When I first played this game with zero knowledge whatsoever, I thought of bombs as a supplemental offensive tool with limited ammo.

As I progressed, I learnt to use it for utility only, such as opening secret rooms, breaking tinted rocks and pots and stone chests.

Now, I’m a little more like:

So it stands to reason that bomb upgrades may not be a huge part of your run, but they are certainly capable of being extremely helpful, especially when it comes to offensive power with a lot of liability. Lets rank them and see how they hold up

This list doesn’t include Dr/Epic Fetus as that is considered more of a tear modifier. The general rule is: anything that gives you bombs upon pickup counts, with the exception of Remote Detonator, Pyromaniac, Boom! and Pyro.

11. Scatter Bombs

Easiest ranking in the list. The additional bombs it spawns serve only to damage you or cause an additional reroll on the machines. Only great when you have Sad Bombs, but that applies to every other upgrade too (fun fact: if you have this + Sad Bomb + Ipecac and no explosion immunity, have fun)

10. Bobby Bomb

Might be surprising to keep it so low, homing is rarely seen as a bad effect. Truth is bombs don’t need to be homing as often, its a nice have for the Fetus items but it can be self-harming when it comes to chasing enemies and even causes you to miss destroying obstacles at times if a mob happens to swiftly pass by

9. Sticky Bombs

Similar dilemma as Bobby, its a neat effect to ensure it hits the enemy but comes attached with its own risks. One would argue that Bobby is a lot safer to use but at least Sticky Bomb grants blue spiders upon successfully killing an enemy, similar to Infestation 2, which gives it a slight edge

8. Bob’s Curse

Probably the friendliest item in the Bob transformation, grants poison bombs. Nothing spectacular, but nothing unsafe. If you prefer a safe approach its probably higher up the list, but this is the vanilla flavour of upgrades

7. Hot Bombs

Leaves a fire at the point of explosion. Actually a really good effect which can shine with Bomber Boy especially. However it is not as effective on moving enemies which make up the large majority. Can also be confusing when Isaac fights enemies that leave behind damaging fires

6. Glitter Bombs

The only bomb upgrade that doesn’t supplement offensive strength, but provides utility. It could very well be the highest ranked, because it provides game breaking potential almost entirely on its own, and with Bomber Boy, Fast Bombs and golden bombs/Pyro its a huge help when you need consumables. However in most cases it goes unnoticed and is more luck based, so it has to be content in the middle

5. Butt Bombs

The safest bomb upgrade for its damaging potential. Deals damage to every mob in the room and also briefly confuses them. The ability to spam this at safe distance and zero accuracy makes it vital for certain runs. Doesn’t have much benefit other than its room damage though, so its better for clearing out multiple weak mobs in a pinch

4. Fast Bombs

King of drop-and-run, fast bombs break my own golden rule of ‘isn’t that good if it only works better with other upgrades’ but if you are going for a bomb damage run, it really makes for a much faster clear of enemies. Provides something unique compared to the other upgrades, even though it doesn’t increment damage per se. Also grants 7 bombs on pickup instead of 5 for some reason

3. Mr Mega

Was the toughest pick between this and the second place pick. Mr Mega is amazing, adding a solid +100 damage to your bombs and is an easy pickup with barely any danger involved. Drops very commonly as well from Super Wrath. However it doesn’t have any additional effect which can be seen as a drawback or a benefit

2. Bomber Boy

Remember how we were picking bomb upgrades based on safety? Yeah let’s completely disregard that, because this upgrade is probably the least safe, even worse than Scatter Bombs. Causes an additional two explosions in the cardinal directions, which means it damages everything in a large radius. However if you need raw damage in a pinch, its even stronger than Mr Mega, and synergises amazingly with our no.1 pick and Hot Bombs, Glitter Bombs etc. Its not a 100% pickup especially if you have Curse of the Tower, but it has ridiculous damage output

1. Sad Bombs

Ironically makes me happy when i see it. Bombs shoot 10 tears off in Tammy’s Head fashion, and they are affected by Isaac’s tear modifiers and damage. Ridiculously powerful and synergises extremely well with many items, especially bomb upgrades. Brimstone + Sad Bombs is an insta-dunk on many bosses. Very unsafe with Ipecac but mostly a must-have for a bomb-based run. The easiest pick for top spot

TL;DR list:

Sad Bombs Bomber Boy Mr Mega Fast Bombs Butt Bombs Glitter Bombs Hot Bombs Bob’s Curse Sticky Bombs Bobby Bombs Scatter Bombs