Ice Rad - A Corrupter Jack Of All Trades


Ace___

 

Posted

The reason that I made an Ice/Rad Corrupter was because it fit the character concept I made years before CoH even existed, but having made it, it seems to have a number of roles. Depending on what you are fighting and the situation it can be any one of the following:

Blaster, controller, healer, debuffer, tank or puller.

And it also has the best team buff in the game (short of a defender's version of the same thing), in Accelerate Metabolism.

Breaking it down in the above order:

Blaster:

Ice Blast and Bitter Ice Blast are as good single target blasts as many. Frost Breath is a good cone blast and I recommend slotting it 1 acc, 3 dmg, 2 recharge. Ice Bolt, I would pass on - You have way too much to do to want to waste activation time on this negligible attack. Ice Storm – I haven't tried this myself, but I've seen it work badly with my powers. IMO If you must take this take it late in the game, say 32+, because by scattering the enemy it ruins your main role, debuffer, every time you use it. Then I'd keep it mostly for when the mob is already semi scattered or as a "hit this and run like heck" power. However, I have thought of one other use for it. After pulling you could probably stop the whole mob even getting to you around the corner, by dropping this in the right place, much like I've heard Caltrops can be used. For this reason I might try it myself. I'm currently level 33, so I might get it next.

Controller:

Freeze Ray is a usable hold when properly slotted (3 duration, 2 recharge and only 1 accuracy, because you shouldn't have too much trouble hitting stuff once the defense debuff is on, which I'll get to later). Bitter Freeze Ray is useful to get the lock on a Boss or AV as fast as possible and keep it there as much as possible. Its activation is pretty slow, as is its recharge. It's worth taking, but I'm not sure whether I'll ever find extra slots for it and it does a pretty good job of filling the cracks as it is with just the 1 accuracy. EM Pulse is probably as good an area of effect hold as any and given the solid duration, I recommend slotting is 2 acc, 1 duration, 3 recharge. I wouldn't recommend Choking Cloud, as its end cost is so high you'd be able to run it and not much else, effectively crippling yourself while it is on.

Healer:

Radiant Aura is not a brilliant area of effect heal, but it does have its advantages. It always heals you. It never misses, so you can slot it 3 heal and 3 recharge, to get it to go off more frequently than the Dark or Kinetics equivalents (that heal for more). I'd recommend binding a key that makes this go off automatically for all those times when you get held or stunned or whatever, as it is probably the first thing you're going to want to do when you can, and that is the fastest way to get it to go off. /bind h "powexec_auto Radiant Aura" should do. This setting is also useful if the team is taking a pounding. Mutation is not really a heal, per se, but it sure can help out. If you can find a suitable lull in the danger to your team you can use it to get your team back up to full strength again, so I recommend it. 1 recharge should do. If you find yourself having trouble keeping up with the incoming dmg, check that the mob is still largely debuffed.

Debuffer:

Radiation Infection is just awesome as a defense. Most people hit 90% of stuff 90% of the time, so as a defense debuff it's not as good, except perhaps in pvp, but that's only by comparison. It's still good for your entire team to never miss the AV. I'd recommend slotting this 3 accuracy debuff, 1 recharge and 1/2 defense debuff. The recharge is because the target of this tends to die a little fast and you want it up as much as possible.

Enervating Field is the first debuff to use during combat, because it activates quickly. It's endurance cost is not cheap, but 3 reduce endurance cost enhancements alleviate that. Again you want it up as much as possible, so a recharge reduction is worth investing in too. It reduces the dmg done by the targets and increases the dmg done to them (irrespective of any attacks being capped for damage). In a fast deadly safe team it is the latter which is great. In a not so safe team the former is great. But you get both regardless – how good is that?

Lingering Radiation is the last of the debuffs. While this has only one accuracy I wouldn't pull with it, but with 2 it should be safe enough unless the entire mob is purple. This is because it dramatically slows the targets it hits. If as a pull it misses a lot, the missed ones will rush over and kill you, and it won't stop or reduce the alpha strike (each shooting at you once immediately) either way. So you can pull and back up knowing that you have time to heal from the alpha strike long before the bulk of the mob gets to you.

The three debuffs are so draconian that I have been known to start an attack by triggering EF, RI and then LR in a row without having to back up, but you can be sure I have Radiant Aura queued for immediately after LR. However most commonly I use EF and RI and then break line of sight while I heal. Be cautious trying to open a fight with both if the mobs are significantly higher than you. The activation time of RI can get you killed that way.

All your ice blast attacks reduce recharge times and speed. Of these Frost Breath is probably the most useful, but without stats on how much effect it has I'd have to say I've never noticed the effect in action.

Tank:

Stick the debuffs on a bunch of yellows with a the odd orange thrown in and you can stand in the middle healing to keep you alive. In a team without a Brute or henchmen (that the MM is prepared to send in first – not as common as you might hope) you should be the one taking the most aggro, not only because you have big area effect powers, but because you can take it, because your heal never misses.

Puller:

So you can take the dmg, but you also have a variety of powers to pull well. See Debuffer above if you want the whole mob gathered for destruction in the sea of your debuffs. However, as you have a single target attack you can also pull off the odd enemy to thin the herd. In particular a debuff as a pull is really smooth if your team is clued up (i.e. They stay around the corner and wait for the debuffed mob to arrive all in one place, all well debuffed)

When to be what is largely common sense. If your team is finding the opponents dangerous, then you are Debuffer, Healer, Controller in that order. If they are finding it easy then you are Debuffer, Blaster, Controller (mainly to stop runners/porters).

Oh yeah, the best team buff in the game. Use it all the time that it will hit a large number of your team. Before battles and in the middle of easy battles give people a few seconds warning that you're going to use it. /bind alt+a "g Gather for AM" or something similar.

Here's my build. It is team oriented. There's more stuff below it, including some "why this and why not that"

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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
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Name: Crystal-Girl (on Liberty FYI)
Archetype: Corruptor
Primary: Ice Blast
Secondary: Radiation Emission
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01) --> Ice Blast==> Acc(1)
01) --> Radiant Aura==> Heal(1)Heal(3)Heal(3)Rechg(5)Rechg(5)Rechg(7)
02) --> Frost Breath==> Acc(2)Dmg(19)Dmg(25)Dmg(27)Rechg(29)Rechg(29)
04) --> Radiation Infection==> TH_DeBuf(4)TH_DeBuf(7)TH_DeBuf(9)Rechg(9)DefDeBuf(27)
06) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(6)
08) --> Freeze Ray==> Acc(8)Hold(15)Hold(17)Rechg(17)Rechg(19)Rechg(25)
10) --> Enervating Field==> EndRdx(10)EndRdx(11)EndRdx(11)Rechg(15)
12) --> Accelerate Metabolism==> Rechg(12)Rechg(13)Rechg(13)EndMod(31)EndMod(31)EndMod(31)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Swift==> Run(16)
18) --> Health==> Heal(18)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Hasten==> Rechg(22)Rechg(23)Rechg(23)
24) --> Lingering Radiation==> Acc(24)Acc(34)Rechg(37)
26) --> Bitter Freeze Ray==> Acc(26)
28) --> Bitter Ice Blast==> Acc(28)
30) --> Acrobatics==> EndRdx(30)
32) --> Mutation==> Rechg(32)
35) --> Ice Storm==>
38) --> EM Pulse==> Acc(38)Acc(39)Hold(39)Rechg(39)Rechg(40)Rechg(40)

Note there's a few slots yet to assign, starting at level 33, because I'm rethinking my original plan to slot up Bitter Freeze Ray.

Why Stamina? Because you need the endurance. It's that simple.

Why Hasten? Because all of your powers, including the toggle debuffs, need to be up ASAP and as frequently as possible.

Why Acrobatics? Because you are going to take aggro and lots of it. You can't do much to stop yourself being stunned (your main bane) or slept, except to make them miss by debuffing them, but you can stop yourself being held. IMO this is pretty much essential. Do remember to turn it off if your current opponents neither hold nor knock back. Remember the moment you are stunned/slept, hit h (or your chosen key) to make your heal trigger ASAP. The next thing to do after the heal triggers is slap the debuffs on or run, depending on the situation.

For ease of travel with SJ I use /bind a "++up$$+up" which lets you land on the rooftop or your choice while continuing to jump. I use A because I use E,S,D and F for movement.

Note the 3 endurance recovery in AM. These are just a good idea. Fast Endurance recovery rocks. It's what lets you blow 26 end on using Mutation mid-fight without having to worry about it and just keep on blasting and controlling with 4 toggles (though CJ is cheap – really cheap) going at the same time. Even with it you'll need blue inspirations every now and then, so I like to start each mission with at least 4.

These days I try to start each mission with at least 4 green inspirations to supplement my healing.

Why not Leadership? Because IMO you can't afford the endurance. Maybe later if I get a patron power that helps my endurance recovery I'll be able to get these. Maybe not.

Why not Aim? Well it might help with the damage I guess and the holds, but I tend not to miss anyway. Also from a purely efficiency point of view, it isn't up that often and then it is unlikely I could make the best of it. I consider it most effective if it is a good part of an alpha strike, but our first two attacks are both auto-hit. I might get it later, but I doubt it. The main problem I'd have with it goes something like this: In a team, I attack – EF, RI, Aim and before I can get the Frost Breath or Radiation Infection or Freeze Ray off, the anchor for the debuffs is already toast, even if it was a lieutenant. The time taken for the Aim would be too long. As it stands I often don't get the third power off with the debuffs on, and though this mostly happens when I can't find a Boss/Lt near enough to debuff as the opening move, it still happens quite a bit even with a Lt as the anchor.

Why not Aid Other? Because you already have a heal that recharges about as fast as it's activation time, and as an aggro magnet, you'd be interrupted a lot.

Why not Stealth? Well Stealth isn't much use without Super Speed and Recall Friend IMO these days. Certainly you don't want Stealth if you want to be the target, and you can heal yourself, so the last thing you want is to be the least obvious person in the team. Remember, everything that is likely to be hitting you is very likely to already be debuffed, so you are seldom in as much danger as other corrupters. I tend to die less than Stalkers and Brutes.

Grant Invisibility is, however, a valid choice IMO. As it increases defense, it stacks well with RI and spreading it around would certainly help the team. Note that the description in the planner by Sherk Silver is inaccurate. It is a click, not a toggle and there is no 30s limit. I may yet take it instead of Ice Storm.

Finally if you choose to follow my path or something like it, expect to be busy and have fun.