I did a casual run through of the game using the no-MB / magic focussed route and agree that it is potentially very fast.

In case it is of interest, below is the video of my fight with the final boss first stage. It was the product of lots of attempts and I think getting a consistent strategy for this fight will be essential as it is not at all easy.

I also managed to get Zarcatus' glitch on the Master of Chaos as below. It is actually quite consistent and I have replicated it a couple of times. It seems he needs to be baited with some damage (either grasp or bolts) whilst the character is as far into the wall as possible, and fairly quickly he will do the backwards jump necessary to make him clip through the floor and die.

I will try and do a full run soon with this route :)

Really stoked that a UK speedrunning event has been organised and excited about the growth potential. Unfortunately I can't make it to the venue on those dates but will be watching on stream when possible and will definitely donate!

Just more brainstorming. I saw this video showing how the rift spell could be used to jump to normally inaccessible areas: I don't think it has any useful application in the run because you don't get rift until late on and none of the late key-locked gates seem like they could be jumped over with this technique, but its just something else to keep in mind.

Edit: Perhaps useful to jump over the right hand wall in the Ice Dwarf arena to skip that boss fight and go straight to the last shard of the mageblade? Unlikely but I will try and check when I next get the chance.

Do we want it a rule that video proof is required? If you (SixRock and EmberDev) are happy to have splits screenshot as sufficient proof then I have no objection to that (as I am nowhere near WR anyway), but either way the rule should be consistent.

I'm not sure why the response to Oxknifer has been so vitriolic. The intention seemed reasonable and if there was a reason a runner couldn't use screen recording software or a number of runners took exception to the rule then I imagine he would have reviewed it.

Doesn't warrant the backlash imho.

Good idea, a refresh would be nice. 2 is probably my favourite but like 4 as well so more than happy with that. Trophies look great too.

Agreed, great run SixRock so optimised

Please don't flip out just because someone beats your time.

Incidentally, just saw this: . Probably wouldn't work in a run as the character had been maxed in this vid and I don't think Overseer's fireballs can be rebounded without mageblade, but I will test next time I get a chance.

Good spot! All changed. I have made you mod incidentally, as you are clearly very active with the game / new strats etc. Let me know if you would rather not be mod.

Thanks zarcatus, really interested in that glitch (and whether the grasp spell has potential glitch possibilities in other areas / fights)!

I will give the route a go but having tried a magic focussed run earlier today (ran out of time) magic seems far more skill based and tbh I struggled in places. I may try and first crack out a decent any% time using a mixed magic/melee run and ferryman to skip golden boulder, but not skip MB. Just because WEK sounds so difficult magic only.

Jason, I think I will be running any% CD if anything, and zarcatus seems to be focussing on any% CD too, so 100% category definition is your call. I could email the dev potentially to clarify how the game defines in game %age...

Great work Zarcatus, I will definitely try this route when I get the time.

Just one thought - given that the key just before the fire dwarf takes about 2 minutes to get, it might save time to instead get the key from the corruptor on the upper left side near beginning of WEK - it is a tricky fight but a minor detour and potentially faster.

If the final boss 2nd stage can be overcome, any ideas what the new route might roughly clock in at?

Agreed regarding the frost trinket. I also wonder whether it is worth not getting plate armour, as you could then get magic armor much earlier. Overseer fight would be trickier but still doable.

In regard to skipping magic armor, WEK will be so difficult anyway that I would not attempt it without the best armor, but much respect to whoever can manage it!

Thanks Zarcatus - really interesting comments! I agree there is likely to be a lot of route evolution worked around how best to deploy the spare keys.

I am really interested to see how WEK would be tackled with magic only (if as feared the magic sword doesn't work there). I can do the first corruptor fairly ok but the skeleton gate keeper is tough. When I tried WEK magic only even the smaller mobs were really tricky and it was difficult to keep up the mana levels. The saving grace is that Bishop the Destroyer can be skipped, plus the final boss stage 1 can be hurt largely by deflecting his magic balls (presuming that this is possible with non-MB swords?), and then the final boss last stage can normally be cheesed (although mana levels may again be a problem and he can deflect fire balls quite easily...).

In case it helps any (may not), I have uploaded in guides a spreadsheet I made a few months ago showing the chests and rewards, for help with routing.

Some further observations (sorry, have become a bit obsessive):

• The ferryman skip, although not saving any time itself, does allow you to acquire a key 'in hand' by speaking to the ferryman before using pots to jump over the river. This will allow one key required later in the game to be skipped. Thought would need to be given to which key takes the longest time to get, as that one would be the best one to skip.

• I still haven't managed yet to recreate the SS maxing glitch as it is really difficult to try and set things up so that the level up happens at exactly the same time as a coin is collected. It is also possible that the glitch might require a cut scene to commence at the same time too (that is pure guesswork based on the conditions when it happened before). One thing that might help is that picking up an XP sack dropped from a chest involves a cut small scene and obviously can trigger a level up, so all that may then be needed is finding out how to place a coin in the same spot as the XP sack after its dropped to the floor. It might be possible by throwing a pot onto the same spot and hoping that a coin pops out when it breaks. Complicated - will test!

Edit: tested collecting an XP sack (to trigger level up) and a coin simultaneously, and didn't seem to work.

I might be wrong but I think I have accidentally attempted WEK using the magic sword before, when forgetting to go to the caves to forge the mageblade, and I think the corruptors were immune to it unfortunately. Definitely warrants checking though.

Unfortunately to progress after the first boss you need to get the first piece of the mageblade and speak to the elder, otherwise when you go through the cave after using the bomb to clear some rubble for the first time, there is another lot of rubble and a guard saying "can't clear this with explosives, guess I'll need a pick axe" or something similar. I haven't checked whether there are similar road blocks connected with the other bosses.

In any case, I agree that WEK underlevelled would be incredibly tough. Add magic only into the mix and it would take a superhuman effort to get through it.

Hi guys

I emailed the dev who was really friendly and helpful. I asked him about:

1. Jumping across the lava to the Mageblade platform before getting all the pieces / raising the bridge, and whether there a way of triggering the Mageblade without first getting all the pieces;

2. The Ice Dwarf glitch maxing the soul shard count, and whether he thought there was a viable way of reproducing this (ideally with an earlier boss / mob).

3. More generally, whether he knew of any possible sequence breaks, glitches, exploits or other tricks which might help reduce the speedrun time.

They replied with:

"1. I don't think there is a way of triggering it, but have you considered not getting the Mageblade at all? It is possible to complete the World's End Keep by using magic only, although it is not easy. Doing it quickly could be an interesting challenge.

2. I can't tell offhand what is causing this although I could possibly figure it out by looking at the code. If I had to guess, you need to collect a coin at the exact same frame where the game stops for the level up dialog. Probably not easy to replicate reliably, but if this is the cause, it could work anywhere else too.

3. I don't know of any major glitches, but as I mentioned above, skipping getting the Mageblade could potentially save time. It would make the end more difficult, but you could skip two bosses entirely. It also lets you keep keys from the previous dungeons to use later, which could further save time.

If I can think of anything else that could help, I will let you know."

He also mentioned that they are working on a new game and there should be some news coming out about it soonish, which sounds interesting!

I tried World's End with magic only and it is reeeaallly tough, and I couldn't complete it (got perhaps halfway through), but I wouldn't say it was definitely impossible. The comments about the soul shard glitch were obviously interesting too and I will perhaps try some testing as I can think of a few different potential set ups, if this is indeed the cause.

Incidentally I completed a playthrough after doing the ferryman skip and there was no obvious effect on story progression or anything else, so doubt this is an effective timesaver.

Will do!