A Beginner's Guide to the Clear All Rooms Category

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Speedrunner and Moderator JamesSwan here. I just wanted to take a moment to collect and share my observations based on my experience in absolutely grinding CAR recently on Easy and Hard difficulties, and share with you all the biggest time saving factors I have found after I mastered the basics of not forgetting to do a challenge room… okay that’s a lie I still forget to do a challenge room every now and then but ANYWAYS!



First things first: The BIGGEST factor I have found in essential time save is movement speed upgrades. Maxing your speed stat alone is not enough. You need to be able to get from one room to another in as little time as possible. In terms of ITEMS specifically that do this, there are three to keep an eye out for, with one at the top of your list: Hermóðr the Messenger (Helmet), Skates of Strafe (Boots), and the Go-Faster Glove (Gauntlet, MOST OPTIMAL in my experience). ANY of these in combination with a maxed speed stat can save a significant amount of time off of a run (A minute or more if my math is right), and are the key to getting faster times in most situations as they will be the most common to find and least out of your way to get.



Other Essentials for going fast: A Bank early and access to the Crypts. The Crypts has the Statue Room (Stat and possibly Mag size upgrades), The Well Room if it didn’t spawn in AG1 (Pick 1 / 4 items, usually pretty powerful items), and a guaranteed Armory spawn (Potential for Damage and Mag upgrades if needed, as well as a possible opportunity to swap starting weapon). Now, getting a bank in AG1 or AG Crypts can DEFINITELY help you go much faster despite time spent mashing coins. Those coins guarantee having the money to utilize the statue room and armory if you find them. (A Safe bet is to grab at least 80-100, you need 50 for maximum output from Statue room, and a weapon upgrade can cost up to 30. Most runners opt for 100+, though there is theoretical time to save in taking less).



However, if you want to take a MASSIVE risk, you can also theoretically run without bank since you often pick up many more coins in a CAR run than an any percent run. However, this is a much riskier strategy, and often leads to being unable to afford a weapon upgrade or maximum output from the statue room, if not both. A forced run CAN lead to great success in niche circumstances, but it is a much riskier way to run so if you choose to force attempts, more power to you.



NOW: Other things to optimize your movement speed are certain spells. Hildr’s Ultimate, Hermóðr's Speed (Able to be found rarely in Libraries when not playing Hildr) Can be used as a good alternative to some of the items listed above or can be used in conjunction with them. However it IS most likely going to be more out of your way and be more of a time loss due to the slow animations of the Library doors, and the RNG of checking for it in the first place. The same can be said for Odr’s secondary ability, the Teleport. Instantaneous transport to another location if used well for maximum movement time save, but again, no guarantee of getting it out of a library. I THINK there’s a small chance of getting them out of a Demon Shrine (Takes Keys), but I’m not certain.



Now on to the final part of this little write up. What weapons should I be using and what should I avoid? If you have Infinite Ammo, I would recommend the Haunted Revolver. The damage with max Damage stat will one-tap most enemies (Including clockwork souls), and is all around a great option. However, if you don’t have infinite or at least a VERY large magazine size, you’re going to lose time to the long reload for it, just like with weapons like the Bolt Action and Gauss Cannon. Other weapons that fall into this consideration would be the Lever Action and Standard Revolver, with their round by round reload, working you to reload the entire mag if you’re using fire to reload and can’t interrupt the animation with an ability. As for what other weapons are GREAT for these runs? Research into top runs and my own runs seem to suggest that the Garand and the SMG are Viable alternatives to the Haunted Revolver (Or in some cases Gauss Cannon)/Infinite Ammo combo, with the Garand being the most common and reliable as it has the higher potential to one-tap enemies like Clockworks. Other power weapons like the Golden Gun are certainly viable as well, just less common due to the rarity of their spawns.



At the end of the day, how you choose to run is up to you, and having fun with how you run is the most important part. I’m just a guy who had too much free time on his hands and wanted to write this up for anyone who wanted to give the category a try, or to come back to it after a while and lower their times. I hope this helps some of you out, and for other more in-depth time saves and trick demonstrations, I highly recommend you check out ch1pset’s Speedrun Tricks/Tech List Guide. It was a massive help to me when I was learning the game, and I still use most of the tricks I learned to this day.

Setting Up Livesplit

[section=Introduction]
In this guide, I will show you how to setup Livesplit.

To begin you will need to download Livesplit [here](http://livesplit.org/downloads/). Make sure to extract the contents of the .zip file somewhere easily accessible as it is a portable program. You can also create a desktop shortcut to the .exe by following [this guide](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2820848/how-to-create-software-shortcut-methods-in-the-desktop-mode-of-windows).

[section=Splits and Layout]
Now you need some splits and a layout. I have done that work for you, [here](https://www.speedrun.com/splits/BPM_splits_and_layout_zcyes.zip) for Any%. You'll want to extract the contents of the .zip file somewhere you'll know where to find them.

When you open up LiveSplit, right-click the timer and go to Open Splits->From File. When the dialog opens up, go to the directory you extracted the contents of the .zip to and open the file called "BPM Bullets Per Minute - Patch 1 Any%.lss"

Next, go to Open Layout->From File and open "ChromaKey.lsl"

You should see LiveSplit look like this:
https://i.imgur.com/rHrFPVM.png

[section=Livesplit Settings]
To modify the keybindings for LiveSplit, just right click and go to Settings. Ensure to check "Global Hotkeys" if you are playing on fullscreen mode.
https://i.imgur.com/Arwquev.png

Make sure your default Time comparison is set to "Game Time" by right clicking on Livesplit, go to "Compare Against" and select "Game Time".
https://i.imgur.com/JZOEbTX.png

[section=Splits Editor]
If you are running different categories, such as Boss Rush or a Multi-Character category, you will likely want to rename your splits. You can edit split names, your history and your split times in the Splits Editor window.
To access the Splits Editor, right click on LiveSplit, go to Edit Splits.:
https://i.imgur.com/XAzoAeh.png

[section=Autosplitter]
Now you will probably want to use the autosplitter so you don't have to worry about pressing buttons while you are running the game. Click on "Activate" to activate the autosplitter.
https://i.imgur.com/hoH0Rnx.png

The autosplitter may not work after the game has been patched.

For additional autosplitter settings, click on "Settings" next to "Activate".
https://i.imgur.com/VNXr6wa.png
Here, you can customize the behavior of the autosplitter by enabling/disabling some options. The top 3 options are the only ones you should be using.
* **Multi-Character Mode** - Accumulates time between restarts, deaths, and changing characters. Any time where the in game timer is paused is not counted. This disables autoreset after the first character/segment.
* **Boss Rush Mode** - Splits on boss finishers. For use with Boss Rush challenge.
* **Practice Difficulty Mode** - Final split is set to Gullveig death instead of Nidhogg.

[section=Categories and Variables]
Finally, here is some extra information. If you want your splits to show your character and in game settings, you just have to Edit Splits and click on "Additional Information". You will see this:
https://i.imgur.com/Oh0BMzd.png

[section=OBS Setup]
If you want to make your splits look like this on your stream:
https://i.imgur.com/DzlPT4t.png
You are going to need to turn on the ChromaKey filter on OBS.

Go to your "Sources" on OBS(I use OBS Studio, apologies of this is different for Streamlabs OBS), right click on splits and go to Filters.
https://i.imgur.com/ltDPHWC.png

Now click on the "+" and add the "ChromaKey" filter. Make sure the color selected is magenta, and play around with the settings until it is transparent:
https://i.imgur.com/NK1xDk2.png

And that's all I have. If you have any other questions, feel free to ping a mod in the discord server!

Speedrun Tricks/Tech List

This is just a collection of tech that will help you with your speedruns. It is currently incomplete, but this will be updated and added to with time and as new tech is discovered.

[section=Mobility]

Example 1 - Bunny Hop(starts at 10:15)
https://youtu.be/hoapFLgMFcU?t=615

Example 2 - Fireball Jump (starts at 1:38)
https://youtu.be/O8kkMUfUPzU?t=98

Example 3 - Fireball Jump into Bunny Hop (starts at 13:16)
https://youtu.be/4412Oolairw?t=796

Example 4 - Goll Castle Climb
https://youtu.be/Ru0jPKPkJzc

Example 5 - Grenade Jumps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SnXRwoFJYM

[section=Boss Skips]

Example 1 - Surt Skip
https://youtu.be/lMb_ld9uXwQ

Example 2 - Gullveig Herf Skip
https://youtu.be/P9Ushxz9Dfo

Example 3 - Horned Shot Gullveig
https://youtu.be/uvVJAtnc_aA

[section=Quick Kills]

Example 1 - Guardians
https://youtu.be/RJKo_Qsbi2U

Example 2 - Maggot Flies
https://youtu.be/gkM0OLAxf8o

[section=Jukes and Dodges]

Example 1 - Juking Vargrs ( credits to @DaDogFrog )
https://youtu.be/4QoYnWpykoQ

Example 2 - Juking Guardians
https://youtu.be/Ym-arM68Vz0

Example 3 - Juke Stepping Flies
https://youtu.be/bQpbkcsa0Vs

Weapon Comparison Cheat Sheet

https://i.imgur.com/pKcJvvx.png

Source will always be more up-to-date: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IqvkEpQHBz6Tt_G9-aE1JrHMI7fJWMHaQHYl2R8qSk

ch1pset

JamesSwan

BPM: Bullets Per Minute

Thiefdawn

Gfitty

Goll

Freyr

Hildr

Njord

Hard

Easy

Strict

Normal

Loose

Autorhythm

Manual

Skuld

Geri

Herfjotur

Sanngridr

Retro Run

Boss Rush

Full Auto

The Floor Is Lava

Supertime

No Shop Or Treasure

Pistol Only

Fixed Seed Random Items

Fixed Seed Fixed Items

Mega Boss Rush

Hellish

Practice

Classic

Overdrive

Sane

3.0-3.3

Herfjoter

Character

Difficulty

Rhythm Detection

Auto-Rhythm

Challenge

Character Set

Patch

Timing Method

Custom Music

Settings Verified

Freyr and Skuld 
Characters may be played in any order
Health Upgrades are banned.
Midgard Bracelet is allowed

Note:
Freyr may not gain health.
Skuld may not gain armor.

Health Pool Hel

Hello Speedrunners! I am making this post on behalf of MPRGG! We are pleased to announce a speedrunning event featuring a $400 prize pool!

Hosted By MPR {ContrabandOnly, Gfitty, and JamesSwan}



This events focus will be lowering the categories time as much as possible! 

Anyone is welcome to part

Nazwa	Autor
A Beginner's Guide to the Clear All Rooms Category	JamesSwan 6 months ago
Setting Up Livesplit	ch1pset 4 years ago
Speedrun Tricks/Tech List	ch1pset 4 years ago
Weapon Comparison Cheat Sheet	ch1pset 4 years ago