It’s been a year, but I’ve finally delivered on my promise to change the timing method for runs. Sorry for the delay, but here’s the breakdown of everything that’s happened:

New Timing Method All runs have been retimed based on the updated method. The timer ends when the mission is truly complete, and the Any% timer now starts when resetting stats. This approach will be here to stay.

Mega-Guide Completed Over the past year, I’ve been working in the dark on a comprehensive guide and doing some serious strat hunting. The idea was to create a resource that’s easy to update and documents everything I’ve learned about the game. This way, if someone else takes over, they’ll have a solid foundation for strat hunting or applying knowledge to other categories.

New Strategies & Revisions While working on the guide, I discovered tons of new strategies, routing tweaks, and potential optimizations. This also made me rethink some rulesets. For example:

Keypad Rules

• I now propose splitting Any% into two subcategories: Unrestricted (keypad allowed) and No Keypad. The MANIFEST-only keypad code provides almost no meaningful advantage outside of a short New World skip and bypassing unlocking tactical rigs, so I decided to create an archived category only permitting the MANIFEST code. The tech, on the other hand, has evolved so much that Keypadless is now its own beast compared to glitchless.
• All existing keypad runs will move to the Unrestricted category, which will now be the main Any% category.
• With new keypad codes, Any% is like a watered-down NG+. You’re not stuck with default classes for the first two missions, but you still have to unlock tactical rigs and set up classes during the run. Meanwhile, No Keypad remains similar to the current meta, but the META class (via UI stack) won’t be usable until New World’s mobile armory.

What Even Is Any%?

• The GOTITALL code complicates things because it marks all missions as complete, making it theoretically possible to "complete" the campaign without playing it. Obviously, that’s a line that we have to draw. Any% still means completing missions yourself, from scratch, and reaching the credits.
• If a glitch arises to replicate this, it’ll depend on execution, but the general rule remains: you must actively mark missions complete during the run AND reach the end credits.

Exit Warps Unbanned on ILs

• Initially banned due, exit warps were reconsidered after the discovery of story progression manipulation, which simplified setup and resolved logistical concerns. This technique is now fully permitted in IL categories, which means you aren't only left with death warping to keep up with top runners.
• Speaking of death warps, I've actually uncovered that most death warp setups are slower (LRT, they are still way faster RTA though) than exit warps due to the setup required. A few standouts still remain faster, but exit warping is generally considered the faster option now.

New Tech: Plaza Skip, Sublevel Skip, and More

Throughout the process, I've uncovered a lot of strategies. This, of course, is all included on the guide. But here’s some of the major tech uncovered:

Plaza Skip This long-time goal is finally cracked. Details are in the guide, but it’s a must-learn for serious runners.

Sublevel Skip Some missions are split into sublevels (e.g., Provocation, Rise & Fall, Demon Within, Lotus Towers). Skipping directly to the final sublevel effectively skips large chunks of the mission. I believe this is fair, as completing the final sublevel marks the mission as complete, but it depend on the execution. Here are the currently known methods of doing so:

Poor Man’s Sublevel Skip: Just set your story progression to a sublevel prior to a run. Then when you begin the run and reach that mission, you can just resume story and you skip to the last sublevel. It’s essentially doing the speedrun before the speedrun, so definitely prohibited.

SUIM: Pretty complex, you should probably check out the breakdown on the guide. This backend value manipulation is effectively another form of the poor man's sublevel skip, so it’s banned across all categories as of right now.

XUI: Relies on multiplayer UI stacking and is Xbox-only. Since platform-specific advantages exist (e.g., PC quirks), it’s allowed, but only in co-op (banned in solo due to needing multiple accounts).

LUX: Accesses campaign maps via multiplayer exploits. It’s more universal than XUI but still requires co-op to execute, so it’s banned in solo.

CX: This uses null lobbies and party-kicking to transfer maps between lobbies. Like the others, it’s banned in solo but allowed in co-op (except a few variations).

Other Discoveries

Beyond sequence breaks, here's a few other notable findings:

• Delayed Mantles
• InfinUI
• Stored Loadout Manipulation
• Infinistrafe
• Trap Class, Slammer Class, and Scythe Setup (Glitched Classes)

If you’re ready to dive into the new meta, check out the guide for all the details. I'm also willing to hear anyone's thoughts on the sublevel skip methods, particularly SUIM and XUI. SUIM has just been discovered and is quite complex. Although the value is set prior to the run, it doesn’t reset when wiping your stats, so should we give SUIM the green light because of that, or should we still consider it a poor man’s sublevel skip variation? Additionally, XUI doesn’t require reliance on other people like some of the other methods. It can be done locally, on one console, even though you do use multiple accounts. I think it makes sense to ban because it does require multiple accounts, but these accounts are simply utilized to stack a menu on the screen and to drag you into a campaign lobby, so it’s not like you’re going in-game with them. So should we give XUI some leeway on solo because of that? Willing to hear somebody’s thoughts on the whole sublevel skipping situation.