Help for a new player - ice/dark vs water dark.

[cgargano]

I just found this game and am having fun!  Was hoping some experienced people can help me decide between an ice/dark miasma corrupter or water/dark corrupter.  Could anyone tell me if one is a lot better than the other?  is there a better secondary i should consider (dark just seems fun).  if these are decent  could anyone share an ice dark build or where i could find one?

[Astralock]

Welcome to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles!  Ice Blast is great for single target damage, and Water Blast is great for AoE (area of effect) damage.  It depends if you want to do better at hard targets (Ice Blast), or lots of weak mobs (Water Blast).  You can't go wrong with either, nor with Dark Miasma.  Both Ice Blast and Water Blast gel well with Dark Miasma to boot.

[cgargano]

Thanks! That is helpful!  I also meant to add I am not the best at keeping up with 20 different buttons to be pushing all the time....would corruptor be ok (seems like the right spec for me, but not sure what end game powers look like and how crazy it is). Thanks again for any tips or build suggestions.  

[biostem]

44 minutes ago, cgargano said:

ice/dark miasma corrupter or water/dark corrupter

Ice leans more into control abilities, having 2 hold powers and almost all powers slowing the target.  I really like how it has 2 AoE powers that you can trigger at a location of your choice, and they'll damage and slow any enemies that pass through that area.  Water blast is a much newer set, and incorporates a special mechanic called "tidal power", where most powers generate this "resource", and a few use it to gain additional effects.  The set also has a self heal in one of the attacks, but since you're going with dark miasma, I don't know if that redundancy is needed.  Personally, I prefer ice blast, but both are great sets.  Consider giving the sets a look at in more detail here and here.  Also, when creating your character, you can click the little 'i' symbol or "More Info" options to see further details about what each power does, and some of its stats.

Edited February 19, 2023 by biostem

[biostem]

54 minutes ago, cgargano said:

is there a better secondary i should consider

In regard to this question, how much MMO experience do you have?  Are you comfortable with the notion of keeping track of your teammates and reacting to their needs, or would you prefer power that you can just kind of fire off whenever?  Also, are you familiar with the concept of keybinds or macros?  Setting a few can make your life a lot easier!

 

There are also aspects of the game that can make things a bit easier for you.  For instance, if you target a teammate and fire off an attack power, it'll target whatever enemy they are targeting.  Similarly, if you select an enemy and attempt to use a healing ability, it'll be directed at whatever friendly unit that enemy was targeting.

Edited February 19, 2023 by biostem

[cgargano]

Thank you Bio.  A little experience with world of jerkcraft...didnt love the community there.  I am good with key binds and macros and to be honest I am probably more of power I can fire off whenever kind of guy.  And yep am familiar with target of target and such.  Any other suggestions for good secondaries for me (or primary powers I should consider though Ice sounds fun) would be really helpful since there doesnt seem to be a way to test level 50 characters.  I am not a fan of melee and blaster dps only doesnt seem like my thing, so I figured Corruputer was my best bet just trying to figure out the right powers before I invest time.

 

Thanks again!

[Astralock]

30 minutes ago, cgargano said:

Thank you Bio.  A little experience with world of jerkcraft...didnt love the community there.  I am good with key binds and macros and to be honest I am probably more of power I can fire off whenever kind of guy.  And yep am familiar with target of target and such.  Any other suggestions for good secondaries for me (or primary powers I should consider though Ice sounds fun) would be really helpful since there doesnt seem to be a way to test level 50 characters.  I am not a fan of melee and blaster dps only doesnt seem like my thing, so I figured Corruputer was my best bet just trying to figure out the right powers before I invest time.

 

Thanks again!

 

Dark Miasma is a good choice for your first Corruptor.  It eases you into the support role.  You can definitely test level 50 characters.  Go here and then read - 

 

 

 

The freebies menu shown at the bottom of your quickchat will let you promote a character to level 50.  You'll still need to train up of course.

[cgargano]

oh wow thanks!  found the beta server but didn't know to look for the freebie item.  Are there any resources to discuss builds or rotation, or just trial and error?

[biostem]

7 hours ago, cgargano said:

Thank you Bio.  A little experience with world of jerkcraft...didnt love the community there.  I am good with key binds and macros and to be honest I am probably more of power I can fire off whenever kind of guy.  And yep am familiar with target of target and such.  Any other suggestions for good secondaries for me (or primary powers I should consider though Ice sounds fun) would be really helpful since there doesnt seem to be a way to test level 50 characters.  I am not a fan of melee and blaster dps only doesnt seem like my thing, so I figured Corruputer was my best bet just trying to figure out the right powers before I invest time.

 

Thanks again!

OK, so Dark Miasma is a good starting point, then.  The biggest advantage is that the heal ability is centered around you, and even if the target is killed mid-animation, the power will still go off.  The disadvantage is that the heal does require a tohit check, so make sure to put a fair amount of accuracy in it, so you don't constantly miss.  Besides that, here are a few quick tips that I think will help you out:

 

1. Make sure to slot some acc in twilight grasp, the heal power, (I'd recommend at least 2).

 

2. Tar Patch is a very potent ability - it slows enemies that pass through its AoE, and reduces their damage resistance, so they end up taking more damage.  I like using the below bind for such powers, so I simply just alt+left click to place it where my cursor is:

/bind lalt+lbutton "powexecname tar patch"

 

3. Shadow Fall is a very useful utility power, as it grants stealth to you and anyone nearby.  It costs a steady amount of endurance to keep toggled on, so consider an end cost reducer enhancement in it to start.  It also grants some defense, damage resistance, and selective status effect protection, so read the power effects carefully.

 

4. Fearsome Stare is an extremely useful "soft control" and debuff power - very few enemies have protection from fear effects, so you'd basically lock down large groups with only 1 application.  They do get to retaliate if they take damage, though, so getting a handle on the timing and positioning of the power is crucial.

 

5. Petrifying Gaze is a hard control power, (hold).  It's good as a fallback power, but IIRC it has a fairly short duration and longish recharge, so I wouldn't consider it a mainstay of the set.

 

6. Phase powers, like Black Hole are a bit of a contentious subject.  I tend to just avoid them, as while they make the enemies unable to affect your team, you can't affect them either.  Some see it as an annoyance, though it can save your team's butt if used carefully.  For now, probably best to set it aside.

 

7. Dark Servant is a power that really distinguishes this power set for others - I don't think any other support sets get a full-on pet.  "Fluffy" is very useful, but just pay special attention to the various powers and effects they possess, to guide how you slot them.

 

8. Howling Twilight is your ally resurrect power, but it also applies a bunch of debuffs to enemies, and can, IIRC, be used even without any downed allies.  Of course, doing so puts it on cooldown for a bit, so if you think you may need that rez, it's something to consider.

 

9. Darkest Night is probably the only power you'd need a bit of practice with using - it's an "anchor power", meaning that you target an enemy then toggle the power on.  It costs a steady amount of endurance to use, and applies a sizable tohit debuff and damage debuff to them and any enemies near them.  The catch is that the targeted enemy must be alive for the power to continue to apply its effects.  For normal enemy groups, they probably won't last long enough for you to get much benefit, even if you use it on a boss-tier enemy.  Where this power really shines is against much tougher enemies, like elite bosses, archvillains, giant monsters, and so on.  But consider the stacked tohit debuff from this and fearsome stare, and the enemies will have a hard time hitting anyone!

 

 

Other thoughts:

 

If combined with ice blast, you'd get a total of 3 single target holds, (freeze ray, bitter freeze ray, and petrifying gaze).  Bitter freeze ray has kind of a long animation, so I tend to just take freeze ray and petrifying gaze for a quick 1-2 punch, or start with bitter freeze ray, then follow up with the other 2 to stack the hold effect.

 

Dropping a tar patch on a group, then following up with ice storm and blizzard can devastate a group, especially if you also pop aim beforehand or stack on some other damage buffs.  Nothing like stacked patch powers all scourging an entire group!

 

Keep in mind if you hit a group with fearsome stare, then drop a DoT power, it'll basically negate the fear effect, so you might want to consider the needs of your team, and use it to lock down the group, then switch to single target attacks and holds to isolate only certain enemies.  Fearsome stare also has a sizable tohit debuff, so you may also want to leverage that to make the enemies less able to hit you and your team, and this effect remains even if said enemies aren't cowering as a result of taking damage.

 

Hope that helps!

Edited February 19, 2023 by biostem

[SeraphimKensai]

I play a pretty intense ice/dark/dark. I'm willing to offer build advice to help you on your way. I would require you though to try and make yourself a build, and discuss your goals for it though so we can get you to where you want it.