I know people get enjoyment out of it...but please...don't try to go pure bomb for no reason. Swords are the main damage dealing things. Also you're not going to kill anything fast with just Freezing and Fiery. You need a damage bomb like the blast bomb series. Freezing is crowd control support. Fire is moderate damage overtime. It is possible to combo Fire + Ice ONLY with the haze bomb series, but you need a friend to pull that off effectively (it'll burn them twice as fast because the statuses nullify each other causing the fire tick to reset again and again).

1. Yes. You can sorta use them without it but its a lot less effective. Like Dasparian said, you can get a very high bomb...but well good luck with that. I don't have the money for such things..do you? lol...
2. I'm not pure anything. I use things by situation, and most situations you will find me using a sword. My bombs are for
Nitronome: Laziness and arenas, you can SORT OF stand in the center and spam it at Ultra CTR and never get hit. I say sorta because different things will cause enemies to slip through, like mecha knights self shocking sometimes allows them to avoid knockback.
Shivermist buster: Freezing baby. ESPECIALLY with swords, by myself or with others. If I'm alone I can charge up one, lay it, and while the enemies around me are frozen, I can charge up with my calibur to make quick work of anything :D
3. Same as above...I'm not pure.

You could try getting a medium bomb (which may be my long term plan) and then wear volc demo helm or mad bomber helm (both have CTR medium). That way you have max without even trying and good armor. Plus you can then wear whatever suit you like, vog cub coat for instance.

I've outfitted myself with a Volcanic Demo Helm and Mad Bomber Suit, even though I've never carried more than one bomb since the April release.

Bombing is great in certain situations. If you can handle a monster (or a group of monsters) using only your sword, then by all means do it. When the situation becomes overwhelming, like in most danger rooms and arenas, kiting with bombs is usually a great way to survive and kill everything (in T2 at least). @Dasparian: Indeed, I often laugh hysterically as monsters are constantly walking into the blast radius of my bombs while I'm already setting the next one for them.

I wouldn't recommend going pure bomber, but that's a personal opinion. I'm with NegimaSonic in this regard, going pure something something is just a way of crippling yourself. Swords are the weapons that do the most damage in this game and there are plenty of situations where they will outperform any bomb by a lot.

Some people obsess by making their weapons fit the bonuses of their armor. I would turn that around, pick the armor that seems to go with my arsenal. Currently that's Demo, but that might change as my playstyle evolves.

~Agger

I started out as a swordsman that packed a gun as a backup weapon, but one day I crafted Haze Bomb with CTR Medium and turned it into a Shivermist. I have never looked back.

I'm full Vog with DA, and I don't use extra weapon slots.

Speaking as someone who doesn't actually use bombs themselves, I have to admit that a skilled and well-equipped bomber is easily one of my most favorite things to see in a party that I've joined. The shivermist series, in particular, trivialises many danger rooms and arenas. I'm primarily a gunner myself, and having everything in the room frozen in place basically allows me to choose targets and pick things off with impunity, in addition to making best use of the Alchemer-line ricochets.