Icestorm

Measuring DPS with this ability is a little bit tough due to a tooltip bug that doesn't seem to account for the Faster Casting support gem (When paired with a Spell Totem gem or self cast).

Edit: I don't believe Faster Casting/tooltip are bugged, what the tooltip is showing is the damage per impact that is dealt every 0.10 seconds according to the tooltip, it would make sense that Faster Casting would not change that number.

It's also fairly tough to tell what changing the AoE size does to this ability's damage. Does it work the same as Firestorm in that a large AoE would mean less single target DPS with less damaging zones overlapping?

Currently I'm level 59 with 934 INT using a 6 socketed staff, I have Spell Totem, Faster Casting, Cold Penetration, Hypothermia, Added Lightning Damage and Concentrated Effect 'linked' together. Overall it seems quite strong, I'll have to see how it scales late game maps. This skill and item are particularly fun because it's brand new and there aren't really any builds or guides out there at the moment, so I have to wing it and try to innovate on my own.

I've been using this skill for a little while, and I must say I'm loving it.

I'm currently running this build: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1353139/page/1

To be clear, I'm not the build's creator.

Though it was designed for HC, I use in Warbands to great effect. I'm currently level 85, and sitting at almost 9.2k ES. My tooltip indicates (as I write this message) 1791.6 average damage. I take a lot of damage, since this build doesn't have any armour or evasion, and no defensive auras/buffs. Despite that, I have little trouble with most content, as things tend to die very quickly.

I'm currently using Concentrated Effect, Spell Echo, Faster Casting, Hypothermia, Life Leech and Cold Penetration.

From what I've observed, AoE radius does seem to affect the density of the projectiles. I recently tried the spell with 5 AoE nodes, an Increased AoE gem, and the bonus from a massive shrine. Though I know the interval hadn't changed, it really felt as though they were falling slower and less frequently, though this was just an illusion.

I've just removed two of my AoE nodes (equal to about 16% increased radius), and I'm going to see if it has any noticeable effect on my DPS. At the very least, I'm expecting that I'll be leeching more often, with more projectiles hitting my target(s).

I love the fact that we don't need to link the sockets on the staff, and I also love the fact that the skill doesn't take up a socket. Lastly, I really like how this spell scales with intelligence. I've never run any Iron Grip/Will builds, and it feels nice that even a lowly 10 intelligence node actually makes a noticeable contribution to the build.

At this point, I'm just afraid that GGG will decide that the skill is too strong as it is, and will try to bring it in line by requiring us to link our sockets somehow.

It would be nice to get some AoE values for major area and shards if Mark isn't too busy, it's hard to gauge it with random effect skills.

Hello,

Im posting this to provide a feedback regarding Whisperig Ice change in 2.0.2.

Until now, I've been using a dual totem build (templar), with a firestorm linked to 2 curses and PCOC in a 6l chest. So fun to see both icicles and fireballs falling from the sky. I spent lot of time inventing this build, polishing it. I also spent lots of orbs to get gear and test various skill opions.

What happened to my build as a result of the change:

1. Totem duration lowered from 40 sec to 8 sec. Though it is, in fact, a huge nerf, I admit that increased totem duration (which came along with increased skill duration) seemed unintended. I understand the reason of this change and agree with that. Surprisingly, this change has a small impact on my gameplay, as I recast totems every 4 sec to get a crit buff anyway.

2. Skill duration lowered from 3.4 sec to 2.7 sec (800 int). This results in a ~20% damage loss vs tough mobs and bosses. This is actually much worse than lowered totem duration, and I'm sure most Whispering Ice users will be frustrated with this change. Ofc the increased duration gem is more effective now, but it must be used INSTEAD of a damage-boosting gem, which is not an option, as your total clearing speed will decrease.

When gearing up, I was calculating the impact of every stat: crit, cast speed, int, etc, expecting to see a certain result. Now, when all skil points are allocated and i have my gear, the result has been changed to be worse than intended.

I don't believe that the skill duration wasn't intended to increase by 50% per 100 int, as it's initial duration was 0.7 sec. Nobody would use such a skill if its duration wouldn't increase when you stack intelligence. As such, this change seems more like a nerf, not just a bug fixing.

In my opinion, Whispering Ice already had a big disadvantage of being a duration skill with low damage per shot. Thus, your clearing speed will never compare to many other builds which can destroy an entire pack of mobs before the first Icestorm's icicle even falls from the sky. That was a tradeoff for large amount of damage dealt during boss encounters, when you have time to fully stack all these rapidly cast icestorms on a target.

Thanks for your attention.

Pissed I spent all the time and currency on this staff for this skill. They called it a fix, but in reality they fucking nerfed it. So why play this skill/staff, when other builds are far superior with these new changes?

Yesterday i ran some maps, and actually barely felt the nerf. Common packs don't last for even 1 sec, blues/rares also die pretty fast, within several seconds. Same goes for map bosses, as many of them are not immobile and change locations often. In fact, this change is only noticable when fighting some slow melee bosses (like vaal fallen or white beast), which are easy to defeat anyway. I still don't understand why was it so necessary to implement the change before the end of the season, but it doesn't make the build unplayable after all. The main advantage of this build is safety, and it didn't become less safe to play.

Interesting observation: even when Icestorm's damage is converted 100% into fire (via cold to fire and Avatar of Fire), Hypothermia still seems to work because of the chilled ground effect. This may need more testing.

I initially ran a regular CI icestorm build. Damage was great, and while I had little trouble surviving thanks to my DPS, I couldn't help but want to try the Dy'Ness tank featured on the main page. Thus, I've created and am currently testing a hybrid of my old build and the Dy'Ness tank.

I decided to go with fire damage, because the build takes 3 fire damage nodes, one of which grants 1% life regen. Since life regen is key to the build, and since the build didn't have much in the way of damage nodes in the first place, I figured that going 100% fire conversion would maximize my damage.

As such, my current gem setup is:

Concentrated Effect - Hypothermia - Spell Echo - Cold to Fire - Added Cold Damage - Fire Penetration.

Tooltip DPS lists 1587.4 currently, though I expect to be increasing it a bit soon. Since adding Hypothermia, I've subjectively noticed an increase in damage. However, there's no way for me to verify, and I'd like some confirmation.


EDIT: After some testing, I'm not so sure anymore. The chill is definitely being applied, I can clearly see it, even if it only lasts 0.5 seconds. However, if there is a damage difference, it's pretty minute. If there isn't a difference, then I guess my setup is just better than I remembered.

Seeing the dearth of feedback I can only conclude that the staff is ultra friggin rare?