Thanks for the comments. 
It seems each time I get ready to look at my guide I get pulled in opposite directions. I've thought of just posting it in its unfinished form, but each time I do that I realize how much the game has changed (mainly with IOs) and how much I have learned from these changes that I feel the need to fix and elaborate on what I have typed up. This, inevitably causes me to push back and work on the guide more. It is an endless process of frustration.
As for concept characters, I find that they are usually the characters that I have more fun with. They add another layer of challenge that keeps the game fresh and fun. O-Yuki sounds like an interesting character, to be sure. And if you think you are long winded, you ain't seen nothin' yet! 
[ QUOTE ]
...which of the two following builds would you Ice/Ice experts out there recommend? Build 1 has no Stamina (!!!) and gets by on lots of +Recovery and +MaxEnd slotting. Build 2 gives up Aim and Build Up (!!!) for Stamina but has significantly reduced endurance woes.
[/ QUOTE ]
This is something only you can answer, and it relies completely on your play style. However, with things like Frozen Aura, Ice Patch, Shiver, Chilblain, etc, you can eliminate a number of adversaries and slow the place of the combat down enough to where your innate recovery, combined with the Set Bonus recovery, will allow you to keep up with the demand of your powers. When teamed, you can just keep your pace since you have a number of teammates who will also be aiding in combat. The only time you may miss Stamina is after Blizzard. Then again, End Redux and CaBs will alleviate most of that. Another awesome thing about Ice/Ice is that we have enough Holds to lock a Boss in mid fight and take a knee (Rest) if we are getting low on Endurance.
My only concern with a Stamina-less build is with certain villain groups throughout your career. Why is this important? The mid-game pits you against the Freakshow quite often and you run into your fair share of Warwolves. Granted, Warwolves suck for just about anybody, Freakshow are you bane. They have a 30% Resistance to Cold Damage, do End Drain with their Electric attacks, and can Self-Rez. On top of that, you don't have your powers fully slotted, nor do you have all the utilities from your Secondary. In the end-game, you have things like Malta Sappers and Carnies' Mask of Vitiation, which affect everyone, but with a bit less Recovery it may hinder your retaliation. My last concern is with Malta Titans, which have a 60%(!) Resistance to Cold and 30% Resistance to Smashing, and they cannot be Slept (robot). Still, with a clever use of Ice Patch and getting them to the Slow cap, you should be able to slow the pace of the combat enough to have some End left over by the end of the fight. This is especially crucial if you are running on Invincible and run into a pair of +3 Zeus Titans!!
[ QUOTE ]
2. Yuki may also choose to use faster AoE combos instead. Single/double sleep --> Shiver (mobs slowed but still asleep) --> Ice Storm (will mobs be able to immediately return fire all at once?) --> Frost Breath --> either Blizzard for a grand ending or ST chains to pick off survivors.
[/ QUOTE ]
If the retaliation of attacks is worrisome, and if you have a Catch a Breath, use Blizzard after Shiver. Blizzard has a nice ToHit DeBuff that should minimize the number of attacks hitting you. Then just use a CaB and throw Ice Storm and Frost Breath, if needed, out there. It is also interesting to note that you get the most out of Ice Storm and Blizzard by going: Aim, Build Up, Blizzard, Catch a Breath, Ice Storm.
Options 3-6 are very solid and all work very well. You know the tools of the trade and the time and place for them. Both builds look solid though I would like to offer a few comments, if I may...
In either build, you do not slot Chilblain. Chilblain is, IMO, one of the most underrated powers that we have at our disposal. It does damage equal to Ice Bolt (actually, a bit more, usually, since it is 100% Cold Damage), Immobilizes, Slows, does -Recharge, does -Fly, and recharges in 4 seconds with an 18 second duration, meaning is stacks awfully well with itself, and it can be used while Mezed. It can also lock an AV in place with just 2 quick applications, in most cases. I hated Chilblain in my mid-game, but that is because I didn't slot it and I didn't appreciate what it did. Today, I would consider it one of the best powers in my Secondary and I am thankful that no matter how far back I Exemplar to, I will always have it in my arsenal.
At first glance, I would say Shiver is over slotted. However, I do not have Mid's installed (just did a full OS reinstall recently), so I cannot see what the Bonuses are. Depending on how often you use it, it really only needs an Acc and an End Redux. Though you may want a Recharge if you want to shave off 3 seconds on the recharge.
Only because you didn't slot anything in it, I'd put an End Redux in Sprint. It's an expensive Toggle to run if you are without Stamina. Either that or have it on a hotkey so it can be switched on and off when needed.
Overall, either look to be good builds. I would copy to Test and try either build out for a few missions to see how they perform, without the IOs. Then you can see if playing without Stamina is a cause for concern or not when coupled with your play style.
In the end though, all that matters is that you are having fun!
Cyclone Jack
-= idspispopd =-
[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]
Thanks for a long and well-considered reply, Jack. For what it's worth, I think you should go ahead and release a preliminary version of your new guide, give yourself a week to be unhappy over it, and then give in to your perfectionistic side and redo it! Spoil us! 
Hm... I think I'm leaning towards the Stamina build now. I tend to end up playing like a controller regardless of AT and find that I reflexively keep Aim and Build Up in reserve for bad situations. This mindset is good for slow-recharge, powerful moves like AoE Holds, but probably not quite right in this case. I could choose to adapt, I suppose, but Yuki is built as a blastoller anyway.
Also, I run out of End way too quickly on large teams. I feel like a leech when I'm always the first one to take a knee or hang back so that my indolent End bar can recharge. The worst feeling comes when I see a dangerous Boss or Lieut that I could kill/freeze if only I had the breath to do it; my controller heritage then flips me the bird.
I chose Ice Bolt over Chilblain because of the former's shorter activation time and instant damage. In practice, I find that the stuff I Chilblain always gets offed immediately after. 
But your point about its strengths is well-made. Let me see if I can steal slots for it from somewhere...
Shiver's slotting gives me 1.5% recovery, +0.9 maxend, and +3.75% global recharge reduction. Hm... perhaps if I went the Stamina route, I could afford to drop most of these bonuses in favour of a more robustly-slotted Chilblain... Hm, actually, Decimation does what I need better than Tempered Readiness does anyway.
Sprint is not slotted because this is a Hover/Fly character. Her feet only touch the ground when she is first loaded up and when she is mezzed.
Ok, after some tweaking, here's my new build:
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.40
http://www.cohplanner.com/
O-Yuki: Level 50 Natural Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
Power Pool: Concealment
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Presence
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(9), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(9), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(11), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(11), Decim-Build%:40(15)
Level 1: Chilblain -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(25), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(46), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(46), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(48)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(3), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(5), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(5), Dev'n-Hold%:50(7)
Level 4: Frost Breath -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(17), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(43), Posi-Dam%:50(45), TmpRdns-Dmg/Slow:50(45), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(45)
Level 6: Stealth -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(7)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Para-Acc/EndRdx:30(A), Para-Acc/Hold/Rchg:30(50)
Level 10: Swift -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 12: Hover -- Srng-Fly:50(A), Srng-EndRdx/Fly:50(13), Frbd-Fly:50(13), Frbd-Stlth:50(15)
Level 14: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(A), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(50)
Level 16: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(17)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Dev'n-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(19), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(19), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(21), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23), Dev'n-Hold%:30(25)
Level 20: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(21)
Level 22: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(23)
Level 24: Invisibility -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- Dev'n-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Dev'n-Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(27), Dev'n-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(29), NrncSD-Dam%:30(40), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(43)
Level 28: Shiver -- TmpRdns-Acc/Slow:50(A), TmpRdns-Acc/EndRdx:50(29)
Level 30: Ice Storm -- Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(31), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(31), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(31), Posi-Dam%:50(34), ImpSwft-Dam%:30(37)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:50(33), Posi-Dmg/Rng:50(33), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 35: Freezing Touch -- Mako-Acc/Dmg:50(A), Mako-Dmg/EndRdx:50(36), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(36), Mako-Dam%:50(36), NrncSD-Dam%:30(37), G'Wdw-Dam%:50(37)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- CSndmn-Acc/Rchg:50(A), CSndmn-EndRdx/Sleep:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/EndRdx:50(39), CSndmn-Sleep/Rng:50(39), CSndmn-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(40), CSndmn-Heal%:50(40)
Level 41: Flash Freeze -- FtnHyp-Sleep:50(A), FtnHyp-Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Sleep/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Acc/Rchg:50(42), FtnHyp-Sleep/EndRdx:50(43)
Level 44: Challenge -- Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:50(A), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:50(46)
Level 47: Intimidate -- Abys-EndRdx/Fear:50(A), Abys-Acc/EndRdx:50(48), Abys-Fear/Rng:50(48), Abys-Acc/Fear/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I:50(A)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Defiance
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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|'28BKOGC*+I;QI5T_'YTJKEELI%=:I^1DSDTXM)<874Y@= K22.EW*Y;+XHF4DS8^5*M|
|EFTLIG0>&8YE4]E**-O0LELUJ;1):M@+5BV55SS2>2P5<RD"@4O!K:57M93_UK N4,Y:|
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|
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|TIH=,+@A_92)J#+!;!H$)@F#>D'"Z$=]6A'/=JQ`^UH0CO"W(X.54/K->A*#5',`ZZ3|
|-NI*C4.PQ@0!\C0CHYK1A20-6G3Q%E1M1=565&U'U3Y36C-X45PW*-:F2[1M2*C]J6!|
|*-H?U.G!*$9Q2!*<4>2F(X;!Z<$K':-"I79W/)!.%.0IS%.:8-N.I;I)V:5?7!0EUIX|
|$58!5%L/<>[/T6Q7JUJ_>MA':^`]X#'P1]'X%/@F5Z]?KU*]X_6\6A@9/`*6!.,'A:T|
|$*='M(-&EJ14-P6M%$F@8PC\5G6'OX"?,7[\DV0IH(C^JQ&<'SMSNW/C'YTJ:/_1)+.|
|[6]+&6A3S%GYWLK_=;WV5=;QS-22GF!)DABS?'>6Y1P/S_.=R7<++(L\++_Q5;8:V,T|
|;VL.REV4?RS6>Y/:2>%E\+'Z6.I8`2Y"E@:6)I97E(4OY-\+8"+\`|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre><hr />
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for a long and well-considered reply, Jack. For what it's worth, I think you should go ahead and release a preliminary version of your new guide, give yourself a week to be unhappy over it, and then give in to your perfectionistic side and redo it! Spoil us!
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I'm missing a few things on the Secondaries pertaining to IOs, and I, uh, need to trim it down a bit. I think it's somewhere around 40 pages, though there are a few blank pages scattered throughout for easy to see breaks when scrolling, so it's probably more like 35 pages. I'm thinking it has too much information.
As for going Stamina, I can fully understand. Running without Stamina is tough, especially when running on big teams that don't stop. I'm sure Castle curses the original designers at least once a week for making the Fitness Pool. It is a powerful tool that has almost become a requirement in builds, keeping up with the Jones' and all.
[ QUOTE ]
Sprint is not slotted because this is a Hover/Fly character. Her feet only touch the ground when she is first loaded up and when she is mezzed.
[/ QUOTE ]
...and when using Ice Patch...
Its a good build, I think you'll enjoy it. A good concept character that is also fully functional.
Cyclone Jack
-= idspispopd =-
[size=1]Arc ID: 3155 - Project Prometheus (Seeking Feedback, now with less invalidation)[/size]
35-40 pages?! O.o
And, yeah, when using Ice Patch! I use the following binds to enable one-key access:
FIP1.txt (inside CoH\keybinds folder)
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>R "powexectoggleoff Hover$$powexectoggleoff Fly$$bind_load_file .\keybinds\FIP2.txt"</pre><hr />
FIP2.txt
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>R "powexec_name Ice Patch$$bind_load_file .\keybinds\FIP3.txt"</pre><hr />
FIP3.txt
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>R "powexectoggleon Hover$$bind_load_file .\keybinds\FIP1.txt"</pre><hr />
The following bind is run once in-game.
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>/b CTRL+R "powexectoggleon Hover$$bind_load_file .\keybinds\FIP1.txt"</pre><hr />
Trigger Ctrl+R for the first time to set up the bind file chain. Thereafter, 'R' cycles through the Ice Patch moves and Ctrl+R resets the cycle:
Press 'R': Hover/Fly switches off.
Press 'R' again: Ice Patch is cast.
Third 'R': Hover switches on again.
Ctrl+R: resets 'R' key to initial position (in case something screws up along the way).
Anybody?