I assume that most of you find them easy to use but I have missed with **** near every bomb I have dropped.

Since I am still learning should I avoid using them for now?

What is your opinion on bombs?

Are the too situational making them very hard to set up for?

Bombs are best used by high PS that don't have to guess whether or not they will hit an opponent. They are also best used within an asteroid field. Since most ships have some way of moving as an action, most will avoid any bomb (in empty space) via BR or Boost.

Also, I have found that opponents tend to forget about seismic charges, so there's one of two things you can do... One, let them forget, and surprise them when you know they're either going to get blown up, or not have a shot... or Two, say it out loud every turn "do I want to drop my charge before I move... Hermmmm" and then hold on to it for a good part of the game. This will hopefully affect their dial selection even without using the charge.

In an epic game I once caught 2 z-95s between 2 proton bombs instakilling them.

It was lucky though, opponent forgot i had them.

the new scum firespray pilot Emon is really good with bombs. I will wait until release to play further but it was a fun game.

Adding to what Khyros said, it also depends on the bomb. Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs are best used by high-PS pilots who know there will be someone in range 1 of it when it detonates.

Proximity Mines, on the other hand, can be used by anyone but are probably best in the hands of a lower-PS pilot, as they can can drop it directly on the high-PS target before they've had a chance to move. You know exactly where they'll be when you're setting your dial, and you'll also be able to avoid any potential blockers.

The most advanced part of flying a ship with bombs seems to be remembering that they were part of your loadout in the first place.

First off, I will say that Bombs take experience to get used to. So....you say experienced players, but I think even experienced players take a while to get used to using them. I think anyone needs to practice with them. It's not a bad idea to just put some ships and asteroids and bombs on the table and practice where they go. Just look and see where they are and even try out scenarios. It should help with distance and placing and all.

Bombs are best used by high PS that don't have to guess whether or not they will hit an opponent. They are also best used within an asteroid field. Since most ships have some way of moving as an action, most will avoid any bomb (in empty space) via BR or Boost.

I will disagree that it's not always true. For one, Proximity Mines work when you drop them on someone. That means that a PS 1 person can move and drop their mines onto someone who hasn't gone yet, and the mine goes off. So, I say that sometimes it's better with lower PS pilots!

For Seismic Charges, it almost doesn't matter. In fact, I think it might work better with low PS. You drop them before you move. If you move first, then you know you will be out of the way. Your opponent does, too. If they move before you, they can't really go where you are....which is where you will drop the bombs. So, once again, I say it's easier with lower PS pilots.

Last night I caught an Outrider and HWK-290 smack in the middle of my Seismic Bomb field I dropped. I took 4 shield off both of 'em.

This thread both made me really excited to fly a quadruple Y-Wing bomb squad when Scum comes out, with two PS2 and two PS4 Scum Bomber Loadout Y-Wings all packing Proximity Mines, Unhinged Astromechs and Autoblaster Turrets.

Then it made me really sad when I realized that such a squad would cost me $185 based on my current collection, as I'd need three Aggressors/Firesprays (any combination), one Y-Wing, and two Most Wanteds to actually make this happen.

I think I'll just stick with flying this on Vassal and staring wistfully at the shelves of my FLGS.

Note: I consider bombs to be Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs, while Mines are Proximity Mines. So everything I wrote was in the context of bombs. Proximity mines (with their recent change) would be (imo) the way to go for sure on low PS pilots... Fly right in front of the target (make sure you don't bump him) and drop the Proximity Mine. I'm really excited for Scum to come out so I have a reason to fly the Y wing again so I can load a Gold up with a Proximity and an Ion - fly past the guy, have him roll 3 dice to take damage, and then ionize him with the turret since he's out of arc now.

I want to try a combination with Ion and proton bombs.

This thread both made me really excited to fly a quadruple Y-Wing bomb squad when Scum comes out, with two PS2 and two PS4 Scum Bomber Loadout Y-Wings all packing Proximity Mines, Unhinged Astromechs and Autoblaster Turrets.

Then it made me really sad when I realized that such a squad would cost me $185 based on my current collection, as I'd need three Aggressors/Firesprays (any combination), one Y-Wing, and two Most Wanteds to actually make this happen.

I think I'll just stick with flying this on Vassal and staring wistfully at the shelves of my FLGS.

To be fair, you need 2 copies of the agressor for it to be really effective anyway. You are going to need at least one copy of MW no matter what. So really you are only spending an extra 50 bucks or so.

What if they're actually best used against noobs?

Note: I consider bombs to be Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs, while Mines are Proximity Mines. So everything I wrote was in the context of bombs. Proximity mines (with their recent change) would be (imo) the way to go for sure on low PS pilots... Fly right in front of the target (make sure you don't bump him) and drop the Proximity Mine. I'm really excited for Scum to come out so I have a reason to fly the Y wing again so I can load a Gold up with a Proximity and an Ion - fly past the guy, have him roll 3 dice to take damage, and then ionize him with the turret since he's out of arc now.

Why the arbitrary distinction on bombs? FFG seems to consider them bombs.

This thread both made me really excited to fly a quadruple Y-Wing bomb squad when Scum comes out, with two PS2 and two PS4 Scum Bomber Loadout Y-Wings all packing Proximity Mines, Unhinged Astromechs and Autoblaster Turrets.

Then it made me really sad when I realized that such a squad would cost me $185 based on my current collection, as I'd need three Aggressors/Firesprays (any combination), one Y-Wing, and two Most Wanteds to actually make this happen.

I think I'll just stick with flying this on Vassal and staring wistfully at the shelves of my FLGS.

To be fair, you need 2 copies of the agressor for it to be really effective anyway. You are going to need at least one copy of MW no matter what. So really you are only spending an extra 50 bucks or so.

I don't think that's true. The Aggressor looks like it will be a good ship even if it's not being flown in a pair.

2 different meanings of the word bomb.

Bomb can be used to mean the ordnance that is loaded into the bomb slot. These can be divided into 2 types however: ordnance that is placed before the dial is revealed (also known as bombs) and ordnance that is placed as an action (known as mines).

It's something to be careful of in discussions, as sometimes a person will be meaning bomb as in the overall family of dropped charges, whilst sometimes bombs will mean just the ones that are placed as a freebie before the dial is revealed.

This thread both made me really excited to fly a quadruple Y-Wing bomb squad when Scum comes out, with two PS2 and two PS4 Scum Bomber Loadout Y-Wings all packing Proximity Mines, Unhinged Astromechs and Autoblaster Turrets.

Then it made me really sad when I realized that such a squad would cost me $185 based on my current collection, as I'd need three Aggressors/Firesprays (any combination), one Y-Wing, and two Most Wanteds to actually make this happen.

I think I'll just stick with flying this on Vassal and staring wistfully at the shelves of my FLGS.

To be fair, you need 2 copies of the agressor for it to be really effective anyway. You are going to need at least one copy of MW no matter what. So really you are only spending an extra 50 bucks or so.

I don't think that's true. The Aggressor looks like it will be a good ship even if it's not being flown in a pair.

Yeah, I'm not expecting to jump onto the double Aggressor train for a while. One will be plenty to start with. The title is good, but I think the C variant will probably be strong enough to stand on its own for standard play.

I endorse what Khyros and PhantomFO say about the bombs. The basics are just that.

Still, I happily will put Seismics on my low-PS Scimitars if I don't have enough cards or points for Prox Mines. While it's always nice to know that you're going to hit, the way you do if you're higher PS, it's good to realize the huge area of effect that seismics and proton bombs have - and that they affect multiple targets.

While I do prefer them for hunting higher PS glassier cannons, Prox Mines can sometimes dud, and they only attack one target.

I've only used Proton bombs a small handful of time to mediocre result. The problem, always, with bombs and ordnance is getting killed before you get to use them. The great thing about Seismic Charges is that they're low-pointers. They're not going to be the point of obsession by your opponent. If you start slinging five-points-a-pop proton bombs, your opponent really should be paying attention. If not, your opponent is not quite up to speed, in which case you don't have much to worry about regardless.

While I do prefer them for hunting higher PS glassier cannons, Prox Mines can sometimes dud, and they only attack one target.

If you drop a Proximity Mine under multiple ships, won't it attack all of them since it detonates immediately?

Bombs are best used by players experienced with bombs. If you want to learn how to use them better, simply use bombs more often, and you'll slowly get the hang of it. That being said, there's plenty of builds that can be used without bombs as well.

While I do prefer them for hunting higher PS glassier cannons, Prox Mines can sometimes dud, and they only attack one target.

If you drop a Proximity Mine under multiple ships, won't it attack all of them since it detonates immediately?

Nope, just a single ship. From the FAQ:

Bombs are best used by players experienced with bombs. If you want to learn how to use them better, simply use bombs more often, and you'll slowly get the hang of it. That being said, there's plenty of builds that can be used without bombs as well.

Quite right, there's no single dimension of 'experiencedness'.

I'm somewhat experienced with bombs, because I fly bombers (and recently Firesprays) loaded with bombs. They're great fun! Because not a lot of other people fly bombs in my meta, only those who are experienced at playing against me are experienced with flying against bombs.

Flying with bombs against people not experienced with bombs is fun. Flying against experienced people who are not particularly experienced with bombs is even more fun!

For Seismic Charges and Proton Bombs it helps to know the dial of your opponents ships, and have a good ability to predict their moves. With Proximity Mines, having the lower PS is all you really need to concern your self with. Bombs can also be used as a deterrent, keeping your opponent from positioning their ships behind yours, which you can use to force their movements and hopefully set up an arc with your other ships. Enemy ships with boost & barrel roll will often spend those actions to get out of range of a bomb's blast zone, which means they'll probably not have an Evade or Focus for defense, so you can exploit that weakness with your other ships.

Bombs are best used by high PS that don't have to guess whether or not they will hit an opponent. They are also best used within an asteroid field. Since most ships have some way of moving as an action, most will avoid any bomb (in empty space) via BR or Boost.

Also, I have found that opponents tend to forget about seismic charges, so there's one of two things you can do... One, let them forget, and surprise them when you know they're either going to get blown up, or not have a shot... or Two, say it out loud every turn "do I want to drop my charge before I move... Hermmmm" and then hold on to it for a good part of the game. This will hopefully affect their dial selection even without using the charge.

Prox mines are different, a low PS bomber can move befor your high PS ship and hit you with the prox mine and not worry about where you go after. I like prox mines on bombers and Firesprays, they are versitile. I personally cant wait for the new title that give 2 extra bombs slots.. 3 prox mines on a ship will be fun.

When placing the other two types, you have to be able to predict where your opponent is going to be. I do ok, but sometimes you guess wrong, I too have caught an Awing with 2 seismic charges... jwith no shields.. lol.. it was well times, but I did have the higher PS, which makes the seismic and proton boms easier to use.

Edit

Seems I should read further to find that my own comments are already mirrored in the thread.. lol..

Very helpful thread. I was just finally playing around with bomb dropping as the main intent of my list, and pretty much decided that you put Prox on low PS, other bombs on high PS. It's nice to see some support for that as well as good exploration of other views.

(Is this what you call a necro post?)

I'd call this more of a raise dead than a necro... Only about a month in it.

I had fun with my Tie Bomber list this weekend. I have to say that my bombs were fantastic! They catch everyone off guard, even me at times.

First game had me drop 3 Bombs that all hit an Outrider. I then fired a few missiles and took it down that turn.

Second game was against 5 Alpha Squadron Interceptors. I was pretty worried about this, but he bunched up and forgot about my bombs. He K-turned some and came in behind me with others. I managed to kill 2 outright and finished off one more that only had 1 hull point with my pea shooters. This pic already has one gone.

Bombs didn't matter at all in my 3rd game.

Fourth game I dropped a bomb or two and did more damage to my own ships, but finished off a Z-95 and hurt some shields on a B-wing. It was worth it, though.

The problem with Bombs is that once your opponent gets hit by them a game or two, that they get used to it. I don't think I could pull those bomb moves off ever again on those guys. I'll be happy to retire my Bomber list after that event.