Shard Limit

Old knight returning from around 2016. Was wondering about any notable changes.
Have shard bombs been changed at all since 2016? Did they fix the hit limit so that all the shards can hit large enemies? Always wanted to give them a try but I remember deciding not to when I had heard that it was capped to ~3 shard hit maximum per single target.
Have there been any other notable changes to mechanics of other gear, monsters, etc?

Ah. That history page is very helpful. Thanks.

By the way, the moderately large update from last month wasn't yet listed when you read that History page. It's listed now.

Are they Viable now or still Very Subpar to other damage bombs?
there are 2 that Inflict Status are they functional to the Mist ones Level or just damage with chance of status?

As far as spreading status goes, Shocking Salt Bomb and Scintillating Sun Shards actually pretty effective. Not as reliable as mist bombs, but they charge more quickly (?). So they feel like they're in the same ballpark, at least.
When I want to do shadow damage, I prefer Dark Retribution over Shocking Salt Bomb. When I want to do piercing damage, I prefer Dark Briar Barrage over Scintillating Sun Shards. So that tells you a lot.
There is a bit of a learning curve to managing the knockback of the shard bombs. And I'm not sure that I've mastered it. So someone else might chime in with better feelings.
https://wiki.spiralknights.com/History is a list of every Spiral Knights update that is not purely cosmetic or an recurring event such as the Kataclysmic Confrontation or a Holiday.
Yes, shard bombs have been changed so that each bomb does not affect the potential damage output of the next. However there is still a 3-shard hit limit per bomb on a single enemy, so while shard bombs are now usable, they are still outclassed by other bombs of the same damage type in most situations.
https://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/118821