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Part of: Idle Obelisk Miner main guide — Obelisk progression, gift code timing, and prestige loops.

Idle Obelisk Miner Bomb Cap & Workshop Sequence Guide

Player question: Why does everyone on Reddit emphasize bomb cap so much, and which Workshop bomb sequence should you run?

I like these games and play them myself. Complete guides are hard to find online, so while playing I collect community experience from Reddit, add a little of my own notes, and put this site together—hoping it helps. Thank you.

Quick answer

Community Knowledge Bomb cap matters because your game speed and bomb recharge rate keep rising as you progress. A cap that feels roomy in World 2 soon fills within a few hours of being offline, and later within minutes, and any recharge past the cap is lost. Most players advise pushing the cap toward roughly 100k, around the time you start World 3[1][3].

Recommendation The Workshop sequence most often recommended is Cherry → Battery → Gem until your cap is about 100k, then Cherry → Gem, then Cherry → D20 → Gem once you have the World 4 Nature Statue[2].

Community Knowledge Whether a bigger cap by itself raises gem income is disputed. It pays off when you were actually filling the cap while away; if you do not fill it, the extra gems come from faster recharge and game speed, which simply rise at the same time as your cap[1].

Why bomb cap matters: what most players say

Community Knowledge The question was raised by a mid-World-2 player with a cap of around 3k who checks the game every couple of hours, does not see it full, and wonders whether the only benefit is not capping overnight[1].

Community Knowledge Most players who answered explain that the cap has to keep pace with your game speed and bomb recharge, both of which climb steadily. By late World 3 they expect close to 5x speed and recharge times under about 1.3 seconds of real time for the key gem-related bombs, and further along you unlock extras such as 3 bombs per recharge[1].

Community Knowledge The reported fill times show why a small cap stops being enough. Running buffs and items while offline fills a 3k cap quickly. A player near the World 3 monument recommendations with a 30k cap fills it in 2 to 3 hours offline, and that window has stayed steady only because the cap kept rising with speed and recharge buffs. Another player at the end of World 2 gets about 5.5 hours from a 55k cap and calls it a constant race. With a x10 buff, 3,000 bombs can refill in about 2.5 minutes, and a 3k cap is expected to be worth roughly one minute of real time before long[1].

Community Knowledge In practice, the benefit of a bigger cap is that less recharge goes to waste while you are away, especially overnight. Late-game reports put a night's sleep at around 300k of bomb refresh, and one player who empties a very large cap three times a day reports over a million gems a day[1]. A popular showcase thread was posted to show newer players how fast bombs build up in the late game, and why a large cap matters there[3].

Does a bigger cap raise gem income? Views differ

Community Knowledge The flat claim. A couple of players state simply that your gem income grows as your cap grows, and that building the cap bigger brings a big gain in gems. A mid-game player adds that it is hard to farm gems faster without raising the cap[1][3].

Community Knowledge The counter-argument. A direct reply says this only holds if you were regularly filling your cap. If you do not hit it, a bigger cap does not raise your gem income, and a single overnight cap is not a big loss. In this view, what actually raises gem gains from bombs is recharge rate and game speed, which simply rise alongside the cap[1]. A late-game player with a 500k cap that has rarely filled since around 100k makes a similar point: as long as your bombs are not getting full, the cap is not a big deal[1].

Community Knowledge Where the two sides meet. Both sides describe the same mechanism: a bigger cap only adds gems when it stops recharge from being wasted. The mainstream advice to grow the cap early rests on the expectation that rising speed and recharge will make you hit it, particularly offline. One reply warns that once you platinum your World 1 statues, buy the right contracts and max your World 1 stars, you will want 100k and still hit it, and that neglecting the cap now leaves you short well before that point[1].

Recommendation A practical check that follows from both views: if your bombs are full when you come back, your cap is costing you gems; if they are not, speed and recharge upgrades are what will move your gem income[1].

How big a cap players aim for

Community Knowledge Around 100k is the target named most often. Players call getting the cap into the 100k range the most important thing to do, and suggest focusing on it until at least about 100k, roughly when you are starting World 3 and 100k of AFK time may be enough to avoid capping while you sleep[1][3]. It is described as a key milestone rather than an end point: with enough upgrades even 100k may not be enough if you stop raising it[1].

Version-sensitive Late-game players report much larger caps. One focused on the cap until around 300k and has since let it grow to around 550k. Another ran cherry bombs all night, since they ignore the cap, and dumped them into Battery until reaching about 150k; they are now above 400k and making about 120k gems a day, which they say took months of dumping everything into Battery. A player above 1.5m reports still maxing out in under 24 hours[1]. These figures are player reports from their own stage of the game and may shift with game updates.

The Workshop bomb sequence most players follow

Recommendation Asked whether Cherry > D20 > Battery or Cherry > Battery > D20 is better, the answer given was neither, and this staged order instead[2]:

  1. Before your cap is about 100k: Cherry → Battery → Gem[2].
  2. After about 100k, before the World 4 Nature Statue: Cherry → Gem[2].
  3. After the World 4 Nature Statue: Cherry → D20 → Gem[2].

Community Knowledge Other replies fit the same pattern. Early on, players advise putting cherry charges into Battery at every chance, since that pays off in the long run, and leaving autobomb on Cherry overnight to grow the cap[1][3]. Around 100k is usually when players switch cherry charges to the Gem bomb, while still firing Battery and D20[1]. Through World 3, players report running Cherry into Gem for a long stretch, from about 100k up to a much larger cap[4].

Version-sensitive D20 becomes the preferred cherry target only later. Players tie the switch to a World 4 statue, describe a breakpoint where cherry on D20 becomes more gem-positive than cherry on Gem, and note that the breakpoint differs between free-to-play and paying players[3][4].

Community Knowledge Founder bomb owners. Players who have the Founder bomb describe their usual rotation as Cherry > D20 > Founder. The catch is that if you miss the D20 button, those cherry charges go into the Founder bomb and are wasted[4].

Other approaches: who does it differently

Community Knowledge A smaller group does not follow the staged order. A free-to-play player close to one year in describes going against the common advice from the start with a fixed login routine of Cherry, Gem, D20, Battery, D20, Battery, Cherry, Gem. They are happy with the result at a 500k cap, which has rarely filled since about 100k, so this approach suits players who check in often enough that the cap is not the limit[1].

Community Knowledge Another player at around 8k found auto-Battery underwhelming. They now auto-fire Cherry and dump the charges into Gem until they have enough gems for what they need, then go back to dumping cherry into Battery[1]. In the beginner showcase thread, a player at 20k cycles D20, Cherry and Battery and fires all Gem bombs at the end of the cycle[3].

Tier 3 bomb artifacts and drones

Community Knowledge A player at Obelisk 14 whose first two Tier 3 artifacts were bomb upgrades asked whether it was worth continuing. Replies point out that Tier 3 includes a bomb capacity upgrade that is big, that raising bomb capacity as much as possible should be the focus, and that the bomb artifacts are good and will be maxed soon anyway[5].

Community Knowledge Drones came up because the original bomb cap question suggested they might matter more for gems. Players say the Elixir drone gives positive gems back past a certain grade and is worth fueling. Some suggest fueling Frogger as well, while another reply expects Frogger not to be profitable until you have Dionysus idols[1].

← Back to Idle Obelisk Miner main guide · Related guides: Prestige & Artifact Tiers · World Statue Recommendations · Gift Code Timing · Tributes · Mega & Infinity Bomb

Community sources

  1. What’s the big deal with bomb cap (opens Reddit) — Community discussion on why bomb cap matters, offline fill times, the 100k target, and whether a bigger cap raises gem income.

    u/holythrowawayanon: “i check the game every couple hours during the day and I never hit my max in that window already at around 3k cap” — original post 1wmumoo

    u/holythrowawayanon: “seems elixer and frog drone maximization will be much more impactful to gem gains” — original post 1wmumoo

    u/OneirosSD: “Your speed and bomb recharge will be increasing as you progress, so your bomb cap needs to keep up. By late World 3 you will likely have close to 5x speed and your recharge speed for the key gem-related bombs will be less than 1.3 seconds or lower (real time).” — comment pb9xpin

    u/OneirosSD: “100k is a key milestone but with enough upgrades even that might not be enough if you didn’t keep increasing it (usually 100k is when people switch to using cherry charges on the gem bomb, but they still fire the battery and D20 bombs of course).” — comment pb9xpin

    u/Breadtrickery: “you will increase both game speed and bomb recharge rate. You will also unlock things like 3 bombs per recharge. Litterally the most important thing you should do is get bomb cap up in the 100k range.” — comment pb9xtq3

    u/Breadtrickery: “at over 1.5m bomb cap I will max out in under 24hrs.” — comment pb9xtq3

    u/DistributionFalse203: “Are you running buffs and items offline? If not those will make you cap real quick at only 3k cap.” — comment pb9xo8v

    u/DistributionFalse203: “I’m nearing end of all the recommended stuff for w3 monument at 30k bomb cap and cap between 2-3 hours offline, and that’s stayed pretty steady for a while the caps just gone up in line with game speed or bomb recharge buffs.” — comment pb9xo8v

    u/Sure_Airline_6997: “I'm end of W2 and my 55k bomb cap lasts me 5.5 hours. And game speed and recharge rate keep increasing, so it's a constant race.” — comment pba1me4

    u/LinkLast7065: “Your bomb recharge rate and gamespeed will go up drastically. It would take me 2.5 minutes to fill up 3000 bombs with a x10 buff.” — comment pba32q7

    u/Real-Enthusiasm-8797: “The main point is that soon you will have enough scaling of bomb fill that 3k will be like 1 minute of real time.” — comment pb9xmlf

    u/Real-Enthusiasm-8797: “You want to focus on bomb cap till at least around 100k. At this point you will be maybe starting world 3 and afk time of 100k may be enough time to not cap while you sleep. I focused on bomb cap till around 300k and since then let it naturally gain and now around 550k. A nights sleep is around 300k bomb refresh.” — comment pb9xmlf

    u/Toni_Jabroni77: “I fire off my fully loaded bomb cap of 5 million 3 times a day. Over a million gems a day” — comment pbak5id

    u/MrMint_: “As you build your bomb cap bigger and bigger you will notice a big gain is gems.” — comment pb9wz79

    u/coolmeatfreak: “it's hard to farm gems faster if you don't raise the bomb cap.” — comment pb9y02f

    u/Sure_Airline_6997: “This is only true if you were regularly capping out your bombs. Bomb cap doesn't increase your gem income if you were never hitting you cap. And the one time overnight hit isn't that big of a deal. Recharge rate/game speed is what increases your gem gain from bombs, that just coincides with bomb cap” — comment pba2743

    u/Big_JDub_: “As long as you're not getting full it's not a big deal. I'm at a 500k limit and havent been away long enough for it to fill since around 100k except for a couple very rare occasions.” — comment pba718f

    u/PFirefly: “When you plat w1 statues, buy proper contracts, and max w1 stars, you'll want 100k and still hit the cap.” — comment pba2cuh

    u/PFirefly: “The issue is that you can do that well before you reach 100k if you sleep on it now.” — comment pba2cuh

    u/Tchuvan: “I ran cherries all night as they ignore bomb cap, then dumped them into battery. Did that until I hit about 150k cap. Now at over 400k and making 120k gems a day.” — comment pb9xiil

    u/Tchuvan: “That would not be possible without dumping everything into battery for months.” — comment pb9xiil

    u/Silly_Bluebird_3860: “You’ll be much better off in the long run to dump cherrys into battery.” — comment pbazug7

    u/Big_JDub_: “I went against a lot of the common advice. Ever since the begining my routine when I log in is always- cherry-gem-d20-battery-d20-battery-cherry-gem.” — comment pba718f

    u/Big_JDub_: “I'm a couple days away from 1 year and F2P and I'm happy with my current bomb situation.” — comment pba718f

    u/Rare-Material4254: “Yea I tried to auto battery but it wasn’t hitting like I wanted. So now I auto cherry and dump into my gems until I get enough to not actively need. Then I’ll dump cherry into battery again. I’m at like 8k ish” — comment pba1xg5

    u/MrMint_: “Elixir drone is really power and gives positive gems back after a certain grade cap, fuel that bad boy up” — comment pb9wz79

    u/Wonkabot006: “For even more gains, fuel both elixir and frogger.” — comment pb9xe7m

    u/Parking_Audience_94: “Frogger probably wont be profitable until you get dionysus idols.” — comment pbaonaq

  2. At what point is it better to cherry>d20>battery repeat then cherry>battery>d20 repeat (opens Reddit) — Community answer giving the staged Workshop bomb sequence by cap size and World 4 Nature Statue.

    u/mathbandit: “My understanding is neither is ever optimal.” — comment pbaqgr4

    u/mathbandit: “Cherry-Battery-Gem before your cap is 100k-ish.” — comment pbaqgr4

    u/mathbandit: “Cherry-Gem after your cap is 100k-ish but before W4 Nature Statue.” — comment pbaqgr4

    u/mathbandit: “Cherry-d20-Gem after W4 Nature Statue.” — comment pbaqgr4

  3. For those who come after - Beginners, this is what you are aiming for, your goal (opens Reddit) — Late-game showcase thread on how fast bombs build up, the 100k target, and when cherry moves to D20.

    u/Vyznawca: “Just wanted to show new people how fast bombs build up in late game and why its important to get as big as possible bomb cap.” — original post 1wlefpg

    u/Wakessc: “As fas as I've read you're aiming for 100k bomb cap. Don't worry though, as your cap increases your gem income will also grow.” — comment pb8bqw2

    u/Wakessc: “Just make sure to use your gem bombs after the battery ones, the cycle d20, cherry, battery and in the end use all your gem bombs again. I'm at 20k cap now” — comment pb8bqw2

    u/SeanzuTV: “you should be cherry bombing your Battery bomb every chance you get and leaving autobomb on cherry overnight to progress this.” — comment pb50f61

    u/Comfortable_Gas_5303: “At this point you use cherry on d20. There’s a breakpoint where it becomes more gem positive then using cherry on gem bomb. This is w4 stuff, specifically a w4 statue that makes this possible” — comment pb2y96p

    u/Comfortable_Gas_5303: “Breakpoints are different for f2p and p2p.” — comment pb2y96p

  4. Founders bomb (opens Reddit) — Community discussion on the Founder bomb rotation, cherry into Gem through World 3, and when D20 becomes the cherry target.

    u/Thatguy898988: “Are you other founders like me, and stil firing the bomb even between d20 and battery rotations?” — original post 1wim0gz

    u/teriklg_: “The usual rotation is cherry > d20 > founder. But if your thumb misses the d20 you accidentally use those charges on founder which is just completely wasted” — comment paccfog

    u/Long_Wonder7798: “Not for me during w3. It’s just cherry into gem for a long while (100k cap to probably 700k)” — comment pacv9pf

    u/Aruhi: “D20 is the preferred target for cherry bombs (eventually) afaik” — comment paciy64

    u/teriklg_: “Yup only after getting a w4 statue tho” — comment packitm

  5. i'm on obelisk lvl 14, and my first 2 tier 3 artifacts were bomb upgrades... (opens Reddit) — Community replies on Tier 3 bomb capacity artifacts.

    u/CplCucumber: “I have a 50/50 chance of my last one being a bomb upgrade too” — original post 1wmzv1p

    u/aminervia: “Just checked, tier 3 has bomb capacity upgrade which is big, you should be focusing on increasing bomb capacity as much as possible.” — comment pbb33tf

    u/ikillppl: “those bomb artifacts are good and youll effortless max them all really soon anyway” — comment pbb2nvr

Evidence via Evidence Job consumer pointer under research/pipeline/jobs/idle-obelisk-miner/. Classes used: Community Knowledge, Recommendation, Version-sensitive.