100% for dummies - The Updated Guide

Guide up to date as of writing August 2023. I imagine the category has been broken again by the time you're reading this, however.

Why run 100%?

The 100% category is, in my opinion a much more interesting category than Any%. This is due to its expansive options and varied movement, as opposed to Any% which has become somewhat of a glitchfest. 100% has its fair share of glitches, but in general you'll find yourself with a lot more breathing space and nice fun platforming in between. y

In saying that, All Temples is now great middle ground between Any% and 100% which has gathered popularity in recent times. I would recommend checking out All Temples if Any% doesn't appeal to you but 100% feels a bit daunting.

As opposed to Any%, routing for 100% is extremely dynamic and has changed multiple times as we have found more and more interesting ways to break the game. In just a few years, the route moved from a fairly 'traditional' route (completing much of the game in a 'vanilla' fashion) to collecting multiple idols twice and doing large areas of the game backwards or out of order. I have no doubt that the route will change again in the future as more things are discovered!

Item Requirements & Routing

Item Routing is a MUST in this category. The following is a list of all item requirements in 100%:

Required Items (required to collect all shamans and idols) Renegade Area: TNT, Pickaxes Jungle: TNT, Torch Caverns: TNT Mountains: TNT, Raft, Pickaxes

Optional Items (not required, but typically save time or make gameplay easier)

Renegade Area: Nil Jungle: Sling Caverns: Torch Mountains: Canteen

Notes

TNT obsoletes both Shield and Gas Mask for all relevant uses
Torch is used to burn webs to collect explorers. Not required for Scorpion Temple as it is skipped.
Sling is used in Great Tree for timesave and buying Super Sling.
Canteen is used for item sliding (easier than the Sling), to manage our item order (see Item Overwriting below) and buying Canteen Max.
Pickaxes are used for 'Tazzing' - see below.

NB: If you're wondering why each item is required for a certain area, feel free to ask me on the Pitfall discord! (or Discord @rippersteveM5)

Other Item Requirements/Tips

Any item except TNT may be grabbed from Excavation Camp if desired + properly routed in (see below)
Canteen required to buy Canteen Max
Sling required to buy Super Sling
Aside from Excavation Camp or the vanilla method, Sling is also given to the player following the cutscene at Gates of El Dorado (prior to fighting the final boss).
Raft is given upon entering Mountain Sled Run
Torch can also be obtained from Turtle Monument, however it is not added to the inventory and is lost when unequipped.

Quantum Idols

Quantum Idols is really the one thing that has unlocked virtually infinite possibilities for routing in 100%. In simple terms, Quantum Idols allows the collecting of up to 7 idols twice, meaning that other idols can be skipped. This has, in effect, removed the necessity of doing Native Games in the run, saving in excess of 30 minutes, and removing a long and tedious part of the run.

How does Quantum Idols work?

Quantum Idols 1

The first iteration of Quantum Idols involves abusing an oversight present in St Clairs Excavation Camp. This level has two 'modes' it can be in - the Day mode and the Night mode. In normal gameplay, you access TNT, visit Mysterious Temple, then visit the Night mode of St Clairs. You complete the sneak mission, then appear in the Day mode next to the TNT item after the cutscene. Once you complete the sneak mission to escape, you cannot trigger Night mode again - the level will be permanently in Day mode.

However, by grabbing TNT and then glitching over the gate prior to visiting Mysterious Temple, we can access the Day mode prior to the Night mode, which is not intended in regular gameplay. An explorer (5 idols) is present in both Day and Night mode, with the devs intending you to be able to collect the explorer in either mode. Should you collect the explorer in Night mode, he does not appear in Day mode. However as you are not intended to visit Day mode first, if you collect this explorer in Day mode, you may still collect him afterwards in Night mode, thus duplicating the explorer. This flag not setting correctly forms the basis of Quantum Idols.

There is also an additional idol that follows this property in the mirror room of Excavation Camp. While the idol is present in Night mode, it is locked away behind crates which you usually must TNT and it not intended to be collected until Day mode. However, by utilising 'Tazzing' (a technique with the Pickaxes), you are able to to clip through the wall and collect this idol in Night mode, thus duplicating this idol.

By carefully routing in 2 separate visits to Excavation Camp, we are able to duplicate 6 idols, and hence skip not only Native Games, but the completion of Scorpion Temple - another long section of the game.

Quantum Idols 2

Found only quite recently in 2023, Quantum Idols 2 abuses a small bug in Mountain Sled Run. While the idol appears similar to many other idols in the game, it has an additional property where you can collect the idol by knocking over the idol container (usually while in the Raft, but not a requirement). This is because you are usually stuck on the raft in this level and would be unable to grab the idol otherwise. However by clipping around the trigger that automatically locks you into the Raft, you may not only run around Mountain Sled Run as you wish (quite a fun exercise regardless), but you may also collect the idol as normal by sticking out your hand. Collecting the idol in this way does not remove the ability to collect the idol by knocking over the idol container, leading to another idol duplication.

This Quantum Idol is typically used to skip the long Pitfall 1 minigame. However, there may be a faster idol skip...but I'll leave that one as an exercise for you!.

Other considerations

Item Switching

Item Switching is a rare thing to find in this game. The astute among you may think that Item Switching would be awarded upon simply obtaining more than 4 items. But come on, what did you think this was? A well coded game? Item Switching is only obtained from four places in the whole game:

After obtaining Gas Mask in Renegade Headquarters (the vanilla way)
After beating Scorpion Temple
After beating Penguin Temple
After Beating Pusca

If you grab your 5th item without having completed any of these tasks, this item will be UNUSABLE until you do so.

In the current route, 3 of these actions are skipped, meaning that item routing is an even more important consideration. Previous routes actually completed the Gas Mask fight just for the right to be able to switch items.

On a funny note, beating Monkey Temple will actually REMOVE your ability to switch items.

Item Overwriting

The first four intended items in the game are coded TERRIBLY. In order: Canteen (1), Sling (2), Torch (3), Shield (4). They will go into your next available item slot, like expected (clockwise from the top). But will also ALWAYS overwrite your item slot corresponding to their intended order, no matter how many items you have, and no matter what your game state is (you could've beaten Pusca, it will still do it).
Essentially, whether you want it to be or not, the devs hard coded Canteen from Plane Cockpit to be your 1st item, Sling from BBCamp to be your 2nd, Torch from Mouth of Inti to be your 3rd, and Shield from Native Village to be your 4th. A good example of terrible, lazy coding.

What does this mean? Well if you go and fill your 4 slots without having the ability to switch items, you're almost certainly going to be losing at least one important item until you get the ability to open your inventory. Scorpion Fight, Penguin Fight, Pusca and Gas Mask fight all restore the ability to open your inventory. Monkey Temple will strip it away. Very annoying when it comes to routing!

Other Tips

Buying a health upgrade restores health. This can be used as a free heal at any stage of the run, provided you have the idols necessary.

Conclusion

100% is far from a solved category; if you have any routing ideas I am ALWAYS up to chat about it! Though it looks daunting due to its length, its a really fun category and in my opinion is much deeper and more interesting Any%. So go nuts!