Sir We Have an Orc Problem Bombing Runs

Bombing runs - often labelled strafing runs in tooltips - are the first major ability unlock after manual missiles in Sir, We Have an Orc Problem. You designate an area on the battlefield; aircraft or artillery strikes that zone, dealing sustained or burst damage to every orc caught inside. They bridge the gap between cheap missile taps and late-game orbital lasers and nukes.

This page explains unlock timing, upgrade nodes, targeting on multi-path maps, and how bombing runs fit the wider plan in Upgrade Priority and the Upgrade Planner.

Unlocking bombing runs

The strafing / bombing run node sits on the mid-tree combat branch, typically after:

• Gunner unlock and basic income from Economy Upgrades
• At least one missile damage or radius upgrade
• Enough survival currency from level two or three

Some branches also consume perfect clear currency on adjacent ability nodes. If the unlock greyed out despite enough gold-like points, farm a near-perfect run on the previous map for the bonus payout described in the Economy Meta guide.

Once unlocked, the ability appears on the battle bar with its own hotkey. Read the in-game tooltip for exact input: most builds use click and drag to paint a strike rectangle.

How bombing runs differ from missiles

Aspect	Missiles	Bombing runs
Targeting	Single click, circular AoE	Area paint, often rectangular
Cooldown	Shorter	Longer
Damage profile	Instant burst	Sometimes multi-tick strafe
Best density	Tight clump	Whole lane segment

Missiles excel at reactive leaks; bombing runs excel at pre-planned lanes where you know orcs will walk ten seconds later. Use missiles while bombing cooldowns recover.

Upgrade nodes

After unlock, the tree offers bombing-specific upgrades parallel to other combat paths:

Damage - raises per-tick or per-pass damage on the strike zone. Buy one node before cooldown if strikes feel weak on mid-tier maps.

Cooldown reduction - more sorties per wave. High value on maps with two pressure peaks (dual path merges).

Area or duration - some nodes widen the strafe path or extend linger time; read post-demo tooltips that show total values after patches added clearer stat displays.

Shared ability cooldown nodes may affect multiple abilities - check whether a purchase reduces only bombing runs or all abilities before buying for a nuke-focused build.

Full combat context: Combat Upgrades.

Targeting and map tactics

Paint the choke, not the spawn. Orcs need time to fill the rectangle. Early strikes on small groups waste most of the pattern.

Dual-path maps - level three introduces thousands of orcs and split routes. Place bombing runs on the merge tile where both paths meet. Turrets can bias to one side; bombing runs punish the combined ball.

Pair with Mortars - Mortars arc into the same zone a second later. Bomb first to soften density; shell second for cleanup kills toward perfect clear.

Flamethrower fronts - soften incoming HP so bombing run overkill converts to faster kill count currency.

Do not double-call - demo fixes prevented launching multiple strafing runs simultaneously via pause tricks. One strike, then wait cooldown.

Consult Turret Tier List when choosing which lane turrets alone can hold versus which lane needs air support every wave.

Cooldown management rhythm

Treat bombing runs as phase triggers:

1. Wave starts - turrets and missiles handle leading edge
2. First merge forms - bombing run
3. Cooldown active - missiles plug leaks
4. Second merge or base rush - second bombing run if upgraded cooldown allows
5. Cleanup - Gunners with penetration finish stragglers

If phase two never arrives before leaks, the problem is tower caps not ability damage - return to Economy Upgrades before another bombing damage node.

Relationship to late abilities

Bombing Runs remain useful after unlocking Orbital Laser and Nukes. Lasers and nukes have longer cooldowns; bombing runs fill mid-wave gaps. Skip further bombing investment only if demo stat panels show negligible contribution for three consecutive runs.

Power Shot may amplify the first tick of a strafe - late mid-game synergy documented under combat upgrades.

Economy of unlocking and upgrading

Bombing run unlock cost often equals several income nodes. Opportunity cost checklist:

• Will this map’s perfect clear bonus pay back within two attempts?
• Do split paths make rectangles stronger than another Gunner cap?
• Are you manually active enough to fire on cooldown?

Semi-idle players can defer bombing upgrades and push tower caps plus Flamethrower duration. Active players should unlock bombing runs earlier - human execution multiplies value.

Track purchases in the planner tool’s abilities first focus if you prefer playing the air game over turret micro.

Performance and demo notes

Large strafes participate in GPU-accelerated explosion simulation in recent demos - frame drops should be less severe on huge swarms. If stutter occurs, reduce graphics settings before removing bombing runs from your build; the ability is rarely the true bottleneck.

Stat panels added in demo builds list bombing run damage next to missiles - use that data before funding orbital laser branches.

Common mistakes

Unlocking without cooldown upgrade on long maps - one strafe per wave is insufficient when paths are long.

Rectangles placed parallel to march direction - orcs walk through too fast; orient across the path width.

Replacing turret investment - bombing runs soften; they do not hold ten thousand orcs alone.

Ignoring missiles during cooldown - always keep a missile rhythm; see Missiles.

Summary

Bombing runs are the mid-game ability spike: area denial, merge-point control, and perfect-clear enablers when timed well. Unlock after basic economy and missile stats, upgrade damage then cooldown, and coordinate with turret placement from the Abilities Hub and Upgrades Hub. When waves outscale strafing, escalate to orbital lasers - but keep bombing runs on the bar for waves between laser cooldowns.