Frigid Protection vs. Metabolic Acceleration

[Story Archer]

Which is better?

[Uun]

Are you deciding whether to play Atomic or Ice based on one power?

[Story Archer]

1 hour ago, Uun said:

Are you deciding whether to play Atomic or Ice based on one power?

 

Close to it, yeah. I'm fairly experienced with /Ice but I've never played /Atomic. I'm probably only going to take five powers from whichever Secondary set and three of them are essentially copies of one another (Chillblain/Electron Shackles, Build-Up/Ionize and Freezing Touch/Positron Cell). The fourth would be either Ice Patch or Radioactive Cloud which aren't the same power but I'd be using them in the same way.  That leaves Frigid Protection vs. Metabolic Acceleration as the deciding factor here. I love the larger radius of Frigid Protection (30' VS. 15') but the Regeneration, Mez Resistance and Recharge benefit provided by Metabolic Acceleration seems to make it the clear winner. Am I reading that right?

 

I'm already leaning towards /Atomic due to play-style, I like that it's hold is ranged rather than melee and I think the Gamma Burst interaction is kinda cool (makes my single-target Immob a little more useful). I don't like that I have to wait 10 extra levels to get MA over FP, but in the grand scheme of things that's not that big of a deal.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Story Archer

[arcane]

I give Frigid Protection a couple of cool points for being Absorb instead of Regen, but I give Metabolic Acceleration perhaps a point or two more for not drawing aggro.

 

Ultimately, I also think /Ice has the more appealing melee attacks while /Atomic has Beta Decay. So it’s a tough choice between the two. If you have enough damage from Primary/Ancillary, maybe lean /Atomic for the +recharge. Otherwise, consider /Ice.

 

EDIT: I see you referred to Freezing Touch and Positronic Cell as copies. This is not the case. Freezing Touch is a melee attack and does a lot of damage before procs are even considered. Also, yeah, don’t skip Beta Decay. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by arcane

[Uun]

I wouldn't skip Beta Decay. It's a significant +recharge buff on top of that in Metabolic Acceleration.

[Story Archer]

15 minutes ago, Uun said:

I wouldn't skip Beta Decay. It's a significant +recharge buff on top of that in Metabolic Acceleration.

But only if one or more foes are within 15', right? I work hard at staying at range... still, my newest build features a six-slotted Radioactive Cloud, so I imagine Beta Decay would start to come in useful then. I'll definitely look at it, since I'm not happy with Bonfire in the build. What do you think, just single-slot it with a -RES proc?

[arcane]

4 minutes ago, Story Archer said:

But only if one or more foes are within 15', right? I work hard at staying at range... still, my newest build features a six-slotted Radioactive Cloud, so I imagine Beta Decay would start to come in useful then. I'll definitely look at it, since I'm not happy with Bonfire in the build. What do you think, just single-slot it with a -RES proc?

Honestly if you’re planning to stay at range, that tips the scales away from /Atomic, where Beta Decay is one of the signature powers.

[Story Archer]

44 minutes ago, arcane said:

I give Frigid Protection a couple of cool points for being Absorb instead of Regen, but I give Metabolic Acceleration perhaps a point or two more for not drawing aggro.

 

Ultimately, I also think /Ice has the more appealing melee attacks while /Atomic has Beta Decay. So it’s a tough choice between the two. If you have enough damage from Primary/Ancillary, maybe lean /Atomic for the +recharge. Otherwise, consider /Ice.

 

EDIT: I see you referred to Freezing Touch and Positronic Cell as copies. This is not the case. Freezing Touch is a melee attack and does a lot of damage before procs are even considered. Also, yeah, don’t skip Beta Decay. 

 

The thing is, I'm not a Blapper at all, I'm not taking any of the melee attacks from either set. Positronic Cell does pretty decent damage too and it is a ranged attack, which gives me something to pair with Char for stackable fun.

 

Since my newest build also six-slots Radioactive Cloud, I'll definitely take Beta Decay.

[Without_Pause]

I'm going to assume since you have experience with /ice that you have experience with Ice because that's really the stay at range and use holds set.

[Frozen Burn]

21 hours ago, Story Archer said:

Which is better?

 

Neither and both.  They both have pros and cons.  I would say, since you are familiar with /Ice already.... try something new and play /Atomic.  It's a solid set and cant' really go wrong with it.