Let's start off with combo lists. You can buy basic bombs and barrel bombs and bounce bombs from...

the item store or Granny. (Barrel bomb S = Small Barrel + Fire Herb) + burst arowana = barrel...

bomb S+. (Barrel bomb L = gunpowder (fire herb + nitroshroom) + large barrel) + scatterfish = Barrel

Bomb L+. (Bounce bomb = barrel bomb S + Bnahabra wing) + bomb arowana = bounce bomb+. Felvine Bomb

= barrel bomb S + Felvine. Phew! Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the uses of bombs.

Small bombs do a small amount of explosive damage and can be used as timers for large bombs. Large

bombs do huge amount of damage but will not explode by themselves. Felvine bombs are special, I'll

talk about them more later. Bounce bombs vary in effect depending on whether you are on land or...

underwater. On land, after a second or two they shoot straight up into the air, hitting anything...

above them. They can be effective for hitting high parts of monsters like wings or heads, though...

that is very difficult to do due to the delay. They are more often used on flying monsters while...

they are changing zones to do damage and knock them out of the air. Underwater, they act like...

aimable torpedos. After a short delay they will shoot a short range in the direction you are facing,

which is helpful for hitting hard to reach areas like Lagi's head or back. They will not go huge

distances though, I would say about 30-50m would be maximum, the length of 1-1.5 Lagis.

The "plus" version of bombs do more damage and are carried seperately to basic versions of bombs,

though there is still a limit of 1 small bomb and 2 large bombs per player at a time.

When using standard bombs, there are a few situations where they are ideal to use. The first is with

pitfall traps. Ideally it will be the first pitfall used on the monster so they are not resistant,

and it will be done while the monster is fatigued and not raging to maximise the trap time. Place...

L. Barrel bombs near the monster's head and set them off while still in the trap to cause huge...

amounts of damage. It's especially effective if a monster's head is high up and difficult to reach,

like the Lagi. You could in theory do this while a monster is paralysed or in a shock trap, but the

time you have is much shorter and harder to set up in time. Another main tactic is to put a monster

to sleep using sleep effects or drugged meat, or wait till it falls asleep to recover health. Again,

place bombs near the area you want to cause huge amounts of damage - the first attack after a...

monster falls asleep causes triple damage, so make it count.

The final main way to use bombs is to place them where the monster will be in the future, usually...

the area it will zone to. It can be tricky to time and place them, but if done well can really hurt.

Bombs can be helpful on some monsters. The Gobul and Nibblesnarf have special attacks where they...

consume everything in an area, including large bombs placed in their path. ;-)

There are several ways to ignite L. barrel bombs. You could throw a stone or paintball at it. Small

bombs can be used as timers and add to the damage caused. Felvine bombs can be used as timers as

well. A lance user using a guard attack will make them explode without self harm, the 3rd stage...

hammer charge can also cause them to explode safely, but you have to get your distance right and hit

the bombs with the shockwave, not the hammerhead. A gunlance shot will cause them to explode,

including wyvern fire which may stack damage, though it's hard to tell. Any gunner attack that hits

will also work. You can just walk up to them and melee, but you will get caught in the blast and...

take damage yourself. Not recommended. >_<;

Felvine bombs are special, acting like regular S. bombs but with an added effect which makes people

give off pink smoke. Anyone and anything caught in the blast will draw any cats into the zone to

attack them. They won't take out large bosses themselves, but they will stop attacking you and not

steal your stuff, and the boss may attack them back, meaning they stop attacking you. You can get...

caught in and damage by the bombs Felines carry, so avoid them if you see a bomb carrier near you.

Felvine bombs also work as timers, so you do not need to carry them and regular S. bombs if you just

use them as timers, saving inventory space. Felvine bombs will affect other players though, causing

cats to target them specifically. Don't grief your allies like this. >_<

The "False Felyne" Shaka Laka mask causes them to use a whole lot of bombs in combat, throwing small

bombs and carrying timed large bombs. These will not harm you if you are caught in the blast, but

they will interrupt you, cancelling charged attacks or mid-recitals. Still though, the bombs help

with part breakage, if you can put up with being flung around a lot. If you use L. bombs when you

are with Shakas, they will put their own bombs down next to yours but not ignite them, which helps.

When going online and planning to use bombs, as always, communication is key. If you are planning to

bomb, tell your team mates before you depart so they can bring their own bombs to help. If you are

doing something complex like sleep bombing or zone bombing, tell your team mates before it happens

so that they know not to attack and accidently set off your bombs as well as add their own bombs to

the mix. The limit is 2 large bombs per player - potentially 8 going off at once for massive damage.

Just remember though, your own bombs can hurt you, even kill you if you are not careful, including

those set by your team mates if you are not careful. It's a powerful strategy, but not without risk.

That's about it for bombs. If you have any questions, comments or feedback let me know. If you want

to check out my other guides or see a thread where we discuss future topics, click on my profile...

picture and browse the posts I have made. Until next time! :D

Judging from physical size, I would guess a S. bomb would do 1 amount of damage, S+ = twice that...

L. bombs = 3 times a S. Bomb and L. bomb+ doing 4 times an S. bomb. It's hard to get exact numbers

without health bars, and monsters have different levels of resistance to explosions. 2 L+ with an S+

and the two L. bombs shakas put down is usually enough to break a body part in single player. :S

The bomb skills you get from armour skills and food buffs will increase the damage, making them...

extra effective, especially for gunlances who often go for bombadier. ;-)

Well said Aesri. Good clarification. Also to clarify, felvine bombs do not summon cats out of...

Well said Aesri. Good clarification. Also to clarify, felvine bombs do not summon cats out of...

nowhere, only attract cats that are in the same zone as those that are affected. ;-)