Very generally, Fire will yield better damage with good amounts of control and debuffing. Ice will have more control options. Sleep, slow, -recharge, knockdown from Ice Patch to name a few.
Personally, I would go Fire/Rad but both will play out very well. As always, it's probably best if you try them both up to the mid-20s at least I would say. (~SO Level)
@Fail (Used to be @Tux) and @Tuxedo Infinitus Defiant/Freedom/Champion
Favourite Toons: Prosper [Ill/Rad] Controller :: Infinitus [Fire/Elec] Blaster :: Pocket Dynamo [Fire/Shield] Scr :: Fast [Cold/Sonic] Def ::
Inspire [Plant/Storm] Controller :: Quality - SS/Fire Brute :: Double Down [DP/Kin] Corr :: Pwnz [Fire/Cold] Corr :: Fail [Fire/Son] Corr
IMO Fire/Rad is probably technically "better." Ice/Rad is good but what I'd tend to recommend to people who team a lot, are experienced with the game, and want to try something weird and interesting. There's nothing like it anywhere else in this game. Or really in any game I've played.
I have a Fire/Rad and an Ice/Cold, so not really a direct comparison, but while the Ice has some very nice soft controls and toys, it's not nearly as effective in general as my Fire/Rad. Lots of damage, plenty of control, and a 'swiss army knife' list of options.
Ended up going Fire/Rad and loving it :P, level 19 in just under 4 hours of sewers/missions/radio :P
Fire/Rads are good for soloing or teaming but I'd have to say that if you want a controller for teaming, aren't afraid of, or better yet enjoy being in close/melee range, and you want massive team support the Ice/Rad will be your go to toon.
Don't plan on defeating much of anything your self but you can pretty much count on the team needing nothing else in the way of support (barring any Leroy scrappers on the team) if you play it well.
-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
While I won't argue that Fire control has more control than Ice control, I will argue that it has enough, even on big teams. I have never felt on my Fire/Rad, that with flashfire, firecages, char, cinders, em pulse, choking cloud and bonfire, that I did not have enough control. I'd rather have hot feet and the imps at that point, solo or teamed, for the better damage.
But, as all powerset questions in CoH, play what you like most. You are always better off doing that, than playing what someone else considers to be "better".
@SBeaudway on Pinnacle, TaskForce Titans Supergroup.
I think it depends on what kind of content you're doing. Most of the official content is pretty easy overall and you can get by--although I still find mitigation useful.
Where all bets are off are if you decide to enter the gauntlet known as AE story missions. Lately I've been trying to play them whenever I can find a team willing to go with me. It's hard to find people willing to do it but I find it fun as hell when I do. I am considering founding a group to run them on a regular basis since I have zero interest in soloing in this game.
Some of the challenges you face in the AE are completely unlike what you face in the main game, and highlight skills that the main game doesn't focus on. Ice Control, for example, is very good at dealing with hidden opponents (Arctic Air both slows them from getting to you and reveals their hiding spot before they do).
I was in a mission earlier today that featured two types of Lts, one with Storm Summoning and the other with Force Field powers. That may not set off your alarms immediately but what it means is that if both types appeared in one group they all had protection from Confuse, Hold, Immobolize, and Stun, in addition to added Defense from the the big bubbles + Steamy Mist. Then there were the Shield Defense bosses from hell who could hit me for over 800 damage per shot who had their native mezz defense that isn't a toggle, so you can't de-tog it. Luckily I was on a Mind troller at the time and had sleep and fear to work with and powers that cut through Force Fields. A Fire or Plant troller would have been completely shut down by that style of mission because they lack flexibility.
So in all, uh, I guess the answer is "it depends." For HARD content (as opposed to "official" content, which tends to be easy-ish), I think a high Control set really is a useful choice.
I prefer Ice/Rad. Ice Control is a fun and pretty effective set. The slows are underrated and limit incoming damage when your controls fail. The graphics don't lag you out as bad as earth but you know what is and isn't held on a large team, unlike Fire. Rad Infections -Tohit helps to make up for Ice' lack of hard control so when critters are flailing on that Ice Slick, the random shot they get off here and there probably won't come to much.
If your dead set on soloing, both can do it but Fire is better.
Im stuck on which to do, i like both, but i want to be able to solo/team effectively.