Guild Wars 2

i see people detonate their sb #2 all the time
i did the number crunch a little bit and it doesn’t seem to be that much more damaging

so my question is when do u guys detonate and why is it better to do so?

and how do you jump and dodge at the same time?
i’ve seen people do it all the time but can’t seem to copy

Well your math seems wrong. The 3 small bombs deal less damage individually, but if all 3 hit they actually do deal a bit more (e.g. with 2002 power the cluster bomb deals 1.064 dmg, the small bombs deal 1.101 [367 per small bomb*3, but the tool tip shows only the damage from 1 small bomb]).

Also take in to consideration the fact that cluster bomb puts 1 stack of bleeding but the detonation can put on 3 stacks (1 from each small bomb).
Another advantage to detonating the cluster is that if your critical chance is not very high, detonating can deal more reliable damage since each small bomb has a chance to crit, where the big one ether crits or doesn’t.
The only down side is the detonation costs 1 initiative and is not a blast finisher (important if you want to use cb to get aoe weakness with choking gas).

The way to get all 3 small bombs to hit 1 target is to detonate the cluster when it is near the ground so that they do not spread like crazy (when it is just about to land, or when it is on the same height as the enemy’s head).

To jump dodge pres your dodge key right after you pres your jump key (the timing is very precise you basically pres them at the same time but pres the jump first if that makes any sense).
Dodge jumping makes your jump go slightly farther, as if you have swiftness while jumping (so if you have swiftness a normal jump will take you the same distance as a dodge jump without swiftness).

darres.8203:

so my question is when do u guys detonate and why is it better to do so?

As a condi thief, the answer is simple for me: unless I want to blast a field, I detonate. It puts more bleeds on more mobs and the direct damage is the same (or better against larger groups of clustered trash mobs, since it can hit up to 9 targets instead of 5 for the undetonated cluster bomb).

Also, if you detonate you can spam the skill much faster at close range.

Fhaeris.9237:

Also, if you detonate you can spam the skill much faster at close range.

This is pretty much it. There are other advantages and disadvantages of course, but in the end it’s usually detonated for speed, because that is what makes you deal more damage. DPS = damage per second.

It also triggers the Signet of Malice 3x, which is pretty neat in crowded areas where you need fast heal.

Basic rule of thumb

Do I want damage/pressure? Detonate.
Do I want to blast a field? Don’t.

You detonate for damage (condi or power) and you keep it as is for the blast finisher or if you want to damage something through a wall (since it deals proximity damage).

The question is, do you want bigger/faster aoe dmg or blast finisher?

foste.3098:

The only down side is the detonation costs 1 initiative

This is wrong.