How do they work? I’m trying to figure out how the Ice Breaker artifact works and whether +27% cryo efficiency is better than +16% cryo damage. Any help is appreciated :slight_smile
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I think it lowers the damage required for an enemy to get frozen. At the very least, it increases the chances.
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I have largely the same questions. Is whether or not an enemy gets frozen a function of how much cryo (or cryo DoT) they take?
Whether or not one’s better probably depends on what you want out of the gun (do you want it to kill the fastest or freeze the fastest, for example). I’m looking for one that freezes the best (because it’s super fun to shatter frozen enemies in different ways, but that’s just me). I’m not even sure what cryo ‘efficiency’ means.
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100% cryo efficiency freezes a target at 10% health left IIRC. By increasing the efficiency it should decrease the damage required to get to that point, you’ll see enemies being frozen earlier. Directly increasing cryo damage should have a similar result, the efficiency won’t change but you’ll get faster to the point of that threshold.
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Thanks. That makes more sense.
Does “10% health” here count armor and/or shields? I swear I’ve frozen enemies (thinking of Hardened Tink Tanks here) right after downing their shields - with only 110% cryo efficiency on my Lucian’s and without Icebreaker. Does it increase your chance to freeze on hit, hitting 100% chance at 10% health (with 100% efficiency)?
Also, is the bonus efficiency from Ice Breaker only active against already frozen enemies?
I saw a vid of someone doing MM3 Slaughter Shaft in 15m as Cryo Zane and I want to see if I can beat that with my perma Fade Away Fl4k setup.
No, that’s not true. I had 2 smgs with almost the same damage. The first ine with the efficiency of 256% freezes any enemy at hjs 50%, the second one had 174%, but it freezes at 55%. I have tested a lot of guns, but all the results are weird. The cryo damage and also it’s description on the official site makes no sence.
These two SMGs had probably a different amout of projectiles shot and/or fire rate. Those two factors are relevant as well. (Fast) Shotguns are usually way better for freezing than other guns even with way lower cryo efficiency on their cards.
But as said, I don’t have actual numbers, I rarely use cryo. I just described what I heard and my own subjective impression without any real testing.
No, i made an equal amount of shots. And the 174% gun firerare was lower. The cryo has no normal explanation. As i said, i have tested it a lot with a lot of different guns and all results are weird.
Okay, then ignore what I said. You’ll most likely have way more experience with cryo than I do. 
Cryo damage works the same as eating ice cream quickly. There’s some unknown threshold where you’ve gone too far and you suddenly get a headache.
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I wish i hadn’t. It’s really…makes no sense. The only method to understand how fast the gun would freeze an enemy is a pure test. The stats are either makes no sense or mean nothing, trust me. I am certain at 4 things for sure! 1) The persent of “damage” which requires to freeze the enemy is equal on all the enemies. So if you froze the toughest mob with only red health at his 50% of hp, you will also froze the weakest enemy at his 50% 2) This “hudden damage” accumulates. So you can freese an enemy who is still pritected by sheild. 3) If you use ANY cryo source but some exact gun, it would drastically decrease the damage required for the freeze. Somehow. Trust me. 4) The only way to understand how fast the gun would freeze the enemy is a pure test.
Yes, it all sounds weird. But the element itself is weird and the description on the website makes no sense.
So using the Cryo to freeze an enemy from the different sources is a Veeeeery bad idea. Veeery bad idea. It somehow works with presents and propositions and seems like don’t stack, or stack in a weird way. Want someone to be frozen? Use only ONE gun or one source of cryo per enemy.
I’ve applied for a research grant into the causes and effects of cryogenic freezing on enemies. It’s with the review board now, and I should have funding in about a month, at which point I’ll set up a laboratory and begin conducting controlled experiments.
I haven’t really looked into the mechanics, but what I can say is that my Brawl Amara froze enemies at almost full health with cryo shotguns. So it seems that multiple pellets have a great impact on this.
Good read, thanks!