I'd say it's Ice/Ice/Cold. Holds, slows and ice patch for locational control. Get a little bit of range or smash/lethal defense and you're very hard to kill. Shiver wreaks havoc on enemy AI all by itself. Add in snow storm to just watch everything run in ultra slow motion.
I'd recommend /ice for dp (if you're going to survivability, not synergy) for much the same reason.
I'd say;
Fire/Ice/Ice
You get the awesome damage of Fire/ with the amazing control of /Ice.
I play mainly solo blasters. My Fire/Ice was not only the fastest toon to 50 for me, it was also the most enjoyable!
I've tried Ice/Ice but found it to be to slow and prodding for my tastes. I'd argue that even though you have more slows and control with Ice/Ice it isn't anymore survivable, for the simple fact that Aim+BU Fireball, Firebreath makes everything dead much quicker than Freezeray can save you...
Concept could be elemental master/mutant.
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Ice/Ice/Cold is the most survivable Blaster combination ever but its almost too much control.
Virtue: @Santorican
Dark/Shield Build Thread
See I thought it maybe ice/ice but I wasnt 100% sure so thought id get opinions 
I would have thought dp/ice for the best survivable DP build simply because of ice patch and shiver too but I did think about elec with thunder clap and shocking grasp, plus you have endurence management from power sink.
Although thats a good point with fire/ice as well balancing control with damage.
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Blaster survival comes mainly from the secondary. The most survivable secondaries are /Ice and /Devices. /Ice has decent activation times and is suitable for team or solo play. /Devices has horrendous interrupt times on the most potent powers and is "generally" only suitable for solo play.|
Originally Posted by Sunstormer
So two questions here, most overall survivable blaster, what would it be?
Secondly, which would be the most survivable secondary to place with Dual Pistols? This is for the PvE game, PvP would be nice too but thats pretty much just Psy anyway  |
If you want a survival primary then Ice/ or Sonic/ is your go to set. Ice has 2 stackable holds, Sonic has an AoE sleep and a single target stun. As above Ice has decent activation times and is suitable for team or solo play. Sonic has moderate to long activations and is better suited to solo play though can be effective on teams. Neither of these 2 primaries is steller in the AoE department.
While I agree that //Cold is a good survival Epic I would have to say that, when properly utilized, (and combined with the medicine pool) that //Force Mastery is a slightly better and more survivable Epic
-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
sonic/x where x = ice, dev, or em
aoe sleeping every spawn > ice blast
the stacking stuns of dev and em with screech handles bosses as well as stacking holds found in ice/x
sonic is so good people don't even talk about shockwave, which is one of the best aoe mitigation powers blasters have.
I think /ice is kind of overrated in terms of survivability. It has a small ice patch, a melee range ST hold, and a pbaoe sleep. Ice patch isn't super helpful in terms of survivability, and you might as well take the better (targeted aoe) sleep in the cold APP.
@Dysc, on virtue:
Virtue blues: Overnight (DP/MM), Kid Ridiculous (FC/rad), Panorama (Ill/time)
Virtue reds: Block Party (SS/SD), Goldcrush (earth/fire), Deadwire (claws/elec), Snowcrush (ice/kin)
Honestly, if what you want is maximum survivability, I would make sonic/nrg/cold. You can stack the stuns in sonic and energy, the sleeps from sonic and cold, and just wreck things one at a time with single target blasts/melee. Power boost will help you deal with mez resistant enemies.
For bonus survivability, make'em a flyer and build for defense.
@Dysc, on virtue:
Virtue blues: Overnight (DP/MM), Kid Ridiculous (FC/rad), Panorama (Ill/time)
Virtue reds: Block Party (SS/SD), Goldcrush (earth/fire), Deadwire (claws/elec), Snowcrush (ice/kin)
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You are ignoring a few things. /Ice has shiver. 2 Applications of which will stack and cap -rech and -run speed. Capped -rech is (for all intents and purposes) identical to having 75% damage resistance. Any additional resistances provided by an Epic shield or other source is simply gravy.|
Originally Posted by Silencer7
I think /ice is kind of overrated in terms of survivability. It has a small ice patch, a melee range ST hold, and a pbaoe sleep. Ice patch isn't super helpful in terms of survivability, and you might as well take the better (targeted aoe) sleep in the cold APP.
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The PBAoE sleep is admittedly mag 2, however, since it has no damage component, it can be stacked and 2 applications will sleep even bosses. Combined with another AoE sleep power (even one that does damage if it is used first such as Sirens from Sonic/) can provide mitigation against entire spawns.
The melee hold is quite useful if you are any good at jousting and is even better if you have this skill and a ranged hold in your primary such as Ice/ or in your Epic as in //Fire or //Electric. You can use stacked holds to quickly lock down bosses.
-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
my fire/ice is pretty bulletproof.
Massive AoE output + fantastic mitigation = good times
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Quote:
lawl, ur funny.
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Originally Posted by Silencer7
I think /ice is kind of overrated in terms of survivability.
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My City Was Gone
Shiver is not equivalent to 75% damage resistance.
that's just like... what.
@Dysc, on virtue:
Virtue blues: Overnight (DP/MM), Kid Ridiculous (FC/rad), Panorama (Ill/time)
Virtue reds: Block Party (SS/SD), Goldcrush (earth/fire), Deadwire (claws/elec), Snowcrush (ice/kin)
I'm a good bit biased, as I have two ice/ice/ice blasters at level 50, one I've logged in over 3500 hours on - in 24 months of play.
I am working on a fire/fire (he just dinged 41, and my toon is in front of trainer about to choose epic pool. )
Now, I think after playing several other blaster types - Energy/Energy, Elec/Elec
I think the Fire/Ice/Ice might be the way to go. I am going to try it myself.
Oh, the Fire special effects, colors, etc are much more "cool" to see, in my opinion.
"Most people that have no idea what they are doing have no idea that they don't know what they are doing." - John Cleese
@Ukase
Well, Sonic/Ice/Cold can slot eight Chance of Heal procs in additions to the other stuff mentioned
Ice/mental/cold? Softcap defense and get 100HP/sec with drain psyche and add on top the stuns from PSW.
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This. Fire/Ice combines the most damaging primary with the most survivable secondary. When you go Ice/Ice you almost stop being a blaster and seem to focus as much on control as anything else - and more importantly, you are automatically soft-capped against anything you've already killed.|
Originally Posted by MaestroMavius
I'd say;
Fire/Ice/Ice You get the awesome damage of Fire/ with the amazing control of /Ice. I play mainly solo blasters. My Fire/Ice was not only the fastest toon to 50 for me, it was also the most enjoyable! I've tried Ice/Ice but found it to be to slow and prodding for my tastes. I'd argue that even though you have more slows and control with Ice/Ice it isn't anymore survivable, for the simple fact that Aim+BU Fireball, Firebreath makes everything dead much quicker than Freezeray can save you... Concept could be elemental master/mutant. Mine was a Million dollar man concept. The Fusion chamber controlling his cybernetic implants had the side effect of allowing him to superheat or supercool the air molecules around him at will. |
My Fire/Ice blaster - Thermatrix, one of my favorite characters to date - played as if she was drawing the heat out of the ground (Chillblain, Ice Slick) or the air around her (Chilling Embrace, Shiver) and re-directing that heat through her attacks. Great for teaming and the most solo-able blaster I've played 1-50.
Quote:
Quadrupling mob recharge rates (by hitting the -rech cap of 75%) results in a decrease in incoming damage in a ratio of 1:4. Last time I checked that meant that you had reduced incoming damage per unit time by 75%. 75% resistance does the same thing, reduces incoming damage by 75%.|
Originally Posted by Silencer7
Shiver is not equivalent to 75% damage resistance.
that's just like... what. |
All you have to do to get that mitigation is stack Shiver. 2 Applications will get entire spawns down to the -rech cap.
-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 they had -100% recharge wouldnt that mean their recharge rate is twice as long? Not sure where youre getting the "quadrupling mob recharge rates"
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Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Quadrupling mob recharge rates (by hitting the -rech cap of 75%) results in a decrease in incoming damage in a ratio of 1:4. Last time I checked that meant that you had reduced incoming damage per unit time by 75%. 75% resistance does the same thing, reduces incoming damage by 75%.
All you have to do to get that mitigation is stack Shiver. 2 Applications will get entire spawns down to the -rech cap. |
/Mind is light years ahead of /Ice
Your primary isn't going to really matter, it is what you make it, but anything X/Mind/Ice is going to be a joke to try and kill in PvE. A /Mind/Force is quite epic as well, Force of Nature + Drain Psyche is nasty, not to mention PFF being the awesome sauce.
"PvP Messiah"
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Yes and no. Over enough time it approaches a number similar to 75% resistance, but fights never last that long, or the fights that do, the target has resistance to the effect.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Quadrupling mob recharge rates (by hitting the -rech cap of 75%) results in a decrease in incoming damage in a ratio of 1:4. Last time I checked that meant that you had reduced incoming damage per unit time by 75%. 75% resistance does the same thing, reduces incoming damage by 75%.
All you have to do to get that mitigation is stack Shiver. 2 Applications will get entire spawns down to the -rech cap. |
It does nothing against the first string of attacks, which is generally all the time it takes to resolve a fight for a blaster be it their death or your own. It has moderate use against luts and high use against bosses imo provided you aren't just hard mezzing them to begin with.
I actually find the movement slow to be of more importance than the -rech. It easily keeps things at range and sets up easy use of rain of fire. Things just don't live long enough for the -rech to play a huge role, at least rarely to the point you are stacking the power.
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Oh, I understand the math you used, I just think the claim you are making is garbage.|
Originally Posted by Miladys_Knight
Quadrupling mob recharge rates (by hitting the -rech cap of 75%) results in a decrease in incoming damage in a ratio of 1:4. Last time I checked that meant that you had reduced incoming damage per unit time by 75%. 75% resistance does the same thing, reduces incoming damage by 75%.
All you have to do to get that mitigation is stack Shiver. 2 Applications will get entire spawns down to the -rech cap. |
edit: also you seem to have a... questionable grasp on how the percentages work.
Shiver provides exactly zero mitigation against a spawn's alpha strike. And after the alpha (assuming you opened with shiver? /boggle), the first application of shiver is only going to delay the mobs' second attack by a second or two (if that.) Blasters don't have enough health or regen to leverage -recharge into significant survivability.
Shiver is a wonderful control power, especially for primaries with rains, but it's not making a meaningful contribution to your lifespan.
Other than ice patch, /ice doesn't have much of anything remarkable from the standpoint of survivability. It has a melee ST mez, but lots of other secondaries have that. It has the pbaoe sleep, but both sonic/ and the cold APP have better sleeps.
Blaster ice patch isn't useless, but it's not that useful, either. It's small enough that they can run out after being knocked down once, and it's size means that you either have to let things get into melee with you long enough to use it or have a good corner to pull to.
@Dysc, on virtue:
Virtue blues: Overnight (DP/MM), Kid Ridiculous (FC/rad), Panorama (Ill/time)
Virtue reds: Block Party (SS/SD), Goldcrush (earth/fire), Deadwire (claws/elec), Snowcrush (ice/kin)
To the OP: That's kind of like asking what the fastest riding lawnmower is. The fastest lawnmower will still lose to the worst car that passes inspection.
To Silencer7: 75% -recharge on an enemy quadruples your lifespan if you survive the alpha. (4 * 0 is still 0.) You may not LIKE that math but it's accurate. Shiver makes a meaningful contribution to MY blasters' lifespans. Against +2s, the first application of Shiver roughly doubles the half-life of my blasters. I can tell the difference between a five second half-life and a ten second half-life. If you can't tell that difference, you're not doing your damage fast enough.
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@Boltcutter in game.
Quote:
You obviously never had to drive behind the idiot I was stuck behind today while trying to get into work. A lawn mower would have been worlds better. I think even a moped would have gone faster. Blah!
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Originally Posted by Fulmens
To the OP: That's kind of like asking what the fastest riding lawnmower is. The fastest lawnmower will still lose to the worst car that passes inspection.
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my softcapped s/l archery/mm has survivability that rivals tankers...srsly 10x harder to hit than a toon wid no def and 100hp/sec for the lucky hits that get thru...
besides RoA+PSW means everything is dead anyways
So two questions here, most overall survivable blaster, what would it be?
Secondly, which would be the most survivable secondary to place with Dual Pistols?
This is for the PvE game, PvP would be nice too but thats pretty much just Psy anyway