Hi, I'm just wondering... after looking through the missions, can you bomb at low levels?
And what bombs should I have as a beginner? Are the quest rewards ok?
Bombs?
Sat, 03/03/2012 - 01:04
Sat, 03/03/2012 - 09:44
#2
Nitronome, Radiant Sun Shards
Nitronome, Radiant Sun Shards and Dark Retribution are the DPS bombs of the game.
So they're must haves for bombing.
Then you have a way of mob control with the Graviton and Electron Vortex Bombs.
For Pure Status you have the Vaporizers, it's highly recommended that you get the Shivermist Buster. The Stagger Storm and Voltaic Tempest are good for PvP as a bomber. Venom Veiler is also a good choice, since it reduces their damage and increases yours. However Stagger Storm and Venom Veiler don't have much use outside of Lockdown, so I don't really recommend going after them until you've got everything else you want as a bomber.
Sun, 03/04/2012 - 09:24
#3
I'll list the bombs like
I'll list the bombs like this: Highest star bomb (previous versions)
Proto bomb, Cold snap, and Firecracker: Not really worth it... except maybe in PvP at tier 1, with the statuses, but it'll be dangerous there anymore with those 1* Rocket Hammers.
Nitronome (Blast Bomb, Super Blast Bomb, Master Blast Bomb): Great for soloing, since the epicenter will be safe once the bomb goes off (for the most part). But you need to practice to use it in a party without people freaking out about the flashy explosion and knockback.
Big Angry Bomb, Irontech series, and Deconstructor series: Not really worth it ATM.
Dark Briar Barrage (Spine Cone, Twisted Spine Cone, Spike Shower): Excellent for beasts and fiends, good for gremlins and undead too but there are better bombs for them. Don't bother bringing it to Royal Jelly (unless you're Nicoya-Kitty and really want to challenge yourself, lol). You need 10 Frumious Fangs (from Snarbolax) to get this.
Ionized Salt Bomb (Crystal Bomb, Rock Salt Bomb): Definitely not worth it. The Crystal Bomb should be acquired, but not for Ionized Salt Bomb since its charge time is terrible and its Damage vs. Slime is contradicted by being half pierce. Instead, use your Crystal Bomb for...
Radiant Sun Shards (Crystal Bomb, Sun Shards): It's only 4*, but that's because the 5* version was removed for being too awesome (from what I've heard, anyway). The 4* version is still great, as good as any 5* bomb for Undead. You can snipe Howlitzers with it, Gunpuppies too to a lesser extent, and it makes mincemeat out of Trojans. Also good for Greavers if you're fast enough. It's basically an eight way gun, but if an enemy is directly on top of it all the shards will hit that one enemy FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE. (Retrodes and Zombies are easy to lure onto this.) This bomb breaks crystals fast.
Dark Retribution (Dark Reprisal, Dark Reprisal Mk II): If you have the Operation: Crimson Hammer expansion, it is worth doing the highest level version of it that you can, simply because of this bomb. It's the best shadow damage bomb there is, excellent for Polyps (which take forever for RSS to kill), and amazing against Slimes and Gremlins all around. The trick is to kite the enemies into the swirly projectiles Dark Retribution spits out. This bomb breaks crystals fast, and is the cheapest 5* bomb to acquire (assuming your run of tier 3 Crimson hammer goes smoothly... which is not always the case).
Graviton Vortex (Graviton Charge, Graviton Bomb): Most bombers will want this, just because the idea of a miniature black hole in their hands is so awesome. It's a Shadow bomb, but does less damage than Dark Retribution and doesn't kill Polyps nearly as efficiently, and most people see it as crowd control. I personally don't think it's as bad damage wise as people say it is, but where Graviton truly shines is when you have someone else that can damage or status a small area, with a weapon like the Sealed Sword or Pulsar. Syncing this with a shock bomb is a good strategy; in fact, the next one tries to do it for you!
Electron Vortex (Electron Charge, Electron Bomb): See the Graviton, but this does elemental damage, and less of it. However, it can shock enemies in its final blast radius, albeit not as efficiently as the shock bomb. Shocked enemies will damage each other with their spasms if they're close together, and the Vortexes pull enemies close together. See how this can be really awesome? Of course, since Shock does elemental damage, it's not a wise choice for Beasts and Gremlins. This requires Krogmo Coins to make.
Ash of Agni (Fiery Vaporizer, Fiery Vaporizer Mk II, Fiery Atomizer): This is one of my favorites. Laying this down spreads a mist that sets enemies on fire. If you lure a large group of enemies through it (or sync it with someone else's Vortex), that's a lot of damage to a lot of enemies, and you can do this while running around in circles away from angry mobs. Just don't use it around fire enemies, especially Oilers (the black slimes) as this will set them and their oil puddles on fire! The mist lingers, so you can leave it lying there right before hitting a party switch and it'll have an effect.
Shivermist Buster (Freezing Vaporizer, Freezing Vaporizer Mk II, Freezing Atomizer): This here is the king of crowd control. It expels a mist that freezes non-ice enemies (and melted Ice Cubes, which you don't want to use this one on) right where they stand! You can keep a Trojan frozen while someone gets behind it with a charged Flourish (or you yourself with Sun Shards), or stop a group of enemies in their tracks while the party kills the others. Basically useless in Ice levels. The mist lingers, so you can leave it lying there right before hitting a party switch and it'll have an effect.
Voltaic Tempest (Static Capacitor, Lightning Capacitor, Plasma Capacitor): It's just like the previous two bombs, except the mist zaps enemies inside it. Shock has a little of everything, and enemies that are close together will hurt each other when shocked, but usually you'll reach for the Fire or Ice mists before this. However, it's amazing in Lockdown, the more so because Strikers in full dusker don't seem to mind being shocked by the mist (they run into it on a regular basis, after all). Once an enemy player is shocked by the mist, he's an easy target for your own swordies (or you, if you're packing a blade yourself). Also good in combination with someone else's Vortex. The mist lingers, so you can leave it lying there right before hitting a party switch and it'll have an effect. I use this as a Guardian in tandem with a Sealed Sword, and it works wonders.
Venom Veiler (Toxic Vaporizer, Toxic Vaporizer Mk II, Toxic Atomizer): Poison isn't really a powerful status effect until you find enemy healers. Venom Veiler is a poisonous mist bomb, like the last three bombs except the mist is poisonous. It's not usually useful, though in Tier 3, it may have a very practical use in arenas, when Gremlin Menders are about.
Stagger Storm (Haze Bomb, Haze Bomb Mk II, Haze Burst): This one is the last mist bomb, and it stuns targets inside it. Stun doesn't last as long, and isn't as useful as freeze. And you should never ever ever ever EVER use it on Vanaduke. (Until the bug is fixed.) The 3*, 4*, and 5* recipes cost Krogmo coins to buy.
Also, pick up a Demo Suit and Demo Helm. Each one branches off four different ways at 5*; go either Mad Bomber or Volcanic there (Mercurial is expensive and Bombastic... just... bleh). But if you go Mad Bomber, you'd better get to know Remedy pills very, very well.
Hope that helps =)
Edit: How exactly do you bold something? But I did make the thing less wall-of-texty.
Sat, 03/03/2012 - 18:17
#4
Text of wall, my hurts head
Text of wall, my hurts head
Sat, 03/03/2012 - 18:31
#5
At least space and bold the
At least space and bold the different sections...
Sun, 03/04/2012 - 15:30
#6
If you don't feel like reading what the doc said...
Read the wiki's bombing guide: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Bombing_guide
On the table of contents, find 6. Load-Outs
(Side note: Bombs listed are all 5* versions)
As Fradow said, being a beginner bomber is tough since the radii is small. Quest/ boss reward bombs are great. It helps to understand damage types (see here: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Damage) when choosing bombs. As a pure bomber, it's a good idea to get more weapon slots so that you have a wide variety of bombs.
Some quick bomber terminology:
CTR - Charge Time Reduction
Nitro - Nitronome
DBB - Dark Briar Barrage
RSS - Radiant Sun Shards
AoA - Ash of Agni
VT - Voltaic Tempest
Sun, 03/04/2012 - 15:31
#7
@ Doctorspacebar
Under the comment box, there's a link called "More information about formatting options," >>> http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/filter/tips
Mon, 03/12/2012 - 14:45
#8
if you really want to start bombing
You can at about 3*. this is when Sun Shards (3* version of RSS) and dark rep mkII, and Twisted Spine cone are available. Nitronome(blast bomb series) will help you solo but those 3 bombs will normally do more damage overall compared to blast bombs.
Get Bomber gear. You will NEED the highest Ctr possible on your bombs (VH is needed, med is obtained from heated bombs. I would also reccommend in investing into 1 CTR trinket and 2 Damage Bonus trinkets.
One Key thing is to heat things separately. Your armor can be 2* until you decide to make it 5* (other than clearance) because the benefits do not change until they are 5*. Bombs will be fairly useless until heated, so bring your current heated gear and heat them COMPLETELY. Make sure to bring actual weapons with you to do damage. Here is one of my pure loadouts.
Volcanic Demo Helm
Mad Bomber Suit
Dark Briar Barrage
Dark Retribution
Radiant Sun Shards
Haze bomb (either Shivermist Buster, Ash of Agni, or Voltaic Tempest) depending on stratum and status.
Elite Boom Module
Elite Boom Module
This will give you negitive defense vs shock(yay UV spamming for shock defense), poison, and freeze. Small defense against fire.
Cast Time Reduction: Maximum
Damage Bonus: Maximum
That is basically all you need as a bomber unless you want to roll CTR VH UV's on all your bombs.
Possible Sidearms: Argent Peacemaker, Polaris, Calahan (Fiend Strata Only, Magnus Series).
I'd replace a damage bomb for my sidearm (either DBB or Retri) if the stratum isn't a good fit (i.e. Shadow bomb isn't good in undead/fiend strata).
If you'd rather not deal with the statuses, using Volcanic Demo Suit will get you max ctr, but only DB VH.
Feel free to PM in game.
Mon, 03/12/2012 - 15:32
#9
A reason to not use nitronome
A reason to not use nitronome is because it lags the game for ur party and shakes the screen, making it hard to move and attack.
You can but it's really not advised because the radius of bombs is very small, so they are hard to use and don't do that much damage (because you can't get all the mob in the radius).
Nitronome (blast bomb line) is good for solo, but don't use it in a party or you are going to get hated. The shadow bomb from the new expansion is great, and so is the snarby bomb you get from token, as damage bombs. You may want to also look at haze bombs (the one which do a status), fire, shock and freeze are all good (freeze is good for beginners, less after that, fire does good damage over time, and shock does great damage over time to clumped enemies, otherwise lower damage).