Sticky Bomb Damage

[xAp0c]

Hi I was hoping someone might have some guidance on this.
Character is almost full Celestial 4H/2D. When running trials my sticky bomb damage appears to be very low compared to the ones on top leaderboard doing billions.
What could I be doing something wrong to have that damage so low.

[WarriorSeven]

No offense, but you're comparing apples to pears.

Looking up Birzerte on the Leaderboards reveals running TL185 with 2345 CL points, and very likely much more powerful than your Shotz -- plus Birzerte's total attack time with Kara was just under 10 minutes (the limit), dying 20 times while accumulating LOTS of damage in the process.

Sorry, but your toon's performance at TL130 (and "only" dying 3 times) is not a fair comparison.

[xAp0c]

None taken, fair point, was just saying something along those lines to my buddy, after posting.
I guess my question would be then, why are low CL Characters placed in the same season/trial leagues, when they literally stand no chance to place higher on the boards earning badges that help them out as well.

[WarriorSeven]

A toon's advance to each level in three Leagues: Contender (lowest), Veteran (middle), and Master (the highest) is a progression through specific Trial Levels, not because of CL points. The player has complete control on how far they want to progress in any of the Leagues.

This aspect of the game is designed as a progression. As you develop your champion with better and better gear, and play to gain more and more experience (and yes, CL), this progression through improvement allows you to move up the Trial Level ladder and thus onto the next higher League -- IF you want to.

That's the way it's designed.

[Ozymandius]

Without seeing your gear set up and stats, it is hard to say if you are missing a key component or ability (e.g., do you have both Havoc helmet and gloves, molten belt, level 10 Tracer Ammo, Slayer enchantments on weapons, fire damage on all trinkets, bracer, and belt, three Healers, etc.). However, assuming that you are comparing your gear directly against the leaders and not finding any noticeable differences, I would say that it is most likely your playing style. Something as simple as altering your attack sequence could make a huge difference in overall damage. For Sticky Bombs with 4H, you want to pull large mobs and use MT or Vortex to keep them bunched together to trigger the massive explosions. Check out the You Tube videos, and maybe you will see something that you can improve in your attack strategy.

As to the second question, that is the reason that ANBs are so popular since they allow all players to start from scratch with 0 CLs. You will eventually earn enough CLs to compete in Season events, but by then most players plateau and get bored playing the same old META builds. Fact is that you will never enjoy the game as much as you do now as a new player, so enjoy the ride!

[xAp0c]

Thank you for your reply.

Everything is set up just as you described with gear, stats, and enchants. Been watching vids to see if there is like a rotation, or if I'm supposed to wait for a trinket proc before firing a certain ability.

I wouldn't say completely from scratch considering the medals carry over. If you get more that 10 people that come in with 100 medals in each category they will always have a slight edge over anyone else.

[LodWig]

The Sticky Bomb ability can do damage

1. when a new bomb is applied
2. 15s after the last one was applied
3. when a foe dies while bearing Sticky Bomb(s)

(3.) is what I call the Body Blast. It is proportional to the initial life of the deceased. Because the higher the Trial Level, the higher that initial life, the Sticky Bomb ratio goes up naturally, as the other damage sources do not change with Trial Level.

That is why you can't compare a TL 130 and a TL 185: a foe on TL 185 have about 189 times the life of the same foe on TL 130.

Note: Power stat does not contribute to the Body Blast. Critical Damage do, as well as Fire Damage. And buffs on the foe(s) hit by the BB, such as the Tracer Ammo and Osmosis stacks, or the effect of the Slayer weapon enchantment.

[xAp0c]

----"It is proportional to the initial life of the deceased. Because the higher the Trial Level, the higher that initial life, the Sticky Bomb ratio goes up naturally, as the other damage sources do not change with Trial Level."

Soon as I posted this, I started asking my buddy if he thinks that could be what causes more damage. Thank you for clearing that up.