Dead Man's Volley

refers to a technique in certain Series: battles where Link swings his Series: at an oncoming magical attack to turn it back on its caster. In many games, the Series: will return Link's volley. A rhythmic rally ensues where the magical attack is knocked back and forth until one party fails to counter and is struck by it. Dead Man's Volley is typically an element of battles against primary antagonists or their clones.

Humorously, Link can return a volley with items like a SS:, Series:, or Series: in some games.

Technique
Since, playing Dead Man's Volley has become a standard tactic for battling powerful bosses, but with a new twist. The boss will start the attack by procuring a ball of dark energy and throw it at Link. Link must parry the energy ball back at the boss who will often be able to answer Link's reflection by one of his own. This results in a dangerous game of skill as the two combatants volley the shot back and forth between them, waiting for the other to make a mistake and get hit. Over the course of the battle, the speed and the amount of volleys required of the energy ball will increase, making it harder for Link to keep from getting hit. Link can increase his chances of hitting the enemy with the reflected shot by standing very close so the enemy have little time to react. Eventually, upon a certain amount of volleys, the boss will tire, and be hit by his own magic energy, leading to a Critical Point. As an exception, Puppet Zelda merely requires the reflected shots to hit her in order to be defeated. In SS undefined, Link has to hit the energy ball in the right direction, either vertical or horizontal, to successfully return the magic at Ghirahim.

The final boss battle of the Linked Game in and  features a variation of one-hit Dead Man's Volley. Link volleys Koume's fire attack to Kotake, and Kotake's ice attack to Koume.

Users of the Technique

 * Agahnim in
 * Agahnim's Shadow in
 * Phantom Ganon in, and
 * Ganondorf in
 * Blue Stalfos in
 * Twinrova in and
 * Gouen in
 * Vaati in and
 * Puppet Zelda in
 * Cubus Sisters in
 * Bilocyte in SS undefined
 * Ghirahim's final fight in SS -
 * Yuga Ganon in
 * Lady Maud in

Battle Quest
In, the Dead Man's Volley appears when fighting Wizzrobes in Co-Op Play. Wizzrobe will occasionally throw a glowing orb that is the same color as one of the Links. The color shows which Link is being targeted and must volley the orb. Only Links holding swords will be targeted by the attack. If the orb is volleyed by Wizzrobe, it will gain speed and may change color. It is also possible that the orb will split into three orbs, each targeting a different Link holding a sword.

In, a form of Dead Man's Volley is performed as one of Link's attacks as part of the Great Fairy weapon. The button combo has the Great Fairy briefly release Link from his giant Bottle, and the two volley an orb of light back and forth. The Great Fairy then grabs the orb and attacks surrounding enemies with the blast. As the attack animation is performed automatically, Link does not need to volley the orb for the attack to succeed.

Dead Man's Volley also appears in when fighting against Phantom Ganon. Unlike its other appearances, where the orb is volleyed a random number of time before the boss is hit, Phantom Ganon will always be hit by the orb after the Warrior volleys the orb three times, exposing his Weak Point Gauge. After Phantom Ganon has taken a certain amount of damage, he will change his tactics and no longer attack the Warrior with orbs, thus preventing Dead Man's Volley from being used.

Nomenclature
Though a common franchise trope, Dead Man's Volley was only ever named in when fighting the PH: on the PH:. The name "Dead Man's Volley" is a reference to the horror theme of the dungeon.

The name could be a reference to the book  by Agatha Christie.