Bombs

Bombs in ALttP are a Y-item that allows Link to place an explosive on the ground.

Location

Bombs are available at the start of the game, and Link is only limited by finding a drop somewhere that would put a bomb in his inventory.

Without major glitches, the player won't find any bombs until after they've completed Hyrule Castle and the Sewer and delivered Zelda to the Sanctuary. This is because in Hyrule Castle, there are no enemies that drop bombs, no pots with bombs under them, and no chests that reward bombs. After completing Hyrule Castle, the player will be able to acquire bombs in all of those ways.

In major glitch speedruns, which are frequently routed to leave the Hyrule Castle area at the beginning of the game, bombs are more readily accessible early on.

Description

Unlike most of Link's items, bombs are a consumable resource. If Link has 0 bombs, none will show up in his inventory. By default, Link can hold up to 10 bombs. This capacity can be expanded by using the Pond of Happiness, although this very rarely occurs in speedruns.

After Link places a bomb, it will start a fuse time of 159 frames—or a bit over 2.5 seconds. After the fuse has counted down, the bomb will start its explosion. If Link is standing near it, he'll be damaged on the 2nd frame of the explosion. Unlike with enemy sprites, bombs damage Link with a consistent timing. Their damage to Link is an important component of several speedrun techniques. Bombs can also be used as a weapon that deals damage to other sprites, although in practice, this is rarely among the fastest options available to the player in speedrun contexts.

Bombs can also be used to blow open cracked walls and floors. This is an important mechanic, and bombs are frequently the only way through these obstacles. With most routes, runners have to manage their bomb count so they have enough to make it through these obstacles.

If Link is near a bomb, the player can press A to lift and carry it. While carrying a bomb, Link will be subject to the same carry movement he has when he's carrying other objects. Carried bombs can be thrown by pressing A again.

Techniques

Bombs play an important role in a few speedrun techniques.

Bomb jumps

Main article: Bomb Jumps

A bomb jump uses damage from a bomb to boost Link across pits or other gaps.

Bomb clips

Main article: Clipping

Combined with the boots, damage from bombs can be used to clip Link into slopes and diagonal walls.

Ancillae applications

Bombs can be useful with ancillae glitches. With ancilla overload, bombs are a valuable piece of many setups because of how they load into slots 1 and 0 by default (unlike most other front slot ancillae).

With misslotting, misslotted bombs can be used for overworld conveyor and murderbomb glitches.