Dead Man's Volley

Dead Man's Volley is a recurring battle technique in the Legend of Zelda series. This term applies to battles in which Link has to deflect an enemy's magical attack back onto them with his sword. The magical attack often has to be deflected multiple times before the enemy drops their guard and is hit, allowing Link to damage them. Link may also have to face opponents who use multiple balls or trick balls that break uncounterable blasts upon impact. Dead Man's Volley was not referred to by name until the release of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
thumb|180px|left|Dead Man's Volley, used in a battle with Agahnim in [[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|A Link to the Past]] During the first encounter with Agahnim at the top of the Hyrule Castle Tower, Link must deflect Agahnim's magical attacks back at him with the Master Sword or the Bug-Catching Net. Agahnim utilizes two different magical attacks during this battle; the red fireball-like ones can be deflected, while the blue ones will shatter and damage Link upon impact with either the sword or the wall.

The second time Agahnim is confronted, he summons two clones who also send energy balls at Link. Link can deflect these energy balls at the Agahnim who isn't one of the clones; the real Agahnim is less translucent than his replications.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
During the battle with the Agahnim form of the Nightmare, Link has to deflect its energy balls back to cause damage. The Mirror Shield can aid Link by protecting him from these energy balls; however, it will not bounce them back towards Nightmare, making this technique useful if Link is standing in the wrong position or is unprepared.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
During the second phase of the battle with Phantom Ganon in the Forest Temple, Link must deflect his energy balls back at him. Once he has been hit by one of his own lightning balls, he is stunned, allowing Link to damage him. When he is defeated, Ganondorf's voice appears, telling Link that the battle against the real Ganondorf will not be as easy.

During the battle with the actual Ganondorf, Link can deflect his energy balls back at him with either the Master Sword, Biggoron's Sword and even an Empty Bottle. Once Ganondorf has been struck with his own magic, Link can fire a Light Arrow at him to temporarily stun Ganondorf, allowing Link to damage him with certain weapons until he recovers. Dead Man's Volley gets progressively harder with the more damage Ganondorf takes. Interestingly, playing Dead Man's Volley is optional, as Link can also temporarily stun Ganondorf by hitting him with a Light Arrow when he is charging up his greater magical attack.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
In order to defeat the mini boss of the Ancient Tomb, the Stalfos Reaper, Link must use his sword to deflect his balls of energy back.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
During the battle with the many Phantom Ganons, Link must deflect their magic back at them. This time around the timing has changed significantly. The energy balls go faster and faster with each rebound instead of keeping the same speed throughout the battle. The Phantom Ganons of this game are also some of the most adept adversaries of this technique, requiring many more rebounds than any other adversary in the series. They also tend to gang up on Link, attacking him with multiple energy balls at once. This is countered by the Spin Attack, much like when Ganondorf fires multiple energy balls in Ocarina of Time. This is the second time in the series that multiple balls can be countered. In most games, they have to be avoided completely.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Phantom Ganon appears as the boss of Whereabouts of the Wind, the first level in the game, located at the top of Hyrule Castle. In this level he uses the classic variation Dead Man's Volley of that was used in A Link to the Past, but may also try and strike the four Links with his sword. He reappears as the boss of Level 5, the Dark World, in the Temple of Darkness. This time around, he splits into several different copies and fires differently colored energy balls. The Link of the corresponding color must hit that magical attack, in a more complex version of Dead Man's Volley.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
When Link battles Possessed Zelda, Ganondorf channels himself through her and throws magical energy balls at Link, allowing him to deflect them back at Zelda's body. Since she is possessed by Ganondorf, every time a rebound hits Zelda it is he who cries out in pain. When the pain becomes too much to endure, he leaves his puppet (letting her drop to the ground) and transforms into Ganon, ending the Dead Man's Volley. This is the only time it appears in the game. Both the Master Sword and an empty bottle are effective to reflect the light orbs.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
After Link "rescues" the Diabolical Cubus Sisters, they challenge him to a game of Dead Man's Volley; the first time it is ever referred to by any specific name. They are taken down one by one when hit by the rebounds, and the final one will enter a different attack pattern.