oedipus_tex

Perhaps an option would be to have the anti-mezz duration if you leave a Faraday Cage last 30 seconds so allies only need to "visit" it for a moment to pick up the anti-mezz. I kind of like the need to hide in it currently, but I can this working.

Ok three posts in a row from me. I was hoping there'd be more chatter to dilute my comments. Sorry if this getting in the way. 😜 Latest observations: Temporary pets, like Red Wisps, accept Shock Therapy's ally buffs. So you actually can build Static easily when solo. Doing this made me wish this set had a pet like the wisp built into the set, and you could chain abilities to yourself by casting at the pet. But this will do. This makes the Discharge power much more useful, because you'll often be casting it at full Static. Even so, this set plays much better on Electric Blast (and presumably Control) than other sets. I confirmed that Faraday Cage is castable while mezzed. This sets up an interesting and unique situation. You escape the mezz, but are still under its duration, so you can't leave the area of your cage or the mezz reapplies. This is a unique playstyle and as someone who has played every buff set to 50, I love it. It's very powerful (you can recast the cage every 7 seconds or so on a good end game build) but comes with some quirky caveats. Energizing Circuit is not a good power. Compare to Kinetic's power Transference, which nearly refills the caster's bar. This power needs to affect the caster or other changes need to be made. Alternatively, combing with Rejuvenating Circuit. This set does not have great IO slotting options. In a lot of ways it mirrors Kinetics. Admittedly it's helped some by the new Endurance Mod sets. I would throw some +Defense or -ToHit in here somewhere to throw this set a bone.

Sorry for 2 posts in a row but: I'm fairly sure Farady Cage can be cast while mezzed and busts you out. It was hard for me to tell because for the first time in my life I was having trouble getting mezzed. 😛. If I'm right this power is basically a break free on a 32 second recharge with an AiE component. You'd be crazy to skip it. I really dont want it turn into a mobile toggle personally. I could see it as an immobile toggle similar to Lifegiving Spores as long as it remains a "drop directly under casters feet" power. What I dont want is a clone of Dispersion Bubble. We have enough aura powers to go around. This one is unique and the first time any support set gets full mezz protect to all.

Critters actually have a mix of toggles and clicks. If the power affects entities other than the caster, it's a toggle, even on critters. This applies to Dispersion Bubble, Hurricane, Snow Storm, etc. There are also at least some armors that appear to be toggles. If you drain a Scientist in Peregrine of his endurance, he'll lose his rock armor.

RE; The endurance drain. Because of the very long Recovery debuff in Shock, the set is fairly good/not terrible at draining a single target. At least, with medium meddling in the level 25 to 40 range I could do it reliably. I'd assume a Shock character would build specifically for endurance drain, which would probably include Power Sink, which is available to all archetypes that will get this powerset except Masterminds. Power Sink can be brought to around -70 endurance per cast on a same level just by itself, so the foundation is there. Discharge when fully powered by Discharge is a hefty -Endurance burst. I think I saw it landing at a level of -100 endurance at 5 stacks when cast on a -1 lvl enemy. So the potential is also there. Paired with a power like Thunderous Blast and you can probably drain a whole group. Power Sink is on a 120 second Recharge schedule for most archetypes. Discharge meanwhile recharges in just 15 seconds and is very spammable. On an Electric Control Controller the combination of an AoE -Endurance and single target power with -Recovery for 25 seconds has obvious utility. Like, I want to see if we can drain AVs with that combo. On most other builds it's at least doable. But with a lot of clicking and animation time spent on it.

Did someone somewhere along the way speed up the animation of Neutron Bomb? I swear it used to be over 2 seconds but Mids reports 1.67 seconds which, while not great, isn't terrible. (For terrible, see some of the Dominator AoEs).

This is overall pretty cool. Very excited to see some new sets out there. I admit I am slightly (but only slightly) disappointed by Adrenaline Booster. I had hoped we finally had a power that was competitive with Hasten, that couldn't stack with Hasten. Basically something with a slightly lower recharge (say +45% instead of +70%) but some other bonuses to make up for it. Would make builds a lot more interesting if Hasten wasn't always a top choice. Overall though very fun. And the teleport feels great.

I would consider the Mu Pool for Power Sink, depending on your playstyle. Power Sink and Electric Control sitting in a tree.... Well, almost. Mu lacks a single target blast so if you go this route you have to pick that up elsewhere, so it may be too tight a build for you. You also won't ever be a single target master. But Power Sink is so much fun. You think you are a master sapper right now. No ma'am. Add Power Sink to the mix. Laugh as all 8 Elite Bosses in the ITF run around sqawking helplessly because you stole their endurance in the opening 2 seconds of the fight. Power Sink is PBAoE like you are looking for. It's also auto hit. Blue bars zapped in seconds(and your bar refills). If you solo much at all, you'd likely have to pick up either Arcane Bolt or Project Will to do this, and it's true both have lower DPAs than the various single target blasts. It may not be worth it to you. But fun? For sure. (I also recommend it on Electric Dominators, and the upshot there is you don't need to worry about the lack of a single target blast).

I wasn't thinking of Only Affect Self, but basically yeah. Basically I was thinking that, from a technical standpoint, the power be a non-notify ability that summons a psuedo pet at the target enemy's location for the duration you hold the toggle. When you release the toggle, the pet dies, and that is what unleashes the Discharge power that drains enemies. The toggle could have a max duration of 10 seconds or so before the power autofires to prevent abuse. That's quite a departure from the current power so may not be appropriate. It's just what I kept wishing it did as I was playing and I'd run up on each new mob and go "Oh without a team I can't come at them with full Static, wish could charge up."

This may sound a little weird, but what I am finding myself wishing is that Discharge was both a Static Builder and Static Spender. Basically what I wish Discharge did was not actually launch until I let go of the button. Like, I wish I could hold the button down it to charge it up, building up a bunch of Static, then unleash it when I'm ready. This would obviously mainly be useful solo, where you have time to stop between spawns. But it would directly fix the current hole, giving the set a way to build Static easily. On teams you'd get your Static from the buff powers. This would also have interesting synergy with the rezz. Current mechanics probably don't support that. But its just the feeling I get as I'm playing and come up to each new group.

I've had some more time to play test the set now. It's an interesting set so I hope my comments aren't too critical. I appreciate the time that went into designing it. With SOs at level 32 I'm finding I actually am able to do some decent endurance draining between Shock and Discharge against even level mobs. Where the problem comes in is the "Why?" portion. To compare this set to Electric Blast or Electric Control, most of the powers in those sets do endurance drain and also do damage. Kinetics also has a -Endurance power which provides very strong additional secondary effects. Don't get me wrong. The extremely long -Recovery debuff is very nice and not present in any other power I can think of. But it's not really a reason to cast this power by itself. The -Damage is also nice but again not a major reason to cast this power. One idea would be to make Shock not a single cast power as it is now, but instead a toggle that constantly drained endurance, and with each pulse granted Static to you. That would eliminate this set's animation time woes and still give the player ways to build Static. When I was fighting Freakshow bosses it was taking 3 or 4 casts to drain their endurance, eating up 8-10 seconds of animation time when I could just blast them. If it were a toggle I'd drop it on the baddest enemy and just let it run, knowing I was building Static and he'd soon be out of endurance while I did other things.

I agree about Sonic Siphon. One thing that just makes me uncomfortable about powers in general is when they accept no IO sets at all. One, maybe two powers like this in the set might be okay. Sonic has 4 powers like this, and its not like Liqeufy or Sonic Repulsion accept amazing sets to make up for it. With this in mind I'd be down with making Sonic Siphon a straight up T1 damage attack. At least then you'd never potentially lose DPA by casting it.

I agree Liquefy is screaming for a different Recharge table. Wow is 300 seconds/30 second duration unforgiving for what it does. I would give it 120 Recharge 45 second duration.

I agree with you. Complete mezz protection on a squishy is extremely nice. This power Recharges in 32 seconds. With just SOs you can get that to 16, and on an end game build, around 7. I really like the design. It stands out noticeably from other sources of mezz protection and is a great signature kind of power. Not to mention, this is the only set that offers anything close to that level of mezz protection.

Here is how my bar looks in game as a Shock/Archery Defender. I picked Archery to ensure a "clean" secondary with no extra effects. The 5 powers in the top right are abilities that only affect allies. Faraday Cage, in the top left, is where I usually put heals, clickable mezzes, or Domination. I opened each fight with this power since its a source of mezz protection. I think its interesting how this set is encourage to stay inside its Faraday Cage for its mezz protection. I use Row 2 for AoEs and Row 1 for single target, so the endurance drain abilities went there. I'll note one thing right up front. I'd really like to be able to open with Discharge at full strength, but without a pet or a team, I have no way to build Static. Four of the ally powers build Static. So at least in terms of running solo, this set seems to favor Controller and Mastermind. I also noted just how incredibly vulnerable my character was. I had very few ways to respond to enemies. Granted, my powers weren't well slotted. Maybe I can endurance crash them with Discharge as an opener? But I had no Defense, no Resistance, no Heal, no Absorb, just some -Damage, but in a builder power I can't easily charge up solo,exceptby casting a power that doesn't benefit me in any other way. Only two other sets are so vulnerable: Poison and Trick Arrow. The mezz protection is very nice of course and totally unique, so maybe this is the price? But it feels like at least one if not more of the 5 powers that are ally-only should affect my character.

Ok, first thoughts. This is a very early evaluation. FIRST THOUGHTS. I am thrilled to see the Homecoming dev team exploring new powersets. There are some interesting ideas here. Thanks for taking the time to share with us! OVERALL. On it's own: Not a bad starting place. I'd like to see more exploration before go-live. One issue that stands out right away, not unique to this set, is that Electrical sets almost always need to be paired with other Electrical sets to work well. That seems to be the case here as well. This set feels like it might work well paired with Elecrtical Blast or Electric Control. Since most sets lack -Endurance or -Recovery to stack with this though, I am unsure this set could drain enough endurance to make several powers found here work well. I'll note an exception to this. The Electric Control set does do reasonably well at endurance drain. It's possible a full build of Shock Therapy may as well. Compared to other Buff/Debuff sets: Right now I'd rank this set more or less equivalent in power to Thermal Radiation. Neither overly strong nor weak. Only one buff power affects the caster. This power however grants total mezz protection, so relative to other buff/debuff sets it does have its unique place. POSSIBLE BUGS. The CoX game client crashed on me mutiple times when testing. I was standing in Atlas Park surrounded by several other players playing Shock Therapy characters for the first few crashes. I could't detect a specific reasons for crashing. Moving to another zone stopped the crashes for a while. However I would CTD again periodically after each level up, immediately after finishing the level up process. SHOCK. Pros: This is a unique power, unlike anything in the game, so kudos for that. What stands out is the duration of the -Recovery. 25 seconds. That's pretty amazing and an extreme outlier compared to other powers. The -Recovery and -Endurance seem to benefit from slotting. Cons: One thing that immediately stands out is this power is much more effective paired with Electric Blast than any other Blast set. It also presumably is incredible paired with Electric Control. With other sets it is much more questionable. The animation time for this power, at 2 seconds, is on the extreme long end for this style of T1 power. I recommend switching it to one of the various 1 second blast animations. REJUVENATING CIRCUIT. Pros: It's a ranged heal for your allies. Nice graphic effects. Cons: There doesn't seem to be anything strategic about it chaining to another ally. It doesn't prioritize wounded allies and as far as I can tell there is no way to mark a teammate as an attractive target. That being the case, this is only as good as a single target heal. At level 50 without slotting it heals 207.49 HP, compared to Thermal Radiation's single target heal Cauterize that heals 262.4. DISCHARGE. Pros: Not bad. I'd need to play with this much more to evaluate how useful the endurance drain is when paired with a non Electric set. Cons: Need to eval this more. EMPOWERING CIRCUIT. Pros: Technically, the effects are fine. An AoE Power Boost kind of power. Cons: Seems to have a low value to cast time ratio. It's not a strictly bad power, but what's the intention? Like an opposite Weaken from the Poison set? Is the idea that the Shock Therapy character will spam this on the team? The duration is 25 seconds. Maybe I'm missing something but this feels very skippable, mainly because of the cast time vs duration. This feels like it should be a power with a much longer recharge and a longer duration. FARADAY CAGE. Pros: You've found a unique niche here: a ground castable mezz protection aura. It even affects the caster. Nice job. Cons: The graphics are quite busy and loud. Otherwise this power is great. I'm eager to have it in game. INSULATING CIRCUIT Pro: An Insulation shield is always nice. Cool sound effect too. Con: 20 second duration feels very short for an Absorb shield unless I'm missing something. DEFIBRELLATE. No comments. It's a flavored rezz, standard for these sets. ENERGIZING CIRCUIT. Pros: Well it gives your allies endurance... Cons: On a Controller/Mastermind/Corruptor this will be a level 35 power. Seems very very skippable, I am unsure the chaining mechanic serves this power. Feels like it should be a PBAoE with 1 minute-ish recharge. no endurance cost, also affecting caster. Like Power Sink that affects allies but requires no enemy target, 15 ft radius instead of a fancy chain. AMP UP. Reminds me of Adrenaline Rush, the Empathy power. No particular thoughts. Neat effect with the lightning bolt temp power triggered from the target's attacks. Again thanks again for a fun an interesting set! I look forward to providing more feedback!

First of all I am so excited to see a new powerset! Thank you to the development team for taking the time to build a new set. This is a thrilling day and I can't wait to check it out. RE: the name. I'm a gay man (not that it gives me jurisdiction). The words "shock therapy" don't have any particularly connotation to me, altho I don't love the name of the set either. It reminds me of the name of the Rocky Horror PIcture Show sequel. It sounds like a fine name for a power, but to me, not a set. Electric Affinity best matches the buff/debuff set names overall. (There's also the strange "-Domination" suffix used for Cold Domination and Pain Domination despite the set not being available to Dominators.) I'll have more to report once I check the set out here. By the way happy Mardi Gras from New Orleans. What a great carnival surprise!

What I would to do to Sonic Resonance is: Change Sonic Siphon animation to a 1 second animation Change recharge schedule on Liquefy from 300 recharge 30 duration (crazy) to 120 recharge 45 duration Remove extra endurance cost per enemy repelled from Sonic Repulsion With those changes, particularly the Sonic Repulsion change, I think it would be a more attractive set.

These are all excellent points and a nice rebuttal of what I said earlier about Cold. Perhaps I haven't given it a fair shake. I hadn't considered the -Damage aspect.

Also, while I am not sure it would work, I suspect Gravity/Dark could lay serious hurt on an AV. I've not run numbers to confirm this. You'd want to take the single target Immobilize for the Containment damage. Impact should work whether they are actually Held or not, as long as you tag them occasionally with your Hold. Propel deals excellent damage for a Controller. Also the pet is very much up to the task of surviving AV damage. He even spams Holds to keep your Impacts going.

Can Cold do it? Maybe. I feel like Cold has taken a big stumble since it's heyday though. Back before inherent Stamina was a thing, Cold stood out as one of the few sets that with enough Recharge could bypass the Fitness pool entirely, which opened up more build choices than other secondaries. The set is still good and has lots of -Resist. But without the sustainability of a self heal I feel like it would struggle. Overall I think Dark/Dark has much a better, easier shot. You lose some -Resist but that's it. Unlike Cold, with Dark your +Defense works on you, the caster. Dark Control still wouldn't be my first pick for an AV slayer. But it can probably do it.

I'm normally a Dominator player. But I recently got a Dark/Energy Manip Blaster together, and he's Dom-y enough that I really enjoy it. I also thought the concept I had was pretty funny. Behold Sarcopha-Guy. A dude bro half wrapped up like a Mummy. The blasts are colored yellow, like sand. I've built a couple of Blasters in the past but never gone all out. How is this looking? I managed to cap S/L resist but could have chased more Ranged Defense if I'd worked at it. I figured between Power Boost lifting Ranged defense and -ToHit in the blasts lowering ToHit I'd be better off with Resists. Also, is taking and proccing out both Char and Abyssal Gaze too much? FWIW right now he's level 42 and already very survivable between the extra range, heals from Life Drain, and Energize. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Dark Blast Secondary Power Set: Energy Manipulation Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Flame Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Gloom -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(A), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(7), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(29), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(31) Level 1: Power Thrust -- Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg(A), Mk'Bit-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Mk'Bit-Dmg/Rchg(39), Mk'Bit-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Mk'Bit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Mk'Bit-Dam%(40) Level 2: Umbral Torrent -- OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg(A), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End/Rech(3), OvrFrc-Acc/Dmg/End(3), OvrFrc-Dmg/End/Rech(5), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(5), FrcFdb-Rechg%(37) Level 4: Build Up -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 6: Aim -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 8: Moonbeam -- StnoftheM-Dam%(A), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(9), StnoftheM-Dmg/ActRdx/Rchg(9), StnoftheM-Acc/ActRdx/Rng(11), StnoftheM-Dmg/EndRdx(13), CldSns-%Dam(37) Level 10: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(11) Level 12: Tenebrous Tentacles -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(15), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(15), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(17), TraoftheH-Dam%(37) Level 14: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Ksm-ToHit+(50), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(50) Level 16: Energize -- DctWnd-Heal/Rchg(A), DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(17), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(23) Level 18: Abyssal Gaze -- Apc-Dmg(A), GldNet-Dam%(19), NrnSht-Dam%(19), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(21), CldSns-%Dam(21), NrnSht-Acc/Rchg(23) Level 20: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(25), Rct-ResDam%(27), Rct-Def(48) Level 22: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 24: Tough -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(25), TtnCtn-ResDam(43), TtnCtn-EndRdx(46), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(48), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(48) Level 26: Life Drain -- Apc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), Apc-Acc/Rchg(33), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(33), Apc-Dam%(33), Heal-I(34) Level 28: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 30: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg(46), LucoftheG-EndRdx/Rchg(46) Level 32: Blackstar -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(34), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(34), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(36), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(36) Level 35: Boost Range -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 38: Bonfire -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(39) Level 41: Char -- NrnSht-Dam%(A), GhsWdwEmb-Dam%(42), GldNet-Dam%(42), UnbCns-Dam%(42), GldJvl-Dam%(43), Dmg-I(43) Level 44: Fire Shield -- TtnCtn-ResDam/Rchg(A), TtnCtn-ResDam(45), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(45), TtnCtn-ResDam/EndRdx(45), UnbGrd-Max HP%(50) Level 47: Tactics -- ToHit-I(A) Level 49: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Quick Form Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Prv-Absorb%(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 50: Intuition Radial Paragon ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 21% DamageBuff(Smashing) 21% DamageBuff(Lethal) 21% DamageBuff(Fire) 21% DamageBuff(Cold) 21% DamageBuff(Energy) 21% DamageBuff(Negative) 21% DamageBuff(Toxic) 21% DamageBuff(Psionic) 6% Defense(Melee) 6% Defense(Smashing) 6% Defense(Lethal) 6% Defense(Fire) 6% Defense(Cold) 19.13% Defense(Energy) 19.13% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 21% Defense(Ranged) 6% Defense(AoE) 3.6% Max End -0.85 Enhancement(Knockback) 70% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 10% Enhancement(Range) 39% Enhancement(Accuracy) GrantPower Preventive Medicine (10% chance, if Scourge) 248.5 HP (20.62%) HitPoints Knockback (Mag -4) Knockup (Mag -4) MezResist(Confused) 48.75% MezResist(Held) 48.75% MezResist(Immobilized) 48.75% MezResist(Sleep) 48.75% MezResist(Stunned) 48.75% MezResist(Terrorized) 48.75% MezResist(Teleport) 100% (20% chance) 4% (0.07 End/sec) Recovery 50% (2.51 HP/sec) Regeneration 26.75% Resistance(Smashing) 26.75% Resistance(Lethal) 14% Resistance(Fire) 14% Resistance(Cold) 11% Resistance(Energy) 11% Resistance(Negative) 9.5% Resistance(Toxic) 9.5% Resistance(Psionic) | Copy & Paste this data into Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1464;670;1340;HEX;| |78DA65944B4F13611885BF69A7620B95B614CAAD60A1DCDA326D017569A2A021504| |3646B4226309681DE6C4B224B17FE0613F1B2545CF85BBC2D8997B871039AB87261| |EADB39C78664266D9F99F3BD9733EF37D3C2C3E59EB7B71F5D575AF066C96C34B66| |EC86FD3AAFB0A66D1DE56EDA34BBE4394B7EE9A95A2B5632C9BF57D844EFE5FD93C| |A8D5AAF5A6B152B1EAC5C3AD8259B16B0725B369572B2AB051AD968CCD9A65ED743| |BA7B74A7671B7D9EB9CAF5BE68E556FECDAB520D6DA4B76A51859A9D9DB1269962D| |A9D6EE7138285666E46B47158F964F295DA9BCAE2E68A4071CF5923A38E603CBEA5| 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What's interesting to me is there are so many ways the game could be hard. Check out the number of powers available in the AE that nobody ever gives custom mobs. Arctic Air Shiver Power Sink Thunderous Blast Seeds of Confusion Carrion Creepers Benumb Power of the Phoenix (I'd pay RL money to see this one) Basically it's achievable. But there needs to be a reward structure in place. I think sometimes we think too literally about "reward" means too. Just providing a badge is enough to tempt many players.

Concept: Give Trick Arrow ESD Arrow from the Blaster Tactical Arrow set instead of EMP Arrow. Here is EMP Arrow. It's a Mag 3 Hold on a 300s Recharge. Here is ESD Arrow, a Mag 3 Hold on 90 second recharge. The radius is smaller (20ft versus 35ft) and you lose the short duration -Regen of EMP Arrow that everyone pretty much ignores. But the endurance cost is lower (13 versus 24), it recharges much faster, and doesn't shut down your recovery. It's slightly less Accurate but that's fine. Both powers have the same animation time, range, and take the same IOs. Indeed, it seems someone looked at EMP Arrow and said, "Let's take that power and make it better." Why do Blasters have a better version of a buff/debuff power than the actual buff/debuff power? Shrug. Doesn't matter. Just make sure buff/debuff sets get access to it. If you want to be extra nice, you can keep the name EMP Arrow, keep the -Regen in there, lower the radius, and lower the Recharge to 90 seconds. But all that isn't necessary if you want to just use ESD Arrow instead. It would be a straight improvement.

My issue with Cold is it takes 35 levels to get a power where you feel like you're doing much. Really hoping the developers revisit the buff/debuff and control sets one day. Waiting til level 35 for Sleet has made me put off playing Cold. It's a good set very late, and especially after IOs, but unbearable for me to play at lower levels, where all it has is its shields. If you can look past this, Cold is a good option. I'm not sure I can tolerate playing it again.