Quote:
I would say "constantly, enormously useful," when solo, and "very useful" on small teams, and "somewhat useful" on large teams, and "limited in use to self-protection" on large steamrolling teams.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Right now, I dislike Trip Mines for two reasons:
1. Their original officially-stated design is like traps, set down either alone or in fields for enemies to run through after the fact. This is a design which is very rarely useful, and even more rarely useful as designed. |
But I guess if you only play on large steamrolling teams and never need to defend yourself, it could seem like they're rarely useful. But don't large steamrolling teams tend to make a LOT of powers less useful?
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
----------------------------------------------------------
The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
Quote:
Does anyone remember those neat stick-to-the-wall laser-tripwire bombs that they had in Duke Nukem and QUAKE? Wouldn't something like that be nice?|
Originally Posted by Nethergoat
my dream for Time Bomb is to turn it into a sticky grenade with a timer.
|
Here someone even managed to Mod it into DOOM:
I actually like Time Bomb as it is....
Okay, it could use some help. I'd prefer that help come as either improved damage (not likely) or faster set-up time. Of the two, I'd actually prefer the improved damage, so that it's worth the effort and stands out as one of the more unusual powers.
Trip Mine is fine as is, don't change it. Yes, it's slow, but it's one of the more interesting attacks in the game. You just just need to be a tricky <bleep> to get the most use out of it.
"I do so love taking a nice, well thought out character and putting them through hell. It's like tossing a Faberge Egg onto the stage during a Gallagher concert." - me
@Palador / @Rabid Unicorn
Quote:
Don't see why it couldn't be switched to grant 2 powers (similar to Swap Ammo granting 3), one to summon the pet and one that works like Trap's Detonator.
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I don't think the system allows for the bomb to be triggered manually, which is why it was made into a bomb on a fuse instead of on a remote trigger.
|
Quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRIrg-bAU-w|
Originally Posted by Nethergoat
my dream for Time Bomb is to turn it into a sticky grenade with a timer.
you chuck it at a foe, roll to hit, if you succeed the timer starts. whatever they do, wherever they go, when the timer hits zero BOOOOOOOM! this was inspired by the fun I had with the Semtex grenade in MW2. |
Count to ten
Quote:
Another plausible implementation is to make time bomb into a pet with mastermind-like control. For example, the bomb can have two stances: passive and aggressive. In the aggressive stance, it will automatically detonate when a foe gets close. This is like a proximity bomb. In the passive stance, it will not detonate unless it is told to. The bomb can only accept one command: dismiss, which will detonate it.
|
Originally Posted by Shadow State
Don't see why it couldn't be switched to grant 2 powers (similar to Swap Ammo granting 3), one to summon the pet and one that works like Trap's Detonator.
|
Quote:
That reminds me of the PARANOIA RPG, where there was a 2' tall robotic bomb that walked around on spindly legs yelling "I'm a bomb!", "I'm a bomb!" and clutching at people's knees before detonating. |
Originally Posted by Twilight_Snow
Another plausible implementation is to make time bomb into a pet with mastermind-like control.
|
-- Vivian
Quote:
This. I toe bomb on my AR/Dev all the time. I don't have any Stealth IOs or anything like that. If anything, the issue with toe bombing on a team is not that I am SEEN by the foes, it's that I sometimes get hit by AoEs while trying to toe bomb. That and, by the time Time Bomb actually goes off, the team has already steamrollered the spawn and moved on to the next. |
Originally Posted by Mr_Right
Cloaking Device + Smoke Grenade?
|
I even toe bomb on my Bots/Traps MM. With just Stealth. I rely on the aggro drawn by my bots the keep the fire off of me while I set the bomb. It doesn't work as reliably as Smoke Grenade, but it does happen often enough that I'll usually try it before just switching to Sands of Mu when I'm interrupted.
The difference between Time Bomb and Trip Mine is IMHO not a matter of visibility, but of cast time. Time Bomb simply takes far too long to cast and activate after casting. (And for too much of that time, for both Time Bomb and Trip Mine, you are exposed to the potential for interrupt, although, of course, slotting for interrupt [edit-if that were possible] would certainly help there)
I would think that reducing the interrupt time a fair bit on both would make them better.
The other thing that might make them better would be giving cloaking device better stealth, so you didn't need IOs to be able to toe-bomb effectively with it. That would make both powers noticably more useful.
Time bomb is actually quite nice soloing -- drop a couple of trip mines, drop a time bomb, walk around a corner, and /em walllean. Spawn dies. It ain't fast, but the risk/reward is pretty good.
Quote:
I disagree. "Constantly, enormously useful" when solo is a massive overstatement. Yes, it does a lot of damage but A) this is a clear misuse of what a power is designed to do and B) it's still far more effective to just pop Aim, Build Up and open with AoEs if that were your fancy. And Time Bomb is still far better for toe bombing, to boot.|
Originally Posted by Sailboat
I would say "constantly, enormously useful," when solo, and "very useful" on small teams, and "somewhat useful" on large teams, and "limited in use to self-protection" on large steamrolling teams.
|
Trip Mine has a rather small blast radius and damage not enough to one-shot even minions, so its use as an opener is questionable. Its use as personal protection, that I can't deny, but even then it's not all that impressive as it rarely catches more than a couple of people.
The most impressive I'v ever seen Trip Mine has been when I've corner-pulled entire spawns into it around a corner. THEN it does pretty serious damage, but that takes more time and opportunity cost to set up than I'm willing to commit spawn after spawn after spawn.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Trip Mine is, IMO, okay as it is. Not great, not perfect, but doesn't really need a change (and as you can see, some people like it just like it is).
I don't think there's anyone who likes Time Bomb as it is. Almost anything would be an improvement.
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
Quote:
khtf.
|
Originally Posted by samuel_tow
i have a hard time ever seeing devices as overpowered.
|
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes
With so many boss fights starting with a dialog window these days trip mine has a new way to shine. Tips and new arcs are introducing Bosses and EBs that con blue and then attack at the end of the dialog tree. Dev and Traps can mine the bosses feet in complete safety and since the player controls the moment that boss is going to agro Time bomb can be timed to great effect. 2 trip mines and time bomb will put a serious dent into a bosses health.
2 trip mines and a time bomb may sound like a long time of standing around, but if you drop a trip mine (5s cast) then time bomb (9s cast) and one more trip mine (anther 5s cast) you've 20 seconds setting up a massive AOE attack.
Time Bomb also has massive Knockback. The knockback has a high chance to go off (80%) and with a little practice you can predict where Time Bomb is going to force the boss to land. A player can set a trip mine and this spot, walk over and set Time Bomb, and then set anther Trip Mine on top of the first one. With enough recharge a player could set one more Trip Mine before Time Bomb goes off.
Time Bomb and Trip Mine are also pets it should be pointed out, fenders, blasters and corruptors each get the same Trip Mine and the same Time Bomb.
Quote:
My build for my traps/sonic defender has defence of 50%+ without using IOs to achieve that.
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I mean no disrespect, Tech, but what you describe is only doable with Inventions, for the simple fact that Blasters don't have access to powers which can do that, and I've never been a fan of powers that only work well with Inventions, even if they weren't changed to that.
Right now, I dislike Trip Mines for two reasons: |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
[*]Watching out for the Spinning Disco Portal of D00M!*
|
Quote:
That's not what con means. *nitpick*
|
Originally Posted by warden_de_dios
With so many boss fights starting with a dialog window these days trip mine has a new way to shine. Tips and new arcs are introducing Bosses and EBs that con blue and then attack at the end of the dialog tree.
|
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes
Quote:
Isn't Techbot Alpha a Robotics/Traps MM rather than a /Devices Blaster?
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I mean no disrespect, Tech, but what you describe is only doable with Inventions, for the simple fact that Blasters don't have access to powers which can do that, and I've never been a fan of powers that only work well with Inventions, even if they weren't changed to that.
|
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Trip mine strikes me as basically okay as is -- situational, perhaps, but I usually find that teams like to have people with trip mines around. Time bomb is more dependent on being able to stealth to toe-bomb with it.
If cloaking device allowed you to toe-bomb, it would massively improve both cloaking device and time bomb.