Item Development - Information

GGG: thank you for sharing and answering questions!

I like the item, and would like to use it, but I do agree with others that have posted concerns regarding the skill only being available with the item. I think it would be great to also have the skill as a drop, even if it is only level 1 (like portal) and rare.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that GGG, you've really one-upped your unique design if this staff is coming out in this condition.

However, I'm going to say that the skill and unique descriptions are functionally fine assuming that these conditions are true (and currently, only you guys know if that is the case or not)

1) The Icestorm skill is a one-level-wonder, akin to Portal. Portal is always level one (or it was before Vaal orbs, lel...) and yet it still says level one. While saying level one in the unique description may hint that there are ways to get it to level up, I would disagree by saying that it's consistent with every other skill-adding-mechanic in the game. They always specify the level, and it is always that level, regardless of external conditions.

2) The Icestorm skill is not affected by socketed gems, but is affected by the skill tree. (see "grants [insert aura/skill here]" vaal implicit). While it would be hella cool if we could support it, it would probably be OP easily, and it would need a different set of wording. "Level 1 Icestorm supported by gems socketed in this item" or something to that effect, preferably less clunky >.< I have this strange thought that there is already an item or mod that does such a mechanic somewhere, somewhen... might be wrong though.


ALL THAT SAID: I have some reservations about it's current balance state, and I know it's still subject to change, but maybe others can correct my misgivings with what we've been shown so far.


That skill seems sexy as all get out at first glance, but damn that scaling seems lame. What's the usual amount of int that a spellcaster character gets from the tree? 250? 300? Divded by ten is 25-30 - times 1-3 gives you anywhere between 25-30 and 75-90 base damage. That's about a level 14-16 firestorm, ish.

Now, let's factor in the staff's bonuses. 16% inc intelligance. That 300 becomes 348 - let's say 350 for simplicities sake. Our damage goes from 30-90 to 35-105. Still nothing to start wetting yourselves over.

and assuming that same 350 base int, we get an additional 35% Spell damage - which is nothing to sniff at, admittedly, but is easily outclassed by spell damage mods on a good staff. You can get, what, over 160 spell damage native, plus cold damage?

The effectiveness of this staff depends on how high you can push your characters intelligence. VERY CRUDE math suggests that your damage output, JUST FROM THE STAFF BONUSES, is approximately 1/7th-3/7ths of your characters intelligence, and that is using some extremely rough rounding.
Using that same crude rounding math, you need about 800 intelligence to get approximately one, unsupportable, level 20 firestorm.
Now as someone who has never played a mjolnir or pillar of the caged god, or any other flat-stat-stacking builds, I don't know how feasible it is to push your int that high. Someone else can enlighten me to it - and correct me if I'm very mistaken, but that sounds like a colossal investment for...not very much. :/

It kind of bugs me that the skill is named like another skill that can be obtained as a gem (Firestorm). Maybe I'm too OCD or there's no consistency and symmetry in the naming process.

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Hemmingfish wrote:

Why would you do this? One of the greatest things about the game is that your active and support skills are in tradable gems that you're free to mix and match with any gear that lets you use them. Now that you're putting otherwise unobtainable skills on items it's going to lock you to that item if you want that skill, which goes against the freedom the game is built around. What if I wanted to use the skill with Taryn's Shiver, which benefits explicitly this kind of skill, or sticking in a cold to fire and rocking a Dyadus in a crazy cross-class build?

Decisions like this are why people love POE and reasons why sticking exclusive skills on uniques are simply going to harm the game.

This. Hopefully GGG wont make a habit of doing this kind of thing...
Dont get me wrong I like the unique but I very much dont like that that is the only way to use Icestorm

I'm all for versions/combinations of builds/skills being optimized or made "usable" with a unique or two, or uniques adding special properties to existing skills/builds, but having an actual core skill only be accessible from one single item ever just seems completely wrong, at least in this game.

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NickK_GGG wrote:

If someone asked me what Path of Exile's greatest strength was, I'd answer with just one word: depth.

I find it interesting that this was posted along with an item of this nature.

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CharanJaydemyr wrote:

Just. A. Player.

Why are you insulting the players of this game?

well based on the last sentence looks like Act 4 isnt coming when we think it is.

Brace yourselves, all streamers are going to play ice storm builds... +1 support gems, max int bonus and having ice storm at low mana cost already sounds like a new meta.

I've got a question though. If the skill is only available through the unique staff and we can't see the actual gem, how are we supposed to know what tags are on it? AoE? Projectile?

Also, it's funny to see how weapon-based abilities have a hard time scaling while leveling and casters get a 2in1 that scales each time you grab a 10 int node.

Astramentis will skyrocket in price.

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Barivius wrote:

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Arcis wrote:

why don't you just make it so the mod says "Grants the Icestorm skill" ?

Yes. Listen to this fellow. Take the level off of it. It isn't relevant anyway.

"Grants Unique Icestorm Skill"

I was going to say this as soon as I read it.

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NickK_GGG wrote:

Icestorm is only available through The Whispering Ice, and there's currently no point of reference for what Icestorm does. The closest thing is Firestorm, and handily that's the skill Icestorm is based on. An average player may assume that Icestorm is functionally identical to Firestorm, except much cooler (pun intended). Level 1 Firestorm isn't such an attractive prospect at level 33, but Icestorm, on a caster at that level, should tear everything apart thanks to the unique scaling mechanism of the skill.

Instead of giving the player misleading information (which you may know internally is level 1) give them the right amount of information, that it's a unique skill. That'll make the interested people just curious enough to equip it and see that it scales off intelligence further than just the staff.

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camkhaos wrote:

well based on the last sentence looks like Act 4 isnt coming when we think it is.

It's possible this was written a long while ago, I wouldn't read much into it.

what's going on here