Yep. I would say that until the late 30s, the two GCDs spent on thunder and aero were not worth it, either -- and neither was Stone, since even ~2-3 mobs (weaker ones spawned from a quest, not two full-strength mobs at the same time) beating on me wouldn't be able to do significant damage until they were dead. So it was Stone II * infinity and Fluid Aura to interrupt something and keep one of the mobs unable to hit me until it died... that's it. Maybe I'd throw on a regen when fighting a +3 or +4 mob for a hunting log -- in that case I'd actually use Stone and Aero too, but those situations were very rare.
In my experience, arcanist was much more 'efficient and dynamic' even when playing up to level 15 using only the few skills they start with. Dot up multiple enemies and kite them around, stay on the move while tossing out a few nukes here or there, manage aetherflow stacks to burst down mobs as needed. Killed stuff a lot faster, too.
