After messing around with the game for about nine months, I've gotten to the point where I can regularly get to Maria in around 4:30ish or so and get close to a 8:30 clock rush. But usually around the long room before the outer wall my thumb starts killing me and I'm not sure what I should do.

This might come off as a bit of a stupid question, but I haven't seen it covered in any actual tutorials (or if I have I missed it in which case my apologies) I've been wondering what the actual optimal way to shield dash is. In that I mean what is the optimal amount of time between hitting dash and shield.

This is kind of hard to explain without video so I'll explain it this way. When you hit dash, how much time passes before you can hit the shield and it's considered sub optimal. Is it always a given you should hit shield as quickly as possible after dashing. Is it just as fast or slower if the shield is out only slightly? Is it just as fast if the shield is only slightly visible? Past halfway out? When does flicking the shield out become not as fast. Is it also possible I'm focusing too much on how long the shield is out when I should be focusing on when to hit dash after hitting shield?

I'm sorry if this question was confusing. I appreciate any help.

Hi. I've decided to pick up SOTN as a speed game about a month ago. As I've now started to regularly get sub 9 clock rushes on a regular basis, I've found myself fighting the standard 360 controller I've been using more than the actual game later on in runs. I particularly when doing multiple IWS. I was wondering if anyone a suggestion on a better controller.