Beam Rifle and Ice Shields... What to skip & Why

[Etched]

I recently made a Beam Rifle and Ice Shields (Both are a first for me).

I have a build sketched out and im  comfortable with it but I'd like a few more slots to be moved around and since the game don't give out slots after 50 (would be a good vet lvl reward). Give me a good reason to skip certain powers within the two sets. Not lookin for builds just (FRIENDLY) opinions.

 

Educate me.

 

@Etched

[Captain Fabulous]

Charged Shot and Lancer Shot in BR, Snow Storm and Frostwork in CD. Aim is also skippable if you need a fifth slot.

Edited March 14 by Captain Fabulous

[Zect]

Powers that can be skipped without losing core functionality:

 

From BR:

• Either charged or single shot. Usually skipping charged (the T2) is recommended, because single shot has a small bit of -regen when used on a disintegrating target.
• Arguably, lancer shot. It's not terrible, but non-sentinel BR has too many ST attacks and lancer is the one least necessary.
  • The snipe is the highest-DPA attack.
  • Piercing beam has -res.
  • Disintegrate is necessary for the disintegrate mechanic.
  • Lancer ends up without something to really guarantee it a spot, despite being a T3 blast that mezzes.

From cold:

• Infrigidate: -def and -rech are valuable, but you already get a good amount of them from better, aoe powers that stack with themselves, like sleet. The -dmg is fire damage only and quite niche. Still has potential as a procbombing blast on some AT's and powersets, e.g. controllers who do not get a blast from their primary.
• Snow storm: -rech, see above. Not amazing for toggle pulling since it slows movement speed. It gives -fly, but flying critters are rare and you can just, you know, shoot them dead. However, for a solo fender the combo of snow storm + sleet helps keep enemies in the sleet more effectively.
• Arguably, frostwork. +maxhp is not bad, serving the same function as resistance in increasing ehp. It's also a health/resist unique mule. However, 1) the amount is small (it's based on your HP, not the target's), 2) some AT's and powersets benefit less - accoladed blasters, for example, are often less than 300 hp from their HP cap, while sets such as invuln self-cap hp - and 3) it's ST so some people find it a hassle to keep it up on multiple targets. Coh players can barely output more than 1 fortitude at once; I doubt they will really use frostworks even if they take it. Fenders on power heavy builds (fighting + dark epic for example) may skip it.

Depending on 2ndary layout, some coldfenders cannot skip both infrigidate and snowstorm. In that case, choose which you think is better for your playstyle and target content.

[Etched]

Thanks for the help. I'll take that into consideration. I have both of those powers within my build... 

Seems like a respec is in order.

 

@Etched

[Uun]

I've got a Cold/Beam defender and agree that Snow Storm and Frostwork are skippable. (I do have Frostwork in my build, but it's the lvl 49 power and has only the base slot. The only time I use it is to buff the tank in HM content.) Infrigidate works well as a proc bomb, and also accepts the Achilles' Heel -res proc.

[Camel]

They pretty much hit the nail on the head, so basically just repeating here... Infrigidate on a Corrupter is pretty meh. If you do have the room for it, it's only real niche is the -defense debuff and to put the Achille's -res proc in it since your Corrupter blast attacks are far superior than a procced Infrigidate. I will always skip Snow Storm, I take Frostwork if I can, being able to use it as a mule for any of the Heal/Resist unique IOs is nice. 

I have a Beam/Storm Corrupter and took Lancer Shot, but they are correct in that it can be awkward within your rotation. I personally would take it if I could. It helps round out your attack chain at lower levels and can be used in rotation effectively if you view Disintegrate as more of a "debuff" than an actual attack. The damage isn't front loaded like your other powers and oftentimes I find the DoT damage being wasted on some mobs. I like to hit hard targets with Disintegrate and then use Lancer Shot in my rotation afterwards, alongside the snipe and Piercing Beam.