Toren Any% Guide

Shoutout to all the runners for all their work and discoveries over the years. Decided to create a guide to make it easier for new runners to jump in and give it a shot.

RULES:
*Timer starts on "New Journey" and Time is on Loss of Control in the after credits scene.

GENERAL TIPS:
*Death Abuse, Skipping Guard Animations and Reloading Checkpoints will be the main things used to save time.

*The game has many bugs and clunky controls. With practice, you will learn how to work around them. One notable bug is with certain staircases. Moon will get stuck for no reason. Simply move around it. If the entire path is blocked, Jump to get over it.

*Stick close to the railing on stairs but not too close since there's a chance you will get stuck on extended hitboxes. Moving away from the railing will release you.

*When the Dragon fires it's Stone Beam, swing your sword to skip the blocking animation. This trick will be used throughout the run. If you swing too early, you'll still get the blocking animation. It comes down to practice but is consistent.

*Monsters are complete RNG. Avoid them the best you can. If a Monster leaps at you, Jump to escape their grab. If you Jump too late, you will get caught in the struggle animation. It comes down to practice.


--PROLOGUE--
*Start New Journey and play the opening scene as normal. Approach the Dragon to begin a series of unskippable cutscenes. After the screen fades to white, and you can begin to see a slightly older Moon, hit Pause and Reload Checkpoint. This will skip Baby phase altogether and go straight into Moon.

--MOON--
Once you gain control of Moon, immediately run forward and jump off the ledge. We will use this Death Abuse to skip the slow ladder climb and place us directly on the sword alter. Once you gain control, run onto the three panels. Right, Middle, and Left in that order. Grab the Parchment. Gain control and head towards the Tower. Once inside you'll get a cutscene. Run down the stairs and head for the Well.

(NOTE: Moon has a distinct height from which she can survive a Jump. Jumping from the ledge is too high and will kill you. At the time of writing, taking the stairs is the only option.)

Pull off the lid of the Well to get a cutscene. Run back up the stairs to reach the branch. Jump onto the branch once it's available. This allows us to Jump along the branch instead of tiptoe.

(NOTE: This is part RNG. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it wont. If you start floating upward in a falling animation, simply walk backwards. You'll reset your position back to the branch and you can continue. The floating animation can happen at any time during the first half. The second half, at the time of writing, forces you to tiptoe.)

Use the stairs and you'll enter a cutscene showing the sword. Use the triangular hole in the wall to walk outside. Go left to push the rock off the ledge. Once you regain control, hit Pause and Reload Checkpoint. This will load you onto the stone pillars, skipping having to go back inside and push them into position.

--DRAGON--
Walk forward to activate the Dragon. Avoid the Stone Beam by hiding behind the pillars. You're able to run to the second to last pillar without dying. Continue running and you'll be forced into a Monk stage. Salt is introduced. Follow the pattern until it is complete.

(NOTE: The game is generous on completing a pattern. As long as the Salt is close enough, the game will count it as being done. In some cases, the game will complete the pattern before you can finish.)

Run forward and jump up the ledges. Avoid the Ghosts and the Monsters to reach the next pattern. Avoid the Monsters, jump across the floating platforms, and head for the Dragon. After it wakes up, run into the middle of the area and wait. This is a mandatory death. Retrace your steps and try again. Use your statue as cover then run forward. Dragon will fly away and you can run up the stairs to grab the Sword. Spam the Action button as it's possible to grab it from a distance. After waking up, walk onto the branch and enter a cutscene.

--DRAGON FIGHT 1--
Grab the sword and head up the stairs. Dragon will appear for a brief moment. Use the small shrub near the entrance to time your Jump. Doing it successfully will skip the Dragon's animations. Leave the Tower and Jump to the side path to meet the Dragon. Swing into the Stone Beam and Attack the Dragon. Run backwards to grab your Sword. Continue along the path. The moment Moon starts to unsheath her Sword for the Monsters, Pause and Reload Checkpoint. Exit the triangular hole and you will be right next to the Dragon to begin attacking.

(NOTE: Dragon AI is complete RNG. There are 2 patterns Dragon can take. Pattern 1, it stays still and lets you attack. Pattern 2, it will jump side-to-side making it difficult or near impossible to Attack. This is a massive troll and can waste large amounts of time.)

Attack until your Sword goes flying. Run straight down. You have enough time to grab the Sword and will auto guard the Stone Beam. Run back up and Attack. After Sword flys off, run straight down. Again, you have enough time to grab and auto defend. Attack the Dragon. This time, the Sword is on the raised area to the right. Jump onto it and grab the Sword.

(NOTE: There is a Safety Statue on this raised area. If RNG is nice, you can grab the sword without needing it. If RNG is cruel, you will die before you can reach the Safety Statue or the Sword. In this case, use the movable Safety Statues to protect yourself. You will have to make this decision.)

Deliver the final Attack to enter a cutscene.

--MOON 2--
Once you gain control, run along the path and Jump the gap.

(NOTE: There are 3 ways to progress. 1--The intended way is to walk on the branch. This is slow and has a cutscene but is the safest way. 2--To the left of the branch there is a grabbable ledge on the wall you can Jump onto. Immediately jump towards the wood platform inside. This is the fastest known strat but is incredibly difficult. Requires perfect angles and luck. 3--After Jumping the gap, turn around and Jump towards the middle of the window to find a grabbable ledge. Once you pull yourself up, Jump into the window to reach the walkway inside. Go right until you see a round statue by the staircase. Jump onto it, then Jump towards the walkway above you. This is the second best option and is more consistent, but still tricky to pull off.)

Ignore the giant shaky doors and go up the stairs. At the very top you'll find a round statue. Jump onto it, face the wall, then Jump through it to reach a path.

(NOTE: It's best to aim for the black line where the boards connect. The camera may or may not adjust to show the walkway. If it does, you can run as normal. If not, you'll have to rely on hearing. Moon will give you an audio queue when she reaches the end of the path and falls. This causes the camera to swing around so you can see.)

Run along the path then enter the doorway. This will skip us forward and place us in the Elevator cutscene that leads into the Abyss.

--ABYSS--
The game wants us to fill the pattern in order to unlock a usable torch. We will be running Torchless. Even in the dark, it's still possible to see the grass. Follow the paths to each of the triangular patterns and complete them. Top left, top right, bottom right.

(NOTE: You can do these in any order. However, if you do the top left pattern last, there is 1 risky strat that can be done. It's possible to jump from the current platform onto the new platform that just spawned. This leap of faith is where runs dies. You need to jump around an invisible barrier, reach the grabbable platform, all while the camera is working against you. If successful, you save several seconds. If you fail, you softlock the game and need to Reload Checkpoint in order to do it all again.)

Lightning will occasionally flash to give you a glimpse of the area. Adjust accordingly and continue. Once all patterns are complete, a new platform will spawn with a small pattern. Complete it to unlock the way forward.

(NOTE: You can choose to take the stairs at a slower but safer pace. Or you can attempt to Jump off the left edge to hit the cutscene trigger faster.)

--ELEVATOR--
Once you wake up on the Elevator, Jump to the side and walk along the path. Watch the cutscene then Jump back onto the Elevator. After gaining control, quickly Jump onto the walkway, light your torch, then immediately Jump back onto the Elevator. Do this once more. The third time you gain control, you could get good RNG/cycle where the swinging fire will be next to your side of the walkway. If it is, light your torch and immediately Jump back onto the Elevator. If you miss this, you will need to do this part normally. After reaching the top, Jump onto the walkway and run to the outside path then take a left. Ignore the first large firepit and use the second one to light your torch.

(NOTE: If you take too long to light your torch, you begin to freeze to death. This slows you down and dying will send you back to the Elevator.)

Continue up the path, run back inside, up the stairs and Jump back onto the Elevator. You will enter a cutscene that leads you back into the Abyss. Walk forward to enter a very long cutscene. When you wake up, you will be at the top of the Tower. Walk forward, grab the Sword and enter the last fight.

--FINAL DRAGON FIGHT--
The goal is to protect Sun while damaging the Dragon. The Dragon has three parts and two main attacks: Wind and Stone Beam. Stand in front of Sun to guard against the Stone Beams.

(NOTE: The game is picky about what counts as being in front of Sun. Standing directly in front of his model is best. Too far to either the left or right of Sun could result in him being turned to stone. This will reset the fight. Sun moves very slow. So having him die once could waste a large amount of time.)

Part one is fairly easy. You can run through part of the Wind then Attack to get closer. If done correctly, you can hit the Dragon. Sun will activate and charge in to topple a pillar.

Part two introduces movable blocks. Move it along the path, protect Sun and push it into place. Use the same strats to Attack the Dragon. This time you have to Attack the pillar to make it fall.

(NOTE: It is possible push/pull the block in one direction, use the Wind to your advantage and regrab the block before being blown away. This is a difficult trick and could lose time if you fail. Mainly because Attack and Grab share the same button, so Moon could do one and not the other.)

Part three has you moving two blocks. Use the same strats as before. If RNG is kind, you can Jump to the second block, Attack to get close and grab it. If not, you will tumble back down. Attack the Dragon, topple the pillar and run to the final hit. The game wants you to use Sun as a footstool in order to reach the top. However, his hitbox is already in place near the wall. Meaning you can Jump and grab an invisible ledge before he can finish his kneeling animation. Jump onto the platform and deliver the final Attack. 

Once you gain control, simply walk forward and get a cutscene that leads to the credits. After the credits are over, and you reach the final controllable segment, walk right, replant the tree, and that's TIME.