Currently in any% white robe glitchless, we take 8 symbols. But why do we take 8 symbols when we could do the exact same route with 5 symbols? Actually wind randomness plays a big part in the number of symbols you take. Here I will explain everything you need to know about Snow from the jumps in Journey to the wind in Snow to the number of symbols you should take.

NB I talk about other categories in this guide, but to avoid repeating glitchless many times and because all categories mentioned here are glitchless, I won't use this word.

Charge system

• In red robe you start with 4 charges and in white robe with 10 charges.

• 1 jump will always cost you 4 charges unless your feet touch the ground and you're not sliding while in white robe. In that case 1 jump = 3 charges.

• Each symbol gives you 1 or 2 charges and the game will be alternating between both. That means if you take a 1 charge symbol, the next symbol will be 2 charges, the next one 1 charge, and so on.

• You can't get above 30 charges in game.

Consequences

The first thing to notice is that depending on the charges of the first symbol (+1 or +2) all next symbols you'll take in your run will have the same value. That means if you know which symbols you'll take and the charge of your first symbol you can deduce the number of charges you'll get in your run, and when you'll get it.

Secondly, getting a +1 or a +2 symbol first will only matter when you have an odd number of symbols. In that case there'll be an 1 charge difference.

Impact of wind in Snow on your scarf

There are four places in Snow where the wind makes you lose scarf, Windy Valley, Patrol Fields, Windy Balcony and Death March.

In red robe, you can't really take advantage of your scarf in Snow because the frost decreases your scarf power until you can no longer jump. So losing scarf doesn't really matter. But in white robe that's not the case, when your feet are on the ground, you'll recharge your scarf faster than what the frost would have lost you. So the number of charges you've got and how many you'll lose in snow become very important especially for Death March. I'll be discussing Death March later, but it's the main reason why you take more than 5 symbols.

What can you do to keep your scarf in Snow?

In Snow, only war machines and the wind can do damage to your scarf. War machines shouldn't be a problem in white robe (in red robe it can be more complicated), but for the wind it can be tricky or impossible to avoid because the wind is random (I'll be talking about the odds a bit later), i.e. you can't predict when the wind blows. I will detail here each place and what you can or can't do.

• In Patrol Fields entrance, there is a known way to avoid wind RNG. That is, there is a trigger at the end of the cloth bridge (the bridge before Patrol Fields) that makes the wind do damage to your scarf. So if you avoid that trigger the wind will still be there, but you won't lose scarf anymore. See video demonstration here.

• For Windy Balcony or Death March entrance, there is no consistent way to avoid the wind or anything similar to Patrol Fields. You just have to be lucky.

• Once you're in Windy Balcony, to avoid losing scarf you need to hide yourself when the wind blows. In white robe, it's always the same path. Either there is no wind when you enter, then hide yourself before the gate on the left wall, don't cross the gate yet otherwise the wind will blow you away. Or the wind blows when you enter, then you need to wait until it no longer blows, but be careful not to go too far in the path or you'll lose scarf. After that you can hide before the gate. This part can cost you a few seconds just because when you arrive the wind wasn't in a good state. After that hide yourself on the right side before the stairs, then once the wind ends just walk upstairs, do not jump, and hide once again on the right. Then you're good to go for Death March. See video demonstration here from @Charybdis2.

• Finally Death March, it's a place divided in three parts: first the wind pushes you away as you climb and rips off a bit of your scarf, then the wind no longer blows and finally the scenery becomes cloudy as you freeze to death. The only thing that matters in Death March is the first part, the wind section, after that you just need to walk and wait for your death. Your goal here is to get as far as you can before you lose your whole scarf or, best case scenario, to still have scarf after the wind section: the further you'll get with your scarf the better your time will be. There are no special techniques for Death March unfortunately, it's all about luck.

Winds that rip off your scarf: the chances you've got

There are 5 different places where the wind can rip off your scarf: Patrol Fields entrance, Windy Balcony entrance, Windy Balcony ledge, Death March entrance and Death March plain. Since you can successfully avoid the wind in Patrol Fields entrance and in Windy Balcony ledge, the randomness there won't matter. So let's focus on the other places.

For Windy Balcony entrance and Death March entrance, it's not very complicated. You've got 50% chance to avoid the wind in Windy Balcony and another 50% for Death March entrance. But for Death March plain it's not the same thing because the number of winds you've got until it no longer blows matters.

With the odds of those three places, if you successful avoid the wind in Patrol Fields entrance and in Windy Balcony ledge, based on the number of charges you've got at the beginning of Snow, you can determine the chances you have of reaching the end of Death March with scarf still left.

Why should you not take 8 symbols?

Currently in any% white robe we take 8 symbols, but actually 7 symbols with a 2 charges symbol first would be better. Firstly because, in Snow, it doesn't increase your chances of reaching the end of Death March with scarf still left: 12.5% for both. But even though it doesn't increase your chances, perhaps you could need another symbol to go faster in a place in particular? Actually that's not the case either.

To understand let's summarize the symbols we collect: you take the two symbols in Chapter Select, the symbol on the short tower in Pink Desert, the three symbols in Sunken City, the symbol at the end of Underground and the symbol at the very beginning of Tower. Now what symbol could you remove to get 7 symbols in total? You want to keep the two symbols in Chapter Select to get through Broken Bridge easily and also to get an extra jump in Pink Desert and you want to keep the last two symbols because you use them to recharge your scarf. The fact that it gives you charges is simply a nice bonus. So you can remove the symbol in Pink Desert or one of the three symbols in Sunken City.

How could these 4 symbols save you time? Either there is a strategy involved that makes you go faster, that's not the case here, or it gives you an additional jump earlier in your run that makes you go faster. So when could you get that early jump? There are only two places it can happen: Sunken City and between the last symbol in Underground and the very first symbol in Tower. For Sunken City, getting an extra jump is obviously useless, you can do the exact same path with the exact same movements in scarfless. For the second place, when you get the second to last symbol you have 6 jumps instead of 5, but you can't make any use of that extra jump because after the history lesson you need 4 jumps to reach the next level and once in Tower you need 3 or 4 jumps to be well positioned and reach your last symbol.

All of this to say taking 8 symbols won't make you go faster compared to 7 symbols with a 2 charges symbol first.

The 7 symbols route

To perform any% white robe with 7 symbols you need to know if the first symbol you're taking is 1 charge or 2 charges, otherwise you'll have less chances to get a good death march. It's not that difficult to check. When you're in white robe with no symbol (for example you can go to Chapter Select) take one symbol, when your feet are on the ground push your fly button and count the number of jumps you're making. If you make 3 jumps that means the symbol you take is a 1 charge symbol and the next you'll take will be a 2 charges symbol. That's what you want, you can start speedrunning. If you have 4 jumps that means the symbol you take is a 2 charges symbol. You then need to take another one and now you can start speedrunning.

Which symbols should you take? As I explained previously, you should take the same symbols as in the current any% route and remove the symbol in Pink Desert or one of the three symbols in Sunken City. But which one? You should remove the Pink Desert symbol because taking this symbol costs 5 s whereas the three symbols in Sunken City cost 2 s or less. But be aware: to save as much time as possible, you will need to take the same path as we do in scarfless white robe, namely: get to the large banner in the middle of Pink Desert and then aim for war machine factory. Otherwise it won't save you any time. See video demonstration here.

Aside from Pink Desert route, nothing else would change compared to the current any% route.

The 9 symbols route

The route for 9 symbols isn't very complex, it's the same as the 7 symbols route, to which we add the first and the third symbols of Underground. But as with 7 symbols, this is very important to start with a 2 charges symbol first. For three reasons: first of all, after you take the third symbol in Underground you'll get 21 charges instead of 20, that means you'll get one additional jump mid-air until you reach Underground last symbol. It may seem useless, but that's really not the case, it even saves a bit of time because you can use it twice: after you catch the third symbol and after you catch the golden flyers to land directly on Underground last symbol. Second reason, after you take the very first symbol of Tower, as long as you start jumping from the ground, you'll get 7 jumps instead of 6 since you've got 24 charges. It doesn't make you go faster, but this is convenient especially once you're near the third glyph in Tower to reach the shrine. Third reason, once at Windy Balcony ledge, if the wind pushes you away and thus you lose scarf, you'll have better chances to keep your scarf after Death March if you start with a 2 charges symbol: 12.5% than a 1 charge symbol: 5%.

Since you take two more symbols in Underground, there are minor changes you'll need to pay attention. So here are some advices.

• For the first symbol, try to land directly in the pipe, it'll save you a bit of time.

• At the beginning of Underground there is a tunnel and a carpet flying around. Once you're close to the tunnel, the carpet will get though it and will follow you. If you're not fast enough it'll wait at the entrance of the jellyfish room, but normally it shouldn't happen. In either case, after you reach the entrance, it'll wait at the end of the jellyfish room where the gate stands. It's possible to take advantage of this carpet, but only when it is at the end gate. Your goal is to recharge your scarf with this carpet, this way you'll get a bit further in the next room. So after you catch the third symbol, push your fly button until you make three flaps, then let the wayfarer fly down and use the carpet below you to recharge your scarf.

• As I mentioned earlier, after you catch the golden flyers, you want to reach the last symbol of Underground without your feet touching the ground. So to do this, push your fly button until you make four flaps and get through the window. Don't try to make more flaps, otherwise you won't have 6 jumps mid-air and you'll have to make an additional jump from the ground. Then fly as far as you can to reach the last symbol.

Compared to the 7 symbols route, the 9 symbols route makes you lose 3 s if both Death March were done in the same amount of time. But, since on average you'll get a better Death March with 9 symbols, the time lost decreases to 1.5 s. So as long as you're not aiming of the world record that's the route I recommend.