I love my Ice/Elec/Elec Blaster. I don't call her a Blapper because I think that sounds stupid. Anyways. Ice/Elec/Elec works great as a Blaster or Controller because of the number of controlling powers at your disposal. You will do excellent damage whether at range or in melee. Elec Manip has the best damage potential of any of the Blaster secondaries so you won't be lacking damage wise in the melee part of your build.
You should never skip Ice Blast, Bolt, Bitter Ice Blast, Blizzard, Aim, or Freeze Ray out of the primary. Powers that are debatable are Ice Storm, Frost Breath, and Bitter Freeze Ray. I personally like BFR even though it has a long animation, but I skipped Ice Storm and would have skipped Frost Breath but I wanted the bonuses from Positron's Blast.
You shouldn't skip Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, Shocking Grasp, Power Sink, Build Up, or Thunderstrike in my opinion. I also took Lighting Clap because it allows for a nice IO set with good bonuses and its good mitigation. Some people skip Thunderstrike because of the long animation and that it does less damage than Total Focus, but I don't care about animation times and the damage is excellent to me.
I like Elec Mastery because of Shocking Bolt which if taken would be your 4th hold in a build with lots of damage. I don't like Static Discharge because cone powers aren't my flavor or tea even though I took FB, but you might like it. Surge of Power is wonderful, it like Force of Nature, but with a much nicer animation.
I slotted my build for lots of recharge so that I could keep Blizzard up as much as possibl as well as Power Sink and Surge of Power. Ice naturally recharges fast with with more recharge you will be that much dangerous.
By far the best Blaster pairing available and one of my favorite characters.
In case you need ideas here is my exact build as it is right now. If you have Mids you can load it and play around with the sets, but I use ONLY level 40s in all my characters so the numbers may be lower than if you use level 50s in your characters. The only difference is that I haven't gotten the 2nd Luck of the Gambler, but that will come soon enough after a couple more TFs.
Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.601
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Frost Spark: Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Electricity Manipulation
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Electrical Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(15), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(27)
Level 1: Electric Fence -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(3), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(5), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(15), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(25)
Level 4: Frost Breath -- Posi-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Posi-Dmg/EndRdx:40(7), Posi-Dmg/Rchg:40(7), Posi-Dmg/Rng:40(17), Posi-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(31)
Level 6: Charged Brawl -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:40(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:40(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(13), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), T'Death-Dam%:40(50)
Level 8: Freeze Ray -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(9), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(9), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(17)
Level 10: Havoc Punch -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:40(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:40(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(11), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(19), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(31), T'Death-Dam%:40(50)
Level 12: Hover -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:40(A)
Level 14: Fly -- Frbd-Stlth:40(A)
Level 16: Swift -- Flight-I:40(A)
Level 18: Health -- Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:40(A)
Level 20: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%:40(A), P'Shift-EndMod:40(21), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:40(21)
Level 22: Bitter Ice Blast -- Decim-Acc/Dmg:40(A), Decim-Dmg/EndRdx:40(23), Decim-Dmg/Rchg:40(23), Decim-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg:40(25), Decim-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(27)
Level 24: Build Up -- GSFC-ToHit:40(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:40(40), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:40(43), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:40(45), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:40(45)
Level 26: Aim -- GSFC-ToHit:40(A), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg:40(40), GSFC-ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx:40(43), GSFC-Rchg/EndRdx:40(43), GSFC-ToHit/EndRdx:40(45)
Level 28: Thunder Strike -- Oblit-Dmg:40(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg:40(29), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg:40(29), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(34), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(37)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I:40(A), RechRdx-I:40(37), RechRdx-I:40(37)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Dmg-I:40(A), Dmg-I:40(33), Dmg-I:40(33), RechRdx-I:40(33), RechRdx-I:40(34), RechRdx-I:40(34)
Level 35: Power Sink -- Efficacy-EndMod:40(A), Efficacy-EndMod/Rchg:40(36), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc/Rchg:40(36), Efficacy-EndMod/Acc:40(36), Efficacy-EndMod/EndRdx:40(48)
Level 38: Shocking Grasp -- C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg:40(A), C'ngImp-Dmg/Rchg:40(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:40(39), C'ngImp-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:40(39), C'ngImp-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:40(40), T'Death-Dam%:40(50)
Level 41: Shocking Bolt -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(42), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(42), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(42)
Level 44: Bitter Freeze Ray -- BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(A), BasGaze-Acc/Rchg:30(46), BasGaze-Rchg/Hold:30(46), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(46)
Level 47: Surge of Power -- RechRdx-I:40(A), RechRdx-I:40(48), RechRdx-I:40(48)
Level 49: Maneuvers -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:40(A)
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Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Defiance
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Set Bonus Totals:
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
- 10.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
- 7.5% Defense(Energy)
- 7.5% Defense(Negative)
- 3.75% Defense(Ranged)
- 6.75% Max End
- 82.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
- 39% Enhancement(Accuracy)
- 15% FlySpeed
- 135.5 HP (11.2%) HitPoints
- 15% JumpHeight
- 15% JumpSpeed
- MezResist(Immobilize) 14.9%
- MezResist(Stun) 2.2%
- 15% (0.25 End/sec) Recovery
- 10% (0.5 HP/sec) Regeneration
- 1.58% Resistance(Fire)
- 1.58% Resistance(Cold)
- 15% RunSpeed
"People love to talk, but hate to listen." Alice Duer Miller, American Author (1874-1942)
Skip Thunderstrike. Animation times affect damage done per time, and you have no control over animation times.
The other three powers do more damage in less activation time and with just a little recharge (hasten) they are a complete chain. Thunderstrike is superfluous to /Elec. If you want to take it for the graphics, do so, but it serves no other purpose than looking pretty. If you need the knockback mitigation, lightning clap is far superior there as well.
Frostbreath is your primary AOE power. Like firebreath, it is a narrow but extremely powerful cone attack. Ice Storm is commonly skipped, like most rain powers blueside, but does good damage when you can contain the foes in the storm.
There are two ways commonly taken with this pairing, as far as epics: Ice for the defense and electric for another hold. I like elec for the hold, surge of power, charged armor, and static discharge as much needed extra AOE. However, if you wanted more protection, S/L is pretty easy to softcap on Ice/Elec/Ice.
I actually plan on respecing out of Frost Breath and will probably take Ice Storm again to pair with Blizzard (my favorite 1-2 combo). I don't find the damage all that great based on the recharge, but thats just me because I am not really a fan of cone powers except for Night Fall in the Dark Blast set.
"People love to talk, but hate to listen." Alice Duer Miller, American Author (1874-1942)
I just specced out of thunderstrike on my fire/electric. I gave it a shot for a long while, and while the animation and KB can be amusing, it really just sat there on the bar looking pretty. Keep in mind only the rather small energy portion of the damage is distributed in the aoe of TS. Frost breath is very solid damage with great end efficiency. It does take a few seconds to animate, but the payoff of up front damage in a ranged aoe with quick recharge is worth it in my opinion. You don't have a lot of options if you want to participate in team aoe on an ice blaster.
The rest of the blaps in /elec are pure gold. Havoc+CB will two shot most minions and put a nasty hurt on anything else. Shocking grasp really let's you leverage stacking holds without disrupting your damage output. Bitter freeze ray, with it's still long animation time and mediocre damage, will likely play a far distant second fiddle to shocking grasp as a hold stacker.
After looking a little more, I'm thinking ice/elec/elec looks good. I plan to take frost breath, ice storm, and static discharge too, I can't stand blasters with no AoE. My other question is do I really need 4 holds? I don't solo much if that matters.
Quote:
Just a few notes in general on blappers.|
Originally Posted by firespray
I've done several blasters, but they've all been pure ranged, and I'd like to try a blapper for my next character. I'm looking at ice/elec and it's looking pretty good to me. Anyone else played one? Does it make a good blapper? What's a good epic pool to go with it? What powers are good to take/skip? Thanks for the advice.
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/Elec or /energy are good ways to go if you want single target melee damage. It's more of a play style choice than anything else.
If, however, you want lots of AoE melee damage then /Fire would be the best choice.
If you can afford to slot lots of defense sets then Rad/Fire would be better yet, especially in the high levels when you have your epic power.
Barring expensive defense sets Ice/ slotted for mitigation is a good pairing with any of the 3 above mentioned secondaries.
I've found that it's easier to use AoE/PBAoE powers than cones as a blapper and tend to prefer them. If I have a nice cone power I'll activate it as I'm heading towards melee range but I often find that to be clunky.
Rain powers are good for blappers if you drop them where you are blapping. In the case of Ice/Fire slotting an appropriate amount of slow movement in Ice Storm and Hot Feet will keep even +4s at the -movement cap whcih provides good mitigation for this combination.
For epic pools for blappers I prefer Cold Mastery or Force Mastery.
Ice gives you good defenses vs. Smashing and Lethal that can be further enhanced with set bonuses and it gives you an occasional "oh crap power" in Hibernation.
Force Mastery gives you a consistant "oh crap power" in Personal Forcefield. This power can also be used to splash alphas and will be recharged again and can be used to turtle up for a quick Aid Self after your alpha or in the case of /Fire while you wait in relative safety for the long DoTs to finish burning up the fleeing mobs.
Force Mastery also gives you Force of Nature that you can use with "intent" when facing large numbers of, or especially tough mobs.
-Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein.
-I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
-When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty. - Thomas Jefferson
Quote:
If you hate Blasters that do not have AoE you are picking the wrong primary. Ice is a single target based Blaster with a cone and 2 rain powers. If you plan on using Static Discharge you are looking at waiting until level 41 meaning you are going to rely on Frost Breath and Ice Storm to be your AoEs until your 2nd cone. Ice Storm is going ot make enemies flee and even though ice powers come with a built-in slow effect they will still attempt to run. If you want AoE you would be better off going with Radiation or Fire than Ice.|
Originally Posted by firespray
After looking a little more, I'm thinking ice/elec/elec looks good. I plan to take frost breath, ice storm, and static discharge too, I can't stand blasters with no AoE. My other question is do I really need 4 holds? I don't solo much if that matters.
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You do not NEED 4 holds, but Ice is unique in a way that it can be Controller-like because of its ability to have three two holds with the primary, 1 with the Elec secondary and another with the Elec epic. Whether you solo or not is not imporant, I never solo but I love having all my holds because I can lock down 2 bosses at a time while I wipe out everything else and then come back and keep stacking holds while I defeat the bosses.
"People love to talk, but hate to listen." Alice Duer Miller, American Author (1874-1942)
Quote:
I would not take 4 holds. My Ice/Elec blaster is level 26. I live on the attacks. Since you don't solo much, I'd much rather be dealing damage instead of control (tankers and controllers do it better, buffs/debuffs make them unneeded).|
Originally Posted by firespray
After looking a little more, I'm thinking ice/elec/elec looks good. I plan to take frost breath, ice storm, and static discharge too, I can't stand blasters with no AoE. My other question is do I really need 4 holds? I don't solo much if that matters.
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I'd take Freeze Ray at some point by the 30. Shocking Grasp is an excellent attack. I plan on taking Grasp, I do not have Freeze Ray yet, I may never take it.
Frost Breath + Static Discharge will be a great combo, I encourage you to pursue.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
Ice/Electric is incredible for soloing and pretty good on teams. I wrote a guide about this a while back. It's still valid. Check out the link in my signature.
Have fun! 
I've done several blasters, but they've all been pure ranged, and I'd like to try a blapper for my next character. I'm looking at ice/elec and it's looking pretty good to me. Anyone else played one? Does it make a good blapper? What's a good epic pool to go with it? What powers are good to take/skip? Thanks for the advice.