Yep, hit-and-run tactics with a pair of ranged weapons makes Earth Elementals doable. My Heroine and DK were about level 15 when they wiped out every EE in the Great Mushroom Forest using only bow/crossbow and running like cowards every time the earth shook. Even so I had to reload literally dozens of times. Really overpowered, that rotten Earthquake spell. *shudder*
Anyway, despite my core belief that warriors should be primarily melee fighters, my DK is going to sleep with his crossbow under his pillow from this point forward.
(P.S.: I really miss the ability to hotkey various weapon combos, like we could do in DD. Having to go into inventory and manually change from sword to bow is a pain.)