I'd like some stats on bombing, as I've decided recently to start it. I need stats, opinions and people's thoughts on what bomb/armor/helm combo can get me through a campaign. I DON'T need "omg stoopid newb gtfo". I'd like a smart discussion on bombs and what combinations can win the game. Is that too much to ask?
Also, keep the "Proto Bomb OP" comments to a minimum.
Thanks!
Have you read the Bombing Guide on the wiki? It tells you about bombs, armor, etc. It's much better than the Swordmaster Guide and Gunslinger Guide. Maybe read it, and then come back to this thread with more specific questions?
Nitronome is a good bomb but you must learn how the blast is going to knock an enemy. Smart bombers can predict where an enemy will get knocked and set up a bomb to continue them in whatever direction they fancy.
The Shocking Salt bomb is quite possibly the best "shard bomb", it has a great flinch rate which combines well with the moderate shock status. This bomb does less damage than the Dark retribution but it can hit the tiny jelly cubes. It is an easily spammed bomb due to it's naturally short charge time. The only downside is that predicting where it will knock enemies (if it does due to shock) can be tricky, but due to it's status and flinch rate most enemies won't be able to attack.
The Voltaic Tempest and Ash of Agni make a good vaporizer bomb pair since both can give damaging statuses. These bombs don't cause knockback so you must knock the enemy attack patterns to use these well.
Electron Vortex is considered the best vortex bomb since it keeps enemies in one place easier than the rest. You can set one down in the right spot so it can gather enemies for you or your team. If you are feeling really brave you can chain these bombs so that you pull the monsters around the field, this is very risky because enemies can still attack while in the vortex.
There is the Dark Retribution bomb but it should be considered much like the Ash of Agni, with no knockback and a low flinch rate you will spend most of your time running around and placing bombs, learn the monsters to be safe.
The Dark Briar Barrage is considered a "blast bomb" but due to its extremely minimal knockback and excessive knockdown rate it is considered an extremely safe bomb to use. (It knocks down Gremlin, fiend, and beast easily)
You want awesome destructive power?
DBB and DR.
Don't get the crystal bomb, use the DBB to beat up zombies and DR to beat up robots.
Also, Volcanic Demo is one of the best traditional sets in the game.
DBB and DR are really all you need in the clockworks. I pretty much use them on all levels.
If you are going to spam FSC, then obviously get a shiv so you are of some use to the party.
For other status bombs get VV, SS.
I'm not big on vortex bombs, but if you have a smart party they can be useful in some cases.
If you play LD get shard bombs. My personal favorite is the deadly charcoaler and SSB. Shard bombs dont have much of a place outside of LD.
Also get every bomb reskin you can. I don't care how bad the bomb is. Get the reskin.
This is going to be a bold statement to many people but I am going to say it anyways. DO NOT GET BLAST BOMBS (except DBB). They are extremely annoying in terms of knockback no matter how much you think you know how to use them. You can out DPS them with other bombs, and your party members get annoyed. That being said, get a BAB to troll.
Just get chaos and swiftstrike buckler for armor/shield. If you ever get to the point where you are getting VH CTR bombs, then maybe switch to merc demo if you want.
One Loadout to rule them all: Chaos, Swiftstrike, Penta Hearts, DR, DBB, VV, SS
Did I miss something or did someone find a viable use for shard bombs in Lockdown? I have yet to find anything LD-wise that shards can do and blast bombs/hazes can't do better.
This isn't trying to pick a fight, I honestly would like to know where I can find out about this.
To be honest I haven't really played ld in over a year and when I did it was t2. I do sometimes play t3 ld now, but never really got into it much. When I do play t3 I use merc demo set with Deadly Charcoaler and SSB (sometimes SSS).
I don't usually use haze bombs because there is usually someone who can walk right through them and they will target you exclusively for the whole match which makes it boring. With SSS and SSB they are not immune to the statuses and often times don't know how to respond to being shocked/stunned. Shard bombs can also cover an entire cap point so it's a pretty good radius. Not as good as haze bombs, but still decent.
I haven't really experimented much with blast bombs in t3 ld, but I just find them too predictable (if OOO hid blast radii from opposing team, then that would be a different story). With Deadly Charcoaler I'm able to do 7-8k pretty consistently which isn't bad for not playing much. Also Deadly Charcoaler seems to cause everyone to lag a lot, so it's kind of like a hidden status effect.
I'm not really sure what "good damage" is for bombs, but I don't think shard bomb's damage is that bad in ld. Also they have a quick charge and detonation so you can quickly place bombs when needed. They can completely cover cap points like I mentioned earlier, so you end up with a good amount of caps/defends at the end of the game too.
Maybe they don't work for everyone, but I find them rather effective and fun to use. Like I said I don't usually use blast bombs, so I cant really say which is better.
My experience with shards in LD is that it confuses enemies for a few matches (nobody ever uses these things, so they have a certain element of surprise), but it doesn't take long for most swordsmen to get used to the timing, walk casually through your shards and shank you. Alternatively, they will just pull out their guns and shoot you.
With blast bombs, the gunners will at least need to be a little further away in order to shoot you. Nitronome covers a far largers area and has the advantage of knockback. In addition, blast bombs do much more damage per hit, which matters a lot when your enemy has invinciframes and can only take damage from one source at a time.
Shocking salt is okay for shocking enemies, but if they're immune to minor shock that's not going to last for very long or be all that effective in either case.
Consistent 7-8k sounds pretty good, though. I don't do nearly that amount of damage on account of enemies not even trying to enter my bombing zones for the most part. Blasts and hazes win games, but not really damage scores.
As for enemies being immune to hazes: Venom Veiler and Ash of Agni. Most Lockdown people don't bother with fire protection (especially on their chaos cloak), and absolutely noone, anywhere, bothers with poison immunity. Chaos and Kat users in particular will suffer a severe drop of damage they're able to deal towards you, letting you tank like a boss while you're slowly wasting their time and whittling away their health.
I think Nitronome has an undeservedly bad rep in PvE. It can make a mess of easy situations, but when the crap hits the fan, there's not a lot of situations Nitro won't be able to get you safely out of.
"I don't usually use haze bombs because there is usually someone who can walk right through them and they will target you exclusively for the whole match which makes it boring." -Tactle-Neck
If you only use one haze when specifically doing haze bombing in Lockdown, you pretty much deserve that. If you stand there in your VT all match, people will start changing their load out to become shock-resistant. When I haze-bomb, I'll always bring two, or lay down one haze on the point, switch to a nitro or something of the like while backing up a couple of steps, and switch back when the haze is about to run out.
"I haven't really experimented much with blast bombs in t3 ld, but I just find them too predictable (if OOO hid blast radii from opposing team, then that would be a different story). With Deadly Charcoaler I'm able to do 7-8k pretty consistently which isn't bad for not playing much." - - "I'm not really sure what "good damage" is for bombs, but I don't think shard bomb's damage is that bad in ld." -Tactle-Neck
Bombing-only damage is not nearly as high as gunner or swordsman scores, but the best I've ever gotten is 14K (twice) with Nitro/DBB, and the best score I've heard of is Rotten-Tomato's 18K. Getting 10K once or twice in a day isn't uncommon though.
When I was only using haze bombs, the best score I ever achieved was 9K with only AoA. Sadly, that was only after I abandoned what little dignity I have and camped the front of the enemy base with my CTR very high AoA as strikerbomber the entire match. Kiting them into the tiny, tiny blast range of the haze bombs. I don't even think I had a single capture that round, very un-bomber if you ask me.
I'd say 7-8K sounds pretty decent for average damage. I've yet to actually try shards in Lockdown, and I've been wanting to make an SSB for that purpose.
"Maybe they don't work for everyone, but I find them rather effective and fun to use. Like I said I don't usually use blast bombs, so I cant really say which is better." -Tactle-Neck
Meeh, use whatever you find fun. I didn't go haze-bombs-only when I first started out so I could get good damage, the laughs I've had by chaos strikers (or well, any kind of strikers, really) running into my haze cocktail of AoA, VT, Swagger storm and Shiver on a point is worth a lot more than an amazing score.
If you keep having fun and using shards, you'll probably get really good at it too.
- - -
"I think Nitronome has an undeservedly bad rep in PvE. It can make a mess of easy situations, but when the crap hits the fan, there's not a lot of situations Nitro won't be able to get you safely out of." -Sir-Pandabear
Personally, I think it has deserved the reputation it has got. It's got those rather disruptive elements with the screen-flash and knockback. However, it is as you say, when you're in a sticky situation, all your party members are down and ain't reviving, it's the perfect bomb to, practically instantly, take control of the situation. I've had great use of it in the last arena in FSC for example (and when you don't have the damage type you need.)
Other than that though, I usually just think of it as a great solo- and PvP-bomb.
Well, consider that bombs' main role in LD (due to the fact that they telegraph their radius visibly) is to control movement and attention:
- In general, people will switch to guns to deal with bombers, and so if you have striker teammates nearby, they can take out people who try to take you out
- Mist bombs discourage most people from entering their radius for fear of status - but weak to the fact that immunity renders it useless except for slowing/making guard shields useless for teammates and for removing recons near you (the mist will hurt their shield even if they're immune).
- Vortex bombs force people to waste a dodge (or if not, risk getting mobbed by enemies)
- Blast bombs have a bit of a bait delay - you can use your footwork to bait people to try to come in and attack (while you change directions and land a hit).
- Shard bombs are even more of a bait because they don't block people from entering, but are flashy and have faster blast rhythms (if you have max CTR, you basically have a pulse between your oldest bomb's outer ring and your last bomb's inner ring) - so you can use it with footwork to bait melee people into a status (ex: sun shard's stun or salt bomb's shock). Other than that, their flashiness makes it especially good to hide/distract if you want to cloak as recon and come back with a sidearm. In comparison to blast bomb, the delayed outer ring gives you a little bit of a longer deterrent if you switch to a sidearm (ex: valiance/toothpick) before charging your next bomb. Also works really nicely with a shard/tortofist teammate though.
Anyway, that IMO is off topic because of the OP:
I'd like some stats on bombing, as I've decided recently to start it. I need stats, opinions and people's thoughts on what bomb/armor/helm combo can get me through a campaign.
Blast bomb --> Nitronome line is pretty solid - very little movement penalty and low fuse time, and its damage works for all types of enemies :V
As many people have stated above, the Nitronome is dreadfully useful in both damage and control. It should be your first bomb as it will teach you a lot about placement. The Shivermist Buster is another one of my all time favourites, heck, the entire mist bomb line is a good choice for control.
The type of armour you wear really depends on the types of bomb you use or your personality. Do you like throwing bombs everywhere, not caring about how little damage they do? Then the Volcanic Demo Set is for you. Do you want to blow everyone up in a single boom? (a lot more actually, but you get the idea). Then go for the Bombastic Demo Set.
Or perhaps you are very confident in your kiting/shield(ing) skills, and want to blow people up quickly, and with power. Then start investing in the Chaos set. But be warned, if you are careless, your bombing career will come to a rather sudden end! >.<
Choose wisely :)
I've started bombing my self, and I'm aiming for a mixed set. Hoping for something like the Black Cat Howl with Volcanic Demo Armor. Then useing the CTR Trinket. I think having high CTR is rather important for any situation, as your not doing dmg when your charging.
Though atm I'm runnin 4 wep slots, a Neutral gun n 3 bombs. One for each Weakness, I really like the Ice Haze Bomb for control, makes a messy situation more manageable, then follow in with either Dark Shard or my Thorn Bomb. Thinking of swappin into Shock Bombs when I'm on a map with Ice Monsters how ever not sure how the style will change as I advance into 4 an 5 star matches, aiming for DR when I can get the Highest Rank one, as the first revision of it is a little disappointing.
either way, I'm go with Demo as my First Set. Getting my placement down from there and seeing what works better as I move forward
The Irontech line is pretty nice too, fastest route to 5Star blast raduis, good damage, respectable CTR (at max), as well as a stun status that gives you more time to setup. It will also teach you how to handle bombs that severely drop your movement (tip: begin charging at a further distance than bombs that don't slow you down as much).
Fast enemies will prevent you from chaining but if you can plant a bomb and shield till it goes off with them in it then you have a chance to place another (rinse and repeat).
^ "respectable CTR (at max"
Hurr durr obvious fact is obvious
This OP is long gone, he hasnt even responded to his bazaar last month.
But anyways, DBB+Nitro+EV will get you places.
1. Vortex. Even though both are hard to get, they really op. :)
2.DBB. It is powerful and is like the nitro. Or the nitro. they good. :)
Someone mentioned the VV + AoA combo? Because yeah, those two can get you out of any situation short of a poison or fire themed level.
Other than that... Nitro all the way. If not Nitro, Irontech is fine too. I'm quite fond of Irontech, the knockback is just enough to knock everything out of range from attacking you, while still being close enough for you to make a chain. That charge time will take a little getting used to though xD
Bombs are one of the weapon types where there is no 'best'. As alot of them are so similar yet so different. Here are a rundown on bombs stats and what works well with certain bombs:
Shard bombs really aren't that great, try to avoid getting these. The awesome part about this bombs is that it spltis into several pieces, but you can easily do more damage and have more range with the blast bombs...
Blast bombs are actually pretty good. Specifically Dark Briar Barrage. Mainly because no one likes the blue screen of death. The Nitronome and Big Angry Bomb are awesome too, but Nitronome is basically a faster but a little weaker Big Angry Bomb. Do what suits you.
Vortex bombs are great combos with swords. Mainly Combuster and Voltedge, and your party will be less vulnerable to mobs. Electron Vortex can sweep through the slags in the FSC, with your party assisting by shooting or using Combuster charges. Graviton Vortex/Obsidian Crusher is basically a shadow version.
Mist bombs can do anything to a large group of mobs. If you have a Shivermist buster, you can freeze a whole horde of enemies, allowing your party to shoot em down whilst immobolized. With Ash of Agni, you could see a horde of monsters on fire, and watch them burn. Depending on what status you want, go for the mist bomb that has that status.
Most importantly, LEARN your favourite kind of bomb. Its easy to learn how to use certain bombs, but very hard to master. I have hardly met anyone who has absolutely mastered the bombs they use, and even using bombs for about a year now, I cant master my bombs. There is always that one guy who complains about the blue screen of death...
beat roarmulus on normal until u have enough for a static capacitator, best bomb around