OP Ice/Ice Build Wanted!

[TCUFROGS]

I am hearing nothing but amazing things about Ice/Ice Blaster but can't find an amazing build to save my life... INF isn't a concern. I want the strongest build you know! 

[Elia87]

I am also looking for some help for a blaster ice/plant build..

[Adelore]

Hey guys. i took a pass at adapting what i already had and definitly works. check the below. the two can deff use play testing but your optimizing and tinkering shouldnt change it too much. My design goals are 90-95% of the theoretical maximum dmg of the set and tons of survivability and soft cc. Intention is to use barrier and hoarfrost on cd for the 120 sec buffs.

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Ice Manipulation
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Apc-Dam%(A), Apc-Dmg(37), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(39), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(40), Apc-Dmg/Rchg(47)
Level 1: Chilblain -- TraoftheH-Acc/EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Frost Breath -- Ann-ResDeb%(A), Rgn-Knock%(3), Rgn-Dmg(3), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(5), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 4: Ice Sword -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg(9), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(9), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(11), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(11), Hct-Dam%(13)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(13), Ksm-ToHit+(15)
Level 8: Aim -- RctRtc-Pcptn(A)
Level 10: Frigid Protection -- Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(25), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(27), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(27), Prv-Heal/Rchg(29), Prv-Heal(29)
Level 12: Ice Storm -- Artl-End/Rech/Rng(A), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(15), Artl-Dam/End(17), Artl-Acc/Dam(17), Artl-Dam/Rech(19), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(19)
Level 14: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Build Up -- GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(A)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(21), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(23), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 20: Ice Patch -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 22: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), GldArm-3defTpProc(33), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(33)
Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(33), ShlWal-Def(34), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(34), Krm-ResKB(34)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(37)
Level 28: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Artl-End/Rech/Rng(A), Artl-Dam/End(40), Artl-Acc/Dam(42), Artl-Dam/Rech(42), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(42), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(43)
Level 35: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 38: Frozen Aura -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), Arm-Dam%(39), Obl-%Dam(39), Erd-%Dam(43), Erd-Dmg(43), Erd-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 41: Frozen Armor -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(46), Rct-Def/Rchg(46), Rct-Def(46)
Level 44: Hoarfrost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(48), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(48), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(48), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(50), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 47: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(A)
Level 49: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A)
Level 1: Defiance 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(7)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
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 -- Jump-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Longbow Radial Superior Ally 
Level 50: Melee Radial Embodiment 
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon 
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement 
------------

 

 

 

This Hero build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.4.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Blaster
Primary Power Set: Ice Blast
Secondary Power Set: Plant Manipulation
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Cold Mastery

Hero Profile:
Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Entangle -- TraoftheH-Acc/EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Frost Breath -- Ann-ResDeb%(A), Rgn-Knock%(3), Rgn-Dmg(3), Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(5), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(5), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(7)
Level 4: Skewer -- SprBlsCol-Rchg/HoldProc(A), Hct-Dam%(9), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx/Acc/Rchg(9), SprBlsCol-Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(11), SprBlsCol-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(13)
Level 6: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(13), Ksm-ToHit+(15)
Level 8: Aim -- Empty(A)
Level 10: Toxins -- RctRtc-Pcptn(A)
Level 12: Ice Storm -- Artl-End/Rech/Rng(A), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(15), Artl-Dam/End(17), Artl-Acc/Dam(17), Artl-Dam/Rech(19), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(19)
Level 14: Boxing -- Empty(A)
Level 16: Spore Cloud -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- SprDfnBrr-Rchg/+Status Protect(A), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(21), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg(21), SprDfnBrr-Dmg/Rchg(23), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(23), SprDfnBrr-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(25)
Level 20: Wild Fortress -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(25), Prv-Heal/Rchg(27), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(27), Prv-Absorb%(29), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(29)
Level 22: Tough -- UnbGrd-Max HP%(A), UnbGrd-ResDam(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx(31), UnbGrd-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(31), GldArm-3defTpProc(33), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(33)
Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(33), ShlWal-Def(34), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(34), Krm-ResKB(34)
Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- SprBlsWrt-Rchg/Dmg%(A), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Dmg/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprBlsWrt-Acc/Dmg(37)
Level 28: Ripper -- SprAvl-Acc/Dmg(A), SprAvl-Dmg/EndRdx(37), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(39), SprAvl-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(39), FuroftheG-ResDeb%(40)
Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(40)
Level 32: Blizzard -- Artl-End/Rech/Rng(A), Artl-Dam/End(40), Artl-Acc/Dam(42), Artl-Dam/Rech(42), Artl-Acc/Dam/Rech(42), Artl-Acc/Rech/Rng(43)
Level 35: Snow Storm -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 38: Thorn Burst -- SprAvl-Rchg/KDProc(A), Erd-%Dam(43), Erd-Dmg(43), Erd-Dmg/Rchg(45)
Level 41: Frozen Armor -- Rct-ResDam%(A), Rct-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(45), Rct-Def/EndRdx(45), Rct-EndRdx/Rchg(46), Rct-Def/Rchg(46), Rct-Def(46)
Level 44: Hoarfrost -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(48), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(48), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(48), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(50), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(50)
Level 47: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def(50)
Level 49: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(A)
Level 1: Defiance 
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)
Level 2: Rest -- EndMod-I(A)
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(7)
Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A)
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 -- Jump-I(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run 
Level 50: Degenerative Core Flawless Interface 
Level 50: Barrier Core Epiphany 
Level 50: Longbow Radial Superior Ally 
Level 50: Melee Radial Embodiment 
Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon 
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement 
------------

Ice Ice.mxd Ice Plant.mxd

[Elia87]

Wow thank you so much Adelore!! That ice/plant build can you switch to ageless instead of clarior? 

[Adelore]

happy to help Elia, check the build again, im recommending Barrier in that slot. While, i cant stop you from using ageless instead i have 2 concerns:

 

1) Your defense will be much lower than cap making you take twice the damage you should be 

 

2) You simply dont need it as you already have enough recharge and the + endurance is only really useful when soloing an AV (who will definitely murder you if you don't have barrier) Recovery serum is a thing and 1 use per soloed AV (or when a super stunner or sapper gets you) is all you need.

[Elia87]

Wow thank you alot Adelore!! Soo happy i can finally use my ice/plant! Hopefully it turns out to be a good pairing ahah

 

Edit:

Adelore, do you happen to have somewhere an energy/energy build also? I cant seem to find one updated to the lastest patches..thank you in advance

Edited April 26, 2021 by Elia87

[Adelore]

I don't have one and when I took a look at mids to make one All I can confirm is that I really, really hate the set combo. Knockback is just really bad in teams and debatable in solo play so you need to install force feedback and knockback to knockdown in most of your powers that does get you win recharge to use your big nukes more but at the cost of much less dmg output. I am sure someone could make it work but not something I can build or recommend noting options. (Again tons of knockdown on a single char can be good and there are ways to make knockback useful in edge cases but not something I can recommend)

[TygerDarkstorm]

Knockback while solo is great, idk what you're talking about, lol. I used to hate it until I started seeing the logic behind it from others here. If the enemy is ragdolling through the air and then has to pick themselves up, that's more time for you to not be getting hit and pummel them some more. It's great when you're on a squishy AT like a blaster. And you can always get hover and hover above the mobs' heads and turn your KB into KD without needing to spend slots on the KB -> KD IO.

[Adelore]

Yeah but realize that a better synergized blaster could just up and kill the mobs outright rather than pushing them around and you can build the blaster with enough survivability and kb procs to do your soft cc and live to tell about it.  

 

Also note if you are doing kb you can't usefully aoe since everyone is scattered. In truth if you want everyone to scatter you can just not take the incarnate taunt aura I recommended above and let everyone run in circles in fear after your initial burst opener. (Especially with fire blast since the burst and dots really spook npcs)

 

 The hover trick is a good one and can be useful same as trying to gather mobs by kb into walls. (Or the simple way of chucking a ranged attack and using a wall to los the npcs) You can certainly make it kinda work but it will always be a worse option compared to just being a heavy burst dps build with good survivability and kd procs.

 

Can still be fun to do crazy kb for the lols solo  but I can't justify io ing oit out  into a formal optimized build

[Flat Line]

1 hour ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

Knockback while solo is great, idk what you're talking about, lol. I used to hate it until I started seeing the logic behind it from others here. If the enemy is ragdolling through the air and then has to pick themselves up, that's more time for you to not be getting hit and pummel them some more. It's great when you're on a squishy AT like a blaster. And you can always get hover and hover above the mobs' heads and turn your KB into KD without needing to spend slots on the KB -> KD IO.

Completely agree!

Knockback is very miss understood. 
Anyone who’s actually spent time leveling and playing and Energy/Energy blaster knows that when you get Energy Torrent your survivability goes way up!

 

Personally I slot Nova and Explosive Blast with KB to KD. These are the only two powers that can scatter and be hard to control. Otherwise you kill single targets so fast it isn’t an issue. And Energy Torrent is very easy to control. KB is KD when you are hovering above targets too.
 

Energize also pretty much means you never need to look and your endurance bar. Run as many toggles or endurance heavy powers as you want. Put this power on auto and never think about it. AND it gives you very good healing on top. Worry about getting ranged defence to 45% and you’re very hard to kill.

 

Boot range let’s you be the best puller on the team. You can also breeze through some content by being able to hit and not get hit back.

 

On top of all this, you can slot the excellent recharge proc that gives +100 recharge. Personally, I don’t like having to click hasten. And this means I don’t need hasten at all. Or you could taken hasten on top and have the most ridiculous recharge in the game.

 

Another great benefit of KB on teams is you can KB stragglers back in to your teams or kill zones too.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Flat Line

[Elia87]

So should i continue to play energy/energy blaster? I read on that post with all power sets tests that energy is on the top place for dmg..I have a beam/dev blaster also that i really love and the ice/plant blaster i am trying out..

[TygerDarkstorm]

8 minutes ago, Elia87 said:

So should i continue to play energy/energy blaster? I read on that post with all power sets tests that energy is on the top place for dmg..I have a beam/dev blaster also that i really love and the ice/plant blaster i am trying out..

You play whatever you think is fun. If you're looking to max damage, then fire/fire/fire is the way to go. Energy is not top damage, but it can be a lot of fun to send mobs flying and watch them ragdoll. This game is not so hard that you can't play what you want to play.

[Flat Line]

1 hour ago, TygerDarkstorm said:

You play whatever you think is fun. If you're looking to max damage, then fire/fire/fire is the way to go. Energy is not top damage, but it can be a lot of fun to send mobs flying and watch them ragdoll. This game is not so hard that you can't play what you want to play.

Yeah, this game isn’t that hard. 
with enough effort you could make just about any combination able to solo the game. Some will just do it faster than others. So make something that you’ll enjoy the ride with.

 

Personally, after trying A LOT of different combinations since the game first launched, I’ve settled on an Eng/Eng blaster as my main. I sometimes still think about a Dominator or Controller, but always come back to my Eng/Eng blaster.

With it, I can solo the game. And I add a ton of damage to teams, can pull mobs, I can even sort of tank in a pinch. And I offer a lot of control/damage mitigation with KB and KD. With an alternate build, I can even go full Blapper and add stuns to the mix.

 

But to each their own. In a way, I like that there aren’t that many Energy blasters around. It lets me shine that much more 🙂

 

[Adelore]

Elia, play what you have fun with on the understanding that some builds are better at fitting optimized roles than the other.

 

As Flat put it energy/energy definitely works and can do fantastic your goal is solid damage (id rate it as A- class aoe dmg among most builds). If your goal is solid dmg and all the soft cc it is a solid and fun choice. As Flat noted it can even be preferably to a dominator or controller in a ton of situations as even in most most TFs at +4x8 with a small team everything is just too much made of paper for them to shine over energy/energys up front heavy kd (i feel you need to get to custom AE content with every mob being a super EB or better till dominators and controllers show off how horrifying they can be)

 

It just has design tradeoffs im not willing to make.

 

For the other mentioned builds Devices is a super fun and strong secondary and beam/devices is a very thematic fit. Beam is good but does suffer when mobs are too squishy for you to build up and shine.

 

Fire/Fire/Fire is of course fantastic with top tier aoe dps in the game, solid single target, and great kd puddle but from my perspective is made of wet tissue paper no matter what you do. So if you solo with it you are playing a form of rocket tag and relying on your kd puddle and the "oh god im on fire" fear effects. (Thats why i like my fire/temp/ice blaster who trades the kd puddle, self rez, and a slight sustained aoe reduction for survivability better than almost all scrappers and many poorly designed brutes. I note that the ice builds i made above are off this design philosophy)

[slacktech]

My squad includes en/en, water/rad and dual pistols/martial blasters.  I love them all.  The only concession I had to make (due to constant whingeing while levelling on teams) was to slot kb -> kd SA IOs into a lot of the powers of en/en.  I lost the ability to use kb to my advantage, but it stopped the constant crying while on teams.

 

As others have said, this game is easy enough (particularly with IOs - even mid range ones - and incarnates) that you can pick any combo and have a blast with it (pun intended).

[DrInfernus]

On 4/26/2021 at 4:26 PM, TygerDarkstorm said:

Knockback while solo is great, idk what you're talking about, lol. I used to hate it until I started seeing the logic behind it from others here. If the enemy is ragdolling through the air and then has to pick themselves up, that's more time for you to not be getting hit and pummel them some more. It's great when you're on a squishy AT like a blaster. And you can always get hover and hover above the mobs' heads and turn your KB into KD without needing to spend slots on the KB -> KD IO.

I agree with this, or I did agree with this, back when Blasters lacked survivability. These days I am not sure it’s necessarily true given the options we have to build defence. 
 

That said, I like NRG blast. I personally put KB2KD in the AoEs and consider it a KB Tax on the build. You lose a few slots, but think you gain plenty. 

[Elia87]

So from what I can understand: energy blasters lose some dmg because they have to slot the KB to KD enhancement right?

[Flat Line]

1 hour ago, Elia87 said:

So from what I can understand: energy blasters lose some dmg because they have to slot the KB to KD enhancement right?

Not necessarily. There is a cap on damage enhancements, and it’s not hard to hit it. 
Many sets have a utility proc somewhere. In the case of energy, I have a KB to KD proc in the two AoEs (not Energy Torrent, because it’s awesome without it).

The only ‘tax’ I can see is that you could be slotting a damage proc instead. That would give a bump in damage when it procs.

 

If you didn’t take Energy Blast, you could also slot Overwhelming Force to an AoE power. You’d end up with the same thing: a proc that will give KD to a power that didn’t have it.

[Nemu]

Not really, the KB tax won't get in the way of you being able to fully enhance the damage of those powers with enough accuracy/recharge/endurance reduction to get by. You'd only apply the KB tax on AoEs anyway and especially explosive blast, Radial scatter is good for one shot mitigation but if you want sustained mitigation radial scatter is bad. People argue ragdoll and what not makes mobs take longer to get up. What they don't tell you is that mobs don't stay down forever and you can't kill 16 mobs scattered all over the place fast enough so that you face little no retaliation after they get back up. Having them clumped together means you can just knock them back down again after they get back up. That's much more sustainable long term mitigation compared to just scatter them to the 4 winds.

 

You could make the argument that the KB tax takes away the opportunity to slot damage procs, but blasters do enough damage and a proc here and there offers marginal benefit and it's not something to lament over.

 

 

[Flat Line]

Also, if you’re slotting Energy Blasts single targets with a proc, consider slotting the +100 recharge proc. 

With those procs slotted, you can have your Nova up sub 30 seconds. Then you’re doing Nova Damage in the 1200 Range twice as often as other sets even with the KB to KD in Nova.

 

There is a lot you can do with pretty much all the sets in this game. Energy isn’t the flavour of the month right now. But you can build it to be better than most if you put in the time.

[Psilencer]

On 4/28/2021 at 9:31 AM, Flat Line said:

Also, if you’re slotting Energy Blasts single targets with a proc, consider slotting the +100 recharge proc. 

With those procs slotted, you can have your Nova up sub 30 seconds. Then you’re doing Nova Damage in the 1200 Range twice as often as other sets even with the KB to KD in Nova.

 

There is a lot you can do with pretty much all the sets in this game. Energy isn’t the flavour of the month right now. But you can build it to be better than most if you put in the time.

 

This is the first I'm hearing of a +100 recharge proc.  What set is that in?  Sounds awesome.  I love having my nukes up fast.

[Flat Line]

12 hours ago, Psilencer said:

 

This is the first I'm hearing of a +100 recharge proc.  What set is that in?  Sounds awesome.  I love having my nukes up fast.

It’s in the Knockback set. 
I’m drawing a blank on the name…

There are a few builds on this forum where they really abuse those procs for crazy recharge numbers. 
Personally, I’ve found it doesn’t proc often enough to stack much. But getting it to be up once fairly often does make a big difference!

[Sovera]

On 5/9/2021 at 11:29 PM, Psilencer said:

 

This is the first I'm hearing of a +100 recharge proc.  What set is that in?  Sounds awesome.  I love having my nukes up fast.

 

Force Feedback proc. It's under Knockback.

[Psilencer]

1 hour ago, Sovera said:

 

Force Feedback proc. It's under Knockback.

 

Ty!