THIS ROUTE IS OUTDATED WITH THE RELEASE OF 2.0. (link)

Thought I'd write out the route from gamestabled's run to make it easier to follow, and to help others learn 70 Star since it could be a fun category to compete in. I also have absolutely nothing better to do with my life. I wrote this with the intention of it following some sort of checklist format, and it may be beneficial in some places to watch gamestabled's run alongside the guide. Enjoy!

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Note: We'll be using a technique called the Cutscene Cancel (CC) quite a bit during this run. This is performed by hitting the menu key twice to quickly enter and exit the menu during a star spawn cutscene, which allows you to move around during its duration. Your camera will be a little screwed up until the cutscene is done, but with some practice you'll get the hang of it.

Note 2: The Cooler Note - This run uses the All Guns cheat code which is activated by hitting P and V on the keyboard at the same time, you'll know it's activated if Mario takes a lil bit of damage after you press it.

Note 3: The Less Cool Note - I highly recommend you bind your scroll wheel to left-click using Lioncache's guide, it'll make the bowser fight much, much easier.

File Select, then instant Exit to Castle and immediately run to and enter Whomp's Fortress. You may want to enable the All Guns cheat on your way to get it out of the way.

Whomp's Fortress - 5 OR 6 Stars (For all stars, select any star that isn't Gun Sling the Whomp King as it will be skipped in this run) (Note from gamestabled: Gun Sling the Whomp King is fast enough to be included in the route instead of a slower star, but the star is frequently non-functional and more challenging than many others. For these reasons, it is not included in my route right now, but an optimal 70 star route would include it.)

MOD EDIT 2/28/21 - The current fastest route for 70 star collects Gun Sling the Whomp King as the first star, as it is possible to collect despite sometimes taking numerous tries/resets before it will work. If you choose to do this star, you can skip a slower star such as JRB red coins (in which case you would open the JRB jetpack during Into The Abyss instead).

• Collect the To the Top of the Fortress Star (hint: it's at the top of the fortress)
• Collect the Blast Away the Wall star (the star is clipping through the wall slightly on the slanted side of the tower, so simply jump at it from the top of the slanted side)
• Collect the Shoot Into the Wild Blue star (you're able to collect this star by falling off the ledge above it and holding back, refer to gamestabled's run if unclear)
• Collect the Red Coin star (get em all, make sure to end with the one nearest to the star spawn space, then CC to collect the star - be careful not to jump off the edge)
• Collect the Island Parkour star (it's in the cage at the end of the floating islands, nothing special needed)

Exit to Castle once back in the Whomp's Fortress room, and immediately run to Cool, Cool Mountain

Cool, Cool Mountain - 5 Stars (Slip Slidin Away is the only star that must be selected at the star select screen for it to appear, and Hole In the Wall will not spawn if this star is selected, but will spawn in every other star. The Snowman's Secrets also only appears in later missions.)

• Collect the Hole In the Wall star (enter the slide, jump off the start platform behind the big penguin and immediately rotate 180 degrees to the right to jump over the blue wall, where you can fall down to the ending hut and directly onto the star)
• Collect the Lil' Penguin Lost star (too lazy to describe the route for this one, just watch gamestabled's run and start blastin', then CC at the end once delivered)
• Collect the Slip Slidin' Away star (same method as Hole In the Wall, just make sure to select this specific star)
• Collect the The Snowman's Secrets star (once again I'm too lazy to describe the route, just make sure to activate the cheat code so that you can shoot the far secrets with the rocket launcher, and then CC to collect the star)
• Collect the Wall Kicks Weren't Implemented star (you're able to jump straight off to the area where the star is, and you can jump on a piece of geometry to the left of the area in order to jump onto the top level where the star is, refer to gamestabled's run if unclear)

Exit to Castle once and make your way to Jolly Roger Bay

Jolly Roger Bay - 6 Stars (Jetpack to the Pillars and Minecavern do not need to be picked specifically to be collected, but the rest do) (Note from gamestabled: the JRB route in my 40:05 run is one of the biggest mistakes in that run. The descriptions below now say what should have been done)

• Collect the Red Coins star on at least the 3rd mission and unlock the jetpack from the Bob-Omb Buddy (this was the mistake in gamestabled's run)
• Collect the Can Eel Come Out to Play star (vanilla route, sit under him til he gets a lil antsy and swims out and collect the star as it follows him out)
• Collect the Jetpack to the Pillars star (Just use the jetpack that you unlocked during the Red Coins)
• Collect the Plunder in the Sunken Ship star (vanilla route, wait til he swims out and get plunderin')
• Collect the Minecavern star (Use the jetpack to fly over the wall near the start and enter the minecavern from out of bounds, saving quite a bit of time over travelling there normally)
• Collect the Into the Abyss star (nothing special, it's at the bottom)

Once you are back in the castle, run to the corner to perform the Downstairs Skip. Enter the basement and run to the Hazy Maze Cave entrance.

Hazy Maze Cave - 5 stars

• We'll be using the same method to collect both the Watch for Rolling Rocks & A-Maze-ing Emergency Exit stars. (Go to the red coin room, and immediately run to the right to grab the jetpack, then fly back to the door you came from and then fly over the wall towards those stars. You'll need to make sure that you land on the wall seam since you won't be able to fly the full distance, and then grab the second jetpack and fly to both stars. Make sure not to fly into the lamp like a DUMMY.)
• The two sea cavern stars will be collected in a similar fashion. (Grab the same jetpack, but this time just fly over the wall in the corner until you are over the sea covern, then simply fall down and complete both stars.
• Collect the Navigating the Toxic Maze star (vanilla route)

Once you are back in the castle, make your way to Lethal Lava Land

Lethal Lava Land - 6 Stars

• Collect the Bullies Barrage the Star star (nothing special, just don't die running across the lava)
• Collect the Bullies Didn't Learn Their Lesson star (read above)
• Collect the Red-Hot Log Rolling star (just jump around the gate on the right side)
• Collect the Red Coins star (save one coin on the puzzle for last so you can CC and collect the star)
• Collect both volcano stars (vanilla routes)

Once you are back in the castle, run to Shifting Sand Land

Shifting Sand Land - 5 stars

• Collect the Shining Atop the Pyramid star (just jump over the mountain at the beginning and jump up the pyramid)
• Collect the 1v1 with Klepto star (shoot him with the sniper rifle and the star will spawn on the left side of the map)
• Collect the Jetpack Atop the Four Pillars star (use the jetpack to cover the two left pillars, then recollect it and cover the two right pillars, then enter the pyramid and collect the star on the right
• Collect the Secret Pyramid Puzzle star (enter the pyramid, then follow the route in gamestabled's run, you'll need to use the rocket launcher for the most efficient path, and make sure to finish on top of where the star spawns for the fastest time)
• Collect the Inside the Ancient Pyramid star (enter the pyramid and get on top of the red brick box, fall off the edge and into the room and collect the star)

Once you're back in the castle, make your way through the 30 star door and enter Dire Dire Docks

Dire Dire Docks - 5 star

• Collect the Blast Davy Jone's Locker star (swim through the tunnel and blow up the side of the cage with the rocket launcher)
• Collect Sushi's Star (grab it off his tail)
• Collect the The Manta Ray's Reward star (grab it off its tail)
• Collect the Nautical Secrets star (fall down slowly as you shoot each of the secret spots with the rocket launcher, then collect the star. Ideally you want to finish on top of it, but if not just CC or wait it out)
• Collect the Board Bowser's Sub star (nothing special)

Once you're back in the castle, hit Exit to Castle and then run straight to Big Boo's Haunt

Big Boo's Haunt - 6 Stars (Poltergust 3000 must be used to kill ghosts)

• Collect the Go On a Ghost Hunt star (vanilla route)
• Collect the Ride King Boo's Merry Go Round star (normal route, CC to collect the star)
• Collect the Big Boo on the Summit star (normal route, make sure to start the fight in the star spawn space, shoot him a bunch, and then CC to collect the star)
• Collect the Red Coins star (vanilla route, watch gamestabled's run)
• Collect the Blast the Bookshelf star (make your way to the top left of the house, shoot the big bookshelf with the rocket launcher and jump the gap to collect the star)
• Collect the Eye to Eye in the Secret Room star (vanilla route, shoot it 3 times with the rocket launcher, and CC to collect the star)

Once you are back in the castle, immediately Exit to Castle and make your way to Bob-Omb Battlefield

Bob-Omb Battlefield - 5 Stars

• Collect the Island in the Sky star (run to the left of the level and talk to the Bob-Omb near the cannon, where you'll grab the jetpack and fly to the island to collect the star)
• Collect the The Pirahnazooka Problem star (same method as above, but fly to the top of the mountain, talk to King Bob-Omb and quickly throw all 3 mushroom mines at him to defeat him, then CC to collect the star. Note: make sure you do not use these mushroom mines anywhere else, as if you do not have all 3 from the cheat code on hand, you'll need to buy more from the Monty Mole. Or just press P+V again to get more mines lol)
• Complete the Koopa the Quickscoper star (talk to the koopa and he'll race you, but run out of breath behind the mountain, talk to him again there and he'll drop the star, CC to collect)
• Complete the Sought-After Sky Secrets star (run over to the star's spawn area and shoot all 5 secret spots with your rocket launcher as fast as possible, CC to collect)
• Collect the Blast Away the Chain Chomp's Bars star (shoot the bars down with the rocket launcher to collect)

Once you are back in the castle, Exit to Castle and make your way to the JRB room, where you'll perform the upstairs skip. Once the skip is complete, jump into Wet Dry World

Wet Dry World - 5 Stars

• Collect the The Odder Secret star (immediately run over to the Heave-Ho (the flipper enemy) and lure it to perform the clip into the Town, where you'll immediately try to land on the top platform and head to the warp space. Once you warp, it'll put you behind the gate, where you collect the star at the top)
• Collect the Top O' the Town star (MAKE SURE to select the Secrets in the Shallows and Sky star or else the Bob-Omb will not spawn, make your way to the top of the main area, and make sure to talk to the Bob-Omb before collecting as it'll open the jetpack for later)
• Collect the Switch Up on the Mega Mushroom star (nothing special, make your way up to the "?" button, where you'll ground pound it, drop down, and then jump on the mega mushroom to collect the star)
• Collect the The Odd Secret star (run over to the warp space behind the sign, then drop down to collect the star)
• Collect the Secrets in the Shallows and Sky star (shoot all secret spaces with your rocket launcher, make sure to warp before finishing all 5 so that you can collect the jetpack, then fly over to collect the star)

Once back in the castle, make your way to Tiny-Huge Island

Tiny-Huge Island - 5 Stars (This'll be a little confusing to type out so bear with me)

• Collect the Pow Pow Piranha Plants star (Start tiny, go to huge pipe, run behind the pirahnas)
• Collect the Tip Top of the Huge Island star (Start tiny, go to the top big pipe, go to the top of the island and collect the star)
• Collect the Five Itty Bitty Secrets star (Start tiny, jump to the top of the island and shoot all secrets with your rocket launcher, jump across to collect)
• Collect the Drop In the Mountain star (Start tiny, go to the top big pipe, jump up to the top of the level and fall in the hole, collect the star)
• Collect the Red Coins star (Start tiny, go to the top big pipe, make your way around the side of the mountain to the other side and go through the hole, refer to gamestabled's run for the coin route)

Once in the castle, make your way to Tall, Tall Mountain

Tall, Tall Mountain - 4 Stars

• Collect the Manhandle the Monkey star (Perform Monkey Skip, collect monkey star) (for monkey skip, aim here from your spawning position after loading into the level and fire the rocket launcher https://imgur.com/A02oh0K )
• Collect the Scale the Mountain star (Jump up the face of the mountain to the top of the level and collect the star)
• Collect the Breathtaking View From the Bridge star (About the same route as the top of the mountain, but take a slight detour to the star's location and fall off to collect it)
• Collect The Slide's Star (climb the mountain and jump into the slide loading zone near the top. take the slide down until the first tunnel, then immediately jump off to the right and land on the star at the bottom)

Once in the castle, make your way to Snowman's Land

Snowman's Land - 5 Stars

• Collect the Blast the Cage Away star (Shoot the cage with the rocket launcher, collect the star)
• Collect the Chill with the Bullies star (nothing special, just grab the thing)
• Collect the Behind the Freezing Pond star (nothing special, just jump off the flower thing to clear the wall and over the mountain)
• Collect the Red Coins star (vanilla route)
• Collect the Into the Igloo star (make your way to the hut, immediately shoot the gate below you with the rocket launcher and collect the star)

Once back in the castle, go up the stairs and through the 50 Star door, then make your way to Rainbow Ride.

Rainbow Ride - 3 Stars

• Collect the Swingin' In the Breeze star (you can skip a majority of the level with the mega mushroom and go straight, pretty easy route)
• Collect the Tricky Triangles star (same idea as the above star, but this time take the mega mushroom to the left, and ground pound the "?" to spawn the platforms and collect the star)
• Collect the The Big House in the Sky star (take the mega mushroom to the right, make your way through the vertical maze thing to the jetpack, then play onto the rainbow near you. Then make the jump between the two rainbows to make it into the house, take the mega mushroom to the top and collect the star)

Once in the castle, you can make your way through the 70 Star door and into Bowser in the Sky

Bowser in the Sky

Run to the jetpack and fly back a little so you reach the top of the box, then go to the checkered platforms and once at the top, jump onto the strip with the Chuck-Ya. Continue down that path for a bit, and once you hit the turn, jump onto the flamethrower rock and cut the long loop section, run to the other side of that strip and take the jetpack up as far as you can near the checkered platforms, then navigate to the pipe and into the Bowser fight.

For the fight, it is very heavily advised that you bind your scroll wheel to left-click, as spamming the M16 is the best DPS in the game by far, and otherwise you will lose quite a bit of time by just clicking. Make sure to stay away from Bowser and mow him down, and once he gets close to you, simply run to the other side of the stage. Repeat this once or twice until you kill him, and collect the star, where the timer stops.

this was longer than any paper ive had to write for college :^)