I toke Ice on my Ill/Storm. Hibernate is a great Oh Shi-! power, although it kills your anchor toggles. Armor is ALWAYS nice, regardless of what kind.
Frost Breath, if it is similar to the Blaster power, is underwhelming. Ice Storm adds some nice DoT if you can keep the targets in the kill zone.
I'm going with Fire on my Fire/Rad, mostly because of Fireball. It's a nice, flaming cherry on top of an already delicious sundae!
Stay Gold, Paragon. Stay Gold.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
I tried Ice, Psionic, and Fire on my Fire/Rad. I have to say I've enjoyed fire the most, not only due to the upfront damages of fireball, but consume has proven to have much value as well to supplement end usage.
I haven't tried the other two on my fire/rad, and i'm sure other can come up with reasons why any of the other Ancillary pools will be helpful, but fire is very good, useful, and uncomplicated.
Freedom Bound!!!
[ QUOTE ]
My Fire/Rad Nuclear Flareup is fast approaching the 40s and I am starting to rethink his Ancillary Pool. I was orginally just going to go with Fire, but am starting to warm up to Ice, sort of a nuclear winter. I figured the slows in ice would compliment Hotfeet and Lingering Radiation.
I thought I'd take Frost Breath, Ice Storm and Hibernate and I can't decide whether to take the armor or not. If I didn't I'd probably grab Ice Blast for some ST damage. Would it be a mistake to leave the armor behind?
Or, as origanlly intended, should I just stick with Fire?
Any thoughts, feedback, opinions and the like welcomed. Thanks!
[/ QUOTE ]
I've tried them all, and like each for a different reason. What do you need most? I went with Psi on my Fire/Rad. Indomidible Will is the key -- getting mezzed was my biggest problem on my Fire/Rad, knocking off my toggles. Mind Over Body, the resistance shield, was a nice place to put a Steadfast -knockback IO, and Psi Tornado does nice damage over time (not a problem for a Fire/Rad) -- it actually does more damage than Fireball, I believe, when you consider the faster recharge.
Earth has some nice benefits, too. It now has Seismic Smash, a melee attack with a hold. Since you are in melee anyway, that goes well. The AoE is short range, but recharges quickly and adds a chance to stun (which will stack with your Flashfire to stun bosses). Earth's Embrace is a huge heal/HP buff and it has an ugly but effective defense-based shield.
Ice has Hibernate, a great panic-button power. I tend to take Ice on my */Storm controllers because Hibernate will let you recover both health and endurance. Good single target blast, a cone and a rain-type AoE (Fire Cages will keep foes in the area). Ice Storm does good damage but has a slow recharge. The Shield is defense-based.
Primal used to lack an AoE, but that was added in with Torrent, a cone. Good blast, good resistance-based shield, but the key power is Boost Power, which enhances your control and buff powers. I think it is better on a more control-based character, like a mind controller.
Fire is focused on damage, with Fireball for AoE and a good blast. Consume helps you recover endurance, but is on a long recharge. The shield is resistance based.
I prefer a different damage type, to help get around resistant foes. My Ill/Rad and Ill/TA have Fire. My Ice/Storm had Earth, but I have changed him to Ice for now. My Ill/Storm and Earth/Rad also have Ice. My Mind/FF went Primal. And my Fire/Rad went Psi.
If you don't have endurance issues, then I would suggest Psi for the mez protection or Earth for a nice boost to melee damage. Ice would be good, too, and of course, Fire for more ranged damage and endurance recovery.
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
I have Fire on my Ill/Kin, Psi on my Fire/Rad and Ice on my Ice/Storm. My thoughts on the three:
Psi - Least offense, by far, but offers mez protection. My Fire/Rad is specifically built to solo anything and everything the game can throw at me so mez protection is a must (even at a silly high def, you will get hit, and you will get mezzed, more on this later, and /Rad has more toggles that drop when mezzed). Otherwise, I'd prolly go Ice for the superior ST damage (more on this later). The 2 damage powers are rather pathetic compared to Fire or Ice, at least from a DPA perspective, but a whole lot better than nothing.
Fire - Best AoE damage. Keeping things in place for Ice Storm is trivial for a controller, but Fire Ball recharges far faster for greater AoE output. For /Kins, this is really sorta ideal and I couldn't pass it up for my own Ill/Kin. Having said that, even at near def cap, he gets mezzed quite a bit. Of course, at near def cap, it's not a big deal getting mezzed, and frankly, I don't need any other colored pills, so I keep a long supply of BFs handy.
Ice - best ST damage. Yes, best, as in better than Fire. Ice Blast has higher DPA than Fire Blast. On test, my Fire/Rad/Ice took down a pylon in 4:10, which if you're familiar w/pylon times is ridiculous. By comparison, Fire/Rad/Psi on live does it in about 5:35 (to be fair, that 4:10 time was by far the best w/avg times closer to 5:00 flat). And Ice Storm does have higher #s that Fire Ball and has greater utility to boot (slows). Hibernate's a great, great oh sh** button, or if you just need an end boost. In fact, w/a Stormy, you can just cast all your powers (FR, Tornado, Lt Storm), hit Hibernate and enjoy the carnage. Hell, I even briefly tanked LR w/all the towers up... until Hibernate ran out. 
The armors in all three sets are good placeholders for the +Def Steadfast IO, or a very small amount of +res for Fire & Psi (Fire Shield is prolly the best of the 3 for this). Ice Shield, at least for my high positional def builds, is completely useless except as an IO mule and I never turn it on.
Bottom line, for a Fire/Rad, it really depends on what you're going for. If you're not planning on heavy IOs in your build and want superior survivability, go Psi. If you want lots of AoE damage for farming or whatever, go Fire. If you want a decent compromise of the two, though w/a heavy bias towards offense, go Ice, but the armor is totally skippable unless you're building for S/L def. Just remember, RI & EF shut off when mezzed, and I think when you're in Hibernate too (or they just suppress, can't remember which).
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
Thanks for all the input. I'm keeping it between Ice and Fire for themeatic purposes, although, I am not usually one to care. I love Earth on my Plant/Storm but I just don't see it fitting here.
Local_Man brought up something I hadn't considered, and that was having a different damage type. Since my damage is mostly fire, having some cold damage might be helpful.
I haven't had a lot of trouble with getting mezzed, but that could change in the coming levels as I get closer to hitting 41 in which case I may consider Psi.
Thanks again everyone.
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for all the input. I'm keeping it between Ice and Fire for themeatic purposes, although, I am not usually one to care. I love Earth on my Plant/Storm but I just don't see it fitting here.
Local_Man brought up something I hadn't considered, and that was having a different damage type. Since my damage is mostly fire, having some cold damage might be helpful.
I haven't had a lot of trouble with getting mezzed, but that could change in the coming levels as I get closer to hitting 41 in which case I may consider Psi.
Thanks again everyone.
[/ QUOTE ]
On my Illusion 'Trollers, having damage type other than Psi makes a big difference against things like Robots. And having Psi damage against Demons helps my Fire/Rad.
Remember that Fire and cold are both elemental damage . . . sometimes resistances go to two matched types like smashing/lethal, Fire/Cold and Energy/Negative. Psi is separate. If different damage types are a key factor, then you may want something other than Cold.
Not that I would try to discourage you from the Ice set . . . I really like it and have it on more characters than any other.
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
Another good point that I hadn't considered. Hmmm.
I'm still leaning towards Ice and am probably going that way. I have two Vet respecs, so I am covered if I find it not to my liking, or it just isn't working well enough.
Ice will probably be fine - Frost Breath adds a really nice slow that can help mitigation, and Hibernate is a pretty good panic Button, though when you come out the things that were killing you will still be out there.
My Fire/Rad took Stone and I LOVE it. Stacking stuns with Fissure, and Holds with Seismic Smash really adds to your mitigation. If I didn't have Stone, I'd probably go with Psi for the hold protection but it wouldn't be nearly as fun.
I went with fire mastery for the shield and the fireball. I find the fireball really helps with mobs locked down with containment, although each ancillary has an AoE I think, so it's up to you.
I like the armours, though it's an investment because you kinda have to put a few slots in them to make it worthwhile. But that 15-20% of damage mitigation really does make a difference, if you have the endurance to run the extra toggle.
Brother of Markus
The Lord of Fire and Pain
The Legendary Living Hellfire
Fight my brute!
I went with Fire Mastery on my Fire/Rad, the shield and fireball is awesome. Plus consume is great since this set is extremely costly even with perma AM/Haste.
[ QUOTE ]
I went with Fire Mastery on my Fire/Rad, the shield and fireball is awesome. Plus consume is great since this set is extremely costly even with perma AM/Haste.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, hells yes. I'm smacking consume every time it's up, I almost have to.
I tend to subscribe to this theory that if your Fire/Rad still has some blue in his endurance bar then he's not doing his job.
Brother of Markus
The Lord of Fire and Pain
The Legendary Living Hellfire
Fight my brute!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I went with Fire Mastery on my Fire/Rad, the shield and fireball is awesome. Plus consume is great since this set is extremely costly even with perma AM/Haste.
[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, hells yes. I'm smacking consume every time it's up, I almost have to.
I tend to subscribe to this theory that if your Fire/Rad still has some blue in his endurance bar then he's not doing his job.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm, I don't have that many endurance problems with mine, even running Hot Feet and Choking Cloud continually. Granted, I have both max slotted for EndRdx, with some EndRdx in Fire Cages and other powers. Three Enzymes in RI substantially reduce its endurance cost. But with good slotting, some bonuses and a proc or two, I rarely have to buff my blue bar.
That's why I'm happy with the Psi APP. My Fire/Rad does plenty of damage as long as everything is controlled. I can't control if I'm mezzed. Once I have everything controlled, all I have to do is stand there until it all dies.
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
[ QUOTE ]
My Fire/Rad Nuclear Flareup is fast approaching the 40s and I am starting to rethink his Ancillary Pool. I was orginally just going to go with Fire, but am starting to warm up to Ice, sort of a nuclear winter. I figured the slows in ice would compliment Hotfeet and Lingering Radiation.
I thought I'd take Frost Breath, Ice Storm and Hibernate and I can't decide whether to take the armor or not. If I didn't I'd probably grab Ice Blast for some ST damage. Would it be a mistake to leave the armor behind?
Or, as origanlly intended, should I just stick with Fire?
Any thoughts, feedback, opinions and the like welcomed. Thanks!
[/ QUOTE ]
I think any of the pools would work great. If you use Hot Feet often, consider Stone Mastery. The additional melee damage might have more utility for you since you'll be in melee range anyway.
My Fire/Rad Nuclear Flareup is fast approaching the 40s and I am starting to rethink his Ancillary Pool. I was orginally just going to go with Fire, but am starting to warm up to Ice, sort of a nuclear winter. I figured the slows in ice would compliment Hotfeet and Lingering Radiation.
I thought I'd take Frost Breath, Ice Storm and Hibernate and I can't decide whether to take the armor or not. If I didn't I'd probably grab Ice Blast for some ST damage. Would it be a mistake to leave the armor behind?
Or, as origanlly intended, should I just stick with Fire?
Any thoughts, feedback, opinions and the like welcomed. Thanks!