u/LimeRepresentative47

TL:DR for peeps, people would use Thermites less if there were other reliable options to destroy Bot/Squid Spawners and deal with heavies at a bit of range that didn't require your back slot (RR is amazing but Warp Pack is my beloved).

I can't even begin to say just how many posts I see complaining about Thermite nades I've seen in the few months I've been playing the game, and I just don't get it.

You'd think these do your taxes while clearing entire Bot Drops and every heavy in the area with how some people complain about them, to the point I wonder if they've used them any time recently.

Thermites are incredibly good, they're easily my most used nade for Squids and Bots as they're just genuinely reliable (tho Dynamite has been starting to creep into my Bot loadouts). They can destroy spawners without me needing to much spend time there, and at least for bots, they're really good as a "This heavy needs to die" option.

They don't do everything tho. They're not really an add clear nade, they take a lil moment to actually kill whatever they stick to, and some enemies (like many bugs and their holes) are kinda just a pain to throw these at (I really have been enjoying Dynamite here).

Thing is when people complain about people only ever bringing Thermites, I feel like they are forgetting that there's not really many alternative to what Thermites do.

In the secondary weapon slot, while there's the Nade Pistol for bug holes, and a couple weapons like the Crisper for anti-tank, barring the Ultimatum (which I really hate using), there's no option I know of that can close Bot/Squid spawners.

Primaries have a similar issue, there's just nothing that's actually efficient at dealing with heavies/Spawners like Thermites are.

That leaves you with your Stratagems, which often I want to use in tandem with my Thermites. I enjoy using the Warp Pack, so my options are already substantially more limited, cuz rip non-pack using anti-Spawner options are kinda limited. On the Bot front, I really enjoy the Hammer. The Hammer deals with regular Spawners and heavies really well, but a Factory Strider/Heavy Spawner appears? Really Thermites are the most effective option I've found.

Then against the Squids, absolutely nothing pops those Spawners like Thermites, as nothing else is able to without spending 60 secs beaming down the shield. Coupled with the fact the Big Ass Laser and other Med Pen options are so strong against this entire faction, why would I possibly consider any other nade.

If there were actually realistic alternatives for these anti Tank/Spawner options, people would use Thermites far far less, and the complainers really should remember that.

I've picked up D4 again after a substantial hiatus (haven't played since the Spiritborn DLC), and I'm currently on Torment V in Eternal. I'm still regrinding all my gear to new stuff, and I decided to have a see if Blighted Corpse Explosion was remotely usable again. I've been pleasantly surprised that it's actually doing pretty solid damage. I still need to get the Hewed Flesh aspect (rip Black River/Mortacrux) to have a good corpse engine, but BCE is actually putting out decent damage, even with pretty mid gear.

My main question(s) is, what do people think would help it put out even better?

Is the old Crit/Xfals/Doombringer build worth trying, or is pure DoT probably the play?

Any uniques or aspects that would probably help a bunch? Most of the older ones have changed, so I'm pretty much running off a clean slate (minus Howl From Below, those are obvs mandatory. Speaking of, I can't wait to get some new ones, hearing that the Fear affix was removed was awesome).

Soulrift or Bonestorm?

Currently, my build is BCE, Blight, Soulrift, Decrepify (I'll put points unto Iron Maiden after I manage to get a Cursed Aura ring), and Corpse Tendrils. Maxing out Lucky Hit where I can, and tryna balance heals, damage and DR with my aspects and Paragon. I'm using Doombringer as my main weapon, as it's the best new-gear weapon I have currently.

Thanks for any thoughts.