pdf version of the guide Dexterity358 Last updated January 15, 2018

Things to Know Before Running

1st thing to know is we run on version 1.2.2, which can be found at the Resources page on Speedrun.com. This version is ran because Providence doesn't have his shield after 1/3 HP.

There's a 100% save file on the Resources page also. The save file goes in C:\GOG Games\Risk of Rain

We also now run on a locally hosted online server. This is done by selecting "Start Online Co-op" then "HOST GAME". IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure no one's IP is in the join game section if you are streaming. It should go without saying, but it's easy to forget about it.

Terminology to Know

Zoom Strats — This is when you go into the escape menu mid run to change the zoom. This is done to decrease the travel distance of the money that turns into xp at the end of the run. Watch Scaz' 9 10 RTA - 9 04 IGT for a good demostration of zoom strats.

Amethyst Glitch — Also referred to as "Smokebomb Glitch", "Amethyst Smokebomb" and "Bandit Sprint". This is achieved by using Bandit's Smokebomb, Amethyst, and Smokebomb again in quick succession. When you initially start the combo you are getting one stack of Smokebomb speed. When you do Amethyst then Smokebomb a 2nd time you have 2 stacks of speed boost from the the combo. Since the initial Smokebomb was interrupted by the 2nd Smokebomb, you only lose 1 stack of speed boost.

Box Strats — Also referred to as "Box Glitch". When you are collecting the final xp from the top left you want to be in a command chest. Select an item after you collect the xp. You will have control of your character right away when you teleport to the next level. An example of this is a twitch clip from anshwo. It's not that important of a strat. You can lose you time because when you’re not moving, you can get money trained.

OoB — Also referred to as "Prov Skip". Onin's Risk of Rain speedrun tutorial is still a good explanation of OoB. The only thing it's missing is how you instantly teleport up the ladder. You can instantly teleport up the ladder by holding both up and down, instead of just holding up to grab the ladder.

Detailed Any% Notes

We choose to run on a locally hosted online server because bosses have less hp and you can do zoom strats. Zoom strats are possible in the singleplayer mode but are slower because the game pauses when going into the menu. We also run Bandit for amethyst glitch. The 3 artifacts we use for Any% are Glass, Command, and Spirit.

We start the run zoomed out so we can have an easier time seeing where the portal is located. Enemies start spawning at around 10 seconds. Something that new runners, even old runners, forget is you can shoot the lemurians to come to you faster. You can take 1 hit from a lemurian for a speed boost.

The 1st green item you want to get is "Smart Shopper", often referred to as wallet or purse. One wallet should be good. This is extremely helpful for more shrine attempts and opening all chests. It also makes enemies that normally don't drop money, the imps from imps statues, drop gold.

The rest of the greens you want are 4 Hopoo Feathers and 1 Rusty Jetpack. The order you want to get them is 1 Feather -> 1 Jetpack -> 3 Feather. Any greens after this should be put towards AtG Missile Mk. 1.

If you get a red item from the 1st boss then you want to get laser turbine. You want to get 2 turbines. After 2 turbines we get missles or behemoths.

The 1st white item you would want to get is fireworks, you want to get about 2 in the whole run; Getting 2 fireworks in succession or delaying getting the other one later is up to you. Fireworks are used to clear any straggling/flying enemies at the end of a level, they are also used for the the final boss. The last paragraph shows why I think you should get 2 fireworks.

The next 7 whites you want for the run is Soldier Syringe. Important side note, after 13 Syringes Bandit does not get any benefit. If you look at the wiki it will have 3 different numbers 8, 12, 13. I've tested this myself and found it to be 13 for bandit. Any whites beyond with point are your choice. Anshwo has told me he likes to go with Lens-Maker's Glasses. Onin brought up that Crowbar might be a good pickup.

The 1st orange item you want is Amethyst. Bandit's 4th ability, when you kill an enemy with it, resets his cooldowns to 0. So you would want to do amethyst glitch then kill somebody with your 4th ability. Most runners switch amethyst for the 2nd orange on map 4-5. Only random roulette chamber and small chests have a chance of dropping an orange command box. Roulette chambers also have a chance to contain an orange item.

The 2nd orange you are going to want is Explorer's Key. Map 3 and onward is when you want to trade Amethyst for Key, it's really up to you if you want to trade it as early as map 3 or wait.

The biggest run killers are Dank Caverns (Damp Caverns), Desolate Forest, top spawn of Risk of Rain, and getting Amethyst. Top spawn is an instant run killer because of the 30 second wait time for opening the door.

When you finally make it to Risk of Rain, you want to get on top of the ship. If you got top spawn then you have to wait for the door to open and jump up the hole in the next room. With any other spawn you want to climb up the left side of the ship. Here's an example from Onin's 9 10 RTA - 9 06 IGT. Once you make it on top of the ship you want to proceed left until you're on Providence's room. You then want to perform OoB.

If you are having trouble getting the OoB then just open the doors to Providence's room and keep practicing the skip. The skip takes some time to get use to, so just keep trying and you’ll get it in no time.

Killing 1st phase of Providence is pretty straight forward. You kill him like you would any other boss in the previous stages. You might want to spam ability 1 so you can get off a turbine shot. You want to charge up turbine again before 2nd phase, Gilded Wurms.

For 2nd phase you want to stand at the bottom of the room to setup for the Wurms. You want to hit them with turbine, make sure you hit more than one segment of the Wurms; Wurms should die instantly to 1 turbine hit.

For the 3rd and final phase you want to stand under the middle left ladder. You want to jump to the closed door on the left and use Key to open the chests. You want to go on to that left ladder so he teleports above you. You then want to go to the terminal while he's being hit by the fireworks. Here's an example from Onin's 9 10 RTA - 9 06 IGT.

You can do the fight with 1 firework, but I think 2 is better to get. An example of this is Scaz' 9 10 RTA - 9 04 IGT, which has 6 boxes open. If Scaz' had 2 fireworks it would have killed 3rd phase as fast as: anshwo's 9 12 RTA - 9 08 IGT, which has 6 boxes open; or Scaz' 9 09 RTA - 9 05 IGT, which has 5 boxes open.

Quick Any% Notes

• Artifact are Glass, Command, and Spirit.
• 1st Green is Wallet, then collect 4 Feathers & 1 Jetpack (1 Feather -> 1 Jetpack -> 3 Feather). The rest are Missles.
• Red are 2 Turbines, the rest Missiles or Behemoth.
• 1st White is Firework, then 7 Syringes & 1 Firework (any order). The rest Lens or Crowbar
• 1st Orange is Amethyst. Trade for Key on map 4 or 5.

Final Thoughts

Thanks guido_slapnugs, anshwo, Onin & scaz.zaf for helping. My notes are probably just okay, but I'm glad you guys helped make it even the tiniest bit better. You guys and all of the slowjogging discord are awesome. If there are any updates needed or errata then you can reach me from the Risk of Rectangles Slowjogging Discord. If that link doesn't work anymore you can find a link at the Speedrun.com RoR Forum. If you still need help or know a strat that might be faster, then feel free to ask the runners in the discord or on the forum; More eyes are on the Discord than the Speedrun.com Forums, but either are good places for discussion/questions.