- The MLG Pope
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"On the Bomb Explosion kill and Scoring in Assault gametypes"
I must start by saying that I am not alone in the research into this matter. Certainly I am among many other community members interested in this phenomenon. My good friend iSystematic was in every game/theater lobby helping me discover the circumstances surrounding this elusive tool of destruction.
Note that this kill, unlike all others, cannot be recreated at will even with the cooperation of the enemy - a great degree of lucky timing is involved. Do not expect that common knowledge of how this kill is awarded will suddenly reduce it's rarity.
First, I ask that you watch this rendered clip of one occurring (near the end). The author, who is not myself, did not realize that he attained the elusive BE kill but was more confused as to the final scoring phenomenon (which I will discuss later).
After studying the above game, and further researching other games where BE kills have been awarded, my friend and I have resolved the circumstances required to earn a BE kill.
A specific player is awarded a Bomb Explosion kill if:
1) the specific player kills the opponent bomb carrier at the exact instant he arms the bomb, resulting in a "fumble" (I said watch the video!) as opposed to the typical "planting" which scores a point
2) any enemy of the specific player is killed in the ensuing explosion, awarding him BE kills per enemy thus eliminated
The following are not factors involved in the game awarding a specific player the BE kill:
1) the specific player shooting an enemy or otherwise maintaining him in a weakened state before the bomb blows him up
2) the specific player touching the bomb at any point during the game
3) any player scoring any points throughout the game (as seen here: a 0-0 tie with Destruktor earning the BE kill)
A fumbled bomb can be neither picked up nor disarmed - it will inevitably detonate (naturally assuming there is time left before the round ends). A player might not always earn a "killed bomb carrier" medal though he is credited with stopping him if one of the carrier's teammate deals the lethal bullet/grenade.
Now on to scoring law.
As you by now realize, a bomb exploding can either award a point or not.
This may seem confusing but the system is quite simple:
When a specific bomb explodes, the point is awarded to the player associated with the most recent "planting" of that specific bomb
This can be applied to 3 unique cases.
1) Normal
---Conditions: a player successfully plants the armed bomb, it is not disarmed
---Scoring: the planter is awarded a point for his team
2) Failure
---Conditions: a player fumbles an armed bomb, the bomb had never been previously planted that round
---Scoring: no team is awarded a point (see previous game link)
3) Defect
---Conditions: a player fumbles an armed bomb, the bomb had been previously planted that round
---Scoring: the last player to successfully plant the bomb is awarded a point, regardless of who fumbled (as is the case in the rendered game)
Note: the enemy team cannot score from your fumble in multi/1-bomb because it is impossible for them to have previously armed your team's bomb (they can't pick it up)! However, in neutral-bomb both teams vie to arm the same bomb, which can lead to confusing scores in the event of a fumble.
***I lack sufficient data to determine whether a Normal detonation followed later by a fumble, with no other plantings in-between, results in a Defect detonation or if the "last armed" variable is reset after the Normal detonation resulting in a Failure detonation instead***
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The extreme rarity of a fumble, especially given lag over XBL, explains the sparse occurence of the BE kill. Also, we can finally see why the BE kill has remained so rare even with the existence of the Grifball playlist (the carrier must be forced to fumble by opposition, then a teammate of the former carrier must be alive and within range of the bomb as it explodes)!
I hope I have pleased interested players with this thread! I will attempt to maintain this thread so as many people as possible get to learn from it. If you have any questions regarding my investigation, want to contest or clarify some conditions, hope to share game stories, or whatever - please reply and keep this alive!
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Additional info from the thread:
It seems as though nobody has earned a BE kill since TU2. A good theory is that Bungie intended the Bomb Explosion to designate only a death by bomb explosion, but not a kill by it (otherwise wouldn't they give it out instead of guardian kills). The fumble glitch seems to have tricked the game into awarding a kill by Bomb Explosion.
This in and of itself isn't a problem for Halo 3 MM, but the point for the arm being awarded to the other team in certain cases is most definitely a problem.
Bungie probably applied the following solution which also removes the chance for a BE kill.
From the observations of others, it seems that the fumble glitch still occurs with the same rarity, and is likely not fixable via update. However, the same observation shows that the fumbled bomb now resets rather than explodes when the timer reaches 0. Without a fumbled detonation there is no chance at a BE kill.
Maybe try clearing your 360 cache, or playing without a HDD on LAN and see if you can recreate it without the update. Sorry guys.
Posted by: The MLG Pope
Likely this: Bungie made "bomb explosion" purely to describe the way someone dies, never intending it to show up as a Tool of Destruction.
However, the fumble phenomenon led to that occurring and so they removed that which was unintentional.
[Edited on 09.07.2009 2:48 PM PDT]