[3.20] Ice Dancing Queen - Icestorm/Cyclone/CI - Viable For Everything

Ok you're right with all crap gear I was sitting on 7kes...that was without putting in any jewels. I think it would work well once you get some gear though..especially now it's buffed.

"

LupusImmortalis wrote:

I'm really interested in the numbers, but more importantly, it sounds like Icestorm's performance will finally be much better.

They have put a cap on the number of storms you can have out at once. I am going to be looking at these numbers very carefully in patch notes. Knowing GGG, they're going to use this opportunity to nerf WI because, it's pretty busted OP damage.

Only reason it wasn't more popular is the poor performance!

"

faraazahmed wrote:

"

LupusImmortalis wrote:

I'm really interested in the numbers, but more importantly, it sounds like Icestorm's performance will finally be much better.

They have put a cap on the number of storms you can have out at once. I am going to be looking at these numbers very carefully in patch notes. Knowing GGG, they're going to use this opportunity to nerf WI because, it's pretty busted OP damage.

Only reason it wasn't more popular is the poor performance!

I fear they nerf it really hard and as you dont get in such a easy way overpowerd gear like last legues it will feel really poor.
They noticed that int stacking is really easy the last two leagues and with that the power of icestorm is great. Also the build fall back with hh builds and spectres builds. So i cant really understand why they do that.

Will see if there is a modified wi staff. That could be a reason

If anything it's a buff, more damage on the first hit. Cheering.

Holy **** here we go!

"

Firestorm
A classic Path of Exile spell, Firestorm has been reworked to give it more powerful visuals, more reliable area coverage and a greater reward for casting fewer, more powerful Firestorms. It is now a level 28 skill, increased from level 12. Firestorm now calls down a single, powerful meteor followed by a smaller ongoing storm of fire over a duration. It now has a limit on how many ongoing storms can be active at once, so you can call down as many meteors as you'd like but can't stack up the ongoing fire storms by extending their duration and triggering or casting the skill rapidly. This has allowed us to greatly increase the area of each impact and the overall damage per cast (and improves performance).

"

Icestorm
The Icestorm skill granted by The Whispering Ice has received a visual overhaul to modernise the skill, while also receiving some balance changes. It has a storm limit like Firestorm, though the limit is much higher than Firestorms so it works better with triggering and rapid cast mechanics. Its impact area of effect and damage has been increased, while the impact frequency has been lowered.

This could be a complete overhaul of how this build works because of the "storm limit" mentioned for Firestorm is also referenced for Icestorm: "...you...can't stack up the ongoing fire storms by extending their duration and triggering or casting the skill rapidly."

By this it's unclear whether they mean you no longer can cast it while channelling another skill or on critical strike. But I think they mean that you can't stack as many on top of eachother any longer. So either a lower skill duration, and/or reduced effectiveness of skill duration from gear/tree. They write that the limit is "much higher" for Icestorm, so the base duration likely is higher and scales higher still.

Hmm. What else?

*

"

Its impact area of effect ... has been increased

This is a buff. All iceshards will hit more targets. This means easier to hit mobs while clearing maps AND more single target dps as the outermost shards can hit closer to the other side of your impact radius.
*

"

Its ... damage has been increased

The base damage (and/or damage effectiveness) will be increased. This is also a buff. All sources of base cold damage will be adding more damage & sources of %INCREASED & %MORE damage will boost damage even further.
*

"

...while the impact frequency has been lowered.

The amount of iceshards from each storm is reduced. Nerf, but depends...

So this all depends on what other changes of the unique staff itself they will make. Will they change some of the Int scaling parameters?

In any case: If the average damage is higher perhaps we can run the same content without having to cast as many icestorms. If this holds true we will be able to run the game with a lot less lag because of a lot less impact calculations. We might even be able to use Spell Cascade & Awakened Spell Cascade more freely now!?

To summarize I think these changes will be good. I hope this means something like this:
- They will nerf the amounts of stacks, thus nerf our damage.
+ The lag will be reduced however. Big buff and what we've been asking for since years back.
+ The average damage will be buffed.
? Visual overhaul modernising the skill. This can be good or bad and is a wild card.

This would seem like a logical and smart way to create a win/win scenario from a game developer standpoint by just balancing the skill/performance.

I think a firestorm build might be viable with LVL 28 firestorm!

What would happen if you put firestorm in a 6 link whispering ice staff...

"

Hemzokuken wrote:

What would happen if you put firestorm in a 6 link whispering ice staff...

I gotta say, that got me thinking....
COC Firestorm+Icestorm? EE? :D

But the problem is, we scale Icestorm to infinity with this build. What benefit would Firestorm provide other than the thematics...

I still like the visuals.

We all can agree that Firestorm but especially Icestorm needs a visual and performance in form of FPS enhancement.

But when they nerf duration by limiting the max amount of storms active at the same time, see blade vortex for comparison, those were 50 back in the day and now are 10, it's first and foremost a nerf usually. Even when they increase the damage and area per hit.

It might not impact some level 90 1900Int build but it will probably hit lilianmarius with this 3k+ int builds of his fairly hard.

"

HHLupus wrote:

We all can agree that Firestorm but especially Icestorm needs a visual and performance in form of FPS enhancement.

But when they nerf duration by limiting the max amount of storms active at the same time, see blade vortex for comparison, those were 50 back in the day and now are 10, it's first and foremost a nerf usually. Even when they increase the damage and area per hit.

It might not impact some level 90 1900Int build but it will probably hit lilianmarius with this 3k+ int builds of his fairly hard.

I think the problem will be de ES on hit, that is what keep us alive in boss fights and tought encounters. they nerfed BV exactly for the same reason... immortality.. then they rised the dmg patch by patch until now.

maybe we have to use both es on hit + leech now to mantain the suvivability with low end gear... its really scares me!