Ice Mastery

[Bandari]

I'm starting a new Time/Water defender and it is going well.  This is the first one that I have tried that didn't make me run back to masterminds.

 

I'm looking at the epic pools and I see Ice Mastery is the only epic pool with a controller pet.  Is it good?  Is it worth choosing that pool specifically for the pet over Soul for Power Boost?  Thanks for your input.

[Psylenz0511]

3 hours ago, Bandari said:

I'm starting a new Time/Water defender and it is going well.  This is the first one that I have tried that didn't make me run back to masterminds.

 

I'm looking at the epic pools and I see Ice Mastery is the only epic pool with a controller pet.  Is it good?  Is it worth choosing that pool specifically for the pet over Soul for Power Boost?  Thanks for your input.

I am dead serious, defenders chose an epic power pool that isn't black scorpion for the scorpion shield?

[MonteCarla]

Many of us choose an epic pool with resistance shields, because we've got our defences capped by other means, Psy! 😉

 

To your question, Bandari:

I haven't tested the Ice Elemental, but just had a look at it in City of Data.

It has 25% Defence to everything, so it'll be pretty sturdy with the right primary (eg Time, Empathy), but they're the sets that tend to benefit from Power Boost.

It provides a hook for those ally only powers like Sonic Resonance's Disruption Field.

 

You get Build Up. You miss out on a Resistance Armor. 

I'll have to figure out a character to test this on.

 

 

 

[Uun]

No matter how good Ice Mastery is, Power Boost is a must take with Time. 

[Xandyr]

I've got a Sonic/Storm Blast Defender and I took Ice Mastery. I have Frozen Armor, Hoarfrost ,Build Up, and Ice Elemental. I cast it, then apply my shields and Disruption Field on it. It will usually end up in melee range, so the Disruption Field works perfectly. It supplements my damage pretty well. Its attacks  slow the enemy a bit (of course, Storm Blast also slows....so anyway). In Mids, with the slotting I have, it shows the following:

Ice Swing  149 cold damage

Freezing Touch  296 cold damage

Ice Bolt 141 cold damage

 

 I have 4 pieces of Soulbound in mine, and it is not perma. I'm not sure if you could get it perma or close to perma. Mine's off by 57 seconds. Base recharge is 900 seconds, with a duration of 240 seconds.

 

 For me, being Sonic, it helps because I can cast Disruption Field on it. The added damage is nice as well. For now, I'm keeping it.

 

[Psylenz0511]

On 7/3/2024 at 4:56 AM, MonteCarla said:

Many of us choose an epic pool with resistance shields, because we've got our defences capped by other means, Psy! 😉

 

To your question, Bandari:

I haven't tested the Ice Elemental, but just had a look at it in City of Data.

It has 25% Defence to everything, so it'll be pretty sturdy with the right primary (eg Time, Empathy), but they're the sets that tend to benefit from Power Boost.

It provides a hook for those ally only powers like Sonic Resonance's Disruption Field.

 

You get Build Up. You miss out on a Resistance Armor. 

I'll have to figure out a character to test this on.

 

 

 

I get spoiled by playing on teams and doing mostly TFs and group content. When the everlasting defenders team up, the soft defense cap is almost a joke to attain.

[Glacier Peak]

On 7/2/2024 at 3:29 PM, Bandari said:

I'm starting a new Time/Water defender and it is going well.  This is the first one that I have tried that didn't make me run back to masterminds.

 

I'm looking at the epic pools and I see Ice Mastery is the only epic pool with a controller pet.  Is it good?  Is it worth choosing that pool specifically for the pet over Soul for Power Boost?  Thanks for your input.

While it's from the perspective of a Corruptor, the Defender version of the Ice Mastery Ancillary Pool Powerset are functionally the same (better Build Up and Frozen Armor numbers on Defender version, better Hoarfrost and Flash Freeze on the Corruptor version, identical Ice Elemental pet), therefore I am linking my feedback on this for your reference.

 

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Ice Mastery has added a number of unique tools to my Corruptor that I've enjoyed using. The Epic Powerset gave flexibility that I didn't have previously have when I selected either Fire Mastery or Psionic Mastery (my standard Epic Powerset picks on my Corruptor). If a player is searching for additional defense/res option, increase in damage output, a self heal that maxes HP to 1606, or a number of powers to frankenslot purples, Ice Mastery has it. I'll cover each power below and give my thoughts. I'd like to read what others have found in their playing of Ice Mastery on Corruptors.

 

 Flash Freeze - Ranged (Targeted AoE), DMG(Cold), Foe Sleep (Available at Level 35)

• Power Description: You can Flash Freeze a large patch of ground beneath a targeted foe, instantly forming dozens of deadly ice shards that do Cold damage to all enemies in the area. The victims are left trapped within the icicles, but can break free if disturbed. Only targets near the ground can be affected. Notes: The Sleep component of this power is Auto Hit against regular enemies, but a To Hit check is required to against AVs and players, as well as to make secondary effects apply.

• Player Feedback: I've only tried this out on my build sparingly. With the other powers available in this Epic Powerset, it's tough to choose this one over the other options available and due to my build having multiple Targeted Area of Effect (TAoE) powers, it doesn't synergize well. The Mag 3 Sleep works nicely against even-level minions, lieutenants, and bosses, but starts to lose it's effectiveness as a damage mitigation tool as I fought higher level enemies or the enemies had resistance to Sleep. If a player's powerset already has access to a Sleep AoE, this would be a great power to stack mez with. Players can also slot the Fortunata Hypnosis Sleep Invention Origin Set in to this power if they are searching for additional recharge (5-slot for 10% recharge) or Fire/Cold (3-slot for 6% Fire/Cold res) or Toxic/Psi res (6-slot for 6% Toxic/Psi res). I tried out slotting the Chance for Placate proc and it's a bit duplicative/redundant because the enemies are in Sleep status for 14 seconds, and Placate status for 8 seconds. Additionally, players can slot the Ragnarok TAoE Invention Origin Set as well for the same set bonuses as the Fortunata Hypnosis Invention Origin set (with a Chance for Knocknown instead of Placate). This power has a rather high amount of endurance cost (19.5 end) per use and a max target of 10. Overall I can see the utility of this power, however, for my build - it didn't fit.

 

 Frozen Armor - Toggle: Self +Def(Smash, Lethal), +Res(Cold, Fire) (Available at Level 35)

• Power Description: While this power is active, you coat yourself in rock hard Frozen Armor. The hardness of the Frozen Armor offers good defense to Smashing and Lethal attack as well as reduces Cold damage. Also, Fire attacks deal slightly less damage.
• Player Feedback: This is a fantastic Epic Powerset shield for any player who wants access to both Res or Def Invention Origin set slotting! The 12.75% +def Smashing/Lethal is comparable to the other def shield available to Corruptors from Mace Mastery and the res (+22.5% Cold, +7.5% Fire) is also comparable to other Epic Powersets with res shields as well. Aside from those comparables, this is the power to choose if a player is not taking Flash Freeze. I use this in conjunction with Arctic Fog to get a hefty Cold res and some nice Fire res also.

 

 Hoarfrost - Self Heal, +Max HP, Res(Toxic) (Available at Level 38)

• Power Description: Activating this power covers you in a thick layer of Hoarfrost. The frost can absorb the impact from enemy attacks, effectively increasing your maximum Hit Points for a short time. Hoarfrost also grants you resistance to Toxic Damage. You must be level 38 and have one other Ice Mastery Powers before selecting this power.
• Player Feedback: Let's start with the fact that only one other Epic Powerset for Corruptors offers a click self heal (Energize from Mu Mastery at Level 41), but none offer a click self heal AND MaxHP! The self heal from Hoarfrost gives 321.2691 HP at base level (it can be enhanced to give even more!). Do you want to cap your HP without investing heavily in set bonuses? Hoarfrost will do it for you - it offers 160.6 MaxHP (enhanceable) and an additional 160.6 MaxHP (unenhanceable) to your health pool. Additionally, it offers +11.25% res to Toxic (enhanceable). This power lasts 120 seconds and recharges in 540 seconds. With enough +recharge, a player can get it to the point where it only has 20 seconds of downtime if they desire. This is another unique tool available for players who are looking for additional HP, the best self heal offered from an Epic Powerset, or another place to slot Healing or Resistance Invention Origin set bonuses. 

 

 Build Up - Self +DMG, +To Hit (Available at Level 41)

• Power Description: Greatly increases the amount of damage you deal for a few seconds, as well as slightly increasing your Accuracy.
• Player Feedback: Oh boy! This has been my favorite power addition to Corruptors in a long time. Build Up and Aim are normally only available in combination with Blaster powersets. The difference with this Build Up is that it's base recharge is 180 seconds. That's not terrible considering a player will cap their proc chance (90%) with Gaussians Synchronized Fire-Control: +Chance for Build Up even with 100% recharge slotted in the power (to bring it down to a cool 90 seconds - about the same as Blizzard when slotted for recharge!) - even faster with additional set bonus +recharge. There is something magical about Aim+Build Up (slotted with Gaussian's BU)+Sleet+Blizzard (and then Scourge kicks in!!!) on a mob of enemies. Throw in Ice Storm (with a Annihilation: Chance for -res) if a player is truly mad with power! 

 

 Ice Elemental - Summon Ice Elemental: Melee DMG(Lethal/Cold) (Available at Level 44)

• Power Description: You can create a very powerful entity of animated ice at a targeted location. Ice Elemental possesses several ice powers to attack any nearby foes and can be healed and buffed like any teammate. You must be level 44 and have two other Ice Mastery Powers before selecting this power.
• Player Feedback: The last power in the Epic Powerset and it's pretty comparable to the Villain Patrol Powersets summons, albeit the cast time is quicker if that is something a player desires. With some heavy recharge slotting, +recharge set bonuses, and a +rech temporary power, players can get this pet perma'd. I went with 6-slotting the Soulbound Allegiance Invention Origin set to get all the damage I could out of the pet (and the Soulbound Allegiance: Chance for Build Up proc goes off enough to make the pet damage worthwhile). The pet is pretty sturdy when used in conjunction with my character's powerset (casting shields and Frostwork help!), but it may not be that resilient when used by other Corruptor powersets. I generally use this pet when fighting against AV/Hero class enemies. The pet A.I. is not terrible, but it can aggro enemies from farther away because it has access to ranged powers like Ice Bolt and Freezing Touch. Only downside I see with this power is that it's four picks deep - but the other picks along the way are worthwhile, so it's a fair opportunity cost. 

 

 

[Glacier Peak]

On 7/3/2024 at 2:56 AM, MonteCarla said:

You miss out on a Resistance Armor. 

Frozen Armor provides +22.5% Cold resistance and +7.5% Fire resistance. It can slot resistance IO sets as well.