Bombs: when and how to use them

You start with three bombs. Using them well often decides whether a run fails or a boss falls.

The basics

A bomb is dropped with the B key on desktop, or the orange button above the joystick on mobile. You cannot drop one while the hangar is open, and the supply is limited: an extra bomb costs 300 credits in the hangar.

What a bomb does to bosses

Each shot removes 1 health point from a boss; a bomb removes 5. That works out to:

Using them well

• Keep them for bosses rather than ordinary enemies.
• Mix shots and bombs: shoot to stay in control, bomb to finish quickly if your health drops.
• Restock in the hangar before approaching a boss.

For the full strategy, read beating the bosses.

Start a game

Bomb rules at a glance

You start every game with three bombs and can carry at most five. Each time you destroy a boss, the game repairs 35 health points and gives you one more bomb, so a bomb is a tool you are meant to use, not a trophy to keep. Press B on a keyboard, or the round bomb button on a touch screen. A bomb destroys every regular enemy on screen, removes every enemy bullet in the air and deals 8 damage to a boss.

When to use a bomb

The best moments are the ones where you would lose health anyway: when more than four enemies are closing in at once, when a wall of bullets fills the screen at night, or when a boss is almost dead and you want to finish it before it shoots again. The worst moment is when only one or two weak enemies are on screen, because a normal shot kills them for free. If you are already carrying five bombs, spend one, since the next boss would give you a sixth that you cannot hold. Remember that bombs alone cannot beat the later bosses: the Sky Lord MK II has 70 health points, so you need regular fire as well.