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Frosty the Snowbear

time for a new build, this time ice-themed (as if the title didn't already give that away); after all that grief i went through during the winter event farming for that icicle archetype - which was probably wasted effort since i get all archetypes for free as an LTS - i figured it was high time for one

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Frosty the Snowbear

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Ego (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Dexterity (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Chiller
Level 6:
Level 9:
Level 12:
Level 15:
Level 18:
Level 21:

Powers:
Level 1: Ice Shards
Level 1: Ice Blast
Level 6: Icy Embrace
Level 8: Ice Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Shatter
Level 14: Icicle Spear
Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Chilled Form
Level 23: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
Level 26: Masterful Dodge
Level 29: Snow Storm
Level 32:
Level 35: Avalanche
Level 38: Rebirth

Travel Powers:
Level 6: Ice Slide
Level 35: Snowball Roll

Specializations:
Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
Ego: Insight (3/3)
Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
Vindicator: Mass Destruction (1/3)
Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)

now, i have absolutely no idea which ice powers/advantages are good and which aren't aside from icicle spear, ice blast and avalanche, so i'm sure i'll have to swap out some of those; got the usual staple powers of course

and as per usual, any advices on gear/mod selection for ice DPS will be appreciated​​
#LegalizeAwoo

Comments

  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    You've covered most of the basics, though I'd prob replace Shatter or Snowstorm w/ Frostbreath w/ adv for cheap, early AoE and an easy Chill apply. I'd also prob ditch the other of those for Firesnake, assuming ya can re-color it.

    You'll prob need to replace Dex SS w/ End SS to be able to afford Ice Spear via Icy Embrace's extra energy, since it and Avalanche are pretty costly to use. I'd also get the toggle earlier if ur leveling w/ this.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • what about the advantages on the current selection of powers? any of them worth getting or just go pure R3 for all of them?​​
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    Get the Cold -resist debuff for Ice Blast, Frostbite on Frostbreath, Trail Blazer on Firesnake (if ya take it), Serrated Shards on Avalanche (mostly to proc Cold Snap more often), and that's mostly it for specials. Rest can be normal ranks for all ur main attacks. Not ranking the toggle, Rebirth, or MD, as per usual.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • legendarylycan#5411 legendarylycan Posts: 1,569 Arc User
    edited March 2016
    i assume fire snake is for the elemental resist debuff? don't suppose there's an ice power that does it besides the ice blast adv?

    oh, and what about talents? the usual array?​​
    Post edited by legendarylycan#5411 on
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    afaik, in Ice the only cold_elemental dmg debuff is from Hard Frost, yea.

    For talents I'd prob take the normal 5/5 SS boosts, and prob some ones w/ Dex or Rec (assuming EGO/Con/End).
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • okay, updated build incoming

    PowerHouse (Link to this build)

    Name: Frosty the Snowbear

    Archetype: Freeform

    Super Stats:
    Level 6: Ego (Primary)
    Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
    Level 15: Endurance (Secondary)

    Talents:
    Level 1: The Chiller
    Level 6: Ascetic
    Level 9: Boundless Reserves
    Level 12: Daredevil
    Level 15: Impresario
    Level 18: Quick Recovery
    Level 21: Amazing Stamina

    Powers:
    Level 1: Ice Shards
    Level 1: Ice Blast (Rank 2, Hard Frost)
    Level 6: Icy Embrace
    Level 8: Ice Form (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 11: Frost Breath (Rank 2, Frost Bite)
    Level 14: Chilled Form
    Level 17: Conviction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 20: Icicle Spear (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 23: Ego Surge (Nimble Mind)
    Level 26: Masterful Dodge
    Level 29: Snow Storm (Rank 2, Eye of the Storm)
    Level 32: Fire Snake (Rank 2, Trail Blazer)
    Level 35: Avalanche (Rank 2, Serrated Shards)
    Level 38: Rebirth

    Travel Powers:
    Level 6: Ice Slide (Rank 2, Rank 3)
    Level 35: Snowball Roll

    Specializations:
    Ego: Force of Will (2/2)
    Ego: Insight (3/3)
    Ego: Follow Through (3/3)
    Ego: Sixth Sense (2/3)
    Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
    Guardian: Ruthless (2/2)
    Guardian: Find the Mark (2/3)
    Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
    Vindicator: Aggressive Stance (2/2)
    Vindicator: Merciless (3/3)
    Vindicator: Focused Strikes (2/3)
    Vindicator: Offensive Expertise (2/2)
    Vindicator: Mass Destruction (1/3)
    Mastery: Ego Mastery (1/1)​​
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    Looks a bit better, imo, though Snowstorm is kinda weak and redundant here. May replace that w/ Ice Cage w/ adv for an interrupt/CC, or just leave it open as the last power/adv trained as a wildcard slot (like, taking CoPD when fighting Gravi, or an ally res when pugging high-end stuff, or another AD or Ice Sheath, etc).
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • what about wall of ice, ice burst or arctic beast? how do those ice powers rate?​​
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    edited March 2016
    I prob wouldn't take the pet, unless its for theme (like if ya really want a beast companion), just cause it alone isn't high dps and gives ya a final energy penalty. Ice Burst is alright for a hold/interrupt, though it also scatters nearby mobs and is on a longer cd. Wall of Ice is prob not needed for Ice Spear builds, sicne ya could just use that time/energy using more Ice Spears; I'd normally use Ice Wall as a thematic MSA trigger if using that EU, but w/ Icy Embrace its less compelling.

    Rimefire can also work if ya get the 1pt CF adv on Ice Spear, since ya can use it back to back if ya get CF and Chill up at the same time.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • it's a pure ice build, so no rimefire for me

    and i checked the description on CoPD; it says you are incredibly hard to damage while inside the circle...exactly how hard is 'incredibly hard' in CO terms?​​
    #LegalizeAwoo
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    Main aspect to CoPD is the knock resist. It also adds a tiny HoT, a mediocre dmgRes buff, and a buff to threat when in tank role, iirc. But its best used as an anti-knock circle, imo.
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • carrionbaggagecarrionbaggage Posts: 721 Community Moderator
    edited March 2016
    With your EGO/CON/END superstat setup, I'd swap Chilled Form for Concentration (Chilled Form scales with DEX).

    Serrated Shards does help trigger Cold Snap a bit more frequently, but your build doesn't make much use of Cold Snap. I'd probably opt for Rank 3 on Avalanche. Cold Snap would boost Ice Blast's charge damage, but I'm assuming you're using Icicle Spear as your main single-target damage source. I would recommend using Stormbringer over Ice Form in this case, as Stormbringer's resists are rather handy for fights like Gravitar.

    A full-charge Icicle Spear only has a 50% chance to Chill the target. I'd recommend picking up Frost Bite instead of Rank 2 on Ice Blast, so your periodic Blast taps can prevent Chill stacks from falling off when you're DPS'ing a boss with Icicle Spears.

    Because of Icicle Spear's 50% Chill chance, you'll run out of energy occasionally when relying on Icy Embrace during Spear spam. Thermal Reverberation (with a reliable trigger like Flashfire...could maybe color it blue and play it off as a liquid nitrogen pit or something) is more reliable during Spear spam, but it's up to you whether it fits your concept. If you do choose the Thermal Reverb route, I'd recommend Freezer Burn on Icicle Spear. If you're sticking to Icy Embrace, you can save some advantage points by dropping Rank 2 on Fire Snake (ranking it up no longer increases the debuff value).
  • flowcytoflowcyto Posts: 12,740 Arc User
    edited March 2016
    Chilled Form can also scale off of Ego, so there's no need to switch to Concentration here, unless one wants to try an Int-focus instead.

    Taps of Frostbreath w/ adv can also be used to put up Chill quickly, w/o needing to use Ice Blast. I guess its better to have both of those consolidated on Ice Blast, but iirc Frostbite on the Blast doesn't apply extra Chill stacks, which boost Ice Spear's dmg. Perhaps its better to have Frostbite on both the Breath and the Blast, and use taps of FBreath to build to 3x Chill and then use the Blast to refresh it.

    From quick testing, it seems like the Chill refresh from Ice Blast's Frostbite doesn't itself proc Icy Embrace- the underlying 25-100% Chill chance on the Blast does. On a toon w/ decent Ego + Insight and some End, I found it best to open by tapping FBreathx3 w/ Frostbite for the quick 3x Chill stack and taping Ice Blast (both w/ Frostbite and Hard Frost) once for the debuff. Then the normal rotation was 3x charged Ice Spear -> 1x charged Ice Blast. This rotation easily refreshed 3xChill and the cold debuff, while giving me sufficient energy to work with overall. I did end build if Spear's chill RNG was really bad, but only infrequently. Other option when lower-energy is to use 2x Spear between blasts instead of 3x.

    So, even if Thermal Reverb may be the easier way out, ya can still make energy work out w/ Icy Embrace- it is a bit more gear-reliant though. Note that Cold Snap also still helps if using this rotation, as ur also charging Ice Blast. That said, I agree that Stormbringer is better overall defensively, and the impact of Cold Snap isn't that big since the main attack is still the spear. So its up to you. Perhaps keep Icy Form (and Cold Snap) if also using Ice Barrier in the build?
    <CO stuff> .: Petco :. // A basic FF building guide (see 1st reply) // PSA on Power Activation Delay // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (misc stat data)
    - Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
  • carrionbaggagecarrionbaggage Posts: 721 Community Moderator
    I keep forgetting that Chilled Form also scales with EGO, since I've always used Concentration with EGO builds. Not sure why they attached the same superstat to a form with the same triggers.

    If you're going with the Ice Form/Cold Snap version (it's definitely a nice option), Ice Barrier can be a rather powerful Active Defense with Cold Snap up. Just something else to think about.
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