Bomb Jumping is a technique used to gain height while Samus is in her Morph Ball form. By placing Bombs repeatedly in sequence, you can climb higher and reach places that aren't normally accessible without the need for upgrades like Space Jump, Flash Shift, or Spider Magnet.
The height of bomb jumping in the Metroid series is seen in Metroid Dread, which offers the most variability of all the Metroid games in terms of types of bomb jumps and the player's ability to control bomb jumps. Most bomb jumps are accomplished while in the air. In Metroid Dread, bomb jumps are called Infinite Bomb Jumps (or IBJs), or Horizontal Bomb Jumps (or HBJs), or Diagonal Bomb Jumps (or DBJs), which allow Samus to climb vertically, diagonally, or even horizontally if you are precise enough.
Performing an Infinite Bomb Jump underwater or in lava isn't possible in Metroid Dread until you first obtain the Gravity Suit. Instead, we perform a Water Bomb Jump (WBJ), which is a special type of bomb jump that gives access to higher ledges than normal while in liquid (bomb jumps are shorter underwater, and so is jumping). However, WBJ technique uses a different setup than regular bomb jumping.
Examples of Infinite Bomb Jumping include climbing Screw Attack Tower in Lower Burenia, and collecting the item in Idiot Tunnel in Ghavoran.
Examples of Horizontal/Diagonal Bomb Jumping include grabbing the item at the top of the Slopes in Ghavoran.
Examples of Water Bomb Jump include Early Ice Missiles without Spin Boost, Early Screw Attack before Frozen Artaria, and as a time save after destroying the blobs to lower the Water Platforms in Burenia.
Lay your first bomb while morphed.
Just before your first bomb explodes, lay your second bomb.
As Samus descends to where she began bomb jumping, the second bomb will explode and propel her upward a second time. Repeat this process to perform an Infinite Bomb Jump.
This movement is the start of all bomb jumps.
Jump and lay your first bomb in the air.
After you land, jump again and while morphed, position Samus on top of the first bomb, and a lay your second bomb.
If done correctly, you will be able to start a bomb jump anywhere you can normally jump to. You can start an aerial bomb jump from a Spin Boost or Space Jump by first jumping using your Spin Boost or Space Jump, and then immediately morphing and laying your first bomb. If timed correctly, Samus will fly into the air and then land back onto your first bomb as it explodes, allowing you to start your bomb jump in the air.
Although aerial bomb jumps are more difficult than while starting on the ground, you can start an aerial bomb jump in almost any place you can normally jump to, such as from the side of a blue magnetic wall you are clinging to (such as the large Spider Magnet wall in Ghavoran), or off of a downward slope (such as the Elaine Funnel). You can also start an aerial bomb jump by jumping when you are in Morph Ball form.
Single bomb jump offers the most control out of any of the bomb jumps, but it is the slowest bomb jump. If you are comfortable with your bomb jumping skills, you can use the single IBJ to easily re-center Samus, and transition to and from a diagonal IBJ, or any other kind of IBJ.
Morph and lay your first bomb.
Just before your first bomb explodes, lay your second bomb. Samus will be propelled up, and then start to fall to where she began.
Repeat this last step to climb vertically. You can position Samus slightly to the left or right of the previous bomb before you lay your next bomb, allowing you to incrementally climb in different directions, and you can adjust your ascent to avoid ledges or even certain enemies.
Double bomb jump, also called a triple bomb jump, is the fastest way to climb with bomb jump. Although you can climb using two bombs, laying down three acts as an extra safeguard because of the chance when getting hit by an enemy or projectile that you will be bounced back into your third bomb, and you will be allowed to continue bomb jumping instead of falling. Although this is rare, when you are more comfortable with bomb jumping it is slightly easier to predict and adjust to this when it does happen. Currently, there is no timed time-save difference between double and triple bomb jumps in Metroid Dread. The triple bomb jump is instructed below.
Morph and lay your first bomb.
Just before your first bomb explodes, lay your second bomb. Samus will be propelled up, and then start to fall to where she began.
At the full height of your bomb jump, lay your third bomb. Samus will fall back toward your second bomb.
When Samus reaches your second bomb, that one will explode, propelling Samus up, and if done correctly, she will catch the next explosion from your third bomb and be propelled up higher.
From this point on, whenever Samus comes in contact with a prior bomb, and whenever she reaches the apex of her latest bomb jump, lay an additional bomb. Repeat this process to IBJ. This is the triple bomb jump. To perform the same trick using only two bombs, skip laying a bomb when Samus comes in contact with your bomb that is about to explode.
Diagonal Bomb Jump is where Samus bomb jumps in a diagonal or horizontal fashion instead of only vertically. You can use this technique to navigate around ledges or platforms above you and climb in a more controlled way.
Diagonal bomb jump technique starts off the same as the IBJ for a single or double bomb jump above, except instead of allowing Samus to be propelled straight up, you want to alternate holding Left or Right after each time you lay a bomb, to move Samus horizontally / diagonally.
Immediately after you lay your bomb, tilt the control stick slightly to the left or right as you are propelled up, moving Samus just a bit away from that bomb.
As Samus falls back down, move her slightly closer to your old bomb, and lay a new bomb just before you contact the old bomb. You can then alternate the direction you go between each bomb jump to achieve precise movements during your single bomb DBJ.
Repeat this process to perform a Diagonal IBJ.
It's possible in Dread to perform a true horizontal bomb jump (with little or no height gain - almost full horizontal movement), and even slowly ascend or descend while doing so, but this method has no known use outside of Rando, and it is not seen in any of the current run categories. Because of this, for most intents and purposes, HBJ and DBJ above are interchangeable terms.
Begin a bomb jump.
While Samus ascends, hold away from the direction you want to travel.
Then, hold toward the direction you want to travel. Try and roughly draw a diamond shape in the air with your movement, moving in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion depending on whether you want to travel right or left, respectively.
While Samus descends, quickly hold back toward your old bomb, and lay your new bomb just before you come in contact with your old bomb, holding this last direction the entire time (away from the direction you want to travel). You will know you performed it correctly if Samus moves forward slightly with each bomb jump. You can adjust your altitude slightly too by modifying whether you lay your new bomb slightly above or slightly below your previous bomb.
Repeat these steps for each new bomb.
Samus can reposition herself in the middle of a bomb jump, or even drop altitude in place with only very slight horizontal movement, using a variation of the HBJ above that involves letting go of your control stick entirely after moving slightly toward or away from your bomb, and using gravity to lay a single bomb just a handful of pixels away from your last bomb, possibly while slowly dropping downward at a slight angle. This bomb jump can be used to reposition Samus in the middle of a failed single or double IBJ, or to reset bomb jump timings mid-air. Usually, this is used for only one or two bomb jumps to reposition Samus, before you quickly transition back into your single or double IBJ you were trying to accomplish a moment earlier.
Bomb jumping underwater (or in lava) is limited to two bomb jumps total (including pressing "jump" while in Morph Ball form), and those jumps are shorter in height than regular bomb jumps outside of water. Bomb jump behavior in lava and water are the same, but this technique is almost exclusively seen used in water.
Water Bomb Jump allows you to get around the two-jump underwater limitation by storing your first bomb jump separate from your second one. You can then jump and lay your second bomb higher up in the water (or lava), allowing you access to higher ledges than if you had started your bomb jump on the ground (Water Bomb Jump breaks this specific limitation). The height gain of WBJ is equal to about one full jump in air, or about two and a half underwater bomb jumps (shorter than regular bomb jumps), enough to reach new ledges. How the storing is done is different depending on whether you are underwater or above it.
The difference between storing a bomb jump underwater or above it is whether or not Samus must be touching the ground. To store a bomb jump underwater, make sure you are touching the ground when you get propelled by the bomb.
To store a bomb jump, lay your first bomb on the ground or in the air, and then let Samus be propelled by it (while morphed), then unmorph. If you are storing underwater, Samus must be touching the ground when the bomb explodes.
After Samus gets propelled by your bomb, and before you touch the ground again, unmorph before landing. You've now successfully stored your bomb jump. If you touch the ground again while morphed, you will lose your stored bomb jump.
If you touch the ground at ANY point while MORPHED after you store your bomb jump, you WILL LOSE your stored bomb jump. Always unmorph before landing on the ground.
Jump to where you want to start your second bomb jump, and lay your second bomb there (underwater). Make sure you unmorph before landing again so as not to lose your first bomb jump. Then, quickly jump and morph again to catch your second bomb. If performed correctly, Samus will bomb jump a second time where she normally wouldn't be able to.
Troubleshooting tip #1: If you touched the ground while morphed before catching your second bomb, Samus won't gain any height from your second bomb jump, and you'll have to start over.
Troubleshooting tip #2: If you performed all the steps correctly and Samus isn't gaining height off the second bomb jump, it may be that you are unmorphing too quickly on the second bomb jump. Stay in Morph Ball for a little bit longer before unmorphing. Unmorphing too quickly will also shorten your second bomb jump height.
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