Hey everyone!

I have had some runs submitted recently that utilize an in-game glitch called stat boosting. The short version of what this glitch is, is that the game forgets to reset your stats when you equip/unequip items, which allows you to max out your stats for that level (though it does reset once you enter the next level). This allows for the player to one-shot very difficult bosses in new game runs, which can allow the player to shave major amounts of time off their run as they don't have to level up to be able to beat the bosses.

Personally, I think this is a very cool glitch that is technically legal since it is in-game. It allows the player to maximize their runs in ways that would not be possible without using it. However, as I have researched how other communities handle glitches like this, the consensus I have found seems to be that these types of glitches should not be allowed in new or full game runs. This is due to them not being in line with how the developers intended the game to be run, as well as preventing the full game experience from being played out. That being said, most other games do allow for category extensions, such as the "Wrong Warp" in Mario 3, where well-known glitches are used to get extremely low times since they can be executed in-game without cheats. As such, I would like to propose the following:

1. I recommend that we create a category extension that allows for stat boosting in each of the new game characters. This will both preserve the integrity of the New Game category while also recognizing the hard work of community members who have optimized runs using this glitch, and will allow for some very cool runs to be verified in this community.

2. Once the category extensions have been created, any currently pending runs that use stat boosting and have been submitted to the New Game category will be rejected, while the player will be encouraged to resubmit the run under the new correct category. This is not meant to exclude anyone, but rather to ensure we keep New Game runs vs Stat Boosting runs in separate categories. So please do not feel bad if your run gets rejected as we would love for you to resubmit under the correct category!

If anyone has any thoughts/concerns, please feel free to let me know and I'm happy to address them. Please also feel free to comment here if you agree with this proposition. I will give the community about a week to post any thoughts/concerns and, as long as the community agrees, I will look at this next weekend (4/15/24 at the very latest) to have the new categories created, pending runs addressed, and messages sent to players encouraging them to resubmit their runs under the new correct category.

Thanks!

~Nick

Hey everyone!

I wanted to make an updated list of strategies that can be used to maximize speed for new game + runs as well as the bonus maps. Hopefully this helps assist new runners with getting started as well as helps veteran runners identify new strategies for maximizing speed as well:

Items:

The single most important way to increase speed is via the use of items as these are universal across all characters and directly increase speed/can reduce run times by literal minutes. Here are some of the items to watch for while grinding/optimizing your character:

-The most important speed item is wrappings, which can add up to 15% speed to your character. Prefixes that can produce maximum speed on wrappings include "horseman's," "boatman's," and "worn," while suffixes include "of Umbar" and "of Osgiliath"

-"Snowbird's" and "River's" prefixes can increase speed by 10% for weapons

-"of Umbar" suffixes can increase speed by 10% for certain items such as shields

-The suffix "of the Eldar" increases speed by 7% for certain items

-Prefixes such as "green copper," "worn," and "boatman's" can increase speed by 5%

-Suffixes such as "of Osgiliath," "of Rangers," "of the Fox," "of the Hound," "of the Eorlings," "of Dimholt," and "of the Sky" increase the speed of items by 5%

-The blue item "Blue Chainmail of Zephyrmaster" increases speed by 5%

Attributes:

The next most important strategy for maximizing speed is attributes as these are also universal across all characters. I would recommend prioritizing them as follows:

-Accuracy: This can increase the odds of landing a hit by 150% - This can be the difference between standing around mashing B presses and killing enemies with a single hit, which is critical for boss fights or any other times you must engage with an enemy to progress to the next stage.

-Defense: This is equally important as it can decrease the odds of enemies landing a hit by 150% - this allows you to slip past enemies without hits or knockbacks.

-Strength: Though not as important as accuracy for landing hits, increasing strength will allow you to kill high point level villains like Ringwraiths, cave trolls, or bosses with minimal B presses.

-Health: Not super important as long as you have increased defense; however, it is a good idea to at least grind your health high enough that you don't accidentally die from stray hits or high damage bosses.

-Courage: Also not super important unless your character requires a skill (ex. Gandalf's "Lightstrike" to kill the final Ringwraith boss) to progress through a stage.

Runes:

The next most important strategy to maximize speed is runes as these are also universal - though none directly increase speed, I would recommend equipping "Elf Rune II - Nimblefoot" on your weapon and shield/staff as this can increase dodge by 10-20% and decrease the odds of enemies landing blows or knockbacks.

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