[Beckham]

Don't get me wrong, I love all four nations equally, but it has to be said.

Yes, Waterbending easily has the most subsets associated with it, but I think the writers did that on purpose to offset the fact that the general style can't be used to its utmost in all environments. Having to fish out of a skin or use underground vents is lame, when frickin' Firebenders can summon flames or lightning simply by force of will.

I had been aware of this for some time, but it only really hit me when we got a show starring a Waterbender, and her go-to element is least likely to be the one from her own tribe.

[Fusionsphere]

I don't know, I like Waterbending. It can do stuff like heal and trap people in ice, not mention its subsets like Bloodbending.

Earthbending isn't as interesting since what I'm usually seeing from it is just throwing around rocks or making earth walls. All of the coolness of earthbending was funneled into metalbending :I

[King Bumi]

Earth bending seems to be the most useless type of vending imo.
Water benders have the power of blood bending at their disposal and they have the ability to heal their own injuries. It seems to me Korra is very aggressive so her go to element is fire because it can express her rage more effectively than water.

[~Fyn~]

Honestly, I thought this too until we saw the episode with Hama.

The fact she can pull water out of the air, plants, etc. says that with practice, a waterbender could probably train to pull it out of the air at will as well, making them just as much of a threat as the others.

Earthbending seems to be the weakest. They can be shut down if isolated from land. Like, a cage made of ice or such.

[sparkstoaflame]

I admit that I’m not the hugest fan of waterbending, but I like it well enough. The bending forms in particular attract me; it’s smooth and flowing; there are not really any sharp, abrupt movements. And I like it for that. It can be subtle, yet it can be dangerous. Of course, that could be applied to only the traditional Northern and Southern Waterbending Styles, for we have all seen the combative potential waterbending has anyways, what with Korra in probending matches and Katara while fighting, I guess, Azula. But even then, their moves just have an inherent grace to them. Airbending, while also smoother than fire- or earthbending, is somewhat more "loopy", haha, than waterbending.

I also believe that waterbending is probably the most practical of all bendings as well. There is water in the air; there is water in the earth. Although I doubt that the Avatarverse will ever fully exploit the true potential of any kind of bending (you know, since water is made of “air” in a sense and whatnot)…waterbending is pretty damn useful. It isn’t just about the power. It's about the grace and the form as well that lends itself to what I believe makes a great bending art. o.O

[~Fyn~]

I've always considered the bending to be about different things.

Firebending is about power. (They strike first, and try to take out opponents fast.)
Waterbending is about control. (They try to isolate their opponents by freezing them in place, etc.)
Airbending is about avoidance. (They try to avoid fighting altogether.)
Earthbending is about patience. (They wait to assess things on the battlefield, using the Earth to help them.)

[SpinYawn]

Waterbending has a lot of uses, and I think that alone proves it doesn't "suck". It isn't as offensively focused as Firebending is, and it isn't as purely defensive as Airbending is, but then again, the original Waterbenders learned from the way that the moon manipulated their element and are simply adapting that natural control of water to whatever fits their needs as opposed to mimicking animals that made use of fire or earth or airbending to survive.

Korra's overusage of Firebending and then of Earthbending probably has more to do with her personality than the uselessness of Waterbending.

[Sparky Boom Man]

I think it all depends on the situation and place a bender is in, but I agree with you that overall, water-bending may be the least powerful. They each have great qualities though.

[Titanium321]

Waterbending is kind of over powered if you think about it. The right waterbender or wrong as we've seen, can control people with the water in their bodies and theoretically could just pull that water out as well.

Water can be pulled out of the air, from sweat, even spit. I'm surprised there hasn't been a storm bending subset created by bending clouds into fierce storms yet.

[~Fyn~]

Or like, Shark throwing. Lol.

Hey Titty.