Hi there,
I am aware of the recent shadow fix to BV, but I’m fairly certain that Icy Alch was over-corrected. Please note that I am not referring to those instances wherein, post-patch, at least, Icy could be proc’d by most attacks, and even when Shadow Imbuement (SI) was no longer activated.
Here’s the issue as I see it: Pre-patch, I am fairly certain that Icy (when used normally in conjunction with SI) would proc off of the initial impale of TB, for instance, as well as off any chilled/frozen enemies that TB’s imbued blades would hit while returning, and while those imbued blades were orbiting as well. Additionally, I am fairly certain that it was also proc’ing off of SI’s explosions (which are, of course, shadow damage as well), and hence the abundance of effective chill/freezing effects.
Now, however, it seems as though the only time that Icy can proc is literally twice - once off of each of TB’s impales only. Thus, it follows that it is not proc’ing on either TB’s return, nor TB’s orbit. And, of course, it is not proc’ing off of SI’s explosion either … Needless to say, not only is this completely underwhelming when compared to its pre-patch performance, but I’m fairly certain that this is, in fact, an unintended change, as it is inconsistent with the aspect’s description, as well as the overall skill interaction and behaviour of TB, as well as SI.
To illustrate: Notice, for starters, that TB’s description includes reference to the initial impale, as well as the blade’s return. The orbiting effect is established via Bladedancer’s aspect.
Relatedly, SI’s description states that enemies are infected with shadow damage for 6 seconds, after which “infected enemies explode on death, dealing X [40%] damage to all surrounding enemies.” And with this damage being, presumably, shadow damage.
And finally, Icy Alch’s in-game description is as follows: “* Lucky Hit: Damaging a Chilled or Frozen enemy with a Shadow Imbued Skill has up to a 75% chance to release an explosion that deals [X] Cold damage to the target and surrounding enemies, Chilling them for 25%.”
Now, if we imbue TB with SI, consistency in terms of skill description and behaviour ought to mean that for 2 attacks of TB, TB’s impale, return, and its orbit (if Bladedancer is equipped) should all cause shadow damage. And, indeed, this is precisely how things are. Additionally, it should be noted that the eventual explosions, which are a core feature of SI-itself, release shadow damage as well. And again, this is indeed how things are.
(Recall that this is because SI not only applies shadow damage, but it has an associated feature - unlike cold imbuement, or poison imbuement - which causes an explosion after 6 seconds. Note that cold and poison imbue both have their own unique features)
Now, the issue arises when we add Icy Alchemist to the mix, which makes it so that - seemingly, at least - SI’s imbuement is not taken into account beyond TB’s impale. But this should not be how the skill functions, since, and as mentioned, TB’s return, as well as its orbit (if used in conjunction with Bladedancer’s aspect) should all still inflict shadow damage. And again, SI’s explosion should also cause shadow damage as well. But if that’s the case, then why is it that only TB’s initial impale has the chance to proc Icy’s feature (i.e. the cold explosion)? That makes no sense, since as per the aspect’s description, there should be a chance to proc the cold explosion on any chilled/frozen enemy hit by shadow damage, meaning: An imbued TB’s impale, return, orbit, and SI’s explosion after 6 seconds.
Now, perhaps it could be argued that SI’s explosion has nothing to do with Icy’s proc, since Icy is strictly based off of an Imbued skill, and not the imbuement-itself … And that I could understand. But either way - and as it stands now - Icy is currently bugged when it comes to TB’s basic interaction with SI.
Blizzard, please fix.
Thank you 