Originally Posted by Frozen_Burn
Time Bomb seems to be one of the most skipped powers in the /Devices set. And understandably so with 9s of casting (8s interruptable) and 12s of a delay in its detonation (21s from button click to explosion). It is very hard (and sometimes impossible) to time it for an effective detonation in a team setting and when solo, it just adds more to the already slow moving set.
In a team setting, I typically have to stealth ahead of the team 2-3 mobs in front of them in order to have enough time to drop the Time Bomb before the team shows up. Otherwise, the team will either: 1) scatter the mob making the explosion useless; 2) causes AoEs that interrupt me; or 3) completely eliminate the mob before the Time Bomb explodes.
Solo, sure you can stealth in, drop it, and wait the 21s for the "nuke" level damage to devastate the mob... but other blasters can stealth in and "nuke" a mob with Inferno, Nova, Blizzard, Thunderous Blast, and etc in only 3s-4s. But that's a PRIMARY "nuke" vs. a SECONDARY "nuke"... so I'm ok with a longer cast time to keep the damage high on Time Bomb however, 9s is still FAR too long.
A suggestion for a fix to this power and to make it more useable in a team setting (and solo) is to make the Time Bomb a "Detonation Bomb." Instead of dropping it and waiting for it to go off, you can drop it and then click a button to set it off when you want to. The mechanics are already in the game to accomplish this: Drop a pet, and then "dismiss" it, at which time it blows up doing damage. You could click the button once for casting, and then click it a 2nd time for detonating when you're ready for it to go off--instead of when IT wants to go off.
But it should also have a 7s cast (6s interrupt) instead of the 9s it currently is (this would be fair on the whole and in-line with other changes I've sugegsted with other powers in the /Devices set in other threads). 9s is just too long to viably use in a team setting... 7s is still long enough towarrant the damage of a secondary powerset "nuke", but also short enough to make it more useable.
This would also be more in-line with the "ambush"-iness of Trip Mines and Caltrops by setting up everything ahead of time and pulling your enemies to trap. When the minions and lieutenants clear your Trip Mine field, you have your "Detonation Bomb" ready for the bosses (or EBs).
In a team setting, this would also eliminate having to guess and "time" the explosion with your team's actions (which is near impossible) and you can "detonate" it when it's best for you and your team.
I also think this would be more appealing to other players and people might actually start taking the power.
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