Understanding Mollo's Bombs

Bombs are the most important part of Mollo’s kit, so a fundamental understanding of them makes playing and fighting Mollo a much easier task. So, take notes, because at the end of this lecture you should understand when bombs explode, when parrying bombs puts Mollo into parry stun, and why this finisher bomb doesn’t hit Kragg:

When Bombs Explode Copied to clipboard

The fuse on bombs works on a 2 second timer when they are pulled. If it hits an opponent before this timer is up, they will only “bonk” the opponent (hit them but not explode). After 2 seconds, the bomb will become unstable and start flashing white. If it hits an opponent/the terrain while unstable, it will instantly detonate.

If it’s not in Mollo’s hand, it will explode 50 frames (a little less than a second) after it becomes unstable/is thrown.

Interactions with Mollo’s specials: Bombs will immediately become unstable when Mollo throws them at the apex of Up Special or when he hits them with bat (Down Special). Bombs will immediately detonate when he shoots them with Side Special or if he uses Down Special while one is in his hand and he isn’t drifting too far forwards

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If it is in Mollo’s hand, the bomb will explode if he exits hitstun while the bomb is unstable.

This is why many Mollo players are hesitant to let bombs “cook” (become unstable in their hand) at higher percents, as many characters have the tools to combo Mollo towards the top blast zone, where firecracker and cherry (default) bomb have the best chance of K.O.ing them. Generally, the most dangerous bombs to cook goes in the order of cherry, to firecracker, to flashbang. Finisher is a weird case, where it either has virtually no risk to cook in your hand or is the most devastating, as you can still throw it away before detonation if you aren’t trapped in hitstun again after exiting it.

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In this next chapter is learning when parrying bombs puts Mollo into parry stun. It’s easiest to see this with finisher bomb, as this is the one you see getting its explosion punished the most often. When bombs are hit/thrown they have a bonk hit box around them, shown by their ignited fuse. Notice the bomb having a hitbox with the ignited fuse:

If you successfully parry that hitbox when it is thrown at you, the bomb will fly back at Mollo and you will get invincibility to be able to approach.

Note: if you parry Mollo’s finisher at close range and it bonks him, get ready to follow up with a jab! This is one of the best forms of bomb counterplay.

If you don’t parry this bonk hitbox and instead parry the explosion, Mollo will be put into parry stun as long as he isn’t in hitstun. This is an important distinction when trying to parry bombs like firecracker or finisher bomb, as dashing back to parry the explosion can sometimes net you better punishes than parrying the bonk and sending the bomb back at Mollo.

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In this section, we’re going to answer the question of “Why didn’t that bomb hit me?” Now, this final chapter might seem kind of ambiguous and redundant if you haven’t seen this interaction, but oh my goodness, I’m only writing this guide so I can link it to people once they ask. With every bomb, whenever it explodes in your hand, it can’t hit the person that hit you. This is what I like to call “bomb ownership.”

This is very self explanatory with every other bomb, as you can’t get hit by bombs that explode in Mollo’s hand, but with the other bombs it’s rare to even be close enough for this to be a factor. But, when combined with finisher’s 50 frames of detonation, it’s very common for Mollo to throw a finisher back at its “owner” (the player that hit him), putting them into the scary situation of a finisher exploding on top of them. But when they try to parry, nothing happens. They can’t even get hit by the bonk hitbox.

Learning when finisher bomb can and can’t hit you will allow you to follow up on edgeguards better and push your advantage state further than you think you can. So if you hear the finisher beep and it’s still in Mollo’s hand, you don’t need to worry about the explosion hitting you.

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One last note about finishers that can’t hit your opponents, you can still use this finisher to break articles, one of the best being Forsburn smoke/clone, which can be very useful. But, don’t throw this bomb at Clairen.

She can still counter it.

Now, there are definitely plenty of bomb properties that I haven’t mentioned here, but I hope that after reading this lecture you’re now equipped with enough knowledge on bombs to start learning how to fight the explody moth. Knowing how bombs work isn’t all that you need to know to beat Mollo, but it’s a good start.