Everyone knows rage melee dps is the strongest tank dps power, so wouldn't it be beneficial to balance out the rest of the powers like Munitions amd Electricity are definitely the strongest dps powers so can we see fire and ice buffed to compete with them? Or slow down the cast time for Mass Detonation or Frost Blast? I love tanking but I'd also love my favorite tank powers to be able to compete with or beat the top powers right now you know? Like Ice was amazing before revamp and fire hasnt reigned supreme since it first got its AM. So where's the fairness in that?
Ice is actually a top tier power when used correctly. Fire could do just as much damage. The issues with fire and ice aren’t with the damage they do but with the buggyness of the powers. Using back to back channeling abilities can lead to loadouts glitching out. This is what makes it unfair for fire and ice. Fix those things and I see these powers competing with other powers easily.
You could also substitute Reflection with Snow Devil, and replace Heat Vision with Avalanche if you didn't want to use the Solar Amplifier artifact.
Swapping reflection for snow devil will let you squeeze a little extra damage out especially in longer boss fights but personally I like how reflection clips and I always feel better having access to the protection. Both are viable though.
The other thing about a shield for ice DPS is that your defense gets buffed in addition to the shield, making Ice more melee friendly. You can probably improve your DPS a tad with Frost Slam if you're using the shield. Personally I think Ice Elemental is the best supercharge option. As always, your mileage may vary.
Fire is at a Good state currently. Both its aoe dmg and its single target damage are good and while I would love to see a animation decrease on mass detonation that is not needed or a priority. Ice does fairly well on single target too and while id say fire is better for single target They're not really far apart. The issue with ice on aoe is that I was able to reach high numbers like 47k/s on a 10 sec parser with 3 targets but this was in sparring targets and not in a raid.(Unbuffed) the issue was that it simply was too slow and by the time you get your damage out most adds are either dead or almost dead. Neither of these powers are in need of a fix just yet but more so that the top powers could need a nerf. If any power deserves an update I believe it would be mental on aoe. Note: im talking from a might dps perspective.
My current fire DPS loadout: 1. Inferno 2. Flashpoint 3. Wildfire 4. Flame Cascade 5. Absorb Heat 6. Amplified Heat Vision For groups I run 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3 then repeat the cycle. For tough solos I start off with 1 then rotate 5 and 6 over and over until they are dead. For regular solo trash (like Atlantis or Titans Island open world) I usually just need to hit 5 once. If I'm not the top DPS'r in a PUG then I'm not far behind them, so to me I don't see Fire as needing a DPS boost (but I wouldn't turn it down ).
Fire is in a good place as is Ice. Do I wish they were on the same level as Top tier, of course I do. If I had to place Fire anywhere its tops in mid tier or bottom of top tier. AoE and ST are both very good. I havent played Ice since before Revamp but I have Beastly Ice Dps friends. I main as Fire and keep up with the best of them. Topping many of Raids. Do I wish Fire and Ice had faster cast times. Of course. But, I tried forever to get some fixes for fire so I just make the best with I got. The worst thing about Fire and Ice is the hard hitters are backloaded behind long casts. Timing and position are key. Gotta be on that Hustle. Beast AoE LO: Melee range Fireburst, Inferno, Mass Det, Flashpoint, Fireburst, Mass Det, Flashpoint, Wildfire. 40k plus parses easy. Beast ST LO Overheat, Spon Comb, HV, Absorb Heat. SC of your choice, and RSK. Rotate Spon Comb, HV, and AH and reapply Overheat when off coolsown. 18 to 20kiparses easy. Alert, dailys or Solos Inferno c/ with Stoke Flames, flashpoint, wildfire, flame cascade (1x) repeat until Inferno and SF are off CD. If I thought Fire needed anything, it's a defense buff for Tanking.
Be nice if the tanking aspect of Fire got a buff. Always seems like Fire tanking goes through year long phases where it see-saws between crap and just acceptable.
I personally hope fire gets some buffs to be honest. “Wildfire” is a 300 power cost that does the same damage as quantum’s 200 power cost “lift” ability. Kind of not balanced when another ability from a different power is more effective and efficient than another. Inferno could use a “slight buff” as well in damage. That’s probably it for the damage side, now for healing/tanking. Stoke flames and Burning Determination in my opinion need a higher restoration scaling buff. I feel the results of my Skill points in that area are minimal at best when compared to Atomic tanks scaling with dominance points. Other than that every thing else in fire seems well balanced.
