Purple Heart's Guide to Ice/Empathy, vI6.1 by FP
By
Frost,
Posted on: 2006-02-22 21:49 in Player Guides
Good advice.
We differ on Flash Freeze, but you knew that already 
Not entirely sure if it was an intentional omission, but you're missing recommended slotting information for Flash Freeze and Regeneration Aura.
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Not entirely sure if it was an intentional omission, but you're missing recommended slotting information for Flash Freeze and Regeneration Aura.
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Not intentional at all, thank you! And I missed Ice Slick too, what a goofball I am 
. I was so excited about being done, I didn't realize I wasn't done 
Ice Slick should be:
Slotting: 1-3rech
Flash Freeze should be:
Slotting: 1-2acc, 1-3sleep, 0-2rech, 0-1range
Regeneration Aura should be:
Slotting: 2-3rech, 0-2heal
I like the descriptions of the animations. That's a touch most guides don't have.
Thanks!
hi thanks for the guide - it's a great read!
just wondering if you could confirm that pbAOE means "player-based" or "point-blank".... i've always thought it's the former. mmm...
heh - just nitpicking i know. but seriously though -
could you offer some guidance to a low-lvl ICE troller like me? i mean ICE looks great and everything (plays awesome so far too). i'm almost lvl 10.... but i'd like to plan ahead and work with what i know. problem is - i'm a SOLOIST... and i like to solo a lot (due to excessive bad PUG nowadays).
i get really confused on the following few powers:
<ul type="square">[*]shiver[*]frostbite[*]flash freeze[*]ice slick[*]glacier[/list]and how to slot them, from a SOLOIST's point of view. i know that given the limited set of dmg attacks in ICE primary, i will inevitably have to slot chilblain and block of ice with some dmg. but what about the powers above?
i'd really appreciate to have an expert opinion on this... thanks.
[ QUOTE ]
just wondering if you could confirm that pbAOE means "player-based" or "point-blank".... i've always thought it's the former. mmm...
heh - just nitpicking i know. but seriously though -
[/ QUOTE ]
Hey, that's an interesting look at it. Player-based kinda makes more sense, but I've always heard of it as point blank. Point blank though, any other time I've heard it used, refers to like a gun shot at very close range, so basically any power could be point blank if you're close enough.
Since you said you're kidding I'll assume you do know how they work
From a solo POV:
Shiver - This will work as a good damage mitigator for you and in addition to your other ice powers and Arctic Air if you get that, will help you really slow down the recharge of foes. It's probably not such a useful solo power, but it can really help against any Elite Bosses you fight and anytime you run across more foes than you can deal with right away (say Ice Slick and Glacier are recharging for instance). At any rate, it's likely something you can put off for a while, if you end up getting it at all. I think it's mostly useful in teams, when you can severely slow up a ton of guys. That kind of peaks it's performance. Arctic Air, due to its Confuse element, will help you more as a soloer, as long as you stay close to the baddies. Shiver and AA don't really matter for enemies that are held, since they can't do anything anyway, but immobilizes will help keep everything together in AA or close enough together to hit most with Shiver.
Frostbite - This can be useful to lock things in place to keep them in Arctic Air or else simply to open containment so you do more damage. Since you solo, you won't have as many mobs in each spawn, so accuracy is going to be important to slot here so that you hit everything. Three accuracies wouldn't be out of the question. It also could use an endurance reducer, depending on how often you use it. Unless you have AA, I'm not sure how much use you'd get out of this power other than a containment enabler. It's not particularly good as a straight damage power though. To note, immobilizes in general will stop the knockback of Ice Slick for a short time, so hitting a foe on a Slick with Chilblain or Fb will allow them to stand up and shoot you, which of course is bad
Flash Freeze - This power you might actually like since you're solo. I know I love it solo. Sleep powers of course are breakable if you attack, but if you use FF, then take out/hold one foe at a time, it's quite useful. When you get Jack Frost, to avoid him breaking a sleep, hold the foe closest to you and then close in slowly. Jack has an aggro range and will shoot at that closest foe first, then stay there while you hold the others and then you can move Jack in safely. You'll get it down with some practice and waking mobs up won't even be an issue solo.
Ice Slick - This is a great solo power too. One nice aspect is being able to cast Slick around corners. When you do this, wait for them to all fall on their tukus and you can pop around the corner and hold one, then hide til your hold recharges and repeat till all held. That's a very safe approach of course and you can usually take fire from two or more mobs at a time, but if safety's very important, in those dangerous situations, you can use that method.
Glacier - Being solo, you might not need this power so much and might be able to either go without it at all or else avoid slotting it up all the way. It's nice to stack on bosses, but you have to figure you won't have it up in time for every boss, even with 2 or 3 recharges. Since you'll have to fight bosses without it sometimes, why not all the time? When you come across a boss, Ice Slick or Chilblain them and then use Block of Ice to hold them. If you can duck out of sight while it recharges, that will be safer. If you do take Glacier though, you can Glacier then Block of Ice them and hold them like that. It's also a good power to have if things go sour in a fight or if you or Jack aggro more than you mean to, you can hold everything and regain the fight or else make a strategic retreat
Slotting those powers is really going to depend on how you use them personally. I can't really say what will be best for you, I can only give some recommended start points or common slotting. Three recharges in Ice Slick is pretty standard and you'll likely find yourself using it as often as you can if you're keeping busy fighting. Shiver will take an accuracy or two (I'd go two) to hit reliably, but slows are pretty optional, and if you use it a lot, you might want an end reducer and some recharges. It all depends on how you like to use it. Frostbite needs accuracy and other than that, endurance if you use it a lot and maybe recharge or duration. If you simply have nowhere else to put slots, add some damage. Glacier, if you only use to stack, won't really need duration, but if you want it for everyday control, then duration would be advised, and then as many recharges as you desire based on how often you use it. It also needs accuracy to hit reliably. Flash Freeze needs accuracy and since it has a nice recharge, can go without or add one or two of those. Adding duration to it will allow you time to set up holds and defeat foes. FF isn't worth slotting for damage. Fb should get any before FF, but neither do worthy damage.
Updated Table of Contents and Appendix section. All other sections of the guide remain unchanged as of now:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Primary Power Discription & Comments
III. Secondary Power Discription & Comments
IV. Power Pool Comments
V. Ancillary Power Pool Comments
VI. My Build (Team-Oriented, Stand-Back Control Style)
VII. An Alternate Build (Solo-Oriented, Melee Control Style)
VIII. Appendices
---A. Using the Various Types of Control Contained in Ice
---B. Magnitude
---C. Working With Jack Frost
---D. Containment
---E. Enhancement Diversification
VIII. Appendices
<ul type="square"> Appendix A. Using the Various Types of Control Contained in Ice [/b]
Immobilize powers 'root' a foe in one spot. While they are still able to shoot at you and your team/pets if they can see you, they will not be able to get close to you and use melee attacks such as punches, which are typically much more powerful than ranged attacks like blasts and guns. Most immobilizes will also prevent knockback and knockdown for a short time (roughly 5 seconds) after applied, with Gravity's immobilizes being the exception (but only for knockback, which they do not prevent). Gravity will still help a foe stand on a knockdown patch power. Because of this, in most situations, it is better not to use immobs on enemies standing on knockdown debuff patches such as Ice Slick, Earthquake, and Freezing Rain, which control through knockdown. Single target immobilizes are most useful against high level threats such as bosses and Archvillains (AVs), and also to add a bit or damage to your arsenal. In some sets, single target immobs can also pull down a flying foe (Gravity, Earth, Ice). For Area of Effect (AoE) immobilize powers, the area affected by the power is a circle, centered around whatever enemy you have targeted. To hit the most foes with targeted AoE powers such as this, target someone in the middle of a pack, not only horizontally, but depth-wise as well. Adjusting your camera angle can help here or else simply scrolling through your enemies with the TAB key. AoE immobilize powers are often combined with debuffs and/or AoE disorient powers, which cause mobs to wander around in a dazed state. Immobilizing them will prevent this and keep them close together forother AoE powers such as debuffs and attack powers. Without a good accuracy debuff or a control used on these mobs, it often will result in them turning their attention to you, since you are affecting their ability to attack. This can be dangerous and tactics such as ducking behind objects and walls and corners can be used to prevent taking too much damage as a result. Practice with any control long enough and you'll likely find many other, more complicated uses for them, in addition to their most basic function.
Hold powers are very useful and an important part of any control set. Affecting a foe with a hold renders them completely helpless. They cannot take action and are held in place for a short time. These powers are best used first on threats such as bosses and mezzing mobs, which are mobs that try to incapacitate you and your allies with holds, sleeps, and stuns, and even certain debuffs. AoE holds, which are activated differently among the various control sets, are very powerful tools also. Although they have a shorter base duration than single-target holds and also have a long recharge timer, AoE holds can really save your team's bacon in a sticky situation. When it appears that one or more teammates might die, and cause a collapse, using an AoE hold will usually give everyone ample time to heal up and gather themselves to finish the fight. AoE holds can also be used pro-actively of course by holding the mobs right when the fight starts, allowing your team to thin their numbers before they can emerge from the hold. Some AoE holds, such as for Gravity and Mind Control, are ranged and target-based, affecting any foes it hits in a circle around your target. Other sets, such as Fire and Ice Control, use player-based AoE (pbAoE) holds, which affect any mobs in a circle around you that the holds hit. Pulse-type control powers, like Choking Cloud and Volcanic Gases, take some getting use to, since they work on ticks, but hold duration enhancements allow those ticks to last longer, increasing the chances of foes being held continuously. Used in conjuncture with your single target hold, these powers are a good way to stack magnitude in order to get bosses held.
Slow powers reduce the run speed of enemies they affect. Many slow powers also slow the recharge time of an enemy's powers, but not all of them do, and these are two very important effects. A power such as Hot Feet or Quicksand only slows run speed, whereas powers like Lingering Radiation and Shiver (as well as most other Ice powers) debuff both run speed and recharge rate. By reducing run speed, you can force a foe to stay in a location for a longer amount of time. This is useful to keep foes who have been disoriented from wandering around or for keeping them in a tanker or blaster's Burn patch, or other similar uses. Slows are also useful to keep foes away from melee range of you and teammates. Slowing an enemy makes it easy to avoid allowing them to enter melee range and will allow you to attack them relatively safely for a longer amount of time even though they may be relatively close. Slow powers that also affect recharge rate are a great method of reducing the damage a team takes. When a foe's recharge rate is severely debuffed, they might stand around for a few moments before being able to attack again in some cases. Mitigating damage this way can be very effective.
Sleep powers, such as Flash Freeze and Mass Hypnosis, are much like holds, with one critical difference. You can wake a slept mob up by attacking him, adn they will resume attacking you and your team. Sleeps leave a target helpless, and unable to attack for as long as he is slept. AoE sleep powers typically recharge faster than AoE holds, which is a positive aspect of such powers. All sleep powers are Mag 3 except for Mesmerize, Mind Control's single-target sleep power.[/list]<ul type="square"> Appendix B. Magnitude [/b]
I wanted to explain as best as I could and as best as I understand it how Magnitude works and therefore explain why some mobs are not always mezzed right away by certain, or any, mez powers. Mez powers include hold, sleep, disorient, fear, and confuse, but not immobilize. Most mobs have only a Mag 2 resistance to immobilize and can be rooted in one shot. When the power discriptions in charchater creation and in the manuals say that some more resistant foes will be resistant to a mez power, this is what it is referring to. Magnitude is the level of power (hold, stun, or otherwise) a foe needs to have applied to it in order to be affected. Minions have a Mag 1 resistance and Lieutenants have a resistance of Mag 2, and since most player control powers have a Magnitude of 3, then these enemies are affected with only one application of a control. Bosses, on the other hand, have a Mag 3 resistance, and since the Magnitude resistance must be overcome (it must be higher than their resistance, same amount doesn't cut it), they will remain unmezzed. A successful second application will mez the boss and they will remain held until the first mez wears off, at which point they will return to Mag 3 and become unmezzed. By constantly or regularly applying (spamming) a mez power on the boss, you can keep him at Mag 6 or above and keep him mezzed. Controllers also have the ability to land a 'critical' mez on a boss, meaning that each mez has a chance to be a Mag 4. Mesmerize from Mind Control, is always a Mag 4 sleep and will always sleep a boss than it hits. Some other powers only have a Mag 2 level of power. Such powers include Thunderclap from Storm Summoning, and Intimidate and Invoke Panic from the Presence power pool.
AVs have a very high level of resistance to all types of mez except sleep. They have only a Mag 3 resistance to sleep. Every once in a while, an AV will be reduced to boss level Mag resistance (Mag 3), and can be held with 2 or more mez powers. There are small purple triangles that float around an AV's head that indicate when they have high levels of mez resistance. When these triangles disappear, the AV can be easily held, however, their high resistance will come back after a little while. Certain mobs have high levels of resistance to certain types of mez, such as Nemesis, who are highly resistant to confuse powers. These should be noted as you encounter them.[/list] <ul type="square"> Appendix C. Working With Jack Frost [/b]
Working with any pet can be tricky, since they do not know who you want them to attack and will sometimes attack mobs you do not wish to engage. But there is a way to minimize this inherent clumsiness. Using a pet's aggro range, you can position yourself so that your pet(s) will attack only the foe(s) you want them to. When you get close enough to a foe (about 20 feet-the aggro range), Jack will aggro to that enemy and attack it. Once he has aggroed, his aggro range transfers about the same distance to any other foes in the vicinity, increasing his effective aggro range. In other words, he will freely switch to other targets about 20-30 feet from any target you are close to, until he gets too far away (about 50-60 feet) . As you might see, this can be a danger. Since he has ranged powers, Jack Frost can often times be found standing back, away from mobs instead of up close, slowing with his aura, swinging his mighty sword, or holding enemies. Typically, he will move into melee if he feels particularly threatened or if he sees you or a teammate being hurt. Recall Friend can be a useful way to place Jack in melee and tempt him to pull out his sword. At the least, the mobs he is near will be slowed.
In a situation where there are two groups relatively close together and you wish to remove one group before engaging the second group, position the group you wish to attack, as best as you can, between yourself and the second group. When you get close enough to the first group, Jack will aggro and begin the fight. If you are going to use Glacier, now is the time to use it. After this, back up around 30-40 feet and control/debuff from this distance. Jack will continue to fight, but if you back up much further, he will stop attacking, even if the mobs are still standing, and attempt to return to you. This distance is about 50-60 feet from a pet and is what I refer to as the 'pet leash'. By standing close to that distance, your pet(s) will not be tempted to move on to the next group, because they will be too far away from you. This is how I like to to 'leash' a pet.
You can also usually get Jack to begin the fight without you or your team taking the initial attack (alpha strike) from the mobs. This can be done a few ways. One is with Recall Friend, by placing him in view of the mobs. Another is by flying or jumping over the mobs and dragging Jack through them as he attempts to follows. The other is by using his aggro range. It takes some practice to learn the border of their aggro range, but by inching up slowly to a group, you can usually get Jack to attack before the mobs see you, barring a few special mobs like snipers. He will take the initial attack this way.[/list] <ul type="square"> Appendix D. Containment [/b]
Containment, introduced in Issue 5, is the controller AT's inherent power. Inherent powers are not enhanceable, but for some ATs, there is a tangible way to benefit from them. Controllers are one such AT. Containment provides double damage on your powers to any foe that is already immobilized, held, slept, or stunned, regardless of whether you, another controller, or any other player held them. Because of this, controllers have come to regard 'setting up Containment' as an important tactic, in order to get more damage out of their attacks. Ideal powers for this include AoE immobilize powers due to a fast recharge. These powers can be used every fight to enable Containment, and then holds, APP attacks, and other controls and pool attacks, can be used to squeeze more damage from your hero. Other AoE controls too can be used to open Containment on a large number of foes too, and so can individual powers like single-target holds and immobilizes. Using an AoE though allows quick set up of Containment so damage can immediately be delivered in large quantities . A very popular APP is Fire Mastery due to Containment (probably would be without it too). Players can cast an AoE stun or hold and/or immobilize them and then shoot a Fireball and significantly reduce the health of a large number of baddies all in one swift motion, making them easy pickings for teammates and/or pets. Currently, placed damage powers such as Ice Storm and also pets, do not benefit from Containment.[/list] <ul type="square"> Appendix E. Enhancement Diversification [/b]
Enhancement Diversification, or ED for short, was introduced in Issue 6 in order to reduce the effectiveness of enhancements when several of them were slotted in one power. When slotting for an aspect in a power, such as for damage or for mez duration, enhancement lose a great deal of effectiveness after the third enhancement of one type. For example, if you slot damage into a power, the first even level Single Origin enhancement (SO) will add 33% to you base damage level. A second even level SO will also provide 33% while a third will only provide around 30%, still remaining very effective and bringing your power's damage up to 196% or so of base damage. But if you add a third, the power is greatly reduced to around 8% and isn't recommended. This is why I do not recommend more than 3 slots of anything in any of the powers. They simply won't be very effective. And powers that only take one type of enhancement will not ever require any more than three slots.
Since ED, I've removed or changed the slotting of any enhancement where I had more than 3, so that none of my slots go to waste. ED, while reducing the overall damage and control power of many players' toons, provides a surplus of slots to devote to other powers now. It's now hard to find a build that requires more slots than you are given by level 50 and most builds have extra. To make up for the loss of power, XP has been increased to even back out our rate of leveling.[/list]
Purple Heart's Ice/Empathy Guide, vI6.1 by Funky Pink
I picked the Empathy set because for me at the time, it provided the most obvious benefits of healing. Everyone loves Recovery Aura (RA) and Fortitude (Fort), and Adreneline Boost and Clear Mind are nice too. A controller + any other AT is highly likely to work as a duo, and that shows amazing balance with the AT in regards to its support role. Anyway, this was and still is a very fun concept, as well as in general, character to play.
. After thawing, the foe will still have reduced recharge for a brief period. Some leiutenants and bosses will not be held with only one application, but they will be slowed. Single target hold powers are a very effective form of damage prevention. By slotting this power up with hold duration and recharge, you will guarantee that you hold more foes faster and for a decent amount of time. Some people choose to slot for damage, which I do not, but it fit into certain playstyles. The power has an accuracy bonus and one accuracy slot is plenty, unless you often see +3 foes or higher.
. It's gone through some changes from recharge increase to ED limiting how often it can be up, but even at maximum effective slotting, it only takes 3 slots total, which is nice. You can't have it down all the time anymore, but it has undeniable power when it is up. Casting this power creates a large patch of ice, like a frozen pond. Most foes will slip continuously on the slippery surface and fall down. Some foes are resistant (namely Nemesis Jaegers). Ice Slick can be cast around corners and objects so that you take no return fire. If foes want to get you, they will have to come find you, and Ice Slick makes that difficult. This is a great tactic as it serves as a big distraction and lets your teammates begin attacking much more safely than a typical spawn charge.
. Most people are going to want Jack Frost. The added damage and aggro-absorption are very nice. A benefit of Empathy as a secondary is that Jack can be boosted incredibly for a good while without further management. Just buff up Jack with both RAs, Fort, and AB and he'll be virtually unkillable for a solid minute (Fort wears off) and even for a while after that (everything else is 90 seconds I believe). Hold duration enhancements should only be added when you have extras, IMO.
. I never add slots to rez powers, personally, but some like to. Conversely, I always get a rez power if a set I have has one 
. Using this power, lifts the victim from the gorunds and places him on his feet, fully restored with health and endurance. I'm leaving this one totally flexible as far as slotting. Range is relatively useless though.
. Slotting for defense provides a moderate return, but my own personal opinion is that recharge is the main facilitator of this power's potential, at least to the point where everyone you teamed with is buffed with it. After that, it's useless. If you are built to solo only, then all you want is Defense and/or ToHit. The power is good 'out of the box' though and anything more than the initial slot is just red pepper sour cream on an already hot pile of buttery garlic potatoes.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Primary Power Discription & Comments
III. Secondary Power Discription & Comments
IV. Power Pool Comments
V. Ancillary Power Pool Comments
VI. My Build (Team-Oriented, Stand-Back Control Style)
VII. An Alternate Build (Solo-Oriented, Melee Control Style)
I. Introduction
Purple Heart was the first controller I ever made and since playing her, I've never thought of any AT as highly. I love the subtlety of control powers and being able to free my teammates to unleash everything they have in their attacks. When damage-dealers aren't as concerned or concerned at all about defense, then they can get closer to maximizing their own specialty's potential: loads of damage!!
II. Primary Power Discription & Comments
Chilblain is a single target immobilize power. Immobilizing a foe will root them to one spot for the power's duration. Duration can be increased with specific enhancements. Chilblain brings shards of ice up through the ground to surround the foe and prevent movement. The foe is still free to attack anyone within his field of vision. This power will slightly reduce a foe's recharge rate as well. Slotting depends on how you want to use it. Some people use the power for damage and some just to root a single threat, or anywhere in between.
Slotting: 1-2accuracy, 0-3 damage, 0-1endreduction, 0-2immobduration
Block of Ice is a single target hold power. When a foe is affected by this power, he can't do anything and any toggles shut off. The power traps its victim in a custom-sized iceberg
Slotting: 1-2acc, 1-2holdduration, 1-2recharge, 0-2dmg
Frost Bite is a targeted AoE immobilize. The immobilize effect is centered on a target and affects anyone it hits in a circle around your target. The graphics are like Chilblain, but FB does a lot less damage. A power like this can attract a lot of attention from a spawn, which can be really bad. That makes this power much more situational than others. After use on a large group, it is best to be at least partially out of sight, otherwise you might receive a lot of damage. It is safer to use when teammates already have aggro. The recharge vs. end cost makes this a high end power over time and it also has a penalty to accuracy, so more accuracy can be a good thing.
Slotting: 1-2acc, 0-1endred, 0-1rech
Arctic Air conjurs up a swirling cloud of icey cold air around you. The air resembles a fog, only less cloudy or billowy, if that makes sense. AA greatly cuts recharge as well as slowing the movement speed of affected foes. The hitch with this power is that you are required to be in melee range for it to be of any use. AA also contains a confuse component which you will likely find very useful in close quarters. I'm personally not the melee control type, but I've played it and I do know it is effective if that's what you like. Two slows will cap movement speed, but they do not affect recharge rate which is more a damage-cutting debuff. Slows have a practical use though in keeping enemies at bay. Decide your focus and slot to taste!
Slotting: 2-3endred, 0-3confuseduration, 0-2slow
Shiver is a large and fairly deep cone power. With hands raised hig above your head, Shiver calls forth a large gust of freezing wind to chill thine enemies to the core! As a stand-back controller type, you can hit large numbers of foes. If you prefer melee, you won't hit many foes unless you run outside of the pack to use it. The recharge is a bit lengthy and it's not out of the question to slot 3 recharges in this power. The debuff it provides is substantial and lasts a good while. Extra accuracy will help guarantee that you hit more foes in a spawn as well as important single targets such as bosses and AVs.
Slotting: 1-2acc, 0-3recharge, 0-2slow
Ice Slick is one ice control power that almost everyone is familiar with. I see it on the boards a lot and honestly, it's a big reason I chose Ice control as my first controller primary. I still remember seeing (or noticing ) it for the first time doing some street-hunting in Steel Canyon. It was so long ago now, lol. I know, I'm pathetic
Slotting:
Flash Freeze is a targeted AoE sleep power. The sleep is centered around your target, much like with Frost Bite. This power brings shards of ice through the ground to completely incapacitate your foes. Their head is left uncovered and they struggle to get out, but are helpless. The ice is fragile, however, and if attacked, the ice will break and they will be freed. One pitfall to this power is that, before being slept, foes can sometimes return fire. FF also gains aggro since it does damage. An accuracy penalty in this power makes extra accuracy slots beneficial. Damage isn't worth slotting, IMO. The moderate recharge bring it up fairly often and the more sleep enhancements you have in it, the longer they will be helpless. I also prefer a range enhancement to reduce the return fire. This does a great job of eliminating return fire if you activate FF from its maximum range when enhanced. If you can't afford the range enhancement, you can time activating FF during a backwards jump away fromt he spawn or around a corner/object, so that you are out of range or out of sight when it hits them.
Slotting:
Glacier is a point-blank AoE (pbAoE). This means that the effect is centered around you, the caster. It's title is exactly what it is, a huge mount of ice that completely engulfs the area around you. The initial glacier of ice eventually fades, leaving foes individually trapped in a Block of Ice. The safest uses of this power include times when teammates already have aggro, such as a tanker or scrapper, and when you can make yourself invisible either with the power of teh same name or by stacking Super Speed and Stealth. I occasionally risk it and jump in headfirst to unload a Glacier and it backfires sometimes, but is usually effective as long as there aren't too many foes and they aren't too high in level, and also if you can Glacier before they attack more than once. This power has an accuracy penalty like most other AoE controls and so extra accuracy is recommended. The recharge/overall benefit is a turnoff for soloists often times, as well as people who would prefer to have it for every fight. It isn't up that often and so might not fit your style. Hamidon enhancements (acc/'mezz', which includes all forms of status effects) can really boost this power.
Slotting: 1-3acc, 2-3hold, 0-3rech
Jack Frost is one cool dude. That's not just a bad pun either. Jack throws out holds for you. He slows anything he is near in a big way. He compliments your look if you pick up Ice Armor in later levels
Slotting: 1-2acc, 3dmg, 0-2hold
III. Secondary Power Discription & Comments
Healing Aura This power heals you and all those close to you for a moderate amount (about 1/4 your own HP). The effect is a large, rising, shiny green pool centered around you. You croutch over and release this power. Fast activation, but is nice to have up more often in later levels. It could use an endurance reduction for many builds.
Slotting: 2-3heal, 1-3recharge, 0-1endred
Heal Other will replace a large amount of lost Hit Points (HPs) to one target. It has a fair recharge, but also a cost a fair amount of endurance also. When you activate this power, you direct a large healing power at your ally using both of your hands to guide it. They are covered in a green healing effect. I would limit single target healing to this power or Absorb Pain, although AP is not useful for most controller styles of play. Explaination forthcoming...
Slotting: 1-3heal, 0-1endred, 0-2rech
Absorb Pain dramatically increases a teammate's Hit Points, but at a personal cost. The power looks like Heal Other, but it's great power is drawn from your own health. You will lose very few of your own HPs. Much worse than that, you will not be able to heal yourself for a brief time after using AP. This can be very bad for a controller who often times draws large amounts of aggro with their controls. Absorb Pain also has a longer recharge timer. I'll leave this to personal judgement. Folks with tanker or scrapper friends that they regularly team with and therefore can time the power effectively, as well as other, unthought of by myself, situations could make AP a very useful power. I don't know all the contingencies, but for general purposes, this power is much better for primary-focused defenders than the typical controller.
Slotting: 0-2heal, 1-3rech, 0-1endred
Resurrect brings an ally back from the brink of death. Long recharge time, heavy end cost, but since it's not a power you want to use very often at all, it's not too slot-worthy, IMO. I've even considered dropping the power from my arsenal, as crazy as that sounds to some people
Slotting: recharge and/or endred
Clear Mind protects someone from many status effects such as hold, sleep, and disorient and will release them from these effects as well. The power is directed with both hands towards the teammate buffed. The protected ally will glow a mildly bright purple as the power is applied. There is a lowish, gongy hum-type sound when the power is applied as well as when the power wears off. With a fast recharge and very low end cost, slotting for those is marginal, although recharge would be better. It's not worth slotting more that one of those though, IMO. I prefer range for when teams split up or get spread out. Recharge saves time too, so it's a coin toss really
Slotting: 1recharge or 1range
Fortitude provides a significant boost to an ally's damage, accuracy and defense. The power is targeted and applied by pointing both hands at the ally you are buffing. ToHit enhancements can be added to boost accuarcy further. I do not recommend this for most purposes, however. Most teammates are going to supply a good amount of accuracy in their builds, so often times, the boost Fort gives them will be unnoticed. Exceptions are buffing significantly outmatched allies (i.e. Fortitude on a level 24 who is fighting 28s) or when you are supplying all of your pet's accuracy with it. If either of those sound good, then by all means, add ToHit buffs. And if you can think of more uses, please submit ideas
Slotting: 0-3recharge, 0-2ToHitbuf, 0-3defense
Recovery Aura is a power that almost everyone is familiar with I think. When activated, the caster fans his arms out to either side, and a blue wave of energy falls around him. Allies close to the caster, and even the caster, receive an incredible rate of endurance recovery for a short time. IMO, it is best to use this power in the middle of a long fight, when everyone is getting low on endurance. Problems arise when the team spreads out too much, but by using it in this way, you really maximize its potential by extending the fight. If fights aren't lasting long, then using it before a fight will basically eliminate downtime for endurance after the fight. The area heal can take care of the rest. Basically any way you play, or any situation you're in, this power is useful, and that's nice. Recharge is the most important attribute to slot, IMO, since the power has a long timer. An endurance modification enhancement or two is complete icing on the cake, but quite welcome, should you find that you have extra slots.
Slotting: 2-3rech, 0-2endmod
Regeneration Aura looks similar to Recovery Aura but with a green wave of health. This power significantly increases a hero's health regeneration rate. I also recommend using this power (like Recovery Aura) in the middle of long battles, or when battles take a short amount of time, before the battle. For melee-type control style, Regen Aura provides a nice benefit by lowering the need for Healing Aura. When cast on a group before a fight, you will find yourself needing to heal multiple allies less. You will still have the occasional need to Heal Other/AP due to particularly heavy enemy attacks though. Extra slots here for Regeneration Rate (healing enhs) simply amplify the power's already generous buff. They are quite useful still. Again, IMO, recharge is generally better to slot, but should you find a surplus of slots, they will serve a purpose here.
Slotting:
Adreneline Boost increases the recharge rate, the endurance recovery rate and the regeneration rate (HPs) of an ally for a brief time. These aspects are all affected to an astonishing degree. Base endurance recovery is enough to always guarantee a rising blue bar, making slotting for this useless. Slotting Heal enhancements isn't necessary, but will increase the survivability of any non-defense ally by an astounding rate. Recharge here is the best thing to slot, IMO. After that, a heal or two won't hurt, but certainly aren't needed.
Slotting: 1-3recharge, 0-3heal
IV. Power Pool Comments
The Concealment Power Pool could be used for a couple of reasons. Team/individual protection could be the goal of having Stealth. Combined with Super Speed means effective invisibilty in PvE. Grant Invisibility helps your teammates avoid aggro. Invisibility lets you move around freely. Phase Shift can serve as an aggro tool or a tool for self-survival.
The Fighting Power Pool doesn't provide much benefit for squishies. This is ironic since we are the ones who could use it the most, but there it is.
The Fitness Power Pool's main goal is Stamina. 3-slotted Stamina, with SOs, is a great boon to aggressive and/or busy playstyles. I'd venture to guess that 99.9% of heros that have the fitness pool have or will have Stamina by the time they are level 50. Health provides a small amount of sleep resistance, which, IMO should be greater.
The Flight Power Pool has a good knockdown attack in Air Superiority. This is a popular pool attack for this reason and pool attacks in general are more popular now for controllers due to Containment. Hover can keep you out of range (except when against earth/ice/grav control or any mezzers), and Fly is a very useful form of travel. There's no better open-map scout than a flier. Purple Heart flies
The Leadership Power Pool has some nice benefits. Assault affects you and all teammates near you and resists Taunt power, which is mostly useful in PvP. It also increases base damage. Maneuvers slightly increases the defense of you and those close to you. Tactics increases accuracy as well as providing +perception to you and all teammates near you. Vengeance can be used on a fallen teammate. The rage it produces increases the damage, accuracy and defense of all teammates near the fallen hero.
The Leaping Power Pool has a decent attack in Jump Kick (which is really a flip kick), some mild defense (but most importantly, immobilization protection) in Combat Jumping, a nice, fast travel power in Super Jump, and a mild hold resist/great knockback resist power in Acrobatics.
The Medicine Power Pool is not worth mentioning when you are Empathy. For each power in the Medicine pool, there is one in the Empathy set that does the same job better. Only pick from this pool if you feel that what Empathy gives you is not enough.
The Presense Power Pool provides minimal benefit for a controller in general. Having to spend a power slot on a taunt power makes getting to the fear powers (Intimidate and Invoke Panic) in the set even less attractive, even considering the fact that their recharge vs. mezz power is weak. Neither fear power can fear a leiutenent in a single application let alone a boss.
The Speed Power Pool is useful for anyone wishing to speed up their attacks with Hasten or for anyone wanting to gain PvE invisibility via Super Speed (SS) + Stealth. Hasten is an incredible buff to recharge and with 3 recharge slots can be up 2/3 of the time without other +recharge buffs. Powers like Speed Boost or Accelerate Metabolism speed up its recharge. Whirlwind provides a choatic form of control which some find rather effective.
The Teleportation Power Pool can place Jack Frost into melee, where he does more damage with his sword, with Recall Friend. The power is also good in general for teammates and pulling defeated allies away from enemies. Teleport is the fastest form of travel and therefore prefered by many.
V. Ancillary Power Pool Comments
The Stone Mastery APP includes a nice damage power in Hurl Boulder, though the activation is slow. Fissure is a weak AoE stun/moderate dmg, but small AoE damage power. Rock Armor provides a good amount of defense to smashing and lethal, and Earth's Embrace increases your Hit Points, while also healing you. This set is best used for the +HP power, defense and also single-target damage. If you prefer damage, you'd better like the Fire set, IMO.
The Fire Mastery APP contains two damage powers, Fire Blast and Fire Ball. Both of these powers benefit from Containment rather largely. Consume is a nice endurance-filling power, but with a longish recharge. Fire Shield provides a good amount of resistance to smashing, lethal and fire. Cold resistance is minor. This set is the best for damage. The resistance is significant also.
The Ice Mastery APP is great for ice/empathy for most concept reasons. Ice Blast is the best selection from this set, IMO. Ice Armor is a nice defense buff, but unnecessary in predictable fights. Ice Storm would be my second power selection here if possible. Hibernate encases you in indestructible ice, allowing you to recover all endurance and health before emerging. Because my power selection is tight (I don't want either Hibernate or Ice Armor just to open Ice Storm), I only have Ice Blast. Ice Storm is a nice controllery-type power and is worth getting if you like Hibernate or Ice Armor.
The Primal Mastery APP set has two very nice utility powers in Conserve Power and Power Boost. Activatin Conserve Power (CP) greatly reduces the cost of all powers for the next few moments. Even while constantly attacking, it is not uncommon to gain endurance whenever this power is active. Recharge will get you the most out of this powr, since it's recharge timer is long. Power Boost (PB), doubles the duration of your holds while it is active. It also increases your active debuffs and buff, including heals and defense debuff toggles. Placed buffs/debuffs such as Quicksand or Freezing Rain are not yet affected by PB. this is suppose to change sometime after Issue 6. Power Blast is a good attack and deserves slots, and Temporary Invulnerability is a good defenseive power that deserves a good number of slots too.
The Psionic Mastery APP contains one of the best utility powers of any controller APP, Indomitable Will. This power protects you from status effects for a good amount of time. The long recharge means you can't have it on all the time, but that kind of benefit alone is worth picking this APP for several playstyles. Mind over Body also provide good resistance against smashing, lethal and Psionic damages. Mental Blast and Psionic Tornado are nice attacks, especially when yuo take advantage of Containment.
VI. My Build (Team-Oriented, Stand-Back Control Style)
Here's how I build my version of a stand-back ice/empathy controller:
Exported from version 1.5C of CoH Planner
http://joechott.com/coh
Archetype: Controller
Primary Powers - Ranged : Ice Control
Secondary Powers - Support : Empathy
01 : Healing Aura hel(01) hel(5) hel(7) recred(7) recred(19)
01 : Block of Ice acc(01) hlddur(3) hlddur(3) hlddur(5) recred(11) recred(17)
02 : Chilblain acc(02) acc(9) endred(36) recred(42)
04 : Heal Other hel(04) hel(15) recred(9) recred(29) endred(37)
06 : Assault endred(06)
08 : Hover fltspd(08) fltspd(40) fltspd(45)
10 : Shiver acc(10) acc(19) recred(11) recred(13) recred(36)
12 : Ice Slick recred(12) recred(13) recred(17) endred(43)
14 : Fly fltspd(14) fltspd(15) fltspd(37)
16 : Clear Mind rng(16)
18 : Hurdle jmp(18)
20 : Flash Freeze acc(20) acc(21) slpdur(21) slpdur(23) rng(23) recred(29)
22 : Health hel(22) hel(43) hel(46)
24 : Stamina endrec(24) endrec(25) endrec(25)
26 : Glacier acc(26) acc(27) hlddur(27) hlddur(34) recred(34) recred(34)
28 : Fortitude recred(28) recred(31) defbuf(37) defbuf(40)
30 : Recovery Aura recred(30) recred(31) recred(31) endrec(40) endrec(43)
32 : Jack Frost acc(32) dam(33) dam(33) acc(33) dam(36)
35 : Resurrect recred(35)
38 : Adrenaline Boost recred(38) recred(39) recred(39) hel(39)
41 : Indomitable Will recred(41) recred(42) recred(42)
44 : Regeneration Aura recred(44) recred(45) recred(45) hel(46) hel(46)
47 : Mind over Body endred(47) damres(48) damres(48) damres(48)
49 : Tactics endred(49) thtbuf(50) thtbuf(50) thtbuf(50)
-------------------------------------------
01 : Brawl Empty(01)
01 : Sprint Empty(01)
02 : Rest Empty(02)
I'm obviously a fan of accuracy, hence my selection of Tactics, even though this isn't a PvP build. This build is close to maxed out as far as the buff side of the build goes, and still has a considerable amount of control to add to any team.
VI. An Alternate Build (Solo-Oriented, Melee Control Style)
This build includes options to help the solo or PvP player. Tactics provides some perception, while Arctic Air provides some protection from Stalkers as well as melee-type control. Chilblain, Air Auperiority, and Power Blast provide some damage, while self and pet buffing remains at a high level. The lean in control is to single-target as well as powers that are best utilized as opening moves and powers that stack to take out bosses (Glacier+Block of Ice).
Exported from version 1.5C of CoH Planner
http://joechott.com/coh
Archetype: Controller
Primary Powers - Ranged : Ice Control
Secondary Powers - Support : Empathy
01 : Healing Aura hel(01) hel(3) recred(11) hel(15) recred(23)
01 : Block of Ice acc(01) hlddur(3) hlddur(5) recred(7) hlddur(11) recred(34)
02 : Chilblain acc(02) acc(39) dam(39) dam(40) dam(46)
04 : Frost Bite acc(04) acc(5) endred(13) recred(17)
06 : Air Superiority acc(06) dam(7) dam(9) dam(37) acc(37)
08 : Arctic Air endred(08) endred(9) cnfdur(19) cnfdur(37) cnfdur(43)
10 : Assault endred(10)
12 : Ice Slick recred(12) recred(13) recred(17) endred(42)
14 : Fly fltspd(14) fltspd(15) fltspd(19) endred(46)
16 : Hurdle jmp(16)
18 : Health hel(18)
20 : Stamina endrec(20) endrec(21) endrec(21)
22 : Fortitude recred(22) thtbuf(23) thtbuf(34) thtbuf(36) recred(50)
24 : Tactics thtbuf(24) endred(25) thtbuf(25) thtbuf(31)
26 : Glacier acc(26) acc(27) hlddur(27) recred(29) recred(31) recred(34)
28 : Recovery Aura recred(28) recred(29) recred(31) endrec(33)
30 : Clear Mind rng(30) recred(50)
32 : Jack Frost dam(32) dam(33) dam(33)
35 : Regeneration Aura recred(35) recred(36) recred(36) hel(40) hel(46)
38 : Adrenaline Boost recred(38) recred(39) recred(40)
41 : Power Blast acc(41) acc(42) dam(42) dam(43) dam(43) recred(48)
44 : Temp Invulnerability damres(44) damres(45) damres(45) endred(45)
47 : Power Boost recred(47) recred(48) recred(48)
49 : Recall Friend rng(49) inttim(50)
-------------------------------------------
01 : Brawl Empty(01)
01 : Sprint Empty(01)
02 : Rest Empty(02)
This build, although not maxed for damage as it would be with an APP like Fire, is a very damaging build and a very safe soloing build. Don't ever limit yourself into thinking that you only have one way to build a hero. So much depends on what you have fun playing, not on what you feel is the most effective/beneficial. Melee ice/empathy can work just as well as a team build and you should build according to how you like to play, not necessarily leaning to one side or another. Good luck with your career.