Darkhammer

Fight overview

Regardless of the fight strategy used, it is helpful to understand some subtleties about how the Darkhammer fight works:

• Timing component 1: Darkhammer's throw can't be triggered during the first ~1.5 seconds after it begins twirling the ball & chain, whether right as the fight begins or right after it has already thrown.

• Position component 1: Outside of those startup seconds, Darkhammer will throw if its facing angle changes sufficiently in some short period. Some ways of doing this are clawshotting from in front of Darkhammer to well behind it, rolling from in front to well behind, or running around Darkhammer and then returning to where you started. The first two options say "well behind" and the third option "running" because if done in such a way that Darkhammer only has to turn a little bit and ends up facing sideways, it might not work, and if you roll around Darkhammer and return to where you started, you can go so fast that it just turns partially and then turns back without turning enough to trigger the throw.

• Timing/position component 2: It takes a second or two for a lock-on on Darkhammer to switch from the head to the tail after it has thrown the ball & chain. For bomb strategies, a bomb will only count as hitting the tail if the tail is targetable when the bomb explodes, which also means Link must be near enough for the yellow triangle to appear over the tail. The same is true for sword strategies, though only the timing component is relevant because Link will always be close enough to target the tail if he can reach it with the sword.

• The direction Darkhammer threw the ball & chain last before being killed determines which side of the room the ball & chain spawns on after the death cutscene. For routes that enter the cheese room next, it is fastest to get Darkhammer to throw towards the cheese room door; for routes that return to the courtyard next, it is fastest to get Darkhammer to throw towards the courtyard door; direction doesn't matter for routes that savewarp next. The throw direction doesn't affect how early Darkhammer can throw, as it takes a minimum number of ball & chain twirls regardless of facing direction.

• Using a bomb with a jump attack + autospin to kill Darkhammer saves around a second over just using the sword (roll stab + 2 quickspins). The position of the bomb is not very important; what's important is making sure that the tail is targetable when the bomb goes off (yellow or red arrow above tail), which means positioning Link close to the tail and not pulling the bomb so early that it explodes before the tail is targetable.

• Using the clawshot doesn't speed up the fight at all, but some runners may find certain variants of the fight easier with clawshot if it is already equipped.

• Immediately after killing Darkhammer but before the death cutscene, there is one frame on which it can be possible to pick up the ball & chain depending on Link's position and the ball & chain's position.

Towards cheese room with bomb

Roll once towards Darkhammer, then only pull the bomb after Link has reached the dark area. Run around Darkhammer, sword drop the bomb behind it, and roll back towards the cheese door quickly to avoid being hit. When Darkhammer starts its throwing animation, roll around it. Time a jump attack + autospin to land just after the bomb explodes.

Towards cheese room without bomb

Roll once towards Darkhammer, then run around Darkhammer and roll back towards the cheese door. Around the time Darkhammer thrusts its hand forward to throw the ball & chain, start a roll. Hit Darkhammer with a rollstab and two quickspins.

Towards courtyard with bomb

without clawshot

Roll once towards Darkhammer, then only pull the bomb after Link has reached the dark area. Place the bomb in front of Darkhammer, then roll towards the courtyard door. When Darkhammer starts its throwing animation, roll around it. Time a jump attack + autospin to land just after the bomb explodes.

with clawshot

Note that using the clawshot does not speed up the fight, so this option costs time unless the clawshot is already equipped. Roll once towards Darkhammer, then only pull the bomb after Link has reached the dark area. Stand just in front of and to the left of Darkhammer (not far enough left that Darkhammer turns to face left), aim up in first person, and tap clawshot to clawshot away and automatically drop the bomb. When Darkhammer starts its throwing animation, roll around it. Time a jump attack + autospin to land just after the bomb explodes.

Towards courtyard without bomb

without clawshot

Roll once towards Darkhammer. Stand just in front of and to the left of Darkhammer (not far enough left that Darkhammer turns to face left). Once the ball & chain has passed by on the left side, roll towards the courtyard door. Around the time Darkhammer thrusts its hand forward to throw the ball & chain, start a roll. Hit Darkhammer with a rollstab and two quickspins.

with clawshot

Note that using the clawshot does not speed up the fight, so this option costs time unless the clawshot is already equipped. Roll once towards Darkhammer. Stand just in front of and to the left of Darkhammer (not far enough left that Darkhammer turns to face left), aim up in first person, and tap clawshot to clawshot away. Around the time Darkhammer thrusts its hand forward to throw the ball & chain, start a roll. Hit Darkhammer with a rollstab and two quickspins.

Mortal Draw strat

Darkhammer will die if its tail is hit by Mortal Draw once. Stand to the right of the tail and far enough away that Mortal Draw will not miss or clank on the armor.

Note that there are multiple ways to make Darkhammer throw the Ball & Chain, such as rolling around it and waiting, waiting and then rolling up to it, and clawshotting the ceiling past it.

Bomb arrow strat

After Darkhammer throws the Ball & Chain, shoot its tail twice with bomb arrows. This is slower than using a bomb.

Quick Grab Ball & Chain

There's 1 frame between defeating Darkhammer and the cutscene beginning on which the player can press A to pick up the Ball & Chain and immediately get it after the cutscene ends.