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<blockquote data-quote="Roxlimn" data-source="post: 4358890" data-attributes="member: 11878">As you level up, I don't think you should keep Cloud of Daggers.&nbsp; Its value as a minion killer is virtually meaningless once you hit mid-Paragon levels.&nbsp; Those are the levels wherein you get large-area autodamage from SpellStorm Mage and Blood Mage, and your area effects are so widespread, you'll probably wipe out the minions by accident, just by doing your thing.I rate Thunderwave highly because it does something you can't normally do with your Encounter powers - push away a bunch of guys attacking you.&nbsp; That's a pretty important function, and I like having it for that purpose.Likewise, I rate Magic Missile highly because it does more single target damage than any other power without any particular attribute investment (just some cheap item), it's got huge range for kiting, and it boosts the damage Warlords do with extra-action powers.&nbsp; That's what I need for a power I'll rarely be using anyway.After some consideration, I think I rate Ray of Frost well.&nbsp; Certainly, it's a strong option if you already have Burning Blizzard and Wintertouched and Lasting Frost for other reasons (like if you're majoring in cold spells anyway).&nbsp; I reviewed the Monster Manual for Fort defenses, and while they were sometimes higher than AC, sometimes they were also lower - even significantly lower.&nbsp; You won't want to target Brutes and Soldiers with this because they have good defenses against it.&nbsp; You want to target those with Ref defense spells.&nbsp; You use a Fort defense spell against Lurkers, Skirmishers, and Artillery, against which they are very, very good (in general, not RoF specifically).&nbsp; It also helps that Ray of Frost specifically targets lower HP enemies when it targets lower Fort defense enemies, and in those enemies, Will and Ref are sometimes concurrently high.If you include extra damage from Vulnerability: Frost, Burning Blizzard, and such like, then you're doing an extra 8 damage at Epic, and even an extra 7 starting Paragon, which isn't such a bad deal for what are essentially rider benefits (you got those feats for other powers).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Roxlimn, post: 4358890, member: 11878"] As you level up, I don't think you should keep Cloud of Daggers. Its value as a minion killer is virtually meaningless once you hit mid-Paragon levels. Those are the levels wherein you get large-area autodamage from SpellStorm Mage and Blood Mage, and your area effects are so widespread, you'll probably wipe out the minions by accident, just by doing your thing. I rate Thunderwave highly because it does something you can't normally do with your Encounter powers - push away a bunch of guys attacking you. That's a pretty important function, and I like having it for that purpose. Likewise, I rate Magic Missile highly because it does more single target damage than any other power without any particular attribute investment (just some cheap item), it's got huge range for kiting, and it boosts the damage Warlords do with extra-action powers. That's what I need for a power I'll rarely be using anyway. After some consideration, I think I rate Ray of Frost well. Certainly, it's a strong option if you already have Burning Blizzard and Wintertouched and Lasting Frost for other reasons (like if you're majoring in cold spells anyway). I reviewed the Monster Manual for Fort defenses, and while they were sometimes higher than AC, sometimes they were also lower - even significantly lower. You won't want to target Brutes and Soldiers with this because they have good defenses against it. You want to target those with Ref defense spells. You use a Fort defense spell against Lurkers, Skirmishers, and Artillery, against which they are very, very good (in general, not RoF specifically). It also helps that Ray of Frost specifically targets lower HP enemies when it targets lower Fort defense enemies, and in those enemies, Will and Ref are sometimes concurrently high. If you include extra damage from Vulnerability: Frost, Burning Blizzard, and such like, then you're doing an extra 8 damage at Epic, and even an extra 7 starting Paragon, which isn't such a bad deal for what are essentially rider benefits (you got those feats for other powers). [/QUOTE]

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