Smoke Bomb
Smoke Bomb
The Smoke Bomb is the canonical "instant hide while in combat" consumable for Ninjitsu characters — a single-use item that, when triggered, makes the wielder go from visible to fully hidden in a heartbeat, even while taking damage from an attacker. It is the single most-cherished item in the Ninjitsu skill kit because it bypasses the normal "you cannot hide while in combat" restriction that gates the regular Hiding skill. A Ninja with a stack of Smoke Bombs is the canonical PvP escape artist — the "vanish" tactic that frustrates Mages and warriors alike.
The Smoke Bomb is also notable for its misleading menu name: in the Cooking crafting menu, it appears as the "Egg Bomb." This is a long-standing UI quirk dating from an early publish; the in-game item is universally called Smoke Bomb in tooltips and conversations, but the cooking gump retains the Egg Bomb name. Players new to Ninjitsu often hunt for "Smoke Bomb" in the Cooking menu, find nothing, and ask their guildmates only to discover the renamed entry.
Mechanics
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Consumable item (single use per Bomb) |
| Skill required | Ninjitsu ≥ 30 — the canonical "Smoke Bomb available" skill threshold |
| Effect | Caster becomes hidden (full Hiding effect) instantly, even mid-combat |
| Cooldown | ~6 seconds between uses (per-character cooldown, shared across Bombs) |
| Stack | Can be carried in a stack like reagents |
| Crafting | Cooking skill (yes, Cooking — the menu calls it "Egg Bomb") |
| Cost / acquisition | Mass-craftable from low-tier ingredients; cheap to keep stocked |
The cooldown matters: a Ninja under heavy fire cannot spam Smoke Bombs. The 6-second window gives an attacker enough time to chase, AOE, or use a Tracking skill or Reveal-tagged spell to find the hidden Ninja before another Bomb is ready.
How it differs from regular Hiding
| Mechanic | Regular Hiding | Smoke Bomb |
|---|---|---|
| In combat | Cannot hide while taking damage | Hides through damage |
| Skill check | Roll against Hiding skill | Auto-success on use |
| Stamina cost | None | None |
| Mana cost | None | None |
| Cooldown | None (re-attempt freely) | ~6 seconds between uses |
| Per-use cost | Free | Consumes one Smoke Bomb |
| Required skills | Hiding (+ stealth-tree partner) | Ninjitsu ≥ 30 |
Smoke Bomb is strictly stronger than regular Hiding for combat use cases — the cooldown is the only meaningful constraint. Out of combat, regular Hiding still has the advantage of being free and unlimited.
Crafting Smoke Bombs
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| Required skill | Cooking ≥ ~50 (the exact threshold is in the gump) |
| Menu | Cooking > "Egg Bomb" entry — yes, it's named differently in the menu |
| Reagents | Eggs + a few other low-tier cooking ingredients |
| Output per craft | 1 Smoke Bomb per successful craft |
| Failure rate | Modest at lower Cooking skill; near-zero at GM Cooking |
The crafting cost is trivial — a serious Ninja stocks 50 — 100 Smoke Bombs in the bank as a routine logistics item. Mass-crafting them at the Cooking station before a serious combat session is the canonical ninja routine.
When Smoke Bomb fails or is countered
| Counter | Mechanism |
|---|---|
| Tracking by an attacker | Reveals nearby hidden creatures; can find the Smoke-Bombed Ninja within range |
| Reveal spell (Magery) | Targeted reveal forces the Ninja to drop hide |
| Detect Hidden (Detect Hidden) | Skill-based reveal in an area |
| AOE damage | Some AOE re-tags hidden creatures via "splash damage from spell" mechanic |
| Cooldown elapsed but Ninja didn't break LOS | Attacker may guess the position and AOE the spot |
The canonical PvP counter to Smoke Bomb is Tracking — an attacker with Tracking ≥ 80 can ping the area in a small radius and re-reveal the Ninja if line-of-sight permits. Smoke Bombs do not stop tracking.
Smoke Bomb in builds
| Build | Smoke Bomb role |
|---|---|
| Pure Ninja (Ninjitsu + Hiding + Stealth) | Foundation — every encounter starts and ends with vanish-via-Bomb |
| Sampire | Optional; less common, but vanish during a tough boss is occasionally useful |
| Mage / Ninja hybrid | Mage casts spells, then Bombs out before counter-attack |
| Tamer / Ninja hybrid | Pet engages; Tamer Bombs to escape attacker focus |
| PvP gank squads | One member is often the "escape Ninja" who covers the team's exit |
The Pure Ninja archetype — 120 Ninjitsu + 120 Hiding + 120 Stealth + 120 Magery + 100 Eval Int + 100 Resisting Spells + 100 Healing — uses Smoke Bombs as the load-bearing escape mechanism in every PvP fight that goes south.
Smoke Bomb cooldown timing
The 6-second cooldown is the defining tempo of Ninja combat:
| Pattern | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ninja attacks | Visible during attack; takes damage |
| HP drops below 50% | Ninja Bombs out (Hide); attacker scrambles |
| 6 seconds elapse | Bomb is ready again |
| Ninja resurfaces and re-engages | Cycle repeats |
A skilled Ninja can sustain this hit-and-run pattern through a long fight, dealing damage in 6-second windows and vanishing for 6-second cooldowns. The opponent is forced to bring Tracking or AOE damage to break the loop.
Smoke Bomb history and the "Egg Bomb" rename
The item was introduced with the Samurai Empire expansion in 2004 — the same release that added the Ninjitsu, Bushido, and Throwing skills. The Cooking-menu entry "Egg Bomb" dates from the original implementation and has never been renamed; the developers' commitment to the fictional name "Smoke Bomb" has held steady in the tooltip and game-text references since launch.
The item appears in many fan write-ups under both names; modern players use "Smoke Bomb" universally and the "Egg Bomb" terminology is mostly trivia.
See also
- Ninjitsu — the parent skill that gates Smoke Bomb use
- Hiding — the parallel always-available skill that doesn't work in combat
- Stealth — partner skill for moving while hidden
- Cooking — the (counter-intuitive) crafting skill
- Samurai Empire — the expansion that introduced Ninjitsu and Smoke Bombs
- Tracking — the canonical PvP counter to Smoke Bomb
- Detect Hidden — alternative reveal skill
- Shadow — the Ninjitsu form that further hardens hide-resistance