Earth/Fire/Ice Build Advice

[Adeon Hawkwood]

So I'm playing around with build options for my Earth/Fire/Ice Dominator for when he gets to level 50 and I was looking to get some opinions on a few different questions. EDIT: I should prboably mention that I'm taking Ice pool for thematic reasons, not because I specifically want an S/L shield.

 

First off Defense. So getting to ~31% S/L defense is reasonably easy with Frozen Armor, CJ, Maneuveurs and the 3% Defense IOs but getting more S/L defense is tricky. Assuming that I get Perma-Dom is that going to be enough? Is it worth taking Weave? I could swap out Assault, Vengeance and Hoarfrost to take Weave if I wanted to I'm just not sure if it's worth it (Hoarfrost is the big one I'm worried about losing)

 

Secondly Single Target attack chain. I'm basically looking at Blaze > Flares > Fire Blast > Flares (with Fossilize replacing one of the Flares when applicable). The main thing I'm wondering about is skipping Blazing Bolt. Right now I don't think it's worth it but with the new sniper changes on the test server maybe it would be? The problem is I don't want to skip Fire Blast since that would put to much of my ST damage at high levels which is a pain when exemplaring. But maybe one those changes go live it would be worth swapping Blaze for Blazing Bolt?

 

Finally what are people's thoughts on Combustion? I've been using it while leveling and it feels very "meh", partly due to the small AoE.

 

Here's my tentative power order. I haven't really started slotting IOs yet but I do plan on going for heavy recharge to get perma-dom.

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 2.22

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Empedocles: Level 49 Magic Dominator

Primary Power Set: Earth Control

Secondary Power Set: Fiery Assault

Power Pool: Leaping

Power Pool: Speed

Power Pool: Leadership

Ancillary Pool: Ice Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: Fossilize -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Flares -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stone Cages -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Fire Breath -- Empty(A)

Level 6: Quicksand -- Empty(A)

Level 8: Combat Jumping -- Empty(A)

Level 10: Fire Blast -- Empty(A)

Level 12: Stalagmites -- Empty(A)

Level 14: Super Jump -- Empty(A)

Level 16: Embrace of Fire -- Empty(A)

Level 18: Earthquake -- Empty(A)

Level 20: Combustion -- Empty(A)

Level 22: Hasten -- Empty(A)

Level 24: Maneuvers -- Empty(A)

Level 26: Volcanic Gasses -- Empty(A)

Level 28: Consume -- Empty(A)

Level 30: Assault -- Empty(A)

Level 32: Animate Stone -- Empty(A)

Level 35: Sleet -- Empty(A)

Level 38: Blaze -- Empty(A)

Level 41: Frozen Armor -- Empty(A)

Level 44: Ice Storm -- Empty(A)

Level 47: Hoarfrost -- Empty(A)

Level 49: Vengeance -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Domination

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 -- Empty(A)

Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

Level 4: Ninja Run

Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Health -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- Empty(A)

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[HachiMan2007]

How are things going with this toon Adeon? I started one yesterday, he's 22 now but that was all through DFB and DiB so I don't have a real sense of what he's capable of.

 

I have combustion as well but have never used it so I think I'm going to toss it. Anyway, the few missions I have done with him post DiB have been ok. Safe and slow is how I'd put it.

 

Where are you at now in the leveling process and what if any, new revelations have you come across?

[Adeon Hawkwood]

I'm currently at level 45 with him. I've mostly been playing solo (I wanted to have a character do all four hero hazard zones so I mostly solo'd for that) but I've done a moderate number of TFs so I think I've got a good feel for it. I generally solo'd at x2 but once I got to about 40 I switched to x3 since he can handle it. I don't think I'd necessarily want to go higher in difficulty without IOs though.

 

Overall I'm definitely liking the combo. It takes a while to get going but at higher levels it's a beast. Earth locks them down and fire melts them.

 

Looking back I think one option I should have considered is dropping Stone Cages for either Incinerate or Stone Prison for lower level play. I don't really use Stone Cages and having another single target attack would have been great while leveling. It's not a big deal now that I've got Blaze but prior to that my single target damage was lacking.

 

Combustion has been growing on me. It still feels a little small in terms of AoE but it lets me deal with groups of minions effectively so it's worth having. It's definitely not Short Circuit though.

 

I've also decided I am going to take Tough and Weave. I do feel like I need some more defense and from a set perspective I'll probably aim for a mix of Ranged and S/L Defense so having Weave should round things out. I am, however, leaning towards dropping Consume so I can take Hoarfrost.

 

Speaking of Hoarfrost, Ice Mastery is working out very well. Sleet is just excellent for melting spawns and stacking it with Earthquake leaves enemies flopping on the floor. I haven't played a lot with Ice Storm, but the numbers look good.

 

I'm unimpressed with the Dominator ATO sets. I'll probably keep Ascendency of the Dominator since it's got good set bonuses (although the proc is meh) but I'll probably sell Dominating Grasp since it combines uninspiring set bonuses with a weak proc.