Talk me back in to (or out of) Ice Storm: IF YOU DARE

So I'm tossing around a build for my Ice Blaster, and I run into this problem that basically rears it's ugly head and makes me sad every time I play him:

I never use ice storm. On big teams, the much vaunted AOE punch of the power feels like by the time I set it up and get it ticking away, the team has melted everything but the bosses and it's not worth the effort. Never mind the risk of scatter and such. Solo, the power doesn't seem to perform either: Yes, it is a lot of damage in total, but, Between static discharge, Frost breath, and my single target output, it gets washed out in the blitzkrieg and doesn't feel like it's contributing. Again, the scatter making second-wave AOE's harder to line up.

So, I'm respeccing out of it, and replacing it with the previously skipped Ice Blast: Previously I had left it out because the occasional gaps in my single-target chain could easily be filled with re-upping buffs, firing cones, Holds, and other useful things. I'm not a scrapper after all, and wether teamed or alone, I've got more on my hands than grinding down the biggest HP bar.

Buuuut, picking it back up gets me a more complete ranged chain (Though I doubt gapless), better leverage of Defiance's "use attacks while mezzed" feature, and finally something to fill in the gaps when I really DON'T have anything better to do in my single target grind-down.

In the build, they're both being used to chase the same 6.25% recharge bonus, if I was willing to put in the hours for purples, maybe I'd not see them as being so interchangeable, but my budget won't support that.

So the question is: Is this a terrible idea? Or have other ice blasters become as dissilusioned with our rainy crackly "1-generator" as I have?

Put a the chance of knockdown proc in it and have fun laughing. Goes real well with blizzard as well

Ice storm is a fantastic power, I wouldn't skip it at all.

It's probably a matter of needing to keep ahead of the group a bit so you can drop it as an alpha quickly just as everyone else gets to the mob.

I know I play an Archery blaster and I have to work pretty hard to stay ahead of my team. It takes a full 3 seconds for Rain of Arrows to animate and drop it's damage. So if I am not running ahead of the team my ROA ends up being wasted.

If ultimately it can't fit into your play style then go ahead and drop it, but it really is a fantastic power and with a tweak to your play style it really can be effective.

Here's an older thread I started with some more opinions on Ice Storm.

Go to villain side and pick up Mu Mastery instead of Electric Mastery.

You still get Static Discharge, you still get a hold, you still get the armor....

.....and you get an AoE immobilize to keep them inside Ice Storm.

My Ice/Ice blaster has your solution.
Ice Patch + Ice Storm at your feet.
Possibly Shiver if you're energetic.

I'm pretty new to serious Blasting. I got an ice/ice to 40 a couple years ago. with the boards help I picked Ice/Nrg as my new ranged project. I just leveled one up to 33 Rogue. Not liking Rogue. Want the bank badges, so I re-rolled the guy as a Hero last night, sigh. But loving Ice/Nrg. Everything I asked for.

So,... Ice Storm. Okay, as an AoE it is hit or miss for me. Let me tell you when I love it. When you get a mob that will not die. Seriously, the team is struggling. Drop it right on them. That thing you mentioned about them freaking can only help the team. More likely they stay there (pounding on the team) and eat the damage, which helps. I love the fact that it slows the mobs. Sure, they freak, but only the really squishy ones. And at high levels when the really squishy ones are deciding to run they are not sapping/holding the team... I love dropping it right before the Nuke. My current Nuke Chain is: Pop a red, Conserve Power, Hasten, Power Boost, Aim, Build Up, Ice Storm, Blizzard, sm blue.

I use it as a lead in first AoE right after the meat shield brigade hits the spawn. Then of course Frost Breath. Ice Storm is up regular. It does surprisingly good damage (I initially actually thought of it as a soft control / area slow!) It is one of the few AoE that Ice has. I would politely suggest getting to like it or think about another primary. Unless you are really locked into Ice Blaster for a concept and really hate the power it seems crazy to gimp your AoE damage even more when so many Blaster primaries give so much AoE (*looks longingly at fire.)

For me I am on Ice for the sweet range. And it gives that, and then gives it more. Even the Nuke. Ice even gives you incredible ST damage without ever asking you to stand there shaking for 17 minutes praying for your target not to walk behind a pillar...lol. And I love it. I have learned to love Ice Storm out of necessity, and I do indeed love it. Good luck.

Ice Storm isn't the best AoE power (longish recharge, takes a while to deal its damage) but it's practically required if you want decent solo AoE on an Ice Blaster and don't have /Mental. Static Discharge can help but it does less than half the damage of Ice Storm so even if mobs run out of the storm halfway through it outdamages Static Discharge. It also provides some mitigation since mobs hit by it tend to scatter and spend less time shooting at you. On teams you probably won't get a lot out of Ice Storm except on really tough spawns but solo it can make a difference. I'd suggest frankenslotting it and trying to get some Slow enhancement so that Frost Breath plus Ice Storm drops the enemies to a crawl and keeps them in the storm longer.

Ice Storm and Blizzard are best used by a Storm/Ice Defender or Corrupter. (You can also substitute Dark for Storm---tar patch for freezing rain) This is the one defender that can compete with blasters for raw AOE damage.

Freezing Rain -> Aim -> Ice Storm -> Blizzard = Everything Dead including bosses.

With a blaster I usually go: Aim -> Build-up -> Ice Storm -> Frost Breath = most of a group dead. Rest can be finished off with a shot or two from single blasts. Hitting Ice Storm then Blizzard in the chain will also kill off huge groups--just keep a blue around for that drop at the end. Putting a Slow in as well as damage helps keep them from running around as much. Using Power Boost helps with that as well if you have an energy secondary.

Use Stealth to get into position before the rest of your team gets there. Those special Stealth Procs in sprint or hover will give you the equivalent of invisibility.

If you have a tank or controller, that can work for you and hold a group in place .

Yeah Ice Blast was a very popular set for damage oriented Defenders before they recently got the option of Fire Blast. A friend and I both have Dark Miasma / Ice Blast Defenders. I incarnated mine to play to her strengths and debuff more, he incarnated his to deal more damage and solo with Clarion keeping his toggles from dropping, but both of us agree that Tar Patch + Ice Storm is like 70times better than Ice Storm by itself. I can see how as a Blaster without such dedicated tools to help you use Ice Storm, it seems like it has issues. I prefer to view Ice Storm as merely a part of a larger AoE damage tool, which is indeed pretty useless by itself. The post about Freezing Rain is spot on, but any good slow field will fix the issue, or an immobilize if you are that hardcore about it and don't think slows do enough.

By the way I do have an Ice/Dev Blaster, and I tend to not use Ice Storm as much on that toon, it's more situational for sure. However it stacks nicely with caltrops, especially when I double damage proc both of them. I feel very good about myself on the door phase of BAFs with my damage fields.