Here are some real strats for going fast.

• Always use magic in combat. The only time you should use the sword is to use the flitswitch and killing the baron. The only time you should use the gun is for the flitswitch and killing Rhys, and maybe the silver nitrate lamps.
• The chests you need from the Road to Rule are Fireball, Magic Power 1-5, Shock, Dye Pack 1, Dye Pack 2, and Spellweaving.
• Weave Fireball and Shock together. You will deal tons of damage.
• There are about 18-19 guild seals you can get from interacting with the dwellers in Mistpeak. Hold right trigger to see if you have gotten a guild seal from giving them money. This saves time rather then running up to everyone and getting doubles, wasting time.
• The evil choices will be faster in both the short term and the long term, except for the petition in the beginning of the game. Every other choice is faster to be evil.
• Warping to a building next to a quest instead of the quest itself will usually put you closer to the quest when you spawn. The only thing this isn't true for is Saker and the Demon Door in Millfields.
• The only time you have to actually follow an NPC when the quest tells you to is Walter during Aurora. He will not move if you get far enough ahead of him.
• The Mortar section of Mourningwood has no gimmicks to make it go faster. If anything, killing as many as you can with each shot makes it go by faster.
• You can't save Jammy. He will run into hollowmen to get himself killed. Try and get him killed early on, as the event of his death may make it go by faster. Untested, just theory.
• Once spell weaving is acquired, you have to hit b every time you get a spell power upgrade. This will play the powerup animation in the other hand. This will save you from having the lengthy animation in the middle of combat.
• Once the first gate is open after combat in the mercenary camp, the only mercenaries you have to kill are the ones in the sandbagged area next to Saker's gate. This will open the gate, allowing you to fight Saker.
• If you think you are going to die because everything but your character is in black and white and the red vignetting on the sides of the screen is getting pretty big, run into a group of enemies or at the big enemy or at Walter depending on what fight it is. The respawn shockwave deals damage to enemies.
• While the screen is white when a portal to the rule to road is spawning in, you still have control of your character. You can use this to move towards the portal.

Let me know if you want me to write up an Any% guide.