I think the problem is the fact that there is no time limit on some of these things. In my last play through, I spread cursed fire all the way from the cursed pigs to the fight with the Voidwoken Deepdweller and his skeletal minions. And I burned them all... well, not alive, because they aren't alive. But they died to the cursed fire, which I was leisurely able to spread using my pyrokinetic/geomancer to the fighting ground before even beginning the fight.
After I received Bless, I was able to create huge fields of forever-lasting Holy Fire across the area I started, which pretty much gave my party complete immunity to fire the entire game, since I can start every fight out in Holy Fire. Or, if I felt like it, I could start out in Blessed Poison, or Oil, or a combination.
The fact that these surfaces don't have a turn/time limit not only makes the battles a bit annoying sometimes, its pretty abusable by the player too.
Super fun though.
