Hello everyone, I joined the forums a few days ago and I decided I really wanna run KDL. So before I even try to start my first attempt I wanna ask the pro's (you guys) for some information. So is there anything I need to know before speed running this game?

I know that some bosses are heavily RNG based I read the document (http://tasvideos.org/2685S.html) that eBloodyCandy and read the "Changing RNG"part. Do we know how or what part of the boss battle changes using this method?

Also after a mid boss if you hug the end of the screen does it scroll faster or any similar trick to this? I know some games do that.

Hopefully I'm not to annoying with my questions.

Hey snoozingslowpoke -

Welcome to the KDL Forums! Fun to have new runners come for this game :)

Starting out I would set goals for yourself. Small goals, to start. You have to learn to walk before you can run. This is what I do and the same advice I give new runners in all games.

1. Just play the game. Play it a few times without knowing any speedrunning things and see how fast you can do it a few times.

2. Beating the game deathless. Strive to completing the game without taking deaths (this is obviously gonna be faster)

3. Start taking some damage boosts. Understand your current limitations and comfort and take only the damage boosts you feel comfortable with.

4. Do all damage boosts. After you start to get comfortable with damage boosting and the momentum of the game incorporate the rest of the boosts into your run.

5. Skipping Powerups. Maybe during your runs you pick up an extra curry in Float Islands or go out of your way for some health. Start to ween yourself off of doing that and fighting through the stages.

6. Understanding lag management. Tanuki has shown us this with flying colors in his videos on the discord, but understanding that the game is poorly optimized when it comes to coding is huge and understanding what actions you can take with Kirby to reduce lag and better optimize the performance is huge.

7. Last... ABSOLUTELY LAST.. Curry kill in stage 2 is not a needed skill to have a very good run. A lot of the sub12 runners do not use Curry Kill to achieve their time. Curry Kill is really if you're wanting to push for that top 5 spot. Speedman has made a video showing a manipulation to get perfect patterns for curry kill, but the movement still requires a lot of precision and practice and this should be the last thing a new runner should focus on.

When it comes to RNG and changing the boss battles. EVERYTHING Kirby does in KDL changes something in memory which will change the outcome of a boss battle. Walking, jumping.. everything.. I'm sure if someone were to dig through memory and spend hours upon hours investigating they might be able to find something.

Hugging the screen as far as we can tell doesn't make the animation any faster for unlocking, however you will be greeted with an enemy most of the time on the other side of the lockout.

Thank you eBloodyCandy. You gave me this advice on Discord as well. I'll be practicing my runs. Try not to die and observing the other runs of other players in the leader boards this will give me some good insight as well.