Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
When you say "fire" my mind doesn't jump to volcanoes, but flames rising into the air.

(Also lava is, as you say, rock. Logically part of earth rather than fire.)

Ice is on the ground. Glaciers and frozen lakes.

Water – in a large mass as an ocean or lake rather than as rain or cloud – is also ground-based.

Water/ice/earth are also more permanent and tangible objects compared to wind/fire/lightning.
Lava is almost always described as fiery, even given that we know its true nature. Everything it touches bursts into flames, save for when it's earth or ash already. Eruptions cause wildfires where active volcanoes are near vegetation.

Snow and hale come from the sky, things must be covered in water/composed of water before they freeze. Ice being born of earth makes little sense. Glaciers are formed over many many years where snowfall exceeds the rate at which it melts. They generally form at the top of mountains and don't slide down until their weight causes them to move. Sea and Lake ice forms from water on top of water.

Water as an ocean or lake is the only one that fits these ideas. More overtly, underground water/springs fits quite nicely.

Water/Ice/Earth are all actually easier to change/observe change in. Fire/Lightning/Wind remain static, only varying in amount and intensity.

Suffice to say though, FFXIV elemental tomfoolery is a swing and miss for me.

Also, now that you mention it, don't think we have an example of an actual glacier anywhere in the game. Though Coerthas is probably gonna generate one in about another couple hundred years assuming its climate doesn't revert to 1.0.