User:Jdavis/Bombs

This page is an alternative to the Bombing Guide, focused on how to choose a bomb for play in the Clockworks. Some of the advice here applies to player-vs-player, but some doesn't. The advice applies equally well to F2P players and P2P players. I don't discuss fighting tips or anything like that.

For more general equipment advice, or to learn about me and why I write this stuff, return to my user page.

Bomb Basics

Damage type is the primary consideration in choosing a sword or handgun, but bombs are more idiosyncratic. Roughly speaking, some bombs are used to inflict fast damage, some are used to wear down enemies, and some are used for crowd control. Here is a summary of all of the 5-star bombs, and Radiant Sun Shards, which is well-respected despite not having a 5-star version.

The preferred bombs seem to be Nitronome and Dark Briar Barrage for fast damage, Ash of Agni for slow damage, and Shivermist Buster and Electron Vortex for crowd control. Radiant Sun Shards, which is 4-star with no 5-star version, is also praised for damage. The obvious armor for bombers is the Spiral Demo Suit/Helm line, which has three 5-star versions. All offer normal/elemental protection, so you'll want to get piercing and shadow protection from other armor, unique variants, shields, and trinkets, for certain strata. See also the Bomber article.

The guild Lancer Knightz is collecting data on the speed of various swords' combos, and hence how much damage per second they can do. Although raw damage per second is not the only consideration in choosing a sword, you might want to check out their data.

So Which Bombs?

I'm working on this section, but slowly.

Armor and Trinkets

There are four armor sets that give bomb bonuses: Volcanic Demo, Mad Bomber, Bombastic Demo, and Mercurial Demo. Note well that the Mercurial Demo armor can be crafted only in the Shadow Lairs; it is not a good choice for your first 5-star armor. No shields give bomb bonuses, so popular shields for bombers are the usual: Grey Owlite Shield, Volcanic Plate Shield, Crest of Almire, etc. If you use a sword with your bombs, then Barbarous Thorn Shield is a fine piercing shield.

There are trinkets to enhance your bomb damage and charge time. Coordinate these with the unique variants on your bombs, the bomb bonuses on your armor, and the Medium charge time reduction that comes automatically at heat level 10.