Dash Usage

The dash is the most powerful movement tool in the game that allows you to move at almost twice the speed of normal "walking" if utilized correctly.

Tips:

• Hold down and the direction you want to move in and spam jump to move much faster than normal.
• At the end of a dash your player's momentum is reset to zero. This means that you cannot retain momentum from a dash to cover large distances. This also includes vertical momentum so on big falls if you were to dash downwards early it will actually slow you down so don't bother. This also applies to large horizontal jumps meaning if you use it early you will kill all of your momentum in the jump. A good rule of thumb is to use the dash at the very end of a period of being airborne as you only get one.
• The momentum reset is also useful for certain difficult platforming areas with the right setup.
• During the duration of a dash attack in v1.5.X you are invincible to many forms of damage which can be abused in boss fights.

Bugs

• Sometimes when dashing into a button when already close enough to it your character will hit the button once activating it but because you haven't traveled the full distance of the dash you keep moving into the button as it is moving inwards making you partially clip into it restoring your grapple meter as if you touched the ground. Unfortunately, because you "touched down" while still in the middle of a dash this does not regenerate your dash.

Grapple Usage

The grapple is another key movement mechanic and while not as useful as the dash it has its own quirks.

Quirks:

• You can end a grapple in 3 ways. One, press E (or whatever grapple is bound to) again. This will cut off the grapple right there and you fall. Two, the grapple meter runs out. This acts just like you pressing E again. Three, jump. If you jump to release grapple you will pop up a slight bit giving you more height and distance. This can be abused.

Tips:

• DON'T SWING (unless you have to). Swinging is very slow and you can't do it for long so unless you are coming at a grapple spot from an angle or need a specific trajectory don't bother. There are better alternatives.
• Grapple stalling: By alternating grapple upwards and jump to cancel it you can stall midair (such as to wait on a bullet to move out of the way) and even gain a little height over time if your time between jump and grapple again is fast enough. This can also be used to cover extremely long distances with the grapple in a much more controlled manner as long as there is a continuous grapplable ceiling above you such as the tunnel leading to the blue glyphstone.
• Wall climbing: If you are against a grapplable surface you can hold Up + the direction towards the wall and alternate grapple then jump to slowly scale the wall. You can make it up onto the ledge once you are close to the top by dashing straight up if you still have it.

Ice Physics

Ice can be annoying and can slow down a lot of runs if not dealt with properly. On top of it's intended nature it also has a number of bugs surrounding it as of v1.5.2 that can lead to a significant time loss.

Tips:

• You move faster on the ice than dash running so if you are going to end up on the ice anyway it is better to land sooner rather than later.
• You can break the input lock by dashing so make sure you save it if you are going to need it.

Bugs and Workarounds:

• One of the worst bugs you can encounter on the ice is the corner softlock. There are many corners around the map that if hit properly you can "stand" on it but it also does not let you move the rest of the way onto the surface nor does it let you jump and it does not regenerate a used dash forcing you to move away from the corner to free yourself if you have no dash. However, if you encounter this while under the influence of ice physics you no longer have the luxury of just moving away from the corner because your inputs are blocked. Your only option at that point is to wrap away and eat the time loss.
• The directional bug: When falling with enough speed it is possible to partially clip into the ground for a split second when you land. If this happens on ice, it is very possible that the game detects this as a collision with a wall and turns you around to slide in the other direction. This usually happens in the serpent boss fight or on the way to the southern serpent door lock. This can be prevented by dashing just before landing to reset your falling momentum to zero.
• There is also a small chance that upon hitting a wall while under the influence of ice physics you partially clip into the wall making the game think you have landed and breaking you out of the ice input lock and giving you your dash back. Some walls seem more prone to doing this but more research needs to be done.

Bounce Pads

When dashed into they shoot you in a direction with a lot of momentum.

Tips:

• When you bounce off of a bounce pad it returns your dash no matter where on the pad you hit or what side. It will also return a charged dash attack if you used one to bounce.
• All bounce pads have a pre-defined direction and strength they send you regardless of what direction you come from (though some are split into different parts with different trajectories).
• The Serpent's body in phase one after a segment has been killed can be used as a bounce pad for any direction (This can be used to save some time in the fall at the conclusion of phase one).