Eldandil

Hey, Jack, I believe this was the guide that got me started on my Ice/Ice blaster sometime in '06. It was a great guide then, and it's still an invaluable resource now. So when's your i9 (i12?) version coming out?

I've neglected O-Yuki sadly for quite a while now, but have recently dusted her off. Her build's completely out of date, so I've begun to plan her out again with Mids'.

Now, the trouble with O-Yuki is that she is based on a character concept, not a build concept, and we all know how we have to make sacrifices for those! She's a Yuki-Onna - a personification of winter - and the majority of her power choices reflect the abilities attributed to these spirits in folklore. Stealth, Invisibility, Hover, Fly, Challenge (Confuse would have been better, but oh well), Intimidate, and all the cold-based powers I've chosen are non-negotiable; this is one tight build!

I swear I'm getting long-winded in my old age. After all that preamble, here's my question: which of the two following builds would you Ice/Ice experts out there recommend? Build 1 has no Stamina (!!!) and gets by on lots of +Recovery and +MaxEnd slotting. Build 2 gives up Aim and Build Up (!!!) for Stamina but has significantly reduced endurance woes.

Play style/slotting:

1. When solo, Yuki utilises sleeps generously to keep groups placid while she takes out targets one at a time. Against spawns with fewer than 2 bosses, Yuki can perma-sleep the minions and lts with Frozen Aura and run her single-target chain to whittle down the enemy numbers. Against spawns with more bosses, a Flash Freeze + Frozen Aura combo should lock down most mobs.

2. Yuki may also choose to use faster AoE combos instead. Single/double sleep --> Shiver (mobs slowed but still asleep) --> Ice Storm (will mobs be able to immediately return fire all at once?) --> Frost Breath --> either Blizzard for a grand ending or ST chains to pick off survivors.

3. A third option is to pull with Snow Storm: Peek around a corner and tag the nearest mob with Snow Storm. Dart back out of LoS. When mobs get near, drop Ice Patch such that some of it extends around the corner. Once all the mobs are popcorning, step out of cover and hit Shiver, Ice Storm, and Frost Breath. Finish with Blizzard or ST chains.

4. On teams with good aggro control, Ice Patch replaces the sleeps in the AoE combo. Ice Patch --> Shiver (capped slow) --> Ice Storm --> Frost Breath --> either Blizzard or ST chains.

5. GMs/AVs/EBs are handled with Snow Storm, Shiver, Chilblain, and ST attacks.

6. Damage Procs in Ice Storm are particularly good because this power does damage over 15s and so will trigger each Proc twice. Freezing Touch and Bitter Freeze Ray are also pushed into respectable damage territory with procs. Ice Bolt and Ice Blast are often spammed as chain fillers; the former is slotted to give a chance to Build Up while the latter gets a chance to Hold. In the Stamina build, Bitter Ice Blast also gets a chance to Hold.

Build 1: No Stamina

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.40
http://www.cohplanner.com/

O-Yuki: Level 50 Natural Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Presence
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(A), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(3), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(3), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(5), Decim-Build%:40(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(7)
Level 1: Chilblain -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(7), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(17), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(17), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(34), Dev'n-Hold%:50(37)
Level 4: Frost Breath -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(40), Posi-Dam%:50(40), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow:50(43), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx:50(43)
Level 6: Aim -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- G'Wdw-Acc/Rchg:50(A), G'Wdw-EndRdx/Hold:50(9), G'Wdw-Acc/EndRdx:50(9), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg:50(11)
Level 10: Stealth -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx:40(A), GftotA-Def/Rchg:40(50), GftotA-EndRdx/Rchg:40(50), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(50)
Level 12: Hover -- Frbd-Fly:50(A), Frbd-Stlth:50(13), Srng-Fly:50(13), Srng-EndRdx/Fly:50(15)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(15)
Level 16: Build Up -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(19), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(21), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(23), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23)
Level 20: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(21)
Level 22: Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 24: Ice Storm -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(25), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(25), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(27), Posi-Dam%:50(27), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(29)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(46), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(46), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(46), NrncSD-Dam%:30(48), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(48)
Level 28: Shiver -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow:50(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx:50(29), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow:50(31), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:50(31)
Level 30: Challenge -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:50(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:50(31)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dam%:50(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 35: Freezing Touch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Mako-Dam%:50(36), NrncSD-Dam%:30(37), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(37)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- CSndmn-Acc/Rchg:50(A), CSndmn-EndRdx/Sleep:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/EndRdx:50(39), CSndmn-Sleep/Rng:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(40)
Level 41: Flash Freeze -- FtnHyp-Sleep:50(A), FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx:50(43)
Level 44: Intimidate -- Abys-EndRdx/Fear:50(A), Abys-Acc/EndRdx:50(45), Abys-Fear/Rng:50(45), Abys-Acc/Fear/Rchg:50(45)
Level 47: Snow Storm -- TmpRdns-Rng/Slow:50(A), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:50(48)
Level 49: Phase Shift -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance



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Build 2: No Aim, no Build Up

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.40
http://www.cohplanner.com/

O-Yuki: Level 50 Natural Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Presence
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(9), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(9), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(11), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(11), Decim-Build%:40(15)
Level 1: Chilblain -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), Dev'n-Hold%:50(7)
Level 4: Frost Breath -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(43), Posi-Dam%:50(45), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow:50(45), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(45)
Level 6: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(7)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Para-EndRdx/Hold:30(A), Para-Acc/EndRdx:30(50)
Level 10: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 12: Hover -- Srng-Fly:50(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly:50(13), Frbd-Fly:50(13), Frbd-Stlth:50(15)
Level 14: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(50)
Level 16: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(17)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:30(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(21), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23), Dev'n-Hold%:30(25)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(23)
Level 24: Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(25)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), NrncSD-Dam%:30(40), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(43)
Level 28: Shiver -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow:50(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx:50(29), TmpRdns-Rng/Slow:50(46), TmpRdns-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:50(46), TmpRdns-Acc/Dmg/Slow:50(50)
Level 30: Ice Storm -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(31), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(31), Posi-Dam%:50(34), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(37)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(33), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 35: Freezing Touch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Mako-Dmg/Rchg:50(36), Mako-Dam%:50(36), NrncSD-Dam%:30(37), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(37)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- CSndmn-Acc/Rchg:50(A), CSndmn-EndRdx/Sleep:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/EndRdx:50(39), CSndmn-Sleep/Rng:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(40), CSndmn-Heal%:50(40)
Level 41: Flash Freeze -- FtnHyp-Sleep:50(A), FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx:50(43)
Level 44: Challenge -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:50(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:50(46)
Level 47: Intimidate -- Abys-EndRdx/Fear:50(A), Abys-Acc/EndRdx:50(48), Abys-Fear/Rng:50(48), Abys-Acc/Fear/Rchg:50(48)
Level 49: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance



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Thanks in advance for your advice, guys!

[ QUOTE ]
Phosphorescency: Repulsion Bomb is worth considering over Explosive Arrow. Slightly more damage, smashing damage, knockdown instead of knockback, and a chance to stun. Down side is longer animation, you put away the bow, and the recharge is longer. The stun is a bonus, not something to rely on.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking of replacing Stunning Shot with Repulsion Bomb, but you're right! The analogue of Rep Bomb in the Archery set is not Stun Shot but Explosive Arrow! Duh, me!

[ QUOTE ]
Scientist: In general, when I've used PFF its one of two situations;

1. "Ghetto stealth" to get to an objective, often solo but sometimes on teams where we are trying to bypass parts of missions (Katie TF, Posi TF, etc.). Team will obviously be fine with this.

2. The team is moments from a tpk, and nothing anyone is going to do will avoid that. If I turtle up I may be able to either pull the mobs away from the team, so they can rez in safety, or get to a safe spot to teleport them to (I like Recall Friend). It tends to be a lot faster to get a team back in action if it has one survivor then none, especially since folks can start sharing insps to build a wakie.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good points. I'm hoping capped ranged or AoE defence would allow me to do these things too though, albeit somewhat less safely.

Glad to be back, Mell.

Yeah, I can import Frost's build just fine, so it could be your version of Mids'. His latest has i12 stuff, so do grab it!

That Hold proc in Char is cool. With a 20% base critical chance and a 15% Hold chance from the proc, there is a 32% chance of insta-Holding a Boss. Pretty nice!

I don't see the point of the proc in Tornado though. One would usually use Tornado against an already immobilized target. Unless... hm... immobing AVs quickly?

One nitpick: the third IO in Stamina hardly does anything. Might as well replace it with a +End proc or else move the slot elsewhere.

Another: the third IO in Freezing Rain only improves recharge by 1.3 seconds. How about changing it to an EndReduc or DefDebuff or something?

Wow, those purple sets are nice. Guess I should look into them myself. Are they very pricey?

What The_Laughing_Man said! He really knows his Fire/Storm.

Frost, I'm not sure how come Fire Cages + Tornado isn't working for you. Are you spamming FC at least once every 10 seconds?

As for Hurricane, I find I seldom need it except against EBs/AVs. Most other things die too fast on a good team to warrant precise positioning/debuffing.

Looking at your build, I think your O2 is overslotted at this stage. It's a nice power, but healing really should be the least of your worries at this level. If you really want to invest 3 additional slots in O2, at least make 2 of them EndRedux for now.

Snow Storm is so End heavy you might want to swap out that IO for a common EndRedux.

Steamy Mist needs another EndRedux too. Sacrifice a DamRes, perhaps?

Tornado is auto-hit, so the Brilliant Leadership IO should be changed to a pure damage IO.

Lastly, at your level, changing all your SOs to level 30 IOs actually improves your stats a little bit! The real benefit comes from not having to worry about outdated enhancements though.

Actually, I doubt your teaming woes come from your slotting choices. There's nothing egregious in there, so it's more likely unfamiliarity with some of your powers. You might want to do what Laughing suggested and practise on some helpless greys somewhere.

Hm... interesting! Your build sounds like a bit of a cross between the ranged Fire/Storm and the Splatroller, with safety and damage output somewhere between the two. Sounds like a blast to play.

Yeah, ranged defence does make sense now. Since that's the case, I would definitely endorse taking Fire Ball over Rock Armor. On the other hand, since Flashfire is a major part of your attack, Fissure would stack damage /and/ stun, and you could take both Fissure and Rock Armor if you wished.

With a high enough ranged defence, Rock Armor loses "a third" of its usefulness as only the highest valid defence value is checked. It would remain useful in the close range though, so I wouldn't say it's completely pointless. However, I'm not sure the End drain from it is worth it.

The only thing that puzzles me here is why you would ever have to use Cinders right after Flashfire. They don't stack the way Flashfire and Thunder Clap do, and if Cinders is absolutely necessary (for Wolves, for instance), the leading Fire Cages and Flashfire become redundant.

lukewarmdog: Well... still too busy playing to update this, sorry. Work will be starting soon too, so I doubt I'll have the time immediately.

JayKay: Funny, bud. Hey, we still haven't done the ITF together yet.

Hi, AuroraGirl. Cinderwind's an awesome name!

From what you've said so far, I'm guessing you've gone with a Splatroller build. The problem with defence and Splatrolling is that you're going to be up close and personal much of the time, so it's not certain which of the 3 positional defences would serve you best. I believe most Splatrollers focus on doing so much damage so quickly that everything faceplants before they faceplant.

In any case, Rock Armor gives L/S defence, not ranged. So if you are going for ranged defence, keep Fire Ball and forget about Rock Armor.

Lastly, Fire Ball isn't necessarily the best AoE tool in the Controller APPs. It's just the one with the quickest activation and most front-loaded damage. Look at the base stats of the APP AoEs (DPS based on just recharge time):


<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>Fire Ball 71.6 every 32s (cast 1s) - 2.2375 dps
Psionic Tornado 53.5 every 20s (cast 2.37s) - 2.675 dps
Fissure 55.1 every 20s (cast 2.1s) - 2.755 dps
Ice Storm 177.5 every 120s (cast 2.03s) - 1.479 dps</pre><hr />

Slotting changes things a little, as does factoring in cast time. However, it's clear that Fire Ball isn't really more uber than the other AoEs (with the exception of the lacklustre Ice Storm, of course). In fact, Both Fissure and Psionic Tornado can pump out more damage over time and have strong secondary effects to boot.

Post your build when you get the chance so we can have a look at it. Also let us know whether you intend to fight from a distance or move in for the kill.

Hey, person-who-used-to-be-Brigadon. I thought your avatar looked familiar.

[ QUOTE ]
Actually he looks like he's built around the idea of Off-tanking when the tanker drops! and doing it well, too (grin)

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, the defence he provides allies is superior to his own defence. Only his ranged defence is soft-capped, but allies in his two individual bubbles and within effect range of his Dispersion Bubble and Manoeuvres end up with 42.51% defence to all positions and types except psionic (which is 21.32%). That pretty much makes everybody in the team an SR Scrapper!

That being the case, he is probably better off staying alive and unmezzed so he can continue making his team mates uber; someone else should do the dyi- er, tanking.

[ QUOTE ]
One thing you might want to consider is that a lot of the sleeps (your only status weakness) are basically AOE's. you might consider improving your AOE defense a little bit higher, and ummmm..... (mumblemumble PFF mumblemumble)

[/ QUOTE ]

Hm... sleeps are mostly AOEs? In that case, you're right and I should be going for AOE defence instead of ranged. Also, since I will be somewhere near the thick of battle lending defence to the front-line, I'm bound to catch quite a lot of AOE spillover, thus making AOE defence that much more sensible.

As for PFF... well... I was thinking that uber ranged defence and hoppiness should suffice for travel safety. In battle, if I switch to PFF, my team mates suddenly lose 21.32% defence, which would probably get me dirty looks.

[ QUOTE ]
you could help your team a lot with repulsion bomb too...? like maybe...replace resuscitate and stimulant with PFF and Rbomb? or maybe umm.... fb instead of repulsion field?

[/ QUOTE ]

Repulsion bomb is indeed cool. It should stack with Stunning Shot to let me Stun a Boss too. Let me think about this one a bit.

As for Force Bubble, I swapped that out for Repulsion Field so that I could go near my melee team members in open maps wouldn't getting sworn at.

[ QUOTE ]
awww, what do I know... My bubbler is a villain anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

And mine is only level 16. Bet you know lots more than I do!

[ QUOTE ]
&gt;_&gt;
&lt;_&lt;
&gt;_&gt;

So, i'm trying to come up with ideas for my future controller, a Fire/Sonic/Ice, so I figure'd I'd check out this guide.

...totally noticed my name in there.

So, this guide is automatically made of win and I enjoyed it that much more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your comment made me laugh, _Enos_.

[ QUOTE ]
The one thing that worry me about this build is that imps may get creamed constantly (with the mezzer build, they get hit a lot less, so they survive better and my DPS goes up a lot I think). this is why I went with Earth mastery, Fissure adds another level of protection for the imps through foe disorrient. I still get good tanged defense, although I now need to 6-slot a numina set which is very expensive. I may have to compromise and use a cheaper set to get AoE defense instead, or only 3-4 slot rock armor and use the slots in other places, such as beefing up aid-self.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your build should have enough mezzing ability to keep your Imps safe. However, as you probably know by now, Imps are extremely fragile and tend to die often anyway.

[ QUOTE ]
Edit: I had forgotten to post my build:

[/ QUOTE ]

Looking at your totals, it seems you are going for a ranged defence build. That being the case, I don't see the utility of Rock Armor: you want to keep out of range of melee attacks, and I don't think there are all that many Targeted AoE Smash/Lethal moves out there. Consider dropping Rock Armor for another power. Acrobatics, perhaps, or Smoke, or Hurl Boulder.

Your ranged defence is quite a bit over the soft cap. Without resistance to defence debuffs, I don't think the extra 3.6% actually makes a real difference. Most of this excess should disappear once you replace Rock Armor though. You could also shave one defence IO off Steamy Mist after that and still have capped ranged defence.

Aid Other is slotted too lightly to be very useful. I'm thinking at least 1.5 slots each of +heal and -recharge. Some endredux would not be a bad idea either.

Since endurance is quite a problem for this build, consider replacing the +jump IO in Combat Jumping with an Unbounded Leap +stealth. Sprint is too expensive to keep on for stealth, and the +jump in CJ hardly adds to your jump height and speed anyway.

Lastly, since you don't fly, you will have to depend on Hurricane to keep mobs at arm's length. Slotted as it is, Hurricane is quite painful to run non-stop. More endredux here would not go amiss.

[ QUOTE ]
I just wanted to say that my new 27 Fire/Storm is without a doubt the most enjoyable and entertaining character I've ever made in any MMO ever, and your guide has been endlessly helpful to me. Thanks a lot.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're most welcome. Hope you're still having a blast with your Fire/Storm.

[ QUOTE ]
Great guide! I remember my first time in this game these guides helped me out a great deal.

For a nitpick, I think Smoke it auto-hit in PvE now, so you don't need accuraccy anymore. Not sure if anyone mentioned that yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, and yep, I mentioned Smoke's auto-hit status in PvE a few posts up.

[ QUOTE ]
Just a note...

Fire/Storm is an excellent Dark Astoria rare salvage money making machine. Check out the thread in the Market section.

My fire/storm started at level 22 in DA and was able to get probably around 20+ mil and is just about to ding 29. I was able to buy a steadfast knockdown IO for steamy, 5 positrons, and many other expensive sets that I can use till level 50!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hm... that's a very interesting bit of info. I think I will have to take my new Fire/Storm into DA when he reaches the 20s. Mwahaha!

[ QUOTE ]
I just to level 36. I got 2 achilles heel one for Freezing rain, and one for tornado. Check out the achilles thread in the inventions lab forum. To sum up they ROCK, but they have 2 bugs, 1 pet powers like FR and Tornado apply the debuff to the caster, and 2 the effect does not expire.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, what a gem! Is the affect-caster bug fixed yet?

[ QUOTE ]
Here is my latest changes for i11: (without the level 50 sets)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your build looks quite good. You're going with resistance over defence, hm? Does it pan out in actuality?

Bonfire would do a lot more damage if you changed the proc to a common Damage IO. On the other hand, changing the Damage/Range in Fire Ball to the set's proc would up the power's yield.

My last nitpick is with Fly: you are going to be sooo slooow with no +Fly slotted in! Anyway, if you have a +Stealth in Sprint, you can't have another in Fly.

Now to answer some of the posts made while I was away.

[ QUOTE ]
My own fault really, I'm coming from Blaster/Scrapper sets and a lot of my powers were only halfway ant intended slotting. Anyways, reworked her build today and came out with the below (up to 38 'natch ) I was hoping to get some advice on slotting for Ice Storm but... *shrug*

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure where you're heading with this build, actually. It seems a little unfocused. Fire Cages and Flashfire appear to be slotted for positional defence, but your final numbers are too small for such slotting to be worth it. Tornado, Lightning Storm, Ice Blast, and Ice Storm are a little under-slotted. There's a wasted 2.5% Recovery bonus in there as well. The proc in Smoke is an interesting idea though.

I would love to give some build advice, but I need to know where you're going with this character. Do you want an all-round performer, a high-damage hero, a multi-mezzer, or... ?

I'm finally back in the game, guys.

Too lazy to update this at the moment though. Maybe sometime later.

&lt;QR&gt;

Your guide made me laugh! Information and humour... what more could a person ask for?

5 stars.

I've a level 35 long-range Archery/Energy blaster and a level 20 (or so) FF/Archery defender by the way, and this guide has answered quite a few of my questions about how to further develop them.

The blaster is quite mature and I'm happy with him. The defender, though, is still young and I'd appreciate advice on him. He's built around the concept of capped ranged defence.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.40
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Phoibos Apollon: Level 50 Technology Defender
Primary Power Set: Force Field
Secondary Power Set: Archery
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Deflection Shield -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(3)
Level 1: Snap Shot -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(5), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(5), Decim-Build%:40(7)
Level 2: Aimed Shot -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(11), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(11), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(13), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13)
Level 4: Fistful of Arrows -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(15), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(15), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(17), Posi-Dam%:50(17)
Level 6: Insulation Shield -- LkGmblr-Def:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(7)
Level 8: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(9)
Level 10: Blazing Arrow -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(21), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(23), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(23), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(25), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(25)
Level 12: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(19), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(27), RedFtn-Def:50(29), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(29)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 18: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(19)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Explosive Arrow -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(34), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(34), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), Posi-Dam%:50(36)
Level 24: Repulsion Field -- ExStrk-Dmg/KB:20(A), ExStrk-Acc/KB:20(33), ExStrk-Dam%:20(43), EndRdx-I:50(43), EndRdx-I:50(48)
Level 26: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(33), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(33), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), RedFtn-Def:50(37), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(37)
Level 28: Ranged Shot -- ExecCtrt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), ExecCtrt-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), ExecCtrt-Dmg/ActRdx:50(39), ExecCtrt-Dmg/Rng:50(40), ExecCtrt-Dmg/Rchg:50(40), ExecCtrt-Stun%:50(40)
Level 30: Tactics -- GSFC-ToHit:50(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:50(31), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:50(31), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:50(31), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:50(36), GSFC-Build%:50(50)
Level 32: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 35: Stunning Shot -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:50(37), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:50(39), Stpfy-Stun/Rng:50(42), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:50(42), Stpfy-KB%:50(42)
Level 38: Rain of Arrows -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(45), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Posi-Dam%:50(46), RechRdx-I:50(46)
Level 41: Aid Other -- H'zdH-EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg:40(43), H'zdH-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:40(48), H'zdH-Heal:40(48), H'zdH-EndRdx:40(50)
Level 44: Aid Self -- H'zdH-Heal/Rchg:40(A), H'zdH-Heal:40(46)
Level 47: Resuscitate -- H'zdH-EndRdx/Rchg:40(A), H'zdH-Heal/Rchg:40(50)
Level 49: Stimulant -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Vigilance



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I'm back in the game again after a longish break, and I must say I'm loving i11 and i12.

Anyway, I've been getting reacquainted with Eldandil and am happy to report that the ranged troller build I posted in part 8 of this guide remains very viable. A team mate on a PUG I was in yesterday remarked that my character was "quite powerful" after he witnessed me effortlessly soloing an 8-man Unyielding spawn of Black Swan's Shadows.

With a ranged defence value just over 45%, I've been laughing at Praetorian Elite Bosses (Heroic, solo). Against melee EBs like Tyrant, I float out of reach and Freezing Rain/Imps/Thunder Storm/Tornado them to death without breaking a sweat. Ranged EBs tend to have more and better ranged moves but they still typically go down without me needing to use any inspirations. Dominatrix and Malaise are a little more troublesome because some of their mezzes go through my AoE defence hole; however, they can be quite safely handled with Hurricane up close and personal.

I can't seem to solo Arch Villains, but then again they're not designed to be soloable. Well, except with Shivans on hand, perhaps; haven't tried so I don't know.

Interestingly, Carnival Master Illusionists give me more trouble than most EBs. I believe the reason for this is that they use Flash (AoE mezz), require two mezzes to stop, and frequently go out of phase. They are a serious pain.

Council Warwolves are also irritating to deal with because they are highly resistant to Immobilization (and Slow as well, it seems). While I can still Stun them, I can't prevent them from scattering all over the place without using either Cinders or Freezing Rain, and either of these solutions is in and of itself sufficent to keep the Wolves placid, thus rendering Stuns almost pointless. Quite annoying.

Lastly, flying melee things (like Circle of Thorns Spirits) can kill me quite easily. Switching on Hurricane keeps me completely safe, of course, but the Endurance drain is quite severe.

To recap, the ranged Fire/Storm troller is quite a force to be reckoned with. The build is able to deal with multi-group aggro, kills fairly rapidly (for a Controller), and is quite safe from attack most of the time. It has some gaping defence holes but these can be plugged with Hurricane. Once mature, this build is able to handle just about anything it might come across solo. It is also valued by teams for its array of controls and debuffs.

Here's the most recent version of my High-Defence Ranged Fire/Storm build:

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.40
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Eldandil Tauro: Level 50 Magic Controller
Primary Power Set: Fire Control
Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Fire Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Char -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(7)
Level 1: Gale -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Fire Cages -- TotHntr-Acc/Rchg:50(A), TotHntr-EndRdx/Immob:50(7), TotHntr-Acc/EndRdx:50(9), TotHntr-Immob/Rng:50(9), TotHntr-Acc/Immob/Rchg:50(11), TotHntr-Dam%:50(11)
Level 4: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 6: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 8: Hover -- Srng-Fly:50(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly:50(13), Flight-I:50(13), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(15)
Level 10: Steamy Mist -- GftotA-Def/EndRdx:40(A), GftotA-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:40(15), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(19), S'fstPrt-ResDam/EndRdx:30(27), S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(50)
Level 12: Flashfire -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:50(21), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:50(21), Stpfy-Stun/Rng:50(23), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:50(23), Stpfy-KB%:50(40)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(17)
Level 16: Freezing Rain -- P'ngTtl-Acc/Slow:50(A), P'ngTtl-Dmg/Slow:50(17), P'ngTtl-Acc/EndRdx:50(19), P'ngTtl-Rng/Slow:50(25), P'ngTtl-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow:50(27), P'ngTtl--Rchg%:50(34)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(31)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(33)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(25), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), RedFtn-Def:50(31), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(31)
Level 24: Hurricane -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 26: Cinders -- G'Wdw-Acc/Rchg:50(A), G'Wdw-EndRdx/Hold:50(33), G'Wdw-Acc/EndRdx:50(33), G'Wdw-Acc/Hold/Rchg:50(37)
Level 28: Thunder Clap -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg:50(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun:50(34), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx:50(34), Stpfy-Stun/Rng:50(36), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg:50(36), Stpfy-KB%:50(40)
Level 30: O2 Boost -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 32: Fire Imps -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx:50(37), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(37), BldM'dt-Acc:50(39), BldM'dt-Dmg:50(43)
Level 35: Tornado -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx:50(39), BldM'dt-Acc/EndRdx:50(39), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(40), BldM'dt-Acc:50(45), BldM'dt-Dmg:50(48)
Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(42), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(43), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43)
Level 41: Fire Blast -- Thundr-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Thundr-Dmg/Rchg:50(45), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(46), Thundr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(46), Thundr-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(46)
Level 44: Fire Ball -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(48), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(48), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(50), Posi-Dam%:50(50)
Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
Level 49: Consume -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Clrty-Stlth:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Containment



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Thanks, Unitron. Sorry to see me go too.

Hopefully, and in the words of the inimitable Chibodee Crockett, I will be back!

Hm... I'm now wondering if Flashback has made my list more or less useful?

Less because fewer tasks are now time-sensitive task: one could always pick up Spelunker at 50 if so desired. Also, you could just do every single arc available, not knowing/caring whether or not it leads to an accolade, thereby picking up all the accolades in passing.

More because now it's useful to the old 50s (like my Eldandil) who previously couldn't have used this list much at all. Also, some people would still want to grab their accolades as early as possible, and this list would help one see how early one should hit up the missed tasks for each accolade.

Well, it's moot for me, since I only have a few days left on my account. Hope someone out there gets some use out of it though.

Memphis_Bill: "Learn to love Rest." Too true.

Mephe: Looks golden, man. Some thoughts.

1. Nice Resistances. Defence is probably more useful for a squishy, but every little bit of protection helps.

2. It must be nice having Freezing Rain up every 20 seconds, eh? You could even overlap your Rains if you want to!

3. Your travel and combat manoeuvering speeds are frustratingly low. I guess you could hoof it while fighting, in which case you should not bother with the single FlySpeed enhancement in Hover and shift that to Fly.

4. Aw, you're skipping Fire Blast? It's such a nice little power. Speeds up fights quite nicely. Then again, you're able to throw out so much chaos at once that it might not be necessary.

Nice stories, Brigadon. Storm Summoning FTW!

That won't fit in my list for 2 reasons, Reddy.

1. That badge isn't a useful one.
2. It can be obtained easily any time.

This is a must-read for anyone considering a new controller, Enan. Very nice!

5 stars!

Interestingly, I just reread Enan's "Choosing the Controller That's Right for You" and there are some figures contained therein suggesting that Storm is the rarest Fire secondary.

(That guide rocks by the way, and if you haven't read it, you should!)

Curses! You posted while I was still crafting my answer! /em drat

(Actually, thanks for answering. One of the best things about these fora is that we have lots of helpful and knowledgeable people here.)