Ice/Ice Blaster Guide (PvE) [I7]

Cyclone_Jack · 09-24-2006 09:56 AM

Players Guide for an Ice/Ice Blaster (PvE) [I7]

This is a PvE guide for players wanting to use the Ice Primary and/or Ice Secondary skills for a Blaster. While the guide is primarily on Ice/Ice, I may mention skills from other Power Sets that could be used in conjunction with these Powers. While I do have numbers listed, this guide is meant to better explain how the different Powers work in-game.

What makes the Ice Blasts stand out from the other Blaster skills is the combination of fast, powerful single target attacks and various forms of crowd control, all of which slow your target(s). All of the single target Blast attacks have a 1 second animation, so you can plow through your attacks and take down larger foes in a short amount of time. The main Area of Effect (AoE) attack is quite fast as well. Then there are the two Holds, a 1 second and a 4 second, and two targeted AoEs that are fairly quick as well, both of which Slow and cause Fear. As you can tell, this is a quite diverse power set. It is a power set anyone can play, but it takes time to master.

The Ice Manipulation powers are a powerful and diverse mix. You get two fairly decent melee attacks, a Hold, an Immobilize, 2 major Slows, a Knockdown AoE, and an AoE Sleep. Yes, all this is for a Blaster, not a Controller. Though a Controller can admittedly control much better than you, these can compliment most of your Primary abilities and give you a decent amount of damage mitigation.

This guide uses the NDS (Normalized Damage Scale) system rather than the BI (Brawl Index) system*. The attributes listed after each skill are calculated using 1, 2 and 3 even level SOs. All Enhancement calculations have been formatted (not rounded) to the nearest hundredth for ease of display. The Accuracy is calculated for enemies that are +0, +1, and +2. If you see any mistakes, please let me know.

Credit of the NDS system and many of the hard to get numbers (DeBuffs, Slows, Pet Modifiers, RSS) goes to iakona. Accuracy (Base To Hit) and calculations go to Arcanaville. Base damage on the rains was obtained through _Castle_. gSOLO assisted with rains and other calculations.

*Conversion Formulas:
Since both the Blaster Ranged and Melee and the Pet Melee modifiers are 1.0, we can eliminate multiplying the NDS by 1.0 making the conversion formula for all NDS numbers listed:

NDS / 0.36 = Blaster BI

Enhancement Calculations were used with the following numbers:

Schedule A 1 SO: 33.3%
Schedule A 2 SO: 66.6%
Schedule A 3 SO: 94.9%

Schedule B 1 SO: 20.0%
Schedule B 2 SO: 40.0%
Schedule B 3 SO: 56.0%

Legend:

Acc: Accuracy
Act: Activation Time
AoE: Area of Effect Radius
Buf: Buff
Con: Cone Arc
Dam: Damage
Dbf: DeBuff
Dur: Duration
End: Endurance
Rng: Range
Rch: Recharge Time
Slo: Slow

C: Cold Damage
L: Lethal Damage
S: Smashing Damage

F: Fly
J: Jump
R: Run
S: Speed (Total)

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Cyclone_Jack · 09-24-2006 09:57 AM

Ice Blast

Ice Bolt
Level 1

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.80 Cold, 0.20 Smash (1.0)
End: 5.20
Act: 1.17
Rch: 4.00
Rng: 80
Slo: 20% -Speed, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 6.00

Some people have questioned taking this power, but with the quick recharge and decent damage slotted out, not to mention the least of the endurance hogs, it is a good skill to have. Remember, the Ice Blaster has 3 single target [ranged] attacks and this is one of them. Its better to defeat an enemy with low health using this quick recharge skill than one of your heavier attacks and have to wait for the rechargeand this happens throughout the game.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam. The remaining two slots can be slotted with Recharge Redux, End Redux, Range, or Slow (or a combination thereof) if you feel the need.

To start, I would only 2 or 3 slot this skill until your other single target attacks (Ice Blast and Bitter Ice Blast) are slotted out. It doesnt do as much damage as your other attacks, but is still quite useful and youll be using it throughout the games duration.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.06 C, 0.26 S (1.33) | 1.33 C, 0.33 S (1.66) | 1.55 C, 0.38 S (1.94)
End: 3.90 | 3.12 | 2.66
Rch: 3.00 | 2.40 | 2.05
Rng: 96 | 112 | 124.8
Slo: 26.66% -Speed | 33.32% -Speed | 38.98% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Ice Blast
Level 1

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 1.00 Cold, 0.64 Smash (1.64)
End: 8.50
Act: 1.00
Rch: 8.00
Rng: 80
Slo: 20% -Speed, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 10.00

Ice Blast is a powerful attack for the Ice Blaster. It has a longer recharge and uses a bit more endurance than Ice Bolt, but does quite a bit more damage. This is the primary attack of the Ice Blaster for the duration of the game.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam. The remaining two slots can be slotted with Recharge Redux, End Redux, Range, or Slow (or a combination thereof) if you feel the need.

I would make this skill a very high priority to slot out as this will probably be your most used power throughout the game.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.33 C, 0.85 S (2.18) | 1.66 C, 1.06 S (2.73) | 1.94 C, 1.24 S (3.19)
End: 6.37 | 5.10 | 4.36
Rch: 6.00 | 4.80 | 4.10
Rng: 96 | 112 | 124.8
Slo: 26.66% -Speed | 33.32% -Speed | 38.98% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Frost Breath
Level 2

Acc: 82.5%, 71.5%, 61.6%
Dam: 0.7 Cold x 2 (1.4)
End: 15.20
Act: 2.67
Rch: 16.00
Rng: 40
Con: 30 degrees
Slo: 20% -Speed, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 10.00

This is a decent [Cone] AoE attack. Properly slotted up, you can take out a good chunk of a few even cons health, which then makes it very easy to finish them off with your other attacks. While primarily being a single target blaster, this AoE is very useful both solo and in groups. It can be a good attack on as little as two enemies and can make fighting a larger group a bit easier; you could even use this attack on a single target in a pinch, if you have the End to spare. Frost Breath can hit a maximum of 10 enemies.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam. Depending on how often you use this skill, End Redux and Recharge could be good to slot in. If you want to stay a bit further back from the action then Range is always an option. The slotting on this skill really depends on how you use it and how often you use it. One thing to remember, since Frost Breath is a Cone, Range increases its distance, which thus widens the cone at the far end. You may even wish to get a bit more Slow in there to help keep enemies moving toward you as quickly.

Depending on how you wish to play your Blaster, it is possible to skip this power completely. Its nice to have AoEs, but it is also possible to function without them. AoEs do gather more agro as you are hitting multiple enemies. Make sure you remember this when grouping.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 109.97%, 95.30%, 82.11% | 137.44%, 119.11%, 102.62% | 160.79%, 139.35%, 120.05%
Dam: 0.93 C x2 (1.86) | 1.16 C x2 (2.32) | 1.36 C x2 (2.72)
End: 11.40 | 9.12 | 7.79
Rch: 12.00 | 9.60 | 8.20
Rng: 48 | 56 | 61.1
Slo: 26.66% -Speed | 33.32% -Speed | 38.98% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Aim
Level 6

End: 5.20
Act: 1.17
Rch: 90.00
Dur: 10.00
Buf: 37.5% To Hit
Buf: 62.5% Damage

This is a good skill to have. It gives you a good To Hit Buff and boosts your Damage slightly as well. It only lasts for 10 seconds (including the animation time) and has a long recharge. Aim is very useful when fighting Sky Raiders, Rikti and Nemesis as they can use Force Fields; a Rikti Probe with a Fore Field is something to be reckoned with.

I recommend up to 3 Recharge.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 3.90 | 3.12 | 2.66
Rch: 67.51 | 54.02 | 46.17
Buf: 45.00% To Hit | 52.50% To Hit | 58.50% To Hit
</pre><hr />

Freeze Ray
Level 8

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.10 Cold
End: 6.90
Act: 1.00
Rch: 10.00
Rng: 60
Dur: 10.00

This is a powerful skill to have, especially for the single target Blaster. It easily removes a Minion or Lieutenant from the battle, and when stacked it can take a Boss out as well. Since the Ice Blaster is primarily a single target attack character, the various holds that are available make things much more manageable. By freezing a tough or annoying enemy, it allows the single target Blaster to easily remove these threats.

I recommend up to 2 Acc and up to 3 Hold Durations. The final slot(s) can be used for Recharge. Another standard slotting is 2 Acc, 2 Hold and 2 Recharge. The Holds combined with the Recharge will allow you to keep a Boss held, once the second application is in effect. The 2 Acc is for higher level and/or high defense enemies and Bosses. Of all your attacks, your Holds are the powers that you never want to miss an enemy.

This is a fairly high priority on slotting. I would get at least 4 slots in as early as possible (1 Acc, 2 Hold, 1 Rch), then the other two if/when you can fit them in.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.13 Cold | 0.16 Cold | 0.19 Cold
End: 5.17 | 4.14 | 3.54
Rch: 7.50 | 6.00 | 5.13
Rng: 72 | 84 | 93.6
Dur: 13.33 | 16.66 | 19.49
</pre><hr />

Ice Storm
Level 12

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.014 Cold, 0.014 Lethal x75 (2.1)
End: 15.60
Act: 2.03
Rch: 60.00
Rng: 60
AoE: 25
Dur: 15.00
Slo: 40% -Run, 40% -Jump, 30% -Fly, 10% -Recharge (*RSS)
Dur: 6.00

This is a somewhat decent [targeted] AoE attack. It does Damage over Time (DoT) and slows all foes (both movement and recharge) within the area. It also causes foes to flee the AoE, which defeats the purpose of it dealing damage, but at the same time, fleeing foes are not attacking you. The innate flee effect that it has can be useful at times when things are going awry or when there are just too many enemies to deal with. By casting it on top of you, the flee effect will keep you safe from those pesky melee attackers as they are too busy running around. Another good strategy is to use this in a doorway, keeping all enemies from passing through. Fortunately, as an Ice Blaster, you get 2 Holds (a 3rd with /Ice) which will allow you to keep a few of the enemies within the area. This skill also works great with Blizzard, as the Slow stacks and the damage it does combined with Blizzard is very impressive. Since Ice Storm is a targeted AoE, it can be cast from around a corner limiting the initial agro you get. Ice Storm can hit up to 16 enemies per tick.

I recommend at least 1 Acc, up to 3 Dam and up to 3 Slows. A common slotting is 1 Acc, 3 Dam, 2 Slow, though some may prefer the Slow aspect and give it priority over Damage. It is possible to not slot Acc, but by doing so you could potentially lower the overall damage dealt. Depending on how often you wish to use Ice Storm, you can drop add in a Recharge and even End Redux if you feel it necessary. Due to the nature of Ice Storm, it can be difficult to find the perfect slotting.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.018, 0.018 x72 (2.79) | 0.023, 0.023 x72 (3.49) | 0.027, 0.027 x72 (4.09)
End: 11.70 | 9.36 | 8.00
Rch: 45.01 | 36.01 | 30.78
Rng: 72 | 84 | 93.6
Slo: 53.32% -R,J / 39.99% -F | 66.64% -R,J / 49.98% -F | 77.96% -R,J / 58.47% -F
</pre><hr />

Bitter Ice Blast
Level 18

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 1.28 Cold, 1.00 Smash (2.28)
End: 13.00
Act: 1.07
Rch: 12.00
Rng: 50
Slo: 20% -Speed, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 12.00
Dbf: 7% -To Hit
Dur: 6.00

This is what it is all about. Bitter Ice Blast (BIB) does great amounts of damage, though it uses a bit more End than Ice Blast and takes longer to recharge. BIB is a must get on any Ice Blaster. BIB has a slightly shorter Range than Ice Bolt and Ice Blast so youll need to get in a bit closer to the chaos for this power, but not uncomfortably close.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam and emphasize at least one End Redux. The remaining slot can be used with Recharge, End Redux, Range, Slow or To Hit DeBuff.

This is a very high priority skill when it comes to slotting.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.70 C, 1.33 S (3.03) | 2.13 C, 1.66 S (3.79) | 2.49 C, 1.95 S (4.44)
End: 9.75 | 7.80 | 6.67
Rch: 9.00 | 7.20 | 6.15
Rng: 60 | 70 | 78
Slo: 26.66% -Speed | 33.32% -Speed | 38.98% -Speed
Dbf: 8.4% -To Hit | 9.8% -To Hit | 10.92% -To Hit
</pre><hr />

Bitter Freeze Ray
Level 26

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 1.32 Cold
End: 15.18
Act: 3.70
Rch: 20.00
Rng: 80
Dur: 12.00
Slo: 20% -Speed, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 18

While Freeze Ray is a staple skill to the Ice Blaster, Bitter Freeze Ray (BFR) is not be for everyone. BFR has a long recharge and has a 4 second casting animation. While this is not bad, it is not something the Ice Blaster really has time to do during combat. It does moderate damage and it Holds. Now, taking all this into consideration, using BFR in conjunction with Freeze Ray can put a Boss on ice in seconds. Once the BFR is cast, Freeze Rays 1 second animation and fairly quick projectile can stop a Boss (or two Lts.) in a blink of an eye. This is very powerful.

I recommend up to 2 Acc and up to 3 Holds. As with Freeze Ray, 2 Acc, 2 Hold, 2 Recharge can also be a useful slotting. You may opt to drop a Recharge for some End Redux, if you only use it as an opening attack.

It is possible to skip BFR. Some people can get by only on Freeze Ray. Also, if you take Ice or Electric Secondary, you get access to a melee-range Hold, and the Fire and Electric Ancillary Power Pools have another fast-activating ranged Hold available to them. The question is, How useful are the Holds to you and your play style?

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.75 Cold | 2.19 Cold | 2.57 Cold
End: 11.38 | 9.11 | 7.78
Rch: 15.00 | 12.00 | 10.26
Rng: 96 | 112 | 124.8
Dur: 15.99 | 19.99 | 23.38
Slo: 26.66% -Speed | 33.32% -Speed | 38.98% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Blizzard
Level 32

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.06 Cold, 0.06 Lethal x75 (9)
End: 20.80 (+Remaining)
Act: 2.03
Rch: 360.00
Rng: 60
AoE: 30
Dur: 15.00
Slo: 50% -Run, 50% -Jump, 60% -Fly, 30% -Recharge (*RSS)
Dur: 12.00
Dbf: 20% -To Hit
Dur: 5.00

Blizzard, by itself, is a situational skill. It drains all of your Endurance, does damage over time, and causes all enemies within the AoE to flee, though the foes caught in Blizzard are constantly Knocked Down and Slowed. Blizzard can take a little finesse to use its fullest potential. That being said, Blizzard used in conjunction with a few other skills can be devastating!

This is a skill that really benefits from other skills to make best use of it, since enemies, by default, flee the area of effect. I mentioned using Ice Storm earlier as it basically adds to the damage and the Slow effects stack. The various Holds that an Ice Blaster has are also very useful to keep the tougher enemies in the area longer. Freezing a Boss in place is exceptionally useful as they will more than likely flee the area of effect before it has run its course.

Enter the Secondary Skills. Anything that causes Speed, Shiver and Caltrops in particular, are good compliments for this skill. Immobilize skills, such as Chilblain, Fire/Electric Cage and Web Grenade, are useful as can be Disorients and any other skills that keep the fleeing enemies inside the radius of Blizzard.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam and 3 Slows or 3 Recharge, depending on how you want to play the skill. If you are using powers like Ice Storm or Shiver to help slow the enemies, then the Recharge could be beneficial as Blizzard has a very long recharge. If you want Blizzard to be used all by itself, then the Slows would be a better choice. Slotting End Redux is near pointless, as Blizzard drains all your remaining Endurance. As with Ice Storm, there is no perfect slotting, as it varies by play style and personal preferences.

Knowing that Blizzard uses up all of your End it is wise to keep a few CaBs available. I would also down a Luck or two before casting as all of your Toggles will drop. When casting Blizzard, I recommend casting as many Speed powers you have before Blizzard. This will slow the enemies and keep them in the radius of Blizzard much longer. You can also use your holds before casting Blizzard as well. As soon as your End is used up from Blizzard, down a CaB or two and get ready to use your attacks and Holds on the remaining enemies. Blizzard can hit up to 16 enemies per tick.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.079, 0.079 x75 (11.99) | 0.099, 0.099 x 75 (14.99) | 0.11, 0.11 x75 (17.54)
End: 15.60 | 12.48 | 10.67
Rch: 270.06 | 216.08 | 184.71
Rng: 72 | 84 | 93.6
Slo: 66.65% -R,J / 79.98% -F | 83.30% -R,J / 99.96% -F | 97.45% -R,J / 116.94% -F
Dbf: 24% -To Hit | 28% -To Hit | 31.2% -To Hit
</pre><hr />

Extra Notes:

Overall To Hit is bounded by a 5% floor and a 95% ceiling.

-Recharge is not affected by Slow Enhancements.

-Speed and Recharge can stack with two applications of the same power.

-Movement cap = 90%
-Recharge cap = 75%

*RSS (Run Speed Scale): -1.5 * Melee_SpeedRunning to Max RunSpeed (about a 78.75 feet/sec reduction in the target's maximum possible run speed from a level 1 Blaster, scaling up to 110.25 feet/sec reduction from a level 50)

Both Bitter Ice Blast and Bitter Freeze Ray can highly benefit from Hamidon Origin Enhancements (HOs). Centriole (Dam/Ran), Nucleolus (Acc/Dam), and Enzyme (End Redux/To Hit DeBuff) can all be used in Bitter Ice Blast to get more use from the To Hit DeBuff as well as get a bit more Acc and Range. Using a few Peroxisome in Bitter Freeze Ray will allow you to get your Hold duration slotted, but also increase the damage dealt by the power.

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Cyclone_Jack · 09-24-2006 09:57 AM

Ice Manipulation

Chilblain
Level 1

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.20 Cold x5 (1)
End: 7.80
Act: 1.17
Rch: 4.00
Rng: 50
Dur: 18.00
Slo: 30% -Run, 20% -Jump, 30% -Fly, 20% -Recharge
Dur: 18.00

You get this skill automatically, which isnt a bad thing. It may not be a hold, but it will keep those pesky Lieutenants out of melee range, and with two applications will keep Bosses put as well. It also has a -Fly aspect to it, so keep it on those annoying flying enemies. It does some damage over time, comparable to Ice Bolt. It recharges fairly quickly and can easily stack on Bosses and Arch-Villains (AVs) because of this. And finally, it has a decent Speed and Recharge that stack fairly easily.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and 1 Immobilize. Chilblain recharges fairly fast and is quite cheap to get off. The extra Immobilize comes into play when stacking the power.

During AV fights, I generally put this on auto-fire (Ctrl-click). It will quickly stop AVs in their tracks (unless they have Protection vs. Immobilize) and immediately start to slow their attack rate.

Vahzilok Zombies and Abominations as well as Circle of Thorn Specters (of all varieties) are Resistant to Immobilize and will take two applications to successfully Immobilize them. The Slow will affect them on the first application.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.26 Cold x5 (1.33) | 0.33 Cold x5 (1.66) | 0.38 Cold x5 (1.94)
End: 5.85 | 4.68 | 4.00
Rch: 3.00 | 2.40 | 2.05
Rng: 60 | 70 | 78
Dur: 23.99 | 29.98 | 35.08
Slo: 39.99% -R,F / 26.66% -J | 49.98% -R,F / 33.32% -J | 58.47% -R,F / 38.98% -J
</pre><hr />

Frozen Fists
Level 2

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.64 Cold, 1.0 Smash (1.64)
End: 8.53
Act: 1.33
Rch: 8.00
Rng: 5
Slo: 10% -Speed, 10% -Recharge
Dur: 8.00

Frozen Fists is a decent melee attack that has damage comparable to Ice Bolt. It has a 1 second animation, so you can run in, attack, and get out. Since Ice has many Mezes and Slows, its a nice attack to pull off on a frozen or slowed enemy as well. That being said, not everybody is melee friendly with a Blaster, so your mileage may vary.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam. The remaining two slots can be slotted with Recharge Redux or End Redux if you feel the need.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.85 C, 1.33 S (2.18) | 1.06 C, 1.66 S ( 2.73) | 1.24 C, 1.94 S (3.19)
End: 6.39 | 5.12 | 4.37
Rch: 6.00 | 4.80 | 4.10
Slo: 13.33% -Speed | 16.66% -Speed | 19.49% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Ice Sword
Level 4

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.96 Cold, 1.0 Lethal (1.96)
End: 10.19
Act: 1.83
Rch: 10.00
Rng: 5
Slo: 10% -Speed, 10% -Recharge
Dur: 8.00

Ice Sword is a very respectable attack that does damage between Ice Blast and BIB. It has a 2 second animation; 1 second for the attack, and 1 second follow-up. Again, this is a melee attack, but a powerful one. This is the only [non-Rain] attack in your arsenal that is not Smashing/Ice but rather Lethal/Ice.

I recommend at least 1 Acc and up to 3 Dam. Since it uses a bit more End than Frozen Fists, an End Redux could be useful, depending on how often you attack. A Recharge will shave a few seconds off the recharge as well.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 1.27 C, 1.33 L (2.61) | 1.59 C, 1.66 L (3.26) | 1.87 C, 1.94 L (3.82)
End: 7.64 | 6.11 | 5.22
Rch: 7.50 | 6.00 | 5.13
Slo: 13.33% -Speed | 16.66% -Speed | 19.49% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Chilling Embrace
Level 10

End: 0.30 per tick
Act: 0.73
Rch: 2.00
AoE: 10
Slo: 70% -Speed, 40% -Recharge (*RSS)
Dbf: 14% -Damage

This can be a very useful skill. It has a fantastic Speed and great Recharge but, unfortunately, requires you to be in melee rangewhich isnt always where you want to be. Since you cannot always stay out of melee, those that get in melee will probably only get off that one attack by the time they are defeated. If you use your other melee skills, then this is a must as it drastically slows the attack rate of your enemies and keeps you from having to chase them all the time. Chilling Embrace (CE) also lowers affected enemies damage output by 14%. CE can affect up to 10 enemies per tick.

This is also a good skill to have in a group, where all you need to do is run by the group of foes and your Tanker and Scrapper friends will thank you for it because they will no longer need to chase down the affected enemies, nor will they take near the number of attacks by the affected enemies. Once you get Shiver though, this skill may not be used that often. CE is a great power for those Blasters that prefer to stay in or around melee. Combined with a few other powers (Ice Patch, Holds, Frozen Aura), CE can become a very good damage mitigation power. For those Blasters that prefer to stay as far from melee as possible, then CE may not be the best choice.

CE is a Toggle and drains End while activated. I recommend 3 slotting it with End Redux until SOs become available, and then I would replace 2 End Redux with 2 Slows.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 0.22 per tick | 0.18 per tick | 0.15 per tick
Rch: 1.50 | 1.20 | 1.02
Slo: 93.31% -Speed | 116.62% -Speed | 136.43% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Build Up
Level 16

End: 5.20
Act: 1.17
Rch: 90.00
Dur: 10.00
Buf: 15% To Hit
Dam: 100% Damage

This is a fairly good skill to have. It boosts your Dam quite a bit and gives a decent To Hit Buff as well. It only lasts for 10 seconds (including the animation time) and has a long recharge. Build Up is used in front of most alpha strikes, especially Bosses, and throughout an AV fight.

I recommend up to 3 Recharge.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 3.90 | 3.12 | 2.66
Rch: 67.51 | 54.02 | 46.170
Buf: 18.00% To Hit | 21.00% To Hit | 29.23% To Hit
</pre><hr />

Ice Patch
Level 20

End: 10.40
Act: 2.03
Rch: 35.00
AoE: 20
Dur: 20.00
Slo: 90% -Run (*RSS)

Ice Patch is very useful and can be used in a variety of ways. It creates a small patch of ice on the ground directly around the Blaster and is only slightly bigger than melee range. What use could this possibly have, especially since you may wish to stay out of melee range to begin with? It keeps enemies on the ground, slipping and sliding, and not attacking you. This is great to place on the ground between the enemy and yourself, just before attacking. When the enemies wander into the Ice Patch, they will slip and fall and allow you to blast away at them as they attempt to get back up, only to fall down again.

In a group, it is best to wait for the melee players to get agro, then jump in the middle and drop your Ice Patch. If used with Chilling Embrace, the super slow, slipping enemies may never get another attack off by the time the Scrappers and Tanks lay waste to them. You can also run up behind an engaged/Held Boss and drop it right underneath them for when/if they get out of the Hold.

I recommend up to 3 Recharge. With 2 Recharge, Ice Patch will have about a 1 Second gap between its duration and its recharge. Depending on how often you use Ice Patch, an End Redux could be useful.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
End: 7.81 | 6.26 | 5.33
Rch: 26.31 | 21.84 | 17.94
</pre><hr />

Shiver
Level 28

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
End: 10.40
Act: 2.17
Rch: 12.00
Rng: 60
Con: 135 Degree
Slo: 65% -Speed, 65% -Recharge (*RSS)
Dur: 18.00

This is what its all about. Shiver, flat out, rocks. Shiver has a very large Cone with the same range as your Ice Blast. This means that if it is in front of you, it is a viable target. Shiver drastically slows the movement and recharge rate of all affected foes. This is probably one of your best defenses as enemies will attack much slower, and move at a very, very slow rate as well. Shiver can hit up to 10 enemies.

When there is a tight group of enemies, Shiver will keep them all nice and grouped for you to get all of your AoE attacks off. The Slow stacks, but honestly, Shiver can hit the Slow cap with only a few Enhancements.

Be forewarned, Shiver has a giant Cone. If you are in a situation where two groups of mobs are near each other you can easily agro that second mob. Shiver has quite often hit enemies that were not even on my screen.

I recommend up to 2 Acc and up to 3 Slow Enhancements. It recharges fast enough that a Recharge many not be overly useful, but an End Redux could help out if you use it often. The second Acc is to not only make sure that you hit, but to help break through the Force Fields and other defenses seen later in the game.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
End: 7.80 | 6.24 | 5.33
Rch: 9.00 | 7.20 | 6.15
Rng: 72 | 84 | 93.6
Slo: 86.64% -Speed | 108.29% -Speed | 126.68% -Speed
</pre><hr />

Freezing Touch
Level 35

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
Dam: 0.19 Cold x6 (1.14)
End: 10.19
Act: 1.00
Rch: 10.00
Rng: 5
Dur: 12.00

Freezing Touch is yet another Hold for the Ice/Ice Blaster. This hold is pretty identical to Freeze Ray, except you need to be in melee range. You can never go wrong with another Hold.

I recommend up to 2 Acc and up to 3 Holds. Again, another standard slot-out is 2 Acc, 2 Hold, and 2 Recharge. The extra Acc is just to make sure you hit on higher level/defense enemies and the Hold Duration is to allow it to last longer on higher level foes. An easy one-two stack with Freeze Ray and Freezing Touch allows for instant Boss on Ice action.

One thing to note, Freezing Touch does pretty good damage (over time). It would be a viable attack to slot Dam into, especially for the melee-oriented Blaster.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
Dam: 0.25 Cold x6 (1.51) | 0.31 Cold x6 (1.89) | 0.37 Cold x6 (2.22)
End: 7.64 | 6.11 | 5.22
Rch: 7.50 | 6.00 | 5.13
Dur: 15.99 | 19.99 | 23.38
</pre><hr />

Frozen Aura
Level 38

Acc: 75.0%, 65.0%, 56.0%
End: 13.00
Act: 2.10
Rch: 20.00
AoE: 10
Dur: 24.00

This is one of those love em or hate em skills. By default it appears to have a low accuracy. It is a PBAoE Sleep that only affects non-robotic minions. Sleeps, as we know, are basically a hold until the target takes damage or falls victim to Knock Back, Up or Down. Sleeps do last much longer than Holds. Being a single target blaster, this can be quite useful. You can hop into a mob, Sleep most all of the minions, and then use your Holds to lock down the Lieutenants and or Boss. Then one by one, starting your attack chain with a Hold, take out each foe. Note: Ice Patch will awaken enemies from Sleep. Frozen Aura (FA) can hit up to 10 enemies.

Using a Stealth power can allow you to get in and cast FA without being noticed. Since FA deals no damage, you will usually not even get a retaliation attack. Be sure to not have CE on during this or they will be alerted which may allow them to get an attack off before they are Slept.

I recommend 2 Acc and up to 3 Sleeps, or the 2 Acc, 2 Sleep, 2 Recharge. The 2 Acc is to allow it to hit a majority of the time. You may still get that annoying minion that happens to escape, but that is the case with most AoEs. The Sleeps will increase the duration that the enemies are slept. With 3 Sleeps, one can defeat between 5 - 8 minions without needing to recast Frozen Aura. Frozen Aura recharges fast enough as is that a Recharge wouldnt get much use unless you wanted to Sleep a Boss (stacking 2 Sleeps). Then again, you can Hold the boss in mere seconds using your Holds, so why bother. Frozen Aura does however use its fair share of Endurance, so you may wish to drop an End Redux in there.

Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
1 SO 2 SOs 3 SOs
Acc: 99.97%, 86.64%, 74.64% | 124.95%, 108.29%, 93.29% | 146.17%, 126.68%, 109.14%
End: 9.75 | 7.80 | 6.67
Rch: 15.00 | 12.00 | 10.26
Dur: 31.99 | 39.98 | 46.77
</pre><hr />

Extra Notes:

Overall To Hit is bounded by a 5% floor and a 95% ceiling.

-Recharge is not affected by Slow Enhancements.

-Speed and Recharge can stack with two applications of the same power.

-Movement cap = 90%, -Recharge cap = 75%

*RSS (Run Speed Scale): -1.5 * Melee_SpeedRunning to Max RunSpeed (about a 78.75 feet/sec reduction in the target's maximum possible run speed from a level 1 Blaster, scaling up to 110.25 feet/sec reduction from a level 50)

As with Bitter Freeze Ray, Freezing Touch can get a good benefit from HOs, a few Peroxisome will allow you to get your Hold duration slotted, but also increase the damage dealt by the power.

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Cyclone_Jack · 09-24-2006 09:59 AM

Various Strategies:

Skill use combinations:

Bitter Freeze Ray + Freeze Ray: Probably the first combo that an Ice Blaster learns. This is the easiest way to lock down a Boss in a fight.

Chilling Embrace + Ice Storm + Ice Patch: Once you cast Ice Storm on a mob, run in and cast Ice Patch to help keep the enemies caught in the Rain. If you have CE on before you cast Storm, when you run in, foes will be slowed more and those affected will do a bit less damage to you when/if they attack.

Chilling Embrace + Chilblain: When fighting tough Bosses, Elite Bosses or ArchVillains, using CE and Chilblain can really make a difference in the fight. With the quick recharge of Chilblain, you can easily stack it on a single target. Combined with CE, you should quickly hit the Speed and Recharge cap. Just make sure the Tank has good agro before you go in, and try to get behind the enemy so you are not affected by any Cone attacks. You will probably still be hit by any PBAoE that the enemy may use, but since they are being affected by CE, they should be doing a bit less damage.

Shiver + Ice Storm + Blizzard: Throw Shiver on a group of enemies, Aim for a slight damage boost and improved accuracy, drop Ice Storm on the enemies, then do a Build-Up for a big damage boost, and then throw a Blizzard on to the enemies. This is only really good for large groups of higher level enemies. On large teams, there are a few maps that have a high concentration of enemies in a specific area (the Jail room in Oranbega for instance). Once the Tank grabs agro, this combo should get all enemies to the Slow cap and do a very impressive amount of damage. One may even pop an Accuracy Inspiration and a few Damage Inspirations beforehand as well for an added boost.

Frozen Aura + Holds: For a fairly tightly knit group, Frozen Aura can quickly eliminate the Minions from a fight. Using your Holds on the Lieutenants or Boss in the group, you can quickly lock down an entire group of enemies with very little damage taken. This can be extra useful for Ice Blasters that focus on single target damage and have those annoying Hunt 75 Carnies missions.

Some notes about level ranges and enemy factions:

01-05: Nothing much to note here. Just get used to the basics of running and blasting. Chilblain can be of use if you are waiting for skills to recharge, just drop it on an enemy and duck around a corner. If you get a melee attack, now is the time to start getting it into your attack chain, as it can be a bit trickier in the later levels if you arent used to it.

05-10: Here you should be getting into Lieutenants and/or Bosses, depending on your grouping or difficulty slider. You should probably get Freeze Ray in this level range as it will greatly reduce your incoming damage. Try to get into the habit of locking down Lieutenants, and helping Controllers lock down the Boss, if need be. Try to keep those Circle of Thorns Mages locked down when they get low on health, no sense in letting them blow themselves (and maybe you) up. Learning to control agro is a high priority in these levels.

10-15: Endurance may start to become an issue here. I would suggest slotting Accuracy and Endurance DOs (as a priority over Damage) in your main attacks from here until SOs become available. No sense in wasting shots by missing, and a bit of End Redux will make things a bit more manageable.

15-20: If you play your cards right, you should get Bitter Ice Blast in this level range (immediately drop an End Redux in there for now). Youll really start to have some Endurance issues here. IMO, this is the toughest level range for the Ice Blaster (it was for me at least). Keep those Tsoo Sorcerers locked down with Freeze Ray; Ink Men are annoying, but more so when they keep getting healed. Sorcerers can still Teleport if Immobilized.

20-25: This is when the fun begins. Targets of priority: Banished Pantheon Shamans, Sky Raider Engineers, Tsoo Sorcerers, and anything Freakshow. Freakshow have a resistance to both Smashing and Cold, so they can be annoying. Freakshow Tanks are your bane, watch out for them. You may get Ice Patch in this range, if you do, learn to use it around corners and try and pull your enemy into it, or to lay it under the Tank/Scrapper to assist them. SOs are now available, so its time to do some Enhancement upgrading. If you got Stamina, then you may not need as many End Redux in your attacks as before and can get a bit more Damage slotted in there.

25-30: Bitter Freeze Ray and Shiver become available here. BFR will allow you to two-shot Hold Bosses now (BFR followed by FR is a fast Hold on a Boss), and you should be getting a good number of SOs now, so you can up your difficulty slider if you wish. Welcome to the Devouring Earth. You will, unfortunately, see these from here until the end of the game, and in just about every zone as well. Watch those Mushrooms, as they have an AoE Sleep; time to really stock up on those Break Frees. Go for the Shrooms and Eminators that are summoned.

30-35: Big Blizzard is now available, but needs some slots before it really starts to shine (so dont be discouraged with it right out of the box). Rikti and Crey start making a big appearance here. Rikti Drones have an increased Perception and can see through Stealth at a decent range, and have a high Defense. Some Rikti can also BubbleBubbled Drones call for Aim. Crey Minions can Stun, so keep your Break Frees available. The Crey Bosses can really put you in a hurt locker, so keep your distance, while the Lieutenants have Sleep grenades. Hold those Paragon Protectors once they get to 25% health or they will go into Moment of Glory or Elude and make your life very difficult. Watch for Snipers in Creys Folly and Founders Falls.

35-40: Freezing Touch can now be added to your arsenal. That makes three Holds; life is good. Here comes the Steam-Powered Marching Band known as Nemesis. Nemesis spider droids are resistant to Knockdown, but will still get slowed by Ice Patch. Keep your distance from the Warhulks, they pop good.

40-45: Time to choose an Ancillary Power Pool, if you wish. It is possible to now have four Holds. This is the beginning of my favorite part of this game: Carnies, Malta, Knives and Rularuu become new flavors for Ice to cream (yeah, that was bad). You MUST do the Eden Trial, you will thank me later. During the Eden Trial, keep the Giant Walls slowed as much as possible. Starting here, AVs (or Elite Bosses, depending on your difficulty slider and grouping preferences) start to become readily available in missions, so watch out. It should be possible to crank it up to Invincible if you wish, just steer away from AV missions if you solo.

45-50: No new enemies here, except more AVs. Continue filling youre your Ancillaries or other skills. World Wide Red and The Saga of Lanaru would be my favorite Arcs in this range, good challenge. You are now available to go in Hamidon Raids as well, just remind the Raid Leader, if you have multiple Holds, that you will be available for both the Hold and Damage portions of the Raid.

Banished Pantheon: The Shamans are your priority targets. Freeze them and take them out as fast as possible. From there, you can work on the Boss or Minions. The Masks seem fairly weak but can be hard to click on, while the Totems can be tough so keep that Ice Patch going. The Minions are fairly weak.

Carnies: Bosses are priority. The Minions are generally weak, just watch out for Strongmen. Strongmen are resistant to Slow and run right through Shiver, though Chilblain keeps them at bay. The Lieutenants arent too bad, but again, watch out for the Strongmen. The Bosses can be a royal pain in the jingajam. Dark Ring Mistresses will debuff your Accuracy and End Recovery through the floor, so use some Defense Inspirations beforehand and try to have a few Accuracy Inspirations. Master Illusionists take some getting used to. Its all in the timing, literally, as they phase in and out. Once you get the timing on their phasing, run in and try to get two Holds on them. If she summons four Illusionists, run. If there is a Phantasm or Dark Servant, drop them as soon as you can, while keeping the MI Held. From here on, just keep the timing on her phasing down and try to get a Hold stacked on her before she phases out. If she gets loose, try and Hold her as soon as possible.

Circle of Thorns: Bosses are priority. The early Bosses are much more difficult than the later Bosses, just because you dont have much defense against them. Ruin Mages and Madness Mages are the ones to watch for. Death Mages have a damage aura, so keep that in mind. Earth Casters have Quicksand, so try and get them Held quickly and your teammates will thank you. The only other issues with the CoT are the Possessed Scientists. Before you ever attack Scientists, make sure you know which are Lieutenants and which are Minions as there is a difference. A group of Scientist Lieutenants will lay waste to an unprepared Blaster like a human stepping on an ant.

Clockwork: Overall, the Clockwork arent too bad. The Lieutenants have a Sleep so try and watch out for them. The Bosses can be annoying, especially when they die. If you do not have an AoE, be prepared to waste some endurance on the Gears. Start using Chilblain to keep the fliers on the ground. Watch your Endurance when fighting Clockwork, as their attacks will drain it.

Contaminated: If you take out 100 in the Tutorial, you will get a badge.

Council: If it isnt a Minion, its annoying. Try and keep Bosses Held once they get to 35% health as some tend to change into fully healed Warwolves, and Warwolves are no fun (they are resistant to Slows). Lieutenants have a nasty Roundhouse kick that does a good amount of damage, so try and keep some distance. Vampyrs can try your patience as well, what with Life Drain and all. At least the robots arent too bad. Galaxys have an Immobilize, so be prepared there.

Coven: I do not have a good enough experience with these to comment.

Crey: Lieutenants and Bosses are priority over Minions, as usual. Always keep an eye on a Paragon Protectors health, once they get low they will often go into Elude or Moment of Glory, making it quite difficult to finish off. The Bosses will drop Total Focus on you if you allow them to get into range, which will do some massive damage and often put you in a daze long enough for them to finish you off without breaking a sweat. Always keep a few Break Frees available when fighting groups of Security Guards, as their attacks can Stun. Watch for Snipers.

Devouring Earth: Shrooms are priority, after that go for Bosses, Bees and Eminators. Watch the Lieutenants as they will sometimes break into two Underlings (I want a pet Rubble). Bees can be a bane to the melee classes, so if you are teamed try and take these out quickly.

Family: Bosses are priority. Consiglieres are Gravity Controllers and thus have Holds. Hold them before they Hold you. Other than that, keep Muscle at bay with Chilblain, Ice Patch, or Holds.

Fir Bolg: I do not have a good experience with these to comment.

Freakshow: Tanks are priority, then Flying Lieutenants. Chilblain the Fliers to keep them grounded. Freaks are resistant to both Smashing and Cold, so they can take a bit longer to drop. Add in the fact that some can self-res and you have an End sink. Blues and Greens are of use against Freaks. Tanks and Slammers can Stun, so you might want to keep some Break Frees available as well.

Hellions: Bosses are priority. Hellions are pretty easy in general, as they are an early level range enemy faction. Watch your health against the Damned, as the Damage over Time (DoT) ticks all adds up and can catch you off guard.

Hydra: Bosses are priority. If you are lucky and can get a good group to Spawn hunt in Perez, you should go up in levels quickly. Back before there was the Hollows, Spawn hunting was the way to go. They do DoT, so keep an eye on your health.

Knives of Artemis: I love these ladies. Shiver will be one of your best friends against the Knives as a Shivered enemy will show a cold aura on them. Basically, it will make them easier to see once they turn on Cloaking Device. The Knives have both Caltrops and Sleep Darts, both of which can be annoying. Watch out for Bosses, shes the Broad with the Sword (wow, they dont get worse than that) and can really make an impression on your health bar.

Malta Group: Operation Engineers are priority, followed by Sappers. If you are in a group, Sappers are priority. If there are two Hercules Titans, try and keep them Held preventing them from joining into a Zeus (unless you are like me, and like fighting the Zeus Titans). Gunslingers, of any variety, are a test in patience as well, as they like to Teleport around, use multiple AoE attacks and use Freeze Ray on you. Show them that Ice Blasters are the masters of Freeze Ray and put them in their place. Auto-Turrets can see through Stealth. Keep plenty of Break Frees on you when fighting the Malta Group as the Minions can use Taser and the Lieutenants have Stun Grenades of Doom . The Malta Group is my favorite enemy faction.

Minions of Igneous: Bosses are priority. If you are fighting these in a mission, you are OK. If you are trying to hunt these in the Hollows, get help. They are resistant to Slows.

Nemesis: Fake Nemesis are priority, followed by War Hulks. If possible, leave Lieutenants for last as when they die they cast Vengeance upon themselves (a skill Blasters need). Try and keep Fake Nemesis Held to keep them from using their Bubbles. Keep War Hulks at range and defeat them at range, as when they explode they do massive AoE damage. The spider droids also explode when they die and are resistant to knockdown (they are slowed by Ice Patch but will never fall down).

Outcasts: Bosses are priority, specifically Lead Bricks. Keep Chilblain on the Fliers to keep them grounded. Other than that, Outcasts arent too difficult.

Prisoners: Bosses are priority. As a matter of fact, Bosses are the only real threat. Too bad they give no real experience. Try to avoid Prisoners as they are not cost effective.

Rikti: Mesmerists and Mentalists are priority, followed by Guardians and Communications Officers. Try and keep the Rikti at bay as their melee attacks hurt. Drones can be annoying and may require a liberal use of Aim and Accuracy Inspirations, especially if they have been Bubbled. Always check Mentalists as they begin to come in both Lieutenant and Boss flavors. Keep those Bosses Held as they will chain Sleep/Hold you to death. Break Frees are your big friends here.

Shadow Shard Reflections: These are a mix of Council, Circle of Thorns, Crey, Rikti and more. Each group is random and will require a different tactic. You will need to prioritize on the fly.

Skulls: Bosses are priority. Skulls, as with Hellions, are a fairly simple enemy faction. Keep your distance from the Bone Daddy as he will pummel you into the ground. They also debuff your accuracy, so some inspirations may be of use.

Sky Raiders: Raider Engineers are priority. Hold the Engineers before they can drop their Force Field Generators. A liberal use of Chilblain will keep the Fliers grounded, and some extra Holds on the Porters will keep them from Teleporting all over the place. Sky Skiffs can be nasty, so be careful and bring a few Inspirations along.

Soldiers of Rularuu: Ah, the faction that levels the field for everyone. If solo, Overseers are priority, followed by Wisp Overlords. If grouped, Noble Brutes (the Lieutenants) are priority, as they have an AoE Build Up, followed by Wisp Overlords. Natterlings have a Hold, Wisp Overlords have Dispersion Bubble (which can save you at times), and Overseers have a Hold. Basically, the Rularuu are nasty fun and they will have you making use of all your skills. Do not bother using Defense Inspirations against the Eyeballs as they will still hit you. The Rularuu are my second favorite enemy faction.

The Lost: Pariahs and Anathemas are priority. Both Pariahs and Anathemas have mezes, so try and Hold them before they get to you. After them, go for the Headmen, but watch their melee. The rest are cake.

Trolls: Bosses and Lieutenants are priority. Try and Hold the Calibans and Gardvords before they turn on their defensive powers or else they become highly resistant to mezes. The Minions are nothing to write home about.

Tsoo: Sorcerers and Ink Men are priority. With the Sorcerers Teleporting around and Healing everyone and throwing up Hurricane, coupled with the mass mezing/debuffing of the Ink Men, the Tsoo can be more annoying than difficult, and they can be quite difficult. The Bosses are no pushover either, but if you can make sure the Sorcerer is out of the picture, it can be much easier. The Ninja have Caltrops and are mostly just an annoyance.

Vahzilok: Eidolons and Mortificators are priority. Watch the Embalmed as they go Boom! Vahz have lots of DoT and Slows, and should be approached with caution most of the time. The Eidolons can lock you down with Holds and Immobilizes and debuff your Accuracy and Defense as well. At their level range they can be very nasty, so keep a tray full of Inspirations on you.

Void Hunters: If you are teaming with a Kheldion, Void Hunters will be an occurrence. If you see these, make these priorities over anything else as they can rip through Kheldians like butter.

Warriors: Bosses are priority. Warriors arent too bad, as long as you keep them all at range. Once they get into melee, youre going to be run over by the pain train. Elites will make quick work of any unprepared Blaster, and even prepared Blasters can have some trouble with them.

This will forever be work in progress. If you see any errors, please let me know so I can update them. Thanks!

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Memphis_Bill · 09-24-2006 04:32 PM

Nice guide.

FWIW, on my (admittedly lowbie) Ice/* blasters, I *love* Frost Blast. I can do quite a bit of damage with it in Perez on all-minion spawns. Nice way to get XP rolling in.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Scrapulous · 09-25-2006 04:02 PM

This is a good guide. I like the format you used for powers.

When planning my Ice blaster, I was toying with the idea of using Flash Freeze from the Cold Mastery pool in addition to the standard Frozen Aura tactic you mention. For example, jumping stealthed into the middle of a group, dropping Flash Freeze (because of its longer act time) and then Frozen Aura right after to sleep everybody. From that point on, keep dropping Frozen Aura whenever it's available to maintain the sleep. Meanwhile, select an individual target, lead with 1 or two holds, and then take it down. Have you tried anything like this?

Scrap

Cyclone_Jack · 09-25-2006 04:36 PM

Memphis Bill:

Yeah. I use Frost Breath a bit myself. I decided to put the part about skipping it only because I have seen posts asking if they can go without it. Some players may wish to go strictly single target, and they can. The AoEs can make things a bit easier on a team, but really aren't needed to make a good character.

Scrapulous:

Yes. Just be sure to use Flash Freeze first, as it does damage. With a few Sleep SOs in Frozen Aura, it can easily self stack on Bosses. Using Flash Freeze first to get the quick double stack for Bosses will work well, and last much longer than stacking Holds. Though, I would use Flash Freeze from a distance, possibly from around a corner and wait until the sleep goes off to prevent a good portion of any retaliation, then run in and drop Frozen Aura. Just remember, NO Ice Patch. (Yep, even I forget sometimes)

In general:

In my next Update, probably in I8, I'll add in some APP info and Power Pool info. Generally speaking, there will always be better guides for APPs and Power Pools, but I'm thinking it would be nice to note which powers from them would benefit the Ice/Ice Blaster and why. Hopefully I'll also have some decent info on the Enemy Factions I havn't played against. Yep, I'm running Another Ice/Ice Blaster. Weee!

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

LordSparky · 09-28-2006 04:28 AM

Really nice guide. Particularly the strategies section as with this ice/ice combo its kind of important to get some tricks organised if you want to get the most out of the powers. In fact I may have a think about what I could add to this.....but for now...

One of my favourites is the "ice patch huddle". Basically you aggro a few mobs, hide behind a corner, drop the patch, shiver, build up, ice storm and then single target attack whatever is left as they run.

Also, for my lvl 34 Ice/Ice i have SS & Stealth that I leave permanently turned on. If I see2-3 mobs standing close (like with a hostage) I zoom on in, cast ice patch, cast Ice Storm & then zoom out for shiver & single target attacks. If they are still nicely bunched the Frost Breath works well here too.

A couple of other things...

Its interesting that I have seen some people post that Blizzard is not as good as other Blaster nukes because its DoT. In my experience though, when paired with Ice Storm & Shiver it is REALLY effective & can change the course of a tight battle. I would even go so far as to say it FEELS better that other Nukes but I would love to see how that stats compare. It just seems like you control & survive it better.

The next point I wanted to make was to actually draw attention to the controller aspects of this build. TopDoc wrote a great Post on the 5 most damaging controllers in the game & the Ice/Ice Blaster was in there. Quite right too! When you get to the late 20's and have Freeze Ray, Shiver, Ice Storm, Ice Patch etc. all slotted you can add control value to the team over & above awesome single target damage. This has turned out much better than expected on my toon. I had an Ice/Emp controller (lvl 50) & this was one of the main reasons I chose an Ice/Ice. I straight out enjoy damage + control which I just did not get before.

I would be interested to get your thoughts on the Epic pools as I am still not sure about what to take. I was seriously thinking about taking Arctic for the "snow storm herd" ability - cast snow storm on a far away anchor & use them to aggro the other mobs & bring everybody to your ice patch of death. Also another hold opens up but I am not sure if it is any good (I chose not to take BFR as the activation time is IMO prohibitive).

Local_Man · 09-28-2006 09:48 AM

Very, very good guide. I love the strategy ideas. My Ice/Ice was the second character I rolled up and my first to Fly. He gained a bunch of levels from Winter Lords before I understood much of anything in the game, and then I moved on to other characters. A few months ago I respeced him into a pure ranged blaster and got him up to level 26.

To keep him at range, he is always in flight. I use the Speed-on-demand binds in CityBinder, so he stays in Hover unless I press a direction key, when he automatically changes to Fly until I let go of the key, when he goes back to Hover. I don't have to slot Hover, and I never have to switch back and forth.

I have taken everything in the primary except Aim, and have only taken Chillblain and Build-Up from the secondary. I have Hover, Fly, the Fitness pool and Hasten. I plan on taking Shiver at 28, and probaby Ice Patch at 30, and of course Blizzard at 32. I might consider switching out Ice Patch for Aim. Do you have any suggestions for 35 and 38?

I have considered the medicine pool, Stealth pool, or going ahead to get Freezing Touch and Aim, or Frozen Aura, or even getting the Ice Sword, just to have it. I'm leaning towards the medicine pool.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

LOCAL MAN! The most famous hero of all. There are more newspaper stories about me than anyone else. "Local Man wins Medal of Honor." "Local Man opens Animal Shelter." "Local Man Charged with..." (Um, forget about that one.)
Guide Links: Earth/Rad Guide, Illusion/Rad Guide, Electric Control

Cyclone_Jack · 09-28-2006 11:29 AM

Lord Sparky:

Thanks! Yeah, I'm running another Ice/Ice Blaster, so I'm going to take more notes on the low end of the game and try to get a few more combos and strategies listed. The thing I really like about Ice/Ice is the versatility. Do I want a lot of Control? Ranged? Melee? AoE? Single Target? There are a lot of options to consider, and it fits a variety of playstyles. I may try and get a few different build styles in the next guide as well.

As for the Epics, I chose Electric. I really wanted to do Cold for thematic reasons, but another Cone and Hold plus the Resistance-based Armor that works on S+L+E was just too good. In the end-game, there's just more occurances of Energy than there is Cold. Add the Res to the -Dam on Chilling Embrace and you have a decent amount of damage mitigation. For Cold, the Flash Freeze synnergizes well with Frozen Aura, which was tempting. The Cold Armor was Defense based, which isn't too bad, but I fight higher level enemies which have a higher base to hit, which kindof negates the Defense. Snow Storm is an awesome slow, but with Ice/Ice you can already hit the Slow cap with very little use. Hibernate was a tough one to give up, though. I really did enjoy it.

Local Man:

Thanks! From what it sounds, you're wanting to stay ranged as much as possible, and looking at the skills you are pondering...

I'd probably try and get Aim in there. It's a useful skill that doesn't require slotting (just put in 1 recharge), and it'll greatly help out on some annoying enemies you'll soon fight.

Stealth is nice, basically so you can get around and not agro mobs as easily. It also lets you get into position a bit better. Without Stealth, I'd be noticed every time I run in for Frozen Aura.

Medicine could also be useful and limit some of your downtime between mobs.

Freezing Touch and Frozen Aura are going to require melee, which may not fit your build/style. I like the extra Hold, but some people just want to stay out of melee range. Frozen Aura really helps when street hunting or when you have two groups nearby in missions, but does require you to get in the middle of the group to get it off. I should note, you can perform Frozen Aura in mid-air, thus you can kind of do a fly by (or fly through), if you wanted. Ice Patch, though, *has* to be on the ground.

From what it soulds, you already have 3 Pools. It will be up to you on where you'd rather have Stealth or a Self-Heal. If you play ranged all the time, the Heal may be better than the Stealth. If you like scouting ahead and sometimes get a bit too close to the mobs and agro them early, then Stealth may be a better option.

Good luck with you Blaster. Id' say have fun, but I already know you will.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Vojin · 10-14-2006 04:20 PM

Great Guide.
I have an Ice/Elec who i am always toying with. Sometimes my build doesn't have enough damage (i.e. now), sometimes not enough endurance. There always seems to be something that needs fixing and your guide is helping a lot.

I am only lvl 27 so I can't be making too many statements but right now, Ice Storm is anoying. Does it get better with Blizzard?

Just wanted to say Great Guide though.

Cyclone_Jack · 10-15-2006 07:07 AM

Blizzard is pretty powerful, but you need to keep your foes within it to see that power. Ice Storm isn't too bad, again, if you can keep the enemies within it. Until I can get either of them slotted up, I use them mainly for crowd control, as in "Get the *#*$ off me!"

Blizzard has little to no uses solo, IMO. The only use I can see a solo Blaster using Blizzard is vs an Elite Boss. Even then, the endurance hit from using it can easily turn the tide of the battle back over to the EB. In a group, Blizzard can be phenomenal. Tanker agros, Controller lock em down, Ice Blaster assists Controller with the Boss(es), then drops down Storm and Blizzard.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Roxstar · 10-18-2006 09:44 AM

Yay!! Just what I've been looking for!! All the other ice guides are fairly old. Thanx much.

Rhygadon · 10-21-2006 06:42 AM

Hi Jack! Thanks for the great guide; the hard numbers for the -speed/recharge effects are especially appreciated.

I already have a 30ish Energy/Ice "don't touch me!" blaster, 100% ranged with Ice Patch and Shiver to dissuade anyone who's interested in snuggling. Now I'm thinking about starting a blapper, and considering Ice/Ice.

My question is about Chilling Embrace and aggro. I like the numbers on CE (and the distinctiveness of the power), and I can see how it would be great for a solo blapper, but I mostly play on teams. My worry is that it might negate the defensive advantage of being a single-target blapper, by drawing attention from other mobs as soon as I close to melee with one. Does anyone have experience with this? How much aggro does CE tend to draw? If I use it in a decent-size group (that isn't totally locked down by a tank or troller), am I going to get squished?

Cyclone_Jack · 10-21-2006 11:47 AM

[ QUOTE ]
My question is about Chilling Embrace and aggro. I like the numbers on CE (and the distinctiveness of the power), and I can see how it would be great for a solo blapper, but I mostly play on teams. My worry is that it might negate the defensive advantage of being a single-target blapper, by drawing attention from other mobs as soon as I close to melee with one. Does anyone have experience with this? How much aggro does CE tend to draw? If I use it in a decent-size group (that isn't totally locked down by a tank or troller), am I going to get squished?

[/ QUOTE ]

CE can draw in a decent amount of agro, especially when combined with a Blaster's damage output. The good thing is that you have some nice tools to keep you fairly safe in melee until the Tanker or Controller can get the situation back under control.

The great thing about /Ice is that it (almost) completely synergizes with itself perfectly. Since CE will reduce enemy recharge and lower their damage by 14% and Ice Patch will keep enemies flopping around, not to mention the available Holds, you should be safe until the Tank or Controller gets the situation back underhand. Certain enemies are, of course, a bit uglier than others, and would still need to be confronted with caution (read: Mezers).

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Rhygadon · 10-22-2006 07:08 AM

OK, I think I may let CE wait until the 20s, then. Too many attacks to fit in before then, anyway!

Thanks again for the info ...

Kauket · 10-25-2006 10:44 AM

Excellent guide, thank you for putting it together. I've been meaning to make by ice/ice ED-compliant for some time now and this was exactly what I needed.

For the pools, I'm going with Fitness (swift/health/stamina as I always seem low on the last), Leaping (CJ, SJ, Acrobatics as I really like the extra protections on chars that otherwise don't have them), and Speed (hasten, maybe SS, though I'm wondering if it'd be possible to get by without hasten.)

For the concept, I have to take Cold Mastery. I'm getting Flash Freeze instead of Frozen Aura, because (1) it looks damn cool and (2) it gets me to Frozen Armor and Hibernate.

Look forward to seeing your pool recommendations.

Cyclone_Jack · 10-25-2006 12:13 PM

Thanks for the compliments.

Well, I've always been a fan of the Fitness Pool. Most all of my toons get all four powers there, and most of them 3 slot each power (yeah, I know, but I like 3 slotted Swift and Hurdle, its fun and fun > uber).

For Travel, I personally prefer either Flight or Leaping. Since you are taking Leaping, I'm glad you are going all the way for Acrobatics. That's one of those skills I really like, but its hard for me to get into some of my builds. The extra protection from Acrobatics and Combat Jumping, while not massive, can be quite helpful at times.

For Speed, Hasten is a good power, and I've played with and without. Hasten is purely a personal preference. Some people like it, others do not. Ice can function fine without it, but the boost is nice when facing menacing opponents (EBs/AVs/PvP). Just a side note, an un-Hastened Ice Blaster has the capability of pulling agro from a good number of Tankers, meaning that a Hastened Ice Blaster could pull agro quite easily. If you go Hasten, I'd highly recommend finding a good Ice Tanker to team with (they hold agro better than most other Tankers from my experience).

For the Mastery, concept usually wins, as concept is more fun. Snow Storm should compliment your Slows quite well (Snow Storm + spammed Chilblain + Shiver = enemy that never attacks). Flash Freeze is very useful to a single-target Blaster, especially when you can wake your Slept enemies with a Hold. Hibernate is just awesome, just remember it takes a couple of seconds to turn on. Oh, and the Armor will grant to some defense helping in the mez department (what doesn't hit you cannot mez you).

The other Mastery I like with Ice is Electric. The Static Discharge works will with Frost Breath and allows you to get some decent AoE damage going (BU+Aim+FB+SD = group of L50 minions dead). The extra Hold is always good if you are going for the Blastroller path of the Ice/Ice Blaster, and the Armor is good in the end game due to the large number of enemies that do Energy damage. The final power (which I always forget the name of) works well with the Rains. Shiver + Disorient + Storm + Blizzard = /e Flex.

Other Pools that work well with Blasters is Stealth and Medicine. The Stealth Pool is used solely for Stealth. It's nice to have when running tight missions, especially when you don't want to agro who/whatever is on the other side of a door, or if you run into a room full of baddies by accident, or turn a corner too quickly. The Medicine Pool is nice for Aid Self, and it can help alleviate some of the downtime between fights. I'd recommend getting Stimulate as the prerequisite just for the fact that a Blaster helping another mezed Blaster is just a nice Blasterly thing to do.

That's about it for the Pools I usually look at for Blasters. Hope it helped some.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Kung_Foo · 11-14-2006 12:43 PM

Good Guide CJ. I am curious though. How do you have your build laid out.

Cyclone_Jack · 11-14-2006 11:38 PM

OK, in no particular order:

Ice Bolt: Acc, Dam, Dam, Dam, Rech
Ice Blast: Acc/Dam, Dam, Dam, Rech, End
Frost Breath: Acc/Dam, Dam, Dam, End, Range, Range
Freeze Ray: Acc/Mez, Acc/Mez, Mez, Rech
Aim: Rech
Bitter Ice Blast: Acc/Dam, Dam/Range, Dam/Range, ToHitDeBuff/End, Rech

Chilblain: Acc, Dam, Dam, Immob, End
Ice Patch: Rech
Build Up: Rech
Frozen Fists: Acc, Dam, Dam, Dam, End
Shiver: Acc, Slow, Slow, Slow
Chilling Embrace: End, End
Freezing Touch: Acc/Mez, Dam/Mez, Dam/Mez, Dam, Rech, End
Frozen Aura: Acc/Mez, Acc/Mez, Sleep, Rech, End

Brawl: Acc
Sprint: Run, Run, Run
Rest: Empty

Swift: Run, Run, Run
Health: Heal, Heal, Heal
Stamina: End, End, End
Hurdle: Jump, Jump, Jump

Hover: Fly
Fly: Fly, Fly, Fly

Stealth: End

Shocking Bolt: Acc/Mez, Acc/Mez, Hold, End, Rech
Charged Armor: Res, Res, Res, End, End, End
Static Discharge: Acc/Dam, Dam, Dam, End, Range, Range

All HOs are L50, most SOs are L53.

Now, this is my main build. I'm running another Ice/Ice that will be focusing more on the Rains, but I'm waiting for I8 to hit for the Police Bands, no more original zone contacts more me.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Kung_Foo · 11-15-2006 09:38 AM

Cool. I noticed you went with the Electrical Ancillary power and not the Ice. Was it personal preference or did you find that elec meshes better with the ice\ice?

Cyclone_Jack · 11-15-2006 10:12 AM

It was a little bit of both. I really wanted to go /Cold, but already had similar powers available. Snow Storm is a great power, but with Shiver and Chilling Embrace and Chilblain, I already easily hit the Slow cap. Flash Freeze is a large AoE Sleep, but the animation and recharge are longer than I wanted. I already have Frozen Aura, which has a fast animation, and can self stack since it deals no damage, and recharges very quickly.

With Electric, Static Discharge works very well with Frost Breath. Getting two cone attacks like that allows me to do some decent AoE damage, since I decided to forgo my Rains for better Control. Shocking Bolt is another Hold in my arsenal, and it allowed me to drop Bitter Freeze Ray. BFR is a good power, but it is too situational, IMO. Once you learn that an Ice/Ice Blaster thrives in in melee, you get Freeze Ray and Freezing Touch for your one-two Hold on a Boss, and never really use BFR again.

The Armor is a toss up. With Ice, you get Defense, which helps with mezes. What does not hit you cannot mez you. With Electric, you get good S/L/E Resistance, and Energy is more prevelant in the end game. Combine that with the -Dam from Chilling Embrace and you can lower some of that incoming damage quite a bit.

The final choice was between Hibernate and 'the one in Electric'. I *really* like Hibernate, especially on a Blaster. 'The one in Electric' is basically an AoE Disorient, which I never really found a good use for.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]

Tyrantula · 11-15-2006 10:24 AM

Great guide Cyclone!

Although I'm not a number cruncher, I find your guide very literate and extremely useful. One of my alts is an Ice/Ice and has quickly shot up the ranks of one of my all time favs to play. I just recently hit 39 with him.

After many respecs trying to find the best mix for me PvE wise, using your knowledge will help me forego any more stupid mistakes in power selection and slotting. I just love the single target damage, AoE-ness and controller-like power in my hands. Very fun set to play.

Eight thumbs up for you dude!

WynterPhrost · 11-21-2006 10:39 PM

Hey, you've helped me out before.
I have a couple questions >.>

When I respec, I'm getting Cold Mastery, so I need some advice.

How would I go about slotting Snow Storm? Currently my idea is 3endred since it's a toggle.
Does it need that much endred? Should I put slows instead?
Also for Flash Freeze I'm thinking 2acc, 2sleep, 2rech.

I'm also switching things up a bit with my other powersets..
Like, I'm getting rid of Ice Storm, and picking up Frozen Aura.
I'm managing to put in Frost Breath *and* Ice Sword.
I'm dropping Chilling Embrace for Shiver.

On test I also tried out a build where I had all of my attacks..
Bolt, Blast, BIB, Frost Breath, Ice Punch, Ice Sword, Freezing Touch

That was interesting. Ice Punch was definately worth getting, but it was either Punch or Frozen Aura at lvl 49. Which do you think is better to get?

One last thing.. Did anyone notice that the epic power, Flash Freeze, does its ticks of dmg *after* the sleep (in Arena PVP), which wakes the opponent up right away? But hey, it's a great toggle knocker for Force Fielders, Blasters/Def/Trollers with Acrobatics!

I ask all these questions, because I'll be using my VR Respec >> and don't want to get stuck with a crappy build again (I haven't had Hasten since i7 released ;_

Cyclone_Jack · 11-22-2006 07:19 AM

Snow Storm is indeed a heavy toggle. Depending on how often you use it, and how quickly you go through attacks, and if you put Hasten back in will determine how many End Redux you should put in. I definitely recommend it with 3 End Redux. 1 - 2 Slows should be fine. Technically, if you use it in conjunction with Shiver, you shouldn't need any slows in it, as the two powers together will hit the Slow cap (though if you are constantly fighting +3s and +4s, then I'd slot at least one Slow in both).

Your slotting on Flash Freeze is good. You might want to check it with Hasten, as you might be able to drop a Rech out for an End Redux, depending on how often you use it.

Tough question. More damage or more damage mitigation? That's entirely up to you. For me, it would be hard for me to drop Frozen Aura, as I have gotten used to using it as part of my attack chain in nearly every battle. Even if I Sleep only two minions, that's two less enemies to use Mezes (esp since Carnies and Knives have that 0.5 sec Sleep on a few of their attacks). Though, with you also having Flash Freeze...I guess it could go either way. The nice part about having Flash and Frozen, you can Sleep an entire group, no matter the rank (less AVs).

As for Flash doing the damage after the Sleep in the Arena... I'm not surprised at all. The Arena has been an abomination since it was released. I don't think there is enough forum space to list the various bugs in the Arena.

The biggest issue I stress with Ice is End usage. This is mainly due to the style of play that I have gotten used to. I will run a mission, with whatever toggles I want to run, from beginning to end, set on either Unyielding (if it contains an AV) or Invincible, and not need to use a CaB (unless the Sapper gets lucky), nor pause for End recovery. Not everybody plays this way, so I try and let them judge how much End Redux they need in different attacks and abilities. All that said, I still would put 3 End Redux in Snow Storm.

Another Toggle to check, which I haven't put in here, is Sprint. Sprint uses, surprisingly, a good amount of End. A lot of players don't give it any attention after they get Stamina and SOs, but it might be worth trying an End Redux in Sprint.

Cyclone Jack

-= idspispopd =-

[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]