Snow Storm or Frostwork?

[City_of_Jedi]

This is a false choice, of course.

 

I could get both powers if I really wanted.

 

But I'm looking at the build I've put together and wondering if I've made the right choice(s).  I'm thinking about the [admittedly few] times I've attempted to solo.  It wasn't a walk in the park.  Freeze Ray makes it doable, slotted for hold.  But Snow Storm would've helped as well.  I've used it on a Defender.  So I know what it does.  Soloing isn't my top priority.  But sometimes it's helpful.  And Ice/Cold is supposedly one of the better ones for soloing because of the debuffs and Ice Blast's control powers. 

 

Don't think I'd want to use Snow Storm on every spawn.  It's "just another expensive toggle" to run.  I do want to help the team which is why I have the shields.  The reason why I thought about swapping it in for Frostwork is that it can help me as well as everyone else, whereas Frostwork only helps the tank (although that in turn helps the team, indirectly).  I don't have a lot of slots to devote to either power.  Certainly they would both benefit from additional slotting.  Which is the most beneficial?  Which is the most skippable?  These are the questions man has been asking since the dawn of time. 

 

I've also had thoughts about dropping Bitter Freeze Ray and picking Frost Breath back up again.  I haven't been able to locate a guide for the blast sets.  I know Ice/ was one of the original ones, and it's long been considered top tier along with Fire/.  Might be nice to have another AoE to unleash.  I'm getting close to level 24 and have some decisions to make soon.^TM

 

This is where I'm at right now. 

 

 

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.962

http://www.cohplanner.com/

 

Click this DataLink to open the build!

 

Ice-Cold v4: Level 50 Technology Corruptor

Primary Power Set: Ice Blast

Secondary Power Set: Cold Domination

Power Pool: Flight

Power Pool: Leadership

Power Pool: Speed

Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

 

Hero Profile:

Level 1: Ice Bolt -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(7), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Dcm-Build%(43)

Level 1: Infrigidate -- ShlBrk-Acc/DefDeb(A), AnlWkn-Acc/DefDeb(5)

Level 2: Ice Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(3), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(5), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(15), Dvs-Hold%(43)

Level 4: Ice Shield -- DefBuff-I(A)

Level 6: Fly -- BlsoftheZ-ResKB(A)

Level 8: Freeze Ray -- Lck-Acc/Hold(A), Lck-Acc/Rchg(9), Lck-Rchg/Hold(9), Lck-EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(11), Lck-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold(25), Lck-%Hold(34)

Level 10: Glacial Shield -- DefBuff-I(A)

Level 12: Ice Storm -- Dmg-I(A), Dmg-I(13), Dtn-Dmg/EndRdx(13), RechRdx-I(25), RechRdx-I(37)

Level 14: Maneuvers -- Krm-ResKB(A)

Level 16: Aim -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(17), RechRdx-I(37)

Level 18: Bitter Ice Blast -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(19), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(19), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(21), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(23), CldSns-%Dam(37)

Level 20: Arctic Fog -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def(40), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(45), RedFrt-EndRdx(48), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(48)

Level 22: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(23), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(46)

Level 24: Frostwork -- DctWnd-Heal/EndRdx(A)

Level 26: Bitter Freeze Ray -- Dcm-Acc/Dmg(A), Dcm-Dmg/EndRdx(27), Dcm-Dmg/Rchg(27), Dcm-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(29), Dcm-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(31), Lck-%Hold(36)

Level 28: Benumb -- Acc-I(A), RechRdx-I(29), RechRdx-I(31), RechRdx-I(31), EndRdx-I(43)

Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(34)

Level 32: Blizzard -- Dmg-I(A), Dmg-I(33), Dmg-I(33), RechRdx-I(33), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(45)

Level 35: Sleet -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(36), RechRdx-I(36), AchHee-ResDeb%(48)

Level 38: Heat Loss -- Acc-I(A), EffAdp-EndMod/Acc(39), EffAdp-EndMod/Rchg(39), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(39), EffAdp-EndMod/Acc/Rchg(40), RechRdx-I(40)

Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(42), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RedFrt-Def(42), RedFrt-EndRdx(50)

Level 44: Vengeance -- Srn-Def/Rchg(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(46), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(46), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(50)

Level 47: Hover -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

Level 49: Afterburner -- LucoftheG-Rchg+(A)

 

Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)

Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(50)

Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)

Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(17), EndMod-I(21)

 

Level 1: Sprint -- UnbLea-Stlth(A)

Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)

------------

 

God I love Corruptors.  I'm never going back to Defender.  And Defender was my archetype.

 

 

EDIT:  So I ended up taking Snow Storm at 24.  It's been very helpful.  I don't know what I was thinking!  o.0 

 

I'll still take comments on the build, if any.

 

[Hjarki]

Frostwork, no question.

 

I cannot stress how worthless Snowstorm actually is. Against single hard targets, it gets resisted down to almost nothing. Against large groups of enemies, it's mostly redundant with Sleet. Against fliers? It just doesn't work past a certain level because the -fly is insufficient and can't be self-stacked.

 

Snowstorm also offers no valuable slotting opportunities. Slow sets are generally poor.

 

In contrast, even if you never have a good work for Frostwork, you can still 6-slot it with Preventative Medicine or Numina's.

[subbacultchas]

Frostwork, no question.

 

I cannot stress how worthless Snowstorm actually is. Against single hard targets, it gets resisted down to almost nothing. Against large groups of enemies, it's mostly redundant with Sleet. Against fliers? It just doesn't work past a certain level because the -fly is insufficient and can't be self-stacked.

 

Snowstorm also offers no valuable slotting opportunities. Slow sets are generally poor.

 

In contrast, even if you never have a good work for Frostwork, you can still 6-slot it with Preventative Medicine or Numina's.

I am coming around to this POV. It may mean I have to respec again for Frostworks.

[City_of_Jedi]

Frostwork, no question.

 

I hear what you're saying.  Maybe I'll respec into it once I have Sleet.  I've been using Snow Storm to deal with groups because I've got nothing else that can do that at present.  At the very least, it makes it more difficult for mobs to run away from Ice Storm.    I'm not totally sure why people think so highly of /Cold.  /Rad debuffs are nothing to sneeze at, and it's frontloaded because Radiation Infection is available at level 2. /Cold always seemed like a watered-down version of /Storm to me, the way /Poison was a watered-down /Rad.

 

It sounds like I'm hating on the set.  I'm not.  But I'm noticing it's taking a while to come into its own.  Hopefully the people who say that it will are right.

 

I'm wondering if there's any logic in dropping bolt and just taking Blast/Breath/FR/BiB/BFR.  I thought it would be useful to stack holds with FR/BFR, but I'm not using it that much.  And there are definitely times that Frost Breath would be applicable.  I think I have to drop BFR in order to get Frost Breath into the build and slotted.  I don't see a better way to do it.  There are all these minions running around and I have no way to attack most of them.

 

Any other issues with the power choices or slotting?

 

EDIT: edited for clarity

[oedipus_tex]

Frostwork, no question.

 

I hear what you're saying.  Maybe I'll respec into it once I have Sleet.  I've been using Snow Storm to deal with groups because I've got nothing else that can do that at present.  At the very least, it makes it more difficult for mobs to run away from Ice Storm.    I'm not totally sure why people think so highly of /Cold.  /Rad debuffs are nothing to sneeze at, and it's frontloaded because Radiation Infection is available at level 2. /Cold always seemed like a watered-down version of /Storm to me, the way /Poison was a watered-down /Rad.

 

It sounds like I'm hating on the set.  I'm not.  But I'm noticing it's taking a while to come into its own.  Hopefully the people who say that it will are right.

 

I'm wondering if there's any logic in dropping bolt and just taking Blast/Breath/FR/BiB/BFR.  I thought it would be useful to stack holds with FR/BFR, but I'm not using it that much.  And there are definitely times that Frost Breath would be applicable.  I think I have to drop BFR in order to get Frost Breath into the build and slotted.  I don't see a better way to do it.  There are all these minions running around and I have no way to attack most of them.

 

Any other issues with the power choices or slotting?

 

EDIT: edited for clarity

 

 

Cold stands apart from Storm based on the shields, but also based on Benumb and Heat Loss. It's annoying that Cold has to wait so long to come into its own, but when it does, it truly brings it. Heat Loss is one of the best powers in the game. A Cold Domination character ith some IOing generally has a bottomless endurance bar, the dead opposite of Storm. Both good sets, but totally divergent except for sharing two very similar powers.