Guide to Cold Dominating

Turbo_Ski · 07-31-2008 11:00 AM

Guide to Cold Dominating
by Turbo_ski

Before we begin, I would like to reference you to Arcanaville's guide to Defense and ToHit. Cold Domination is very Defense focused and so it's important that you understand exactly how it works.

Also this guide is focused for PvE not PvP. Although PvPers might find some of the formulas useful.

-------------------------------------

Table of Contents
- Powers Overview
- Pool powers
- Important Power Combos
- Def vs Res in Arctic Fog
- Benumb mechanics
- Sleet stacking and Resistance debuff resists Formula
- HP Caps + Frostworks and why it's skippable
- Heat Loss positioning and ToHit check explained
- Blast set synergies
- Inventions

--------------------------------------

Powers Overview

All powers except frostwork are must-haves if you team in PvE. If you're building this for solo you're probably better off rolling a Storm summoning character and if you're rolling for PvP only then you'll still want the shields for double KB protection IOs and LotG +Recharge IOs (even the cold/fire resists are somewhat helpful despite +DEF being a joke in PvP).

Infrigidate [Single Enemy Target, -Def(ALL), -Recharge, -SPD, -Dmg(Fire)]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: This power will severely cripple a single foe's movement and recharge. It will also reduce any fire damage the foe does and most importantly it will apply a hefty defense debuff that will improve all ToHit rolls against the target (basically target painting it).
Use: use at the start of every attack chain and before benumb to improve your ToHit chances. It can also be used as pseudo hold, especially against fire wielding foes.
Recomended SO slotting: 2 accuracy / 1-2 Def Debuff / 1 recharge / 1 end redux

Ice Shield [Single Ally Target, +Def(Melee/Smashing/Lethal), +Res(Cold/Fire)]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: Gives your allies a hefty amount of Defense to all postional attacks and gives some elemental resist.
Use: Take it and use it on everyone on your team. If you don't you might as well roll a Storm Summoning character instead.
Recomended SO slotting: 3 def buff / 0-1 end redux

Snow Storm [AoE Enemy Toggle, -Recharge, -SPD, -Fly]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: This debuff toggle will apply the majority of your -recharge -SPD effects. That's all it does but it does it incredibly well. It will also down flyers.
Use: Use at the start of combat after Sleet. Anchor it on a tough central foe.
Recomended SO slotting: 2 end redux / 1-2 slow

Glacial Shield [Single Ally Target, +Def(Ranged/AoE/Negative/Energy), +Res(Cold)]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: See Ice Shield
[u]Use:[u] See Ice Shield
Recomended SO slotting: 3 def buff / 0-1 end redux

Frostwork [Single Ally Target, +MaxHP, +Res(Toxic)]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: This will increase the max HP of an ally, it doesn't heal beyond what it buffs like Dull Pain clones do. It has a hefty recharge time so you'll only be able to get on 3-4 people at most with 3 slots.
Use: ...It's really overkill most of the time so use it on someone that is prone to dying a lot...
Recomended SO slotting: 0-3 recharge / 1-2 heal
(see "HP Caps + Frostworks and why it's skippable")

Arctic Fog [AoE Self+Ally Toggle, +Res(Slow/Cold/Fire/Energy), +Def(AoE/Ranged/Melee), +Stealth]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: You take this power because slow resist is rare and the stealth is helpful and the resistance and defense protects YOU.
Use: Just keep the toggle on all the time. make sure to be in range of melees for the buff though.
Recomended SO slotting: 2 end redux / 1-3 resistance / 0-3 def buff
(see "Def vs Res in Arctic Fog")

Benumb [Single Enemy Target, -Special, -Regen, -Dmg(ALL), -End]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: By far the strongest power in the entire set. This will reduce a variety of stats dramatically and debuff the foe's damage and regen severely.
Use: Use it every time it's up but only after using Infrigidate first.
Recomended SO slotting: 3 recharge / 1-2 accuracy
(see "Benumb mechanics")

Sleet [AoE Enemy Location, -Res(ALL), -Def(ALL), -Recharge, -SPD, Knockdown, Minor DoT damage]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: Sleet is your main offensive power and is your AoE target painter and helps snow storm slow enemies better. TAKE IT AND LOVE IT!
Use: Use it first ALWAYS. You can hide behind an object or corner out of sight and still drop it on foes.
Recomended SO slotting: 3 recharge / 1-2 Def debuff / 1-2 Slow
(See "Sleet stacking and Resistance debuff resists Formula")

Heat Loss [AoE Enemy+Self+Ally Target+Self, -Res(ALL), -End, -Recharge, -SPD, +End, +Recovery]
Corruptor values
Defender values
Description: This will easily cap any ally's (including yours) recovery and endurance as long as they are near the targeted enemy. it also radiates one buff from the caster.
Use: Use it after a Sleet and preferably near your melee allies.
Recomended SO slotting: 3 recharge / 1-2 endmod / 0-1 accuracy
(See "Heat Loss positioning and ToHit check explained")

---------------------------------------

Pool Powers (at least the ones that matter)

HIGHLY RECOMENDED

Hasten - because getting Benumb, Heat Loss, and Sleet back up as fast as possible is VERY important.

Hurdle or Swift - needed to access...

Health/Stamina - Yes, you will need Stamina because of the costs of Arctic Fog and Snow Storm running while you hurl out blasts

Superspeed - When stacked with Arctic Fog this will give you Invisbility level stealth and will let you stand right next to foes if you really wanted to.

Power Buildup (Defenders only) - Use with Benumb to raise the -Special value to the -90% cap.

FLUFF POWERS

Recall Friend - nice if you take the Superspeed + Arctic Fog combo, but it's entirely skippable.

Stimulant - This will shut up anyone that is complaining about getting mezzed but it's not necessary.

Aid Self - If you took Stim, you might as well pick up this as well.

Alternative travel powers - really up to personal preference but they don't have any benefit with Cold powers like speed does.

Maneuvers - I only recommend this for Defenders since they have decent DEF values on it and Arctic Fog to make the stacking worthwhile.

Assault/Tactics - Great for any AT to take...but again not essential.

---------------------------------------

Important Power Combos

Snow Storm + Ice/Glacial Shields = The shields protect the team from the initial volley of attacks and Snow Storm significantly slows the recharge of the second volley of attacks

Arctic Fog + Superspeed = grants Invisibility level stealth with no drawbacks

Infrigidate + Benumb = Makes Bosses/EB/AVs complete wimps

Power Buildup + Infrigidate + Benumb = The above effect except vastly better. This will make anyone in a PvP zone cry as well.

Sleet + Heat Loss = Casting Sleet first helps to ensure that the debuff portion of Heat Loss hits as many foes as possible.

Ice/Glacial shields + Defender Maneuvers + Defender Arctic Fog = additional 15% AoE +Def in addition to shields

Sleet + Snow Storm = Slow stacking makes Snow Storm even more awesome

---------------------------------------

Def vs Res in Arctic Fog

This is the subject of much debate in the Defender forums and not even discussed at all in the corruptor forums.

Corruptors first, you should NEVER slotted DEF into Arctic Fog. The value is just way too low to even begin to justify the slots. It's so low that you're better off stacking the low +Def bonuses from pool powers (don't even think about doing that either). In short, just slot resistance.

Defenders have a dillema here. On one hand the resistance value of Fog is large and very worthy of buffs, and on the other hand the Def value is just slightly high enough to justify slotting for DEF stacking assuming you are taking Maneuvers as well.

If you're not taking Maneuvers I highly recommend you just slot 3 resistance instead and move the extra slot you don't use some place else.
If you are taking Maneuvers then I recommend slotting 3 Defense and 1 resistance then.

----------------------------------------

Benumb mechanics

What Benumb effects?
[ QUOTE ]

Stun/Sleep/Hold/Immobilize/Confuse/Fear Duration
Mez Protection Magnitude
Mez Resist (Acro/AM/Vengeance)
Defense Buffs/Debuffs
ToHit Buffs/Debuffs
Heals (Direct heals only, not +regen or -regen)
Endurance Drain and "Heals" (Direct +end from powers like Transference, not +recovery)
Run/Fly Speed
Run/Fly Speed Resist
Movement Slow Powers (Not -recharge)
Knockdown/Knockback

[/ QUOTE ]
quoted from F22Major's guide to Powerboost

The exception is that if power has a slottable Resistance component it won't be effected by powerboost/benumb. this means that Ice Shield, Glacial Shield, and Arctic Fog for example are completely unaffected by these powers because they have slottable resistance components.

It should also be noted that while Benumb does effect status protection (clear mind and the like), but it does not affect AV/Hero Purple Triangles or inherent mez protection built into Boss/GM/AV/EB/Hero enemy classes.

Anyway here is the formula to all the effects:
EFFECT_VALUE * min( max( 1 + BENUMB_VALUE *( 1 + POWERBOOST_VALUE ), 0.1 ), 4.0 )

Pretty much all you need to know is that whatever the value of the benumb that's the percent it's going to shave off that effect's amount.
Corruptor Benumb = -55.875%
Defender Benumb = -74.5%
Power Buildup + Def. Benumb = -90% (capped, since you can't reduce any effect to be less than 10%)

EXAMPLE:
Clear Mind is -12.975 mag to all it's status effects

under Corr. Benumb:
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -0.55875, 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * ( 0.44125 )
Clear Mind = -5.72521875

under Def Benumb:
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -0.745, 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * ( 0.255 )
Clear Mind = -3.308625

under PBU + Benumb:
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -1.477633, 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( -0.477633, 0.1), 4) <- reduces to Min value 0.1
Clear Mind = -12.975 * ( 0.1 )
Clear Mind = -1.2975

So what happens when you Benumb another Cold and they use Benumb? For this example well say that a Cold Corruptor Benumbed a Cold Defender first.
Defender Benumb = -0.745 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -0.55875, 0.1), 4)
Defender Benumb = -0.745 * ( 0.44125 )
Defender Benumb = -0.32873125

What if benumb is used on someone using Power Boost? Well once again it depends on which was activated first here. (Using Clear Mind as the effect example)
If Corr_Benumb comes first...
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -0.55875 + 0.9834 * ( 1 + -0.55875), 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 0.44125 + 0.9834 * ( 0.44125 ), 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 0.44125 + 0.43392525, 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * ( 0.87517525 )
Clear Mind = -11.35539887
NOTE: if benumb runs out of duration before PB then just remove the -0.55875 in the (1 + -0.55875) part for that value.

If Power Boost comes first...
Clear Mind = -12.975 * MIN( MAX( 1 + -0.55875 + 0.9834, 0.1), 4)
Clear Mind = -12.975 * ( 1.42465 )
Clear Mind = -18.48483375

Turbo_Ski · 07-31-2008 11:01 AM

Sleet stacking and Resistance debuff resists Formula

Yes, Sleet stacks on itself from the same caster and it's incredibly easy to do so since 3 recharge SOs give it a downtime of 1 second before you factor in +recharge buffs from allies, hasten, and Inventions. The reason it stacks is because Sleet summons an untargetable pet that does all its effects and it's marked so you can summmon multiple instances. The game see the 2nd pet as a separate caster and thusly overrides the non-stacking from same caster rule that sleet has to follow.

So what does this all mean? Well when we factor in Hasten and cast time, you get about 5 seconds of double stacked sleets about 4 separate times during one instance of hasten's duration. This is all with 3 recharge SOs too so it's dirt cheap out of the box and has much more potential the more recharge you throw at it with inventions and ally buffs. What's important though is that this gives Cold Domination a great edge to compete on the offensive front against sets with heavier -res debuffs or +dmg buffs or a good mix of both.

The most extreme IO (yet still functional) IO build with permahasten got Sleet down to a 11 second overlap with 19 second intervals in between. So most IO builds you'll come up with will vary between 5 to 11 second overlap periods. Of course this is all without ally +Recharge buffs, so those can make up for any difference if you have them consistently available through SG mates and friends.

Now the juiciest part of Sleet is the resistance debuff and how it can overwhelm AV/Hero/GM class targets since Res debuffs aren't resisted like other buffs.

Resistance debuffs are resisted by the total resistance buff of the target. They are also subject to the Purple Patch modifiers. This applies to each individual damage resistance, so you might have the full effect on Fire resist because they have 0% but you might have Lethal resist might be 30% and it will shave off 30% of your debuff. Formula for this is below.

[ QUOTE ]
RESISTANCE FORMULA

RES_FINAL = ( RES_BASE + RES_BUFF ) - ( RES_DEBUFF * PURPLE_PATCH * ( 1 - ( RES_BASE + RES_BUFF )) +/- [additional debuff/buffs]

Purple Patch chart
Enemy base resistance values

[/ QUOTE ]

Sleet for both defenders and corruptors has the same -30% res debuff and can slot the -20% res Achille's Heel proc for even more fun, so we'll use them in this example calculation. Let's say we're fighting a +4 Ghost Widow and we'll assume we got a lucky proc off of a single instance of sleet. We'll say we're attacking with Negative damage for this calculation as well.

Given values
Purple Patch Modifier: 0.48
Sleet: 0.30
Achilles Heel: 0.20
GW's negative resistance: 0.30
No Res buffs other than base.

RES_FINAL = ( RES BASE + RES BUFF ) - ( RES DEBUFF * PURPLEPATCH * ( 1 - ( RES BASE + RES BUFF ) ) ) - ( RES DEBUFF * PURPLEPATCH * ( 1 - ( RES BASE + RES BUFF ) ) )
RES_FINAL = ( 0.30 + 0.0 ) - ( .30 * 0.48 * ( 1 - ( 0.30 + 0.0 ) ) ) - ( 0.2 * 0.48 * ( 1 - ( 0.30 + 0.0 ) ) )
RES_FINAL = ( 0.30 ) - ( 0.1008 ) - ( 0.0672 )
RES_FINAL = 0.132
+4 Ghost Widow is left with only 13.2% res to negative instead of 30%

Now what if we we're double stacking sleet but without the proc?
RES_FINAL = ( 0.30 ) - ( 0.1008 ) - ( 0.1008 )
RES_FINAL = 0.0984
+4 Ghost Widow is left with only 9.84% res to negative instead of 30%

Of course since Ghost Widow has zero resistance to fire/energy/cold she is suffers -14.4% for each instance of Sleet ( -28.8% when double stacked )

Now the damage calculations are easy here since Resistance only looks at the final damage of a power. An attack that does 100 damage against 30% resistant dmg type will only deal 70 damage and when it's a -30% res value it's final damage will be 130 damage. This is a lot better than +dmg buffs in the long run too since +Dmg buffs only effect the base damage of a power and not the value after enhancements.

DMG_FINAL = DMG_BUFFED * ( 1 - RES_FINAL )
If RES_FINAL is negative you'll get a higher value and if positive you get a lower value.

----------------------------------------

HP Caps + Frostworks and why it's skippable

Frostworks sounds great at first but it really isn't when most players will hardly see any benefit from it. I'll go into detail who you shouldn't put this on and why you shouldn't feel bad if you skip it.

Below is the amount of self percent HP buffs needed for each AT to reach their HP cap:
BLASTER_________33.33
CONTROLLER______57.89
DEFENDER________57.89
SCRAPPER________80.00
TANKER__________71.43
KHELDIAN_______125.00
CORRUPTOR_______50.00
DOMINATOR_______57.89
MASTERMIND_____100.00
BRUTE__________114.29
STALKER_________33.33
ARACHNOS_______125.00

Now Frostworks looks at the caster's Base HP for it's percent buff and then applies the final HP number to the AT. Below are the equivalent self percent values for each AT frostworks is cast on.

________________FW_Corr_BASE____1 SO______2 SO______3 SO
BLASTER____________39.11________52.13_____65.16___ __76.24
CONTROLLER_________46.32________61.74_____77.16___ __90.28
DEFENDER___________46.32________61.74_____77.16___ __90.28
SCRAPPER___________35.20________46.92_____58.64___ __68.62
TANKER_____________25.14________33.52_____41.89___ __49.01
KHELDIAN___________44.00________58.65_____73.30___ __85.77
CORRUPTOR__________44.00________58.65_____73.30___ __85.77
DOMINATOR__________46.32________61.74_____77.16___ __90.28
MASTERMIND_________58.67________78.20_____97.74___ _114.36
BRUTE______________31.43________41.89_____52.36___ __61.26
STALKER____________39.11________52.13_____65.16___ __76.24
ARACHNOS___________44.00________58.65_____73.30___ __85.77

________________FW_Def_BASE_____1 SO______2 SO______3 SO
BLASTER____________44.44________59.28_____74.06___ __86.64
CONTROLLER_________52.63________70.20_____87.70___ _102.60
DEFENDER___________52.63________70.20_____87.70___ _102.60
SCRAPPER___________40.00________53.35_____66.65___ __77.98
TANKER_____________28.57________38.11_____47.61___ __55.70
KHELDIAN___________50.00________66.69_____83.31___ __97.47
CORRUPTOR__________50.00________66.69_____83.31___ __97.47
DOMINATOR__________52.63________70.20_____87.70___ _102.60
MASTERMIND_________66.66________88.92____111.08___ _129.96
BRUTE______________35.71________47.64_____59.51___ __69.62
STALKER____________44.44________59.28_____74.06___ __86.64
ARACHNOS___________50.00________66.69_____83.31___ __97.47

Below is a chart showing when frostworks alone will cap an ATs HP.

xxxxx = Capped

________________FW_Corr_BASE____1 SO______2 SO______3 SO
BLASTER____________xxxxx________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
CONTROLLER______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
DEFENDER________________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
SCRAPPER__________________________________________ _______
TANKER____________________________________________ _______
KHELDIAN__________________________________________ _______
CORRUPTOR_______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
DOMINATOR_______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
MASTERMIND________________________________________ __xxxxx
BRUTE_____________________________________________ _______
STALKER____________xxxxx________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
ARACHNOS__________________________________________ _______

________________FW_Def_BASE_____1 SO______2 SO______3 SO
BLASTER____________xxxxx________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
CONTROLLER______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
DEFENDER________________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
SCRAPPER__________________________________________ _______
TANKER____________________________________________ _______
KHELDIAN__________________________________________ _______
CORRUPTOR_______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
DOMINATOR_______________________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
MASTERMIND________________________________xxxxx___ __xxxxx
BRUTE_____________________________________________ _______
STALKER____________xxxxx________xxxxx_____xxxxx___ __xxxxx
ARACHNOS__________________________________________ _______

As you can see buffing any thing other than a scrapper/tanker/kheldian/brute/arachnos/mastermind is pretty pointless.

Now there are specific sets you should never buff as well since they reach near cap with their own buffs
NEVER BUFF:
- Invulnerability users
- Stone Armor users
- Regeneration users
- Ice Tankers
- Crab Spiders
- White/Black Dwarfs
- Peacebringers
- Controllers with Earth's Embrace
Frostworks is meaningless to them since they are aleady extremely close to their HP caps.

Willpower should avoid being buffed if accolades and/or +HP IOs are present (that's between 10% to 30% self buff on average)

Always try and buff any Tankers/Kheldians/Arachnos/Brute/Scrapper first then focus on Masterminds unless one of those ATs matches the group I mention above.

Since the power has almost no effect on well over half of the ATs in the game prior to Inventions and Accolades, there is no reason why you couldn't skip Frostworks or leave it unslotted.

---------------------------------------

Heat Loss positioning and ToHit check explained

Heat Loss summons two separate non-target pets, one to do the buff and one to do the debuff. The buff pet is auto hit and the debuff pet requires a ToHit check for all it's effects except for the one foe targeted (that one foe is auto hit).

Buff pet does (15 ft. Radial):
+Recovery
+Endurance

Debuff pet does (20 ft. Radial):
-SPD
-Recharge
-Res
-Endurance
-Summons Buff pet to radiate from target

When you activate Heat Loss the buff pet is summoned to radiate from you once and the debuff pet hits the target as a radial AoE. The debuff pet then summons the buff pet to radiate off each enemy in the AoE (This is auto hit). All the other effects of the debuff pet require a ToHit check for each enemy that wasn't the targeted one. The reason the targeted foe is auto hit is because it needs to summon the buff pet again for that to be auto hit off each enemy.

Now there are 3 ways you can use this on team:
#1 Get yourself in melee with the enemies for max buff for you and your melee allies
#2 position yourself near the ranged allies and fire it off at one of the melee ally's target
#3 patiently wait for an enemy to close in on the ranged allies for max buff

I personally like #2 a lot but if you're selfish it's completely okay to do #1

You can also cancel out the end crash of blast Nukes with Heat Loss by using a +End inpsiration after nuking and hitting Heat Loss next to the enemies. This doesn't make nukes must-haves, but it does make them more appealing.

---------------------------------------

Blast set synergies ( the ones that matter)

Dark Blast - the -ToHit debuffs synergize very well with the +DEF shields. Also the AoE immobilize is nice despite being unnecessary with all the slows, but it's the -ToHit portion we love.

Ice Blast - Slow stacking insanity and rain stacking...does any more really need to be said? oh yeah Freeze Ray is awesome for holding stacking with Benumb

Sonic Blast - let's be honest -res debuffs synergizes with EVERYTHING...Screech can be used just like freeze ray with Benumb too

Rad Blast - just Def debuff stacking here, only worth mentioning because Achille's Heel procs are great and Cosmic Burst is essentially Freeze Ray + Bitter Ice Blast with -def instead of -tohit and slow.

Psychic Blast - -recharge stacking and has a nice assortment of ST controls that you can use with benumb if you want.

---------------------------------------

Inventions

I'm not going to go into great detail here since inventions are complex and different builds will always seek different things depending on their blast set powers.

Achille's Heel -res proc - put it into Infrigidate and Sleet. It will most of the time be adding 15-20% damage buff (see Resistance formula) to your entire team's gross damage whenever it does proc off.

Franken slotting - this is where you take say a dmg/rechg IO from one set and another dmg/rechg IO from a different set in order to save slots and still get the most out of your enhancements. Try to do this as often as possible with Sleet, Heat Loss, Snow Storm, Frostwork, and Infrigidate.

Set Bonsuses to focus on:
#1 - Recharge - the faster hasten, benumb, sleet, and heat loss recharge the more powerful you become.
#2 - Accuracy - the more accuracy bonsus you can eventually completely omit accuracy enhancements from your attack powers without a loss because of Infrigidate's and Sleet's def debuffs and these +Acc bonsuses.

Anything else while nice to have isn't of a great concern regarding Cold Domination specifically.

---------------------------------------

Credits:

FF2Major, Hopper, and Walt_Jabsco for help with the PBU + Benumb formula and in-game tests

F22Major's guide to Powerboost
Paragonwiki Hit Points page
Paragonwiki Limits page
Paragonwiki Purple Patch
Culex's Enemy Resistances - Damage and Mez guide

Ghost_Warrior · 07-31-2008 11:24 AM

Nice, was hoping someone would make one of these. Great guide but the data for corrupter/defender stats is MIA, it says moved or deleted.

Doh, nevermind its showing up now

LoveLife · 07-31-2008 11:38 AM

Fantastic guide!

Listen to Survival Guide. Because you should!
"You have a mom? I thought you were conceived through pure win?" ~Spinestradamus
"reading ur posts is like reading a stop sign, its red oddly shaped and makes me come to a complete stop...then i go" ~anon rep; thank you

Phosphorescency · 07-31-2008 11:50 AM

What is the range on Heat Loss? How close do I, and my team, have to be to receive the buff?

Excellent information, I didn't know that Heat Loss was auto-hit on its primary target, for example. I might change my slotting to slightly less accuracy and slightly more recharge based on that.

Turbo_Ski · 07-31-2008 11:57 AM

[ QUOTE ]
What is the range on Heat Loss? How close do I, and my team, have to be to receive the buff?

[/ QUOTE ]
The distance range is 70 ft.
each buff pet trigger has 15 ft. radius
the one debuff pet has a 20 ft. radius from the targeted foe

Added this information to the guide above as well.

SupaStah · 07-31-2008 12:01 PM

Thanks for putting in the work to create this guide Turbo.

Psyonico · 07-31-2008 12:46 PM

Nice guide Turbo, but I'd like to point out that Heat loss is getting fixed in the next patch, you'll no longer be able to get over the -1000% recovery debuff without heavy end slotting and a bit of luck (the new values are 62.5% base)

No

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

I think you underestimate our fools, sir.

Why /duel is a bad idea

Turbo_Ski · 07-31-2008 12:53 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Nice guide Turbo, but I'd like to point out that Heat loss is getting fixed in the next patch, you'll no longer be able to get over the -1000% recovery debuff without heavy end slotting and a bit of luck (the new values are 62.5% base)

[/ QUOTE ]
Already know that and altered the Heat Loss screenshots. You're still able to counter-act the nuke crash with one +End inspiration following with heat loss regardless. Yes you'll be detoggled but Arctic Fog is probably the only toggle you'll be running anyway.

Westley · 07-31-2008 10:15 PM

Bah! Too many numbers, not enough strategy.

4 Stars.

Turbo_Ski · 08-01-2008 07:57 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Bah! Too many numbers, not enough strategy.

4 Stars.

[/ QUOTE ]
bah, says the forcefield guy who wishes he had some numbers to even talk about.

Westley · 08-01-2008 08:01 AM

Hey! My guide is at LEAST 25% numbers... the whole first section.

Still too many numbers if you ask me though....

Turbo_Ski · 08-01-2008 08:07 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Hey! My guide is at LEAST 25% numbers... the whole first section.

Still too many numbers if you ask me though....

[/ QUOTE ]
again you don't have Frostwork (grrrr) and Benumb to deal with.

PS: your guide is too wordy

dave_p · 08-01-2008 09:22 AM

Excellent guide.

My frankenslotting Arctic Fog (and Steamy Mist, for that matter) advice is:

Set Res (say, Aegis)
Set Res/End (Aegis again)
Generic Res IO
Set Def (say, Serendipity)
Set Def/End (Serend again)
Generic Def IO

At the higher lvls, this caps Res & Def values and offers very good end redux. No reason to choose bet. Res & Def in my mind, and it's definitely worth 6-slotting.

An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee

Turbo_Ski · 08-01-2008 09:28 AM

Yeah, fog is one of those powers that there are so many reasonable combinations it's really difficult to say this or that one is the best. For instance, I have my corruptor one slotted:
- 4 end/res
- LotG +Recharge
- Steadfast KB protection IO

I'll probably do something entirely different on my cold/ice defender when I start IOing her out.

Turbo_Ski · 09-08-2008 07:08 AM

Leaving a note for when I need to update the guide again.

- PB/Benumb doesn't effect powers that have ENHANCEABLE resistance components (basically if you can slot resist, PB/Benumb doesn't effect it).

Soul Train · 09-17-2008 12:16 PM

Wunderbar.

Hey Turbo.... think you could write a similar guide for Cold Dominators? I tried a Cold corruptor, and the gameplay just didn't do it for me. But I love my Ice/Cold Dom.

... what? I ain't got time to write a guide! besides, I have no idea what I'm doing...

"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."

Turbo_Ski · 09-17-2008 12:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Wunderbar.

Hey Turbo.... think you could write a similar guide for Cold Dominators? I tried a Cold corruptor, and the gameplay just didn't do it for me. But I love my Ice/Cold Dom.

... what? I ain't got time to write a guide! besides, I have no idea what I'm doing...

[/ QUOTE ]
I think you mean Ice/Icy dom, which IMO sucks. But that's mainly because I hate Icy Assault and Ice Control so much.

Turbo_Ski · 09-21-2008 09:14 AM

Another revision note:
- Benumb/Weaken do effect Knockback mag, however Power Boost effects do not.

Screwyrabbit · 09-29-2008 10:10 AM

Any chance on a quick list of powers you would suggest to go from 1 to mid 20's or so? It would be for PvE only with a 50/50 split between solo/team.

Thank you very much for the awesome guide !

Turbo_Ski · 09-29-2008 04:47 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Any chance on a quick list of powers you would suggest to go from 1 to mid 20's or so? It would be for PvE only with a 50/50 split between solo/team.

Thank you very much for the awesome guide !

[/ QUOTE ]
This guide is only for Cold Domination, not blasts. Frostworks is the only power I would delay or skip completely for Cold, everything else really needs to be taken ASAP for a PvE team build

StormDevil · 12-02-2008 05:30 AM

*bit of a necro*

Thanks for this Guide, Turbo. I'd been trying to decide if I wanted to make an Ice/Ice Dom or an Ice/Cold Corr, but this guide and the recent addition of Power Boost to the Corruptor Patron Pools has easily pushed the Corr to the forefront.

Quick question; I'm trying to plan out my endgame build, and I'm undecided between Soul Drain or Dark Embrace to unlock Power Boost. My instinct is to go with Soul Drain, does that sound like the best bet?

Thanks again, great guide.

Minotaur · 12-02-2008 06:32 AM

Turbo, a question for you on frostworks:

How do the caps scale by level ? and is it in a different way to your hits so do you have to buff more, the same, or less to hit the caps at lower levels ?

I was playing a lowbie cold def SKd to a lvl 16 or 17 PB.

He had 375 hits (can't remember which form, guessing nova). Then he used the dull pain clone and I used frostworks and he had 720 (I think also in nova form), so buffing a PB at levels lower than 50 seems to work.

Also buffing a stone armor user should not be a complete no-no as due to the recharge penalty in granite, earth's embrace is not normally perma for them, so if you frostwork them, they can keep EE mainly as a click heal, and there are no gaps in the max HP periods.

It's true. This game is NOT rocket surgery. - BillZBubba

Crestent · 12-02-2008 08:21 PM

Turbo asked that these answers be posted because he can not answer your questions on the boards currently...

Storm_devil,

I'm currently away from the game until January or February so I'm not very informed on any PPP/APP changes in I-13. However if there are no buffs made to soul drain then it should skipped in favor of embrace. If corruptor soul drain gets a buff to be on par with all other forms of soul drain then I would rate it as being about equally useful as Dark Embrace is. For an Ice/Cold I would take a buffed version of Soul Drain over embrace simply because I have plenty of control from Freeze Ray and all the -recharge AoEs that the damage buff ends up out weighing the resistance buff in usefulness.

Minotaur,

Frostworks looks at its caster's BASE HP count and paragonwiki explains HP scaling pretty well here. This means that as long as caster and the buffed target are relatively the same level (+/- 5 to each other) then there is no significant changes to how much it takes to cap off someone's HP.

As for the comment about granite armor, you have to keep in mind that granite armor isn't even available until after 32 or 38 and the +Res and +Def buff greatly outweighs any loss to protection caused by the -recharge debuff. It should also be noted that Granite Armor doesn't even need its own earth's embrace when under Ice/Glacial shield and with cold's -recharge debuffs on foes. When granite armor is on, frostworks has next to nothing utility since it's obsolete by the nearly capped damage mitigation and it doesn't trump heals for reactive mitigation. When granite is off, frostworks is trumped completely by the perma earth's embrace they are running anyway. It's a lose-lose situation for frostworks either way. It's a different story if we're talking about tanker/brute sets like fiery aura or some EAT builds that barely have any damage mitigation to start out, but these situations are very limited and can be easily be handled by all of cold's other tools.

Crestent lvl 50 Mind/Emp Controller http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...cGallary-1.jpg
http://crestent.deviantart.com/
http://www.creyindustries.com/viewhero.php?id=21809

SpiderTeo_OC · 02-14-2009 12:15 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Now there are specific sets you should never buff as well since they reach near cap with their own buffs

NEVER BUFF:
- Willpower users
- Invulnerability users
- Stone Armor users
- Regeneration users
- Ice Tankers
- Crab Spiders
- White/Black Dwarfs
- Peacebringers
- Controllers with Earth's Embrace
Frostworks is meaningless to them since they are aleady extremely close to their HP caps.

Always try and buff any Tankers/Kheldians/Arachnos/Brute/Scrapper first then focus on Masterminds unless one of those ATs matches the group I mention above.

Since the power has almost no effect on well over half of the ATs in the game prior to Inventions and Accolades, there is no reason why you couldn't skip Frostworks or leave it unslotted.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got to disagree here. Any Willpower user (except stalkers) can benefit from Frostworks. Willpower gets strong damage mitigation from its +regen. Though it has its own +HP buffs, it is not nearly enough to cap them off, even with bonuses from IO sets and Accolades. For Willpower users, more HP is not just more HP, but it increases the numerical effect of its regen rate.