All Bosses (Dark Rapier/Lightning Red Iron Twinblade)

I'd like to point out that Bathhouse_Owner was on his way to make really good, up to date notes but life got in the way, apparently.

Pastebin from EnsgMaster for reference: https://pastebin.com/ePBAKWSi

"Basically going for Rotten before Dragonslayer/Flexile saves about 15s (the running is faster mostly by not having to sit at the bonfire to change Lenigrats' location and not picking up the bone, the slower Rotten compensates the faster Dragonslayer/Flexile)
Going for +10 takes about 50s (Getting the 3 chunks + slab takes 30s, 2 warps take 15s and homeward after the 2 chunks on the ledge costs about 6s), saves about 25s by saving a Majula trip and not having to kill the Drangleic Lizard. You have a better weapon for 13 bosses, saving a good 25+ hits. In my estimations it's an average 30s timesave, so +10 saves only 5 seconds, but fights are a tiny bit more consistent.
So all in all, only a 20s timesave, but still a timesave!
 
- Start Explorer/Healing Wares
- Kill Maughlin with witching urns
- Talk to Emerald Herald and then run away
- Light the bonfire in Majula, then head towards Cardinal Tower
( Don't pickup the Homeward Bone!)
- Light the Cardinal Tower Bonfire
- Use soul while talking, Buy Axe; Firebomb
- Blow up the poorly made wall and run towards Last Giant
 
# Last Giant (Axe, Ooze, 2 Urns)
- Dark Sign quickly
- Pop Lst Giant Soul, buy Key, 2xBB, Firebomb
- Get the Ring, Send Melentia to Majula
 
# Pursuer (Ballista)
- Get Large Titanite on ledge
- Destroy the wall with the barrel, use firebomb if needed
- Sit at bonfire to remove agro (or bone back if impossible)
- Get 2x Large Titanite in chest
- Warp to Majula
- Talk once to Herald, open blacksmith door and run to Dragonrider
 
# Dragonrider (Gravity)
- Pop Pursuer soul
- Take bonfire and warp to Majula
 
 
- level up to 18 END, 8 INT, 12 DEX
- Pick up the bow by the blacksmith
- Buy Rapier, Mace, 7 shards, 21 Arrows, Rapier+5, Mace+1
- Pop Pursuer soul while talking to the cat
- Buy Cat Ring, 10 skulls and 4 bones
- Drop and take the bonfire
- Kill the Lizard with the mace
- Pickup the branch in black gulch
- Light the second bonfire in black gulch
 
# Rotten (Rapier, Ooze)
- Run through the 1st DLC, light the second bonfire.
- Grab the 20k soul with the Dragon Charms
- Grab Flynns Ring, get Dragon Stone, grab secret bonfire, warp to Heide's Tower
 
# Ornstein (Rapier, Ooze)
- Bone back
- Shoot the bell and use the strat you want for No Man’s Wharf
- Talk to Carhillion, buy the staff and Yearn
 
# Flexile Sentry (Rapier, Ooze)
- Homeward Bone back and warp to Majula
- Level up to 19 VGR, 25 END, 13 ATT, 8 FTH
- Buy 3 Brightbugs
- Buy Cleric’s Chime, Force, Homeward, unlock the path
- Buy 5x Dark Resin, Dark Weapon from Felkin
- Light the Bridge Approach bonfire for later use (Chariot)
(-Skull for the lever and Resin while waiting for the bridge for more consistent skellies)
 
# Skeleton Lords (Mace)
- Buy Soul Appease, talk to Chloanne enough to send her back to Majula, resin while talking
- Grab Chunk in poison mist
- Pick up the torch
- Do the fancy OOB skip
 
# Covetous (Rapier)
 
# Mytha (BB, Rapier, Dark Pine Resin, Radiant Lifegem)
- Do the fancy jump before Smelter
- Pick up Dull Ember
 
# Smelter (BB, Rapier, Dark Pine Resin)
 
# Old Iron King (BB, Rapier, Dark Pine Resin)
- Leap of Faith
- Light the second DLC bonfire
- Double Pseudo Cancer Jumps
- Light the third DLC bonfire and warp to Majula
- Buy 3 BB, 3 herbs
- Level up to 16 ATT, 19 INT, 19 FTH, (leave at least 15000 for McDuff)
- Attune Yearn, Homeward, warp to the last DLC2 bonfire you got
- Get the Scorching Iron Scepter and Homeward back
- Place the scepter, use herb and Estus
- Get the 2x Chunks + Key on the ledge then homeward (timing should be fine if the stamina management is good)
(the lizard next to the 2x BB has a 1/3 chance to drop 3 chunks + 1 slab, which would save 20s on this route, so that's a possibility to save terrible paces)
- Warp to first DLC2 bonfire, get the 3 chunks + 1 slab on the last door next to the buffed armor
(Peach strats: there are 5 flme butterflies right next to them, and also a +3 life ring but this one is long/tricky to get)
- Attune Dark Weapon and Soul Appease, warp to Lost Bastille
- Give Dull Ember to McDuff, Buy 2 Large shards, Upgrade Rapier +10, Infuse Dark
 
# Sentinels (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Light the Servants Quarters Bonfire
(- Get 2x Radiant Lifegem in chest on Belfry Luna roof, shouldn’t waste any time)
 
# Gargoyles (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Homeward Bone back
- Use Soul Appease at grill
- Before Grill and on elevator, use Herb + Repair Powder
 
# Sinner (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Warp to Majula
- Buy 5 human effigies, 40 gems, 10 Radiant lifegems, 3 BB
- Use Herb waiting for door to open
- grab Fork Ruins bonfire
- Grab the Chloranthy ring +1
- Light the Shaded Ruins bonfire
       
# Najka (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
#Rat Authority (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Soul Appease)
 
# Congregation (Rapier, Soul Appease)
 
# Freja (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Skulls)
- Talk to Aldia, Bone back
- warp to Tomb of Saints
 
# Mini Rats (Soul Appease, Rapier)
- Attune Homeward, warp to Fork Road bonfire
(-Grab Divine Blessing after DLC for desperate times)
- Pop your souls while waiting for the big door to open
- Grab the King's Gate Bonfire
- Talk to Gandalf, Homeward back to bonfire
(-Grab 3xOld Radiant Lifegem, 10k souls)
 
# Dragonriders (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Light the Central Castle bonfire
 
- Grab Fire Butterflies
- Use Herb on elevator
- Get the Key and Homeward back
(- Grab the alluring skulls before Mirror Knight if you need more of them)
 
# Mirror Knight (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Use Herb on elevator
- Pickup Red Iron Twinblade in Shrine of Armana
 
# Froggy Frog (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Buy all the shrooms from Agadayne + Ring of Thorns
- Light the Undead Ditch in Undead Crypt
- Pull the lever to open up the shortcut for Vendrick later
 
# Velstadt (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Grab the King's Ring and then Homeward back
- Warp to Fork Road bonfire
- Grab RTSR
- Use Dark Weaponin front of trap door for RTSR setup
 
# Guardian Dragon (Rapier, Dark Weapon, RTSR)
- Dragon Aerie skip
- Talk to Aldia
- Use BB early after the second guy in armor (can prevent stupid limbo death)
# Ancient Dragon (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Brightbug, RTSR)
# Giant Lord (Rapier, Dark Weapon)
- Don't forget to pickup the Soul of a Giant, then Homeward back
 
(there you can either level up with a somewhat low but manageable 40 VIG, or do Fume + Smelter with 19 VIG, and then get 45+ VIG and more INT)
(There is also no need to equip the robe after Ancient Dragon, Fume Knight and Smelter)
 
- Warp to DLC2 Foyer bonfire
(if you do RTSR Fume Knight, I would do Smelter first, if not, Fume first)
# Blue Smelter (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Brightbug)
- Bone back and warp to the 2nd DLC2 bonfire
# Fume Knight (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Brightbug)
(possible fight with RTSR)
- Bone back to elevator bonfire
- Warp to Majula
- Buy 3 BB
- Buy 4 shards, 6 large shards, 6 chunks, 2 Boltstones from Chloanne
- Level up 45 VIG, 28 END, 16 ADP, 16 ATT, 13 STR, 20 DEX, 22 INT (for longer Dark Weapon duration)
- Warp to McDuff, attune Yearn
- Upgrade Red Iron Twinblade to 10+, infuse to Lightning RITB and Rapier
 
From there there are no specific order for bosses
 
# Giants (RITB, Dark Weapon)
- Homeward back
- Talk to Gandalf and bone back
- Warp to Undead Crypt
# Vendrick (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Brightbug, RTSR) (With 3 giant souls)
(RTSR setup: 2 one-handed hits from Vendrick)
- Warp to the first DLC
- Pickup Gank Squad Key and Homeward back
- RTSR setup on fall
 
# Elana (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon, RTSR, Brightbug)
- Use Elana soul and Dark Weapon waiting for door
# Sinh (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon)
 
- Pickup the 2 Brightbugs before Gank Squad
# Gank Squad (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon, Brightbug)
 
# F***ing Aava (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon, Brightbug)
# Old Chaos (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon)
# Ivory Dude (Red Iron Twinblade or Rapier, Brightbug, Dark Weapon)
- Homeward back
- Get Garrison Key
- Use Yearn to distract Golem and pull the lever
# Double Kitties (Rapier, Brightbug, Dark Weapon)
 
# Chariot (Rapier, Dark Weapon, Yearn)
 
# Sir Alonne (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon, Brightbug)
 
(- Attune Force instead of Homeward if Force strats)
- Survive the 1st Dungeon (Use Mushroom, possibly Force, Dark Weapon twice)
- Warp to Black Gulch (attune Homeward)
- Survive the 2nd Dungeon (Use Brightbug, Dark Weapon)
- Homeward and Warp to King's Gate
 
- Survive the 3rd Dungeon (Use Dark Weapon)
# Darklurker (Red Iron Twinblade, Brightbug)
(Dark Weapon adds only 10% damage so will rather use it if he teleports or flies)
- Homeward back to bonfire
- Equip King’s ring, activate door
# Watcher and Defender (Red Iron Twinblade, Brightbug, Dark Weapon)
# Nashandra (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon)
# Aldia (Red Iron Twinblade, Dark Weapon)
(For no buff strats: 4 hits on the spawn, 4 hits on the first attack, then should be possible to kill him on the next punishable attack)"

Any% Old Patch Guide

Hello !

Since DS2 is such a fun speedgame, I think it deserves a guide for its iconic Any% on Old Patch.
This guide should, I hope, adress to both new runners and anyone looking to lower their PB to some extent

Here are the 2 most useful links you will need on this guide. First is the **[video guide playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dhgZyb2-w&list=PLsz8YIDTq0mESCUCc641q3eu3bUPuw2nH)** you will be able to follow for learning purposes. The second one is a **[doc](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18wmsCrPMEsIvF2wt64zwbkCXgcU4TFFhkoozjocpTC0/edit?usp=sharing)** with all informations and useful links, there is also now a [french version](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18wmsCrPMEsIvF2wt64zwbkCXgcU4TFFhkoozjocpTC0/edit?gid=1065174520#gid=1065174520) of this doc

## What should I do first ?

1. Read all the [Category Rules](https://www.speedrun.com/fr-FR/darksouls2?h=Any&rules=game&x=vdo0q8yd)
2. [Downpatch](https://www.speedrun.com/fr-FR/darksouls2/resources/a9gkl) to 1.02
3. Get all the other tools listed in the excel sheet
4. Set up Rivatuner and lock your FPS to 60, aside from the rules FPS going wild messes up with the game
5. Follow the route and create a save before each bosses / skip
6. Configure livesplit and autosplitter
7. Train skips and bosses
8. When you die or miss a skip, don't hesitate to check your VOD and understand what you did wrong. Since it's a heavy rng run, especially when you aim for better times, it will not always be your fault. Try to pinpoint the things you can improve
9. Don't hesitate to take breaks between runs, this run can be heavy on resets

## Why 1.02 ?

In case you were asking yourself the question there is multiple reasons :

1. First is binoboosts allowing us to move at insane speeds
2. Second is parrywalk : We can still do parrywalks in a current patch but the method is harder or require skirt. In addition the parrywalk has a time limit of 30 seconds when it's unlimited in 1.02

I'm putting again the video playlist here just in case :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dhgZyb2-w&list=PLsz8YIDTq0mESCUCc641q3eu3bUPuw2nH

Good luck with your runs, and more importantly have fun !

That will be all for this guide, for any other questions don't hesitate to ask help on the [speedrun community discord](https://discord.gg/REscSZsFEQ) or contact me directly on discord.

# **Version française :**

Salut !

Sachant que DS2 est un jeu assez sympa à speedrun, je pense qu'il mérite un petit Guide pour son iconique Any% sur Old Patch.
Ce guide devrait je l'espère s'addresser tant aux nouveaux runneurs qu'à n'importe qui voudrait baisser le temps de son PB jusqu'à un certain point

Voici les 2 liens les plus utiles dont vous aurez besoin dans ce guide. En premier la palylist du [guide en vidéo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0dhgZyb2-w&list=PLsz8YIDTq0mESCUCc641q3eu3bUPuw2nH)  que vous pourrez suivre pour votre apprentissage. Le deuxième est un [Gdoc](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18wmsCrPMEsIvF2wt64zwbkCXgcU4TFFhkoozjocpTC0/edit?gid=1065174520#gid=1065174520) avec tous les liens utiles qui pourra vous servir de guide de route

## Par quoi devrais je commencer ?

1. Lire toutes les [règles de la catégorie](https://www.speedrun.com/fr-FR/darksouls2?h=Any&rules=game&x=vdo0q8yd)
2. [Downpatch](https://www.speedrun.com/fr-FR/darksouls2/resources/a9gkl) le jeu en 1.02
3. Récupérer au moins tous les outils listés dans le Gdoc
4. Paramétrez Rivatuner pour caper vos FPS à 60, au delà des règles le fait de ne pas caper peut rendre certains comportements dans le jeu légèrement imprévisibles
5. Suivre la route et créer des sauvegardes au moins avant chaque boss ou skip
6. Configurer Livesplit et l'autosplitter
7. Entrainez vous en premier sur les skips et les boss
8. Quand vous mourrez ou ratez un skip, n'hésitez pas à revoir ce qu'il s'est mal passé. Sachant que c'est une run avec beaucoup de RNG, surtout quand les stratégies optimales s'additionnent, vous ne pourrez pas toujours y faire quelque chose. Essayez d'identifier les points que vous pouvez améliorer
9. N'hésitez pas à prendre des pauses entre les runs, les rests peuvent s'enchaîner et la frustration s'accumuler

## Pourquoi la version 1.02 ?

Au cas où vous vous posiez la question il y a plusieurs raisons :

1. La première ce sont les binoboosts qui nous permettent de courir très vite, ce glitch est patché dans les autres versions
2. La deuxième est pour les parrywalk : On peut toujours faire des parrywalks en Current Patch mais la méthode est beaucoup plus dure (ou requiert la jupe papillon). En plus de ça, le parrywalk a une limite de 30 secondes  avant de se désactiver, là où c'est illimité dans le temps en 1.02

Bonne chance pour les runs, et le plus important amusez vous !

Ce sera tout pour ce guide, pour n'importe quelle autre question ou requête n'hésitez pas à demander de l'aide dans le [discord de la communauté](https://discord.com/invite/REscSZsFEQ) ou en me contactant directement sur Discord

Editing the autosplitter

The Dark Souls II autosplitter was made with the goal of being relatively easy to edit to add your own, custom routes to it, and this guide aims to showcase how to do just that.

1. The pre-requisites
To start editing the autosplitter you'll need well.. the code itself. You can download the file from the Resources page. In addition to it, you'll need some sort of text editor, I personally recommend Notepad++ for this. To get started simply open the .asl file in your text editor of choice.

2. Adding your own split points
This part of the guide will cover adding your own places where the script will split. The script currently supports splitting for every boss in the game, as well as some chosen places in the world map. If the ones already supported are enough for you, feel free to skip to Section 3. You can see in what places autosplitting is already supported from line 86 onward.

In order to define your own spots to split you'll first need the help of Cheat Engine to view the player position on the map. I will assume you know how to add an address manually to your address list and as such will not go over that. If you are struggling with that feel free to DM rythin#1312 on discord, I can provide you with a ready table with those addresses.
To add a new "split area" to the list of possible ones, you'll need to follow the formatting of the ones above it. Make sure each entry begins with "tB" , followed by your coordinates, enclosed in parentheses. The values must follow the format of "lowest x, highest x, lowest y, highest y, lowest z, highest z, souls". The "souls" is something that was mainly used for defining boss areas, so if you only care about the player entering your given area, set this to 0. If you wish your condition to be based on a certain enemy dying, or otherwise gaining souls in the specified area, set it to the amount of souls you would gain with no extra soul multipliers active (tseldora set, silver serpent ring, etc.)
As a general recommendation, make sure the area you set is fairly thick, 5 units generally enough.
As you add entries to the list of areas they will take on a number in order. I would recommend adding comments with the entry number as well as what the area is for ease of editing in the future.

3. Adding new routes
For this part you will be looking at lines 109 and 124. Line 124 is where settings for your route are added. To add a new one simply put a comma after the closing bracket of the last existing route, and then open another one with your details. A route setting consists of 3 items, in quotation marks separated by commas. The first is the internal setting name. This is completely irrelevant to you, feel free to name it whatever. The second is the name that appears in the settings menu, this should describe the route/category you're adding. The third is what the mouseover tooltip for the setting will say. This can be left empty or filled out if you care.

Now onto the fun stuff, line 109 is where the actual magic happens. This is where you put together your own route, based on the bosses and locations at line 40. To add a new route, same as last time, put a comma after the closing bracket of the last route, then open a new bracket. Something to keep in mind is the autosplitter expects the route entries to happen in order, so skipping one entry in your run will make all future entries not activate. Be mindful of this when setting up your autosplits.

Each route entry is a 3 character string, inside quotation marks, separated by commas.
- The first 2 characters are numbers, indicating the entry in the desired list. For example "13i" means entry 13 in the list, so Mytha.
- The last character can be either 'L', 'i' or 'N'. 'L', meaning that once the split condition is met, it will split at the next loading screen, 'i' meaning it will split instantly, and 'N' meaning it will not split, however it will move to the next route entry.
'N' splits can be particularly useful when you visit spot A multiple times during the run, so you want to ensure you went to spot B before the split in spot A activates, or as a "safety measure" before an area split. Generally I would recommend having an 'N' condition right before a split that's supposed to happen instantly when entering an area, this will prevent any accidental overlap in coordinates that can happen due to how the game map is built. This can be seen utilized multiple times in the pre-set routes, for example in the 17k route for Any% Current Patch, the first instance of this is in DLC1, last Bonfire Ascetic pickup. Entering that area advances the route to the next entry - Melentia Bonfire, so that when you warp there the next time it will split. This ensures that going to Melentia after Rotten 1 but before DLC1 Runthrough will not trigger the split.

Ensure that your route ends with the "impossible condition" (entry 54). This is due to an oversight with the splitting code, that breaks the autosplitter if you ever go past the last split in the route. This is simply the easiest solution I could think of. You can think of it as the nashandra split.

4. Using your new routes
In order to use your new custom route, you'll need to do just a few things in livesplit. First of all, disable the autosplitter integrated into livesplit in the Edit Splits menu. Since your own autosplitter has all the functionality of that one, we don't want the two interfering with each other. 
Next up, go to Edit Layout and add a Scriptable Autosplitter component. Then add your edited asl, select your route and click OK. And that's it! If you followed the guide and set everything up correctly your route should now work.

If there are any problems, or something that you feel isn't clear, feel free to DM me at rythin#1312 on discord and I will help you out :)
Also, if you setup a route that isn't included by default, even though you feel it should be DM me and I will add it to the base script available to everyone.

Old bosses route notes

http://pastebin.com/DvVy5gJX (very old route)

Made new notes of the newer route, but I'll keep the above here since it's probably a more beginner friendly route. It's missing a lot of strats though.

https://pastebin.com/PU5eupJX (current WR route)

Name	Author
All Bosses (Dark Rapier/Lightning Red Iron Twinblade)	ffleret 6 years ago
Any% Old Patch Guide	tinkerknight 7 months ago
Editing the autosplitter	rythin 5 years ago
Old bosses route notes	Noobest 3 years ago