electric_emu

Hi there Blasters. I got my Ice/Fire to 50 on Friday and spent most of yesterday testing the build below as I start my incarnates. I am very impressed so far but I'm sure it can be better, hence the post 🙂 A few comments: My primary goals were and are perma Hasten and S/L def softcap. I spend most of my time in melee. Ice Storm and Blizzard are macro'd to cast on self; I jump in, hit one or both rains, FSC, then pick off what little is left. I'm not interested in building Ranged def. Aim is absent because I don't like it. Build Up + Guassian proc is enough 99.9% of the time and using Aim feels like it takes more time than it saves. S/L is softcapped after Stealth's buff suppresses (45.14 total). I do wish Energy def (36.5) was a bit higher. I don't use Burn much, its AoE is sad compared to the rains + Hot Feet and FSC is sufficient for melee pseudo-nuking on its own. BUT Oblit is a great set for the build's goals, so if I'd need a really good reason to ditch it. Rune of Protection is a bit redundant now that I can use Clarion, but I still like it for exemping plus having the flexibility to pick another Destiny power is nice. I wouldn't be opposed to dropping it though. This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.2.17 https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn Click this DataLink to open the build! Alain Steele: Level 50 Magic Blaster Primary Power Set: Ice Blast Secondary Power Set: Fire Manipulation Power Pool: Sorcery Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(3), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(5), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(5) Level 1: Ring of Fire -- EnfOpr-Acc/Rchg(A), EnfOpr-EndRdx/Immob(7), EnfOpr-Acc/EndRdx(7), EnfOpr-Immob/Rng(50), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(50), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob(50) Level 2: Frost Breath -- Rgn-Knock%(A), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(9), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(9), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(11) Level 4: Fire Sword -- KntCmb-Acc/Dmg(A), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx(13), KntCmb-Dmg/Rchg(13), KntCmb-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(15) Level 6: Mystic Flight -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A) Level 8: Freeze Ray -- SprWntBit-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(A), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg(15), SprWntBit-Dmg/Rchg(17), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17), SprWntBit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(19) Level 10: Fire Sword Circle -- Arm-Dam%(A), Arm-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Arm-Dmg/Rchg(21), Arm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(21), Arm-Acc/Rchg(23) Level 12: Ice Storm -- SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(A), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(23), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(25), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(27), SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(27) Level 14: Spirit Ward -- Empty(A) Level 16: Build Up -- GssSynFr--Build%(A), RctRtc-Pcptn(29), RctRtc-ToHit/Rchg(29) Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(31), Apc-Acc/Rchg(31), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(33) Level 20: Cauterizing Aura -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(33), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Prv-Heal/Rchg(34), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(34), Prv-Absorb%(34) Level 22: Rune of Protection -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(36) Level 24: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 26: Tough -- UnbGrd-ResDam(A), UnbGrd-Max HP%(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(36), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(37) Level 28: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(37) Level 30: Stealth -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), Rct-ResDam%(37), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(39) Level 32: Blizzard -- SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(39), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(40), SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(40), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(40) Level 35: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def(42), RedFrt-EndRdx(42), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(42), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(43), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(43) Level 38: Hot Feet -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(A), SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(43), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(45), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(45) Level 41: Burn -- Obl-Dmg(A), Obl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Obl-%Dam(46), Obl-Acc/Rchg(46), Obl-Dmg/Rchg(48), Obl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(48) Level 44: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48) Level 47: Grant Invisibility -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 49: Infiltration -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Defiance Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 1: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 1: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A) Level 1: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 1: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A) Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 50: The Atlas Medallion Level 50: Portal Jockey ------------

Glad I could help. I've been making adjustments to my Ice/Fire build for days now and have gone through several rounds of similar tweaks. Squeezing out every single point of recharge I can really ramps up the Ice Storm + Blizzard spam which may or may not be my new favorite thing.

I'd need to check my build, but yeah this pretty much exactly what I did. I only made a note of it because I usually approach endurance management with "let's see where Panacea and a single Performance Shifter proc gets me" because those don't require any extra slotting, and I just had to keep going back for more until I ended up using everything you did. I thought Crystal Armor's recovery buff would be enough to avoid spending the extra slots, but that wasn't the case.

Hmmmm, I choose Savage/Stone. I have nothing but praise for Stone Armor and this post got longer than I intended lol. Anyway, I have taken two Stone Armor characters to 50/T4 since the set's rework and proliferation and I can say it is quite incredible. First, it is stupid tough. With relatively little effort, you're looking at incarnate-softcapped S/L/E/N defenses and hard capped F/C resistance without holes to Psi (easily taken to the regular softcap itself) or Toxic (not difficult to hard cap). Oh, and Earth's Embrace will have you sitting at the HP cap with a nice regeneration buff from Rooted to go along with it. So any damage that does make it through is all but meaningless. You also get confuse protection! It's layered mitigation that occasionally forgets that each individual layer isn't meant to be quite so capable. On the offensive side of things there's Brimstone's damage proc and a damage aura that doubles as a slow. Minerals even sneaks in a nice +15% recharge because why not. Seriously Stone Armor has a little bit of everything and is incredibly strong for it. It also responds well to high investment. In playing my two Stonies (Ice Melee and Fiery Melee), I actually found myself thinking the HC team may have overdone it. Two drawbacks: endurance and Mud Pots. Endurance management isn't something I was accustomed to worrying about, since Panacea and Performance Shifter fix it like 95% of the time, but Stone is something else. It's got six toggles on its own, before you consider the Fighting Pool, Maneuvers, and whatever else you may want to keep running. Crystal Armor pays for itself and then some with a recovery buff, but it's not enough on its own. Then there's Mud Pots, which suffers the same problem all Scrapper damage auras do with running mobs. I found this pretty annoying, but Mud Pots' slow component helps a lot. I got a lot of mileage out of the Damage/Slow hybrid set (Ice Mistral's something or other?), so definitely pick that up when you play this one. As for Savage, I do not have as much experience. However, I am a sucker for the tele-smash powers, so yeah, Stone/Savage has my vote for also-ran and overall. If you ever want to try another primary with it, I absolutely loved Ice. Foot Stomp Frozen Aura on a Scrapper never gets old and you get Ice Patch to become basically immortal (and mobs can't run from Mud Pots when they're on their asses). Plus Frost is deceptively good for a cone. For Group A: BS/Rad. There's nothing quite like outliving tanks in a wipe situation because of Parry (however uncommon that may be nowadays). Plus Head Splitter crits. But I probably don't have to extoll the virtues of BS to you if it was your main on live. Rad being one of the newer sets also benefits from having no real drawbacks except being res based and this being a Scrapper, but Parry largely fixes that. For Group B: War Mace/EnA. Strong and pretty!~ Big cronchy crits, good AoE, and the near-immortality offered by EnA. @electric emu if there are to be gifts 🙂

Only character I could see doing this for is my farmer, since all that f/c def doesn't do much in the "real" world. But when I think about pouring hundreds of millions of inf into a second build I usually just make an alt instead because it's more fun.

Some smaller nitpicks that jump out without changing power picks or attack slotting: Health - Do you find yourself needing all three of those uniques? With Frigid Protection slotted with EndMod I can't imagine your endurance moves, like, ever. So you can definitely move those slots elsewhere. Tough jumps out to me, as you could six slot it and get the nice 4 piece Unbreakable Guard bonus as well as the two 3% uniques. Frigid Protection - Blaster sustains usually give you more than enough recovery without enhancing. So a full set of Preventative Medicine might serve you better. Or maybe 5 Doctored Wounds and 1 EndMod if you want to play it safe. Either option gets you some extra recharge (8.75% and 5% respectively) and your endurance should be fine. Combat Jumping - I personally like the Reactive Defenses unique (scaling resistance) here, since CJ's defense isn't really worth enhancing and its end cost is negligible. You've already got the extra slot, so just replace the LotG Def/End. Stamina - You'll get more out of a Performance Shifter proc than a regular EndMod enhancement. Aim - One 50+5 Recharge IO is fine (65%~ enhanced as is vs 53% with the one IO). Between the massive amount of to hit Aim gives by default (and on top of Build Up), you don't really need to enhance the to hit buffs and you free up two slots. And a bigger picture comment: Your build could be a bit more focused. You've got Kinetic Combat in Ice Sword but Thunderstrike in Ice Bolt and Chilblain. Both are good sets, but chase different goals (S/L/M and E/N/R respectively). Since you like to use Frozen Aura and already have Frozen Armor, maybe go S/L/M defense? That said, I do like that your S/L/E/N are all just around 1 small purple from the softcap, so if that was your intention or if that's what is most comfortable then feel free to ignore. If you don't really mind lower defenses, you can always chase more recharge. Ice Blast loves recharge, as the more often you can drop Ice Storm and Blizzard the better. With that in mind, Apocalypse in Ice Bolt (or maybe Bitter Freeze Ray if you want to swap the Winter's Bite) and Ragnarok in Ice Storm will get you 20% global recharge and two extra slots (assuming you want to use their procs elsewhere and don't want/need the six set bonus) without sacrificing much. Sub for Decimation and Positron's Blast if budget-conscious.

Disclaimer: I'm not Stalker expert. Electric Melee's biggest shortcoming on Brutes, Scrappers, and Tankers is its lack of good single target damage. Assassin's Strike fixes that on Stalkers, and since they only give up Lightning Clap (not a very good power, by most objective measures), they keep all the fun AoE the set has. But their AoE is also better because the pseudo-pet mechanics used by Lightning Rod and Shield Charge do not break Hide. So you can do the usual Build Up + double tele-nuke and then get the crit buff from a still-hidden Thunder Strike for some truly insane AoE , above and beyond what a Scrapper or Brute can do, while still having respectable single target output. Shield offering layered mitigation with a focus on positional defense on top a damage buff also plays well with Stalkers' low HP and high melee modifiers (similar to how Shield is usually preferred on a Scrapper over a Brute).

You might be looking for a Blaster? They're usually the ones at the front of the steamroll train and very few enemies can live long enough to threaten them meaningfully (even on lower survivability builds). I've found that in the presence of 2 or 3 well-built Blasters, any melee set feels slow with the exception of maybe an Elec/Shield Stalker. You could also try a /kin Corruptor. All the fun of /kin on a Controller without watching the mobs die before Flashfire even finishes animating.

I feel you, I quit a job without another lined up for the first time at the start of the year and never really got bored of being unemployed. A great opportunity just kind of fell into my lap recently and I only begrudgingly went back. And I'm only 31 lol. Best of luck with the interview, whether that means getting the job or not 😊

Storm is the most obvious choice. Between Gale, Freezing Rain, Tornado, and Lightning Storm the mobs are liable to forget they even have legs. For a Controller, you can pair with Fire (Bonfire), Earth (Earthquake), or Ice (Ice Slick) for even more KD. Personally, I find Fire/Storm to be one of the most enjoyable Controller combos, but Earth/Storm has a bit more synergy. On Corruptors and Defenders, Water and Energy will give you KB/KD as well. Blasters get Bonfire in their APP, so you can pair that with Energy or Water for lots of KD. For secondaries, Earth (Tremor) and Electric (Thunder Strike, Force of Thunder) give you even more options. Melee can work too. Shield Defense for Shield Charge. For offense Electric Melee can utilize Thunder Strike, Lightning Clap (non-Stalker), and Lightning Rod. Ice Melee has Ice Patch, which is easily permanent and keeps foes down quite easily. There's also Super Strength with KD on most of its attacks (most notably Foot Stomp), plus Hand Clap for fun. Stone Melee, Titan Weapons, and War Mace get a lot of KD too, though TW cannot pair with Shield.

I agree that Electric should not be left with 0 toxic resist. A small amount to bring it in line with Invuln's new psi resist (which was previously 0) would make sense. Kheldians could use the same treatment as well. Other than Fiery Aura, does anything else have 0 mitigation for a particular damage type? I can understand why Fiery Aura was left alone because it has always traded survivability for damage. And sure other sets could use buffs of their own but it doesn't look like that was the intent, given that the changes are confined to psi and toxic mitigation.

Okay that does make a Stalker tempting. I hadn't even checked but just assumed Frost would be out for AS. GIS is such a frustrating power. It feels necessary at lower levels/exemping but it's, like, impressively bad. I would be tempted to skip Ice Patch on a Brute anyway, tbh. And probably would on a Tanker. My Scrapper rarely ever needs it to survive and my build isn't even finished. As it stands, I'm much more likely to use it prevent things from running away, which wouldn't be a problem for a Brute/Tanker in the first place. Anyway, thanks for the build!

Currently, I have a level 42 Ice/Stone Scrapper. I love Ice Melee and I love the new Stone Armor, but Mud Pots' lack of taunt aura has finally worn me down . I don't really like Geode, so I'm not exactly sold on a Stalker either. Thus, I want to reroll as a Brute or Tanker. I do not want to focus on Granite, but like it as an option for maybe a secondary build. So, who wears it best?

It's just unnecessary 99% of the time. Go for it if you've got a specific challenge in mind, but I am not submitting a resume to run radios.

"We could use a healer," "Healer LFG," "Great heals," ad nauseum. I mean I get that it's just another term for support, but what gets me is complimenting healing. The need for 'skilled' healing is pretty rare and almost always the result of someone's mistake (only exception I can think of off the top of my head is tanking Recluse). I will never understand someone who says "great heals" as the group is just steamrolling along without incident. Did you not notice you weren't actually losing health? Or that you were never in danger of dying? Or that tossing out Transfusion every so often isn't exactly brain surgery? It wouldn't be so irritating if it wasn't so common. Feel like I see it a lot more than appreciation for buffs not named Speed Boost. I am not even super partial to support focused ATs anyway, but come on this isn't WoW or FFXIV or any other holy trinity MMO.

So, I am aware these are two very different beasts. Both Fiery Melee and Ice Melee look really great with the Tanker changes, and I want to use the opposite primary for thematic reasons. I am looking for recommendations and experiences for each. Thoughts? I'd like to use Stone or Mu for mastery powers, if that matters. Thanks!