[Discussion] Frost Savage, Bomb's sixth class

[WhiteAsIce]

The Frost Savage is all about stuns. His attack benefits from stuns, and his support causes stuns. As a result, this makes him pair great with a Grand Slam Samurai and a Nightmare Bard. Frost Savage is a poor choice to use in Arena/PvP because he needs the aforementioned allies to stun the banner, which will never become frozen for Frost Savage to deal the bonus damage.

Frost Strike: Attack target foe for one hit that deals 90% damage. Stunned/frozen foes take x1.5 damage (135%).

Funcions similarly to Stone Guard’s attack, since that class deals x1.5 damage to foes with a status ailment. Unlike Stone Guard, Frost Savage only benefits from stun/freeze, not all statuses. Base damage is the same as Capt’n and Cannoneer.

Freezing Barrier: Gives all allies a barrier that lasts three turns. This barrier has a 25% chance of freezing any foe for one turn that attacks the ally.

This is an enhanced version of Wizard’s buff. This affects all allies, and is a 25% chance compared to Wizard’s 20% chance on a single ally. The barrier procs on each hit, so that means a foe that strikes three times like Samurai has a 57.8% to get stunned.

TEAM COMPOSITIONS

Since Nightmare works on frozen foes, you will almost always want Matilda with the Nightmare weapon set in a team with Frost Savage. Suggested class for Matilda:
– Bard: The most default option, each attack has a 21.8% chance to stun a foe. The healing ability is poor here, so you may want to give Bomb the Sugar Rush weapon set if you need to keep your birds’ health high for a high score in PvE.
– Cleric: Best if foes have AoE attacks so that they have three chances to freeze, and they will trigger the Cleric healing three times.
That leaves you with only one other ally to choose. Which to pick?

Red
– Samurai: Perhaps the best choice with the Grand Slam weapon set. Each of his attacks will have a 22.13% chance to stun for TWO turns.
– Stone Guard: This class will also do x1.5 damage to stunned foes. With the Grand Slam set, each attack has a 15.36% chance to stun for two turns.

Chuck
– Wizard: If you know which bird will get attacked, the shield can come in handy. Whoever attacks a bird with both shields up has a 40% to get stunned/frozen. Try not to waste turns throwing shields since Wizard has a very strong attack that you don’t want to miss out on using.
– Thunderbird: Just like Cleric, if you face foes that deal AoE damage, the barrier will hit the foes three times.
– Illusionist: If you give Clone support to Nightmare Bard, she will have a 38.85% chance to stun with each attack. This class is best used against a high-health boss that summons more foes so that you can focus all attacks on that one boss while doing residual AoE damage via Spark.

Blues
– Skulkers: The armor debuff is always nice. Use the support on Bard for a chance to stun multiple foes. Doing this will roll the 21.8% stun chance on each foe individually, so it’s possible to stun more than one foe with this method. If you intend to use the rage chili on Bomb, use Skulkers’ support on themselves to spread the armor debuff to make Bomb’s explosion hit harder. Otherwise, don’t forget that Blues’ rage has a guaranteed stun.
– Tricksters: Use only if you need to dispel foes.

Topic

[Jadedbacon]

This is an enhanced version of Wizard’s buff. This affects all allies, and is a 20% chance compared to Wizard’s 20% chance on a single ally. The barrier procs on each hit, so that means a foe that strikes three times like Samurai has a 57.8% to get stunned.

Think you mean 25% instead of 20% for the first instance of 20%.

I think he could work well with the sweet set, since it’s damaged base; the extra damage when he hits a stunned target means a bigger heal.

I really like the freezing barrier; Chuck/Beserker/Spies or anything that procs Dragon/TLightning/Beep/Scissors will have a 68.4% chance to be frozen. Granted Mana set shuts it down, or at least it might; Mana set doesn’t seem to block negative effects as much since this most recent patch.

[Anonymous]

@whiteasice Frost Strike: Deals 90% damage. Stunned enemies take 150% damage.
(Update: 12/24/2015 at 10:23 CET) I made comparation between Frost Savage and Capt’n and I corrected.

[Anonymous]

Freezing Barrier is a good support, very good will also be in the arena.

[Jadedbacon]

@whiteasice Frost Strike: Deals 95% damage. Stunned enemies tak 150% damage.

So 142.5% on a stunned/frozen target? Think that’s higher than Sea Dog. He’s 125% right?

I’d say that Sea Dog was dethroned as the best single target damage dealer, but Gang Up still makes him stronger.

[Anonymous]

When using Frost Savage, first use his support, then his attack on stunned enemies. It works better with Wizard’s buff, causing 45% chance to stun. (Frost Savage’s buff + Wizard’s buff)

[WhiteAsIce]

Updated base post with correct damage modifier. Base attack is 90%, same as Capt’n.

@jadedbacon It would be 135% on a stunned foe. Sea Dog does 125% at max health, while Berserker does 127.5% at full rage. While Frost Savage has the potential for the highest number per hit, Sea Dog is still going to have the highest overall DPS factoring in Gang Up.

[Bubbley]

I have played 40 battles using Frost Savage. I have maintained his barrier at all times. Not once did his punch (scissors) freeze an opponent. Opponents frozen by the barrier did not take 150% damage from Paladin (dragon breath or primal spear) nor from Wizard (mana set). Twenty of these battles, chosen deliberately, did not have opponents sporting the mana set.

The only time damage was 150% was when he attacked a frozen opponent.

Disappointing!

[Anonymous]

@bubbley
Only Frost Savage can deal 150% damage to frozen opponents. Doesn’t work on any bird.

[Bubbley]

@donewithpigs as I said disappointing. I shall be sticking with Captain.

[WhiteAsIce]

@bubbley You are mistaken. Frost Savage’s attack only deals bonus damage to foes already stunned/frozen. It does not cause the status. Also, Freezing Barrier does not give allies the ability to inflict freeze nor does it make them strike stunned/frozen foes harder – it makes it so that foes attacking allies have a chance to get frozen.

[Bubbley]

@whiteasice thanks for the explanation but I know all of that and I didn’t suggest otherwise. I was simply trying to decide if I should substitute him for Captain in the Arena. I will not.

What I find disappointing is that the new classes and new weapons are for the most part less useful than what we already had. I use the Mana set and I like the Illussionist for certain situations as I do the Witch. I was hoping for more so I can’t see myself using Frost Savage in the Arena. Granted when I face the team of Samurai, Wizard and Spies he could be useful but so is Captains Dispel. I have specifically chosen to look at this scenario and for me Captain is better.

I have read with interest all your discussions regarding the new classes and weapons. You have been a great help so perhaps you may find something to make me want to use him.

In my opinion Rovio is fast running out of ideas. Pity because I have enjoyed this game.

[WhiteAsIce]

Frost Savage is difficult to use because of relying on getting hit to trigger the barrier. He’s even less useful in Arena/PvP because he won’t ever do the bonus damage to the banner unless paired with Grand Slam Samurai (22.13% chance) and/or Nightmare Bard (21.8% chance), and you will almost always want Matilda with the Nightmare set in your party if you’re bringing Frost Savage.

In PvE, since your score relies on your birds’ remaining health, getting hit to trigger Freeze isn’t in your best interest. Since Bard has a poor heal, you will need to give Frost Savage the Sugar Rush set to supplement Bard’s poor healing. Still, Frost Savage is better to use in PvE since every can attack you, unlike the banner which will never get frozen and can only get stunned at a low rate. If foes strike multiple times or hit all foes, pair with Cleric to trigger all the heals and increase the freeze rate.

Interestingly, an Illusionist giving a Clone to Grand Slam Samurai means that Red will have a 39.36% chance to stun with each attack. Giving a clone to Nightmare Bard gives Matilda a 38.85% chance to stun. Still, this is a poor use of Frost Savage, and you’re better off with Nightmare Bard in this case.

tl;dr Don’t use Frost Savage in Arena/PvP. Pair him with Nightmare Bard/Cleric.

[abcdefg]

I’m sticking with Captain too since there is a bug in the event.

[Bubbley]

@whiteasice many thanks. Perhaps there will be some use for him but, unless obliged to, I will not be using him in the Arena.

[Anonymous]

@whiteasice Especially when you pick up an opponent with Mana set. Even useless against Mana set, tricksters, capt’n and any weapon or banner that has dispelling effects.

[Anonymous]

Frost Savage’s buff is useful when combining with Wizard’s buff, resulting more chance of stunning (45% chance to stun).

[WhiteAsIce]

I don’t suggest using Frost Savage in PvP/Arena at all. This is because you cannot freeze the banner, so you need Grand Slam Samurai or Nightmare Bard to stun the banner so that Frost Savage can deal the bonus damage.

Freezing Barrier and Wizard’s barrier proc independently, meaning it is a 40% chance that at least one of them will trigger. This is a poor use of Wizard unless you know who the foes will attack since Wizard does a lot of damage, and you don’t want to waste turns throwing barriers trying to guess who will get attacked.