves in all of CTF. There are more, especially as of recently when people have started to see its potential in matches. And Elf in many situations can actually be better than soldier: Soldier is limited to the proximities of the walls, whilst Elf can fly to wherever it wants to, as long as it can be reached in 16 arrows (18 if it's a long flight because of arrow regeneration), which on most maps is perfectly do-able for getting out of a defense's reach. It can even be used on maps like Opposites Collide and Dragon Valley, 2 maps notable for their bias towards ground-based high-damage difficult-to-kill classes, with the only obstacle being getting out of the flagroom. Once you're out, you'll most likely have a cap. And yeah, I know, any class can cap on Opposites as long as it gets out. But not all classes can do it through the overground, can they? Yep, just go down the stairs, take the sponge to the right of the exit, then relax as your wind element carries you across the skies to the safety of your bridge that goes all the way across the map, and a short time getting to your flagroom thanks to the aid of the sponge located on said bridge that goes to your mountainside. So yeah. As you can see, Elf is actually pretty damn useful, even on maps where it shouldn't. You just need to be good at it, and have a bit of luck.

 

The fact that the learning curve is huge is what doesn't attract new players. Most players (randies) aren't going to dedicate that much time into elf because
1. They don't play CTF regularly, they want to jump in immediately and have some "fun"
2. It's easier to play other classes like soldier because all you have to do is right click.

In my opinion, unless CTF makes elf an easier class to play to attract more players into using it, then it's not really worth keeping elf since not many players enjoy playing it.

 

I feel like Elf is a jack of all trades, but it is not meant for one specific role. Soldier is better in offense, medic/chemist is better in support, archer is better in killing, ninja has much better mobility, and pyro, dwarf, assassin are a lot easier to defend with. While it's nice to have perks in all these areas, elf becomes more of a roleless class that does not fit in a certain niche. It dies too easily compared to all of the tank classes like heavy, soldier, medic, and chemist and does less damage than the light-armored such as assassin, pyro, and ninja. I think the mobility should be buffed because that was what made it fun before the nerf, and it wasn't even that op to begin with. The ability to fly across the map is not as bad as ghost capping or even soldier capping because it's still pretty hard to escape from the enemy flagroom as a squishy elf. You'll die trying a lot of times whether it be from the swarm of ninjas or just crits from soldiers/heavies.

 

Elf is great for trolling. You can troll archers with the shield, and you can troll everyone with wind element!