USEFUL TIPS
-Hold down X to fast-forward cutscenes.
-Both X and O advance text, except for chapter intro cards (which use O.)
-Dodging is the fastest method of movement until you get Gear Drive.
-When you don't have your weapon drawn, dodging has no cooldown. However, with your weapon, there's a cooldown of approximately two steps before you can dodge again. Dodging to the beat of the winter Heinmel stage music is good practice for getting the tempo down.
-You can get extra horizontal distance off jumps by jumping immediately after a Gear Drive. This works both on the ground and in mid-air.
-White Nova is incredibly broken, and this route abuses it copiously. For ~8 seconds, it slows down all enemies and turns your attacks into crits. When the route calls for "White Nova"-ing something, just activate it and go to town.
-If you're using Flower Dance, you can chain it together with White Nova for tons of damage by using Flower Dance just before touching a miniboss spawner.
-Hits you land during White Nova DO NOT count toward your chain; it will run out as you use it. If you're in a position to kill a boss while you have a big chain, it's a good idea to hit the boss once and then use White Nova to keep the chain active for the kill.
-Flash Guarding doesn't give you crits, but it does add 5 to your chain, which is very important for dive attacking. Git gud at it, it helps a lot
THINGS TO NOTE
-The first half of the run is based around getting 36 stamps in time for the chapter 4 boss fight. This is required, unless you wanna tank a whole ton of timeloss. If you lose a stamp you needed to collect, you can either redo the stage or make it up elsewhere.
-Any% and True Ending have the same route, so for timing purposes, a True Ending run is also a valid Any% run--just stop the timer (or make a split) after beating Zechst
PROLOGUE
-Go through prologue as normal. Doesn't matter which sidequest you do first
-Hold down turbo during dialogue choice before entering ruins; this keeps the cutscene sped up
ALTAPEA 1 [3 Stamps]
-Acquire all giant crystals and chest
-Stage objective: Kill 10 Enemies
-Stamps: 3/36
ALTAPEA 2 [2 Stamps]
-Stage objective: Get 50 crystals
-Take the high road at the start and get all the crystals on the main path
-Equip Fleur Edge once you get it from the miniboss
-Kill the shelled enemies with arts for extra XP, it wastes no time
-Stamps: 5/36
ALTAPEA 3 [3 Stamps]
-Stage objective: Break 25 stage objects
-Go south at the start and get the giant crystal from the box puzzle
-Equip the Angel Cloth from the chest at the south fork before the miniboss
-Stamps: 8/36
ALTAPEA TEMPLE [1 Stamp]
-Go through stage as quickly as possible, no Stage objectives
-Reach level 2 before end of stage
-PLATFORM SKIP: Activate the switch to raise the second platform a half-second after the lower platform starts rising. Double jump at the peak of the lower platform's height to get onto the raised platform. For demo, see:
-ROLLING THROUGH BARS: Hold up-right and jump into the bars. Double-jump as soon as you get knocked back to phase through them. For demo, see:
-TOUGH JUMP: Costs a lot of time if you fail it, but it looks cool. For demo, see:
-Stamps: 9/36
ALTAPEA BOSS
-Mash attacks and Fleur Edge. Be careful not to get combo'd if you take too long during phase 2
TOWN INTERLUDE
-Turn in items at museum, then go to Orbus's hut for cutscene; go back to Nayuta's house, then to Terra for more cutscenes, then warp out to Terra
-Need 2500 mira by the end of the next four stages; keep an eye on your money
ALTAPEA 3 SUMMER [2 Stamps]
-Stage objective: Clear the stage in under 3 minutes
-Stamps: 11/36
RIESEWELD 1 [1 Stamp]
-Get two of the giant crystals right off the main path if you want. Get the second art slot from the chest and equip Plum Shot to it
-Passively spam Plum Shot to level it up during downtime (Temple is good for this)
-Stamps: 12/36
RIESEWELD 2 [3 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Kill 10 enemies with arts
-Use Plum Shot to kill the fish enemies that jump out of the water. Kill some extra enemies if you need to for the objective
-Stamps: 15/36
RIESEWELD 3 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Get 30 crystals
-The jump from the statue is makeable one tile from the bottom and one tile from the left
-End of stage bonus is ~150 mira, so having 2350 by the end of the stage will get you enough
-Stamps: 17/36
-Go back to town; buy Puriesta, then go to Orbus for lessons
RIESEWELD TEMPLE [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Kill 50 enemies
-Kill every enemy on the main path
-Stamps: 19/36
-Ideal Level: 7
RIESEWELD BOSS
-Use Gear Buster to break the spines on its back. Fleur Edge can also deal chip damage
-When the platform is falling, you can knock its teeth out in one phase by winding up Gear Buster mid-air. The timing's pretty strict on this. For demo, see:
-After the boss, head to the Astrolabe for a cutscene, then to town to finish the chapter
TOWN INTERLUDE
-Go to museum and talk to curator; turn in items now if you're feeling confident with money (you need 8000 by the time you finish Heinmel Temple)
-Visit Star Garden for cutscene, then go to Terra
RIESEWELD 2 WINTER [0 Stamps]
-Free Eli-whatever, then get chest to west of her and warp back out (do not complete stage)
WHITE NOVA
-Warp back to town, accept White Nova quest (second on the list)
-Go to Rieseweld Temple summit and talk to Eli-whatever
-Go to Rieseweld 3 Winter; place eggs under the bridge by the switch
-Exit out, change the season to Summer, then enter Rieseweld 3 Summer
-Check the bridge spot for the eggs, then warp out and head back to summit
-Talk to guardian to get White Nova; equip it to second arts slot
HEINMEL 1 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Clear the stage in under 90 seconds
-Head north at the start
-After the crystal-guided double jump over the pit, head northeast and pick up the Yold Egg from the plant on the ground
-White Nova the miniboss (and every miniboss you feasibly can going forward)
-Stamps: 21/36
HEINMEL 2 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Kill 50 enemies with physical attacks
-Kill all the small fry enemies and all the worm enemies
-Keeping your chain up is very important for the money gate at the end of the chapter
-White Nova the miniboss to get Icicle Spear; equip it over Fleur Edge
-Stamps: 23/36
-Ideal Level: 11
HEINMEL 3 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Eat food no more than once (in-stage health pickups don't count)
-Stamps: 25/36
HEINMEL Temple [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Kill 70 enemies
-Keep your chain up as long as you can in area 1
-Keep track of money and item drops to make sure you reach 8000
-White Nova the dragons at the beginning of area 2; it'll recharge in time for the miniboss
-Safety strat: If you're low on money, activate the switch on the far east side of area 2 to unlock the chest, which gives you a Tome of Alchemy. It's worth 600 mira at the museum
-Stamps: 27/36
-Ideal Level: 12
HEINMEL BOSS
-Go to museum if you need to top off money; buy Sledgehammer for 8000 mira
-Save White Nova until phase 3 of boss
-If boss goes invuln while White Nova is active, you can pause and unpause to cancel it
-After cutscenes, fetch Creha from Astrolabe to end chapter
-From here on out, there's a 35000 mira gate for the Selam fight in chapter 7. Get it as early as you can, within reason; break some big mira crystals if they're not out of the way
HEINMEL 3 SUMMER
-Free guardian, then warp out
LA WORG 1 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Don't let the craft gauge run out
-Stamps: 29/36
LA WORG 2 [3 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Clear the stage in under 90 seconds
-TRICKY PLATFORMING: You can skip a platform cycle with well-timed jumps. You can't afford to fail this too many times, so only attempt this if you're confident. For a demo, see:
-Equip the Dancer Outfit from the chest. Noi says she's several hundreds of years old, so I assume this is legal
-Stamps: 32/36
LA WORG 3 [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Don't use Gear Shield
-FIREHOPPING: By double-jumping immediately after landing on lava, you can avoid taking damage. This is useful if you miss the platform cycle in this stage
-Stamps: 34/36
-Ideal Level: 16
LA WORG TEMPLE [2 Stamps]
-Special Objective: Kill 35 enemies
-Game forces you back to town; go to the northern pier for a cutscene then warp back
-Kill all enemies on the main path
-White Nova the miniboss in area 1 and the two giant fire thingies at the start of area 2
-Stamps: 36/36
-Ideal Level: 17
-Stamp gate done! Now go back to town and get lessons from Orbus; Meteor Strike will be Nayuta's bread and butter for the rest of the run (bear in mind it only activates with an active 20-chain)
-Equip Plum Shot on first slot
LA WORG BOSS
-White Nova phase 1 immediately
-Spam Plum Shot to get a chain up during phase 2 (can also spam it if you get hit and need to rebuild your chain)
-If you have White Nova for phase 3, use it; otherwise, do fight as normal
-You're back in town now; go to west beach for cutscene, then climb ruins to end chapter
LA WORG 1 SPRING
-Go to garden; climb root to access Heliograd; enter, then get booted out because you don't have gear dash yet
-Free guardian in La Worg 1 Spring, then warp out
LA WORG 2 SPRING
-Save White Nova for art boss; fight it to get Flower Dance (mind their shields, they'll mess you up if you get too close; chip them out with Icicle Spear if needed)
-Equip Flower Dance over Icicle Spear
HELIOGRAD 1
-Nothing of note here
HELIOGRAD 2
-After beating miniboss, head west to fork where you pressed the switch earlier, and dash across
the bridge to get the Executioner; equip it over Sledgehammer
HELIOGRAD BOSS
-When boss moves left, hold up; when boss moves right, hold down
TOWN INTERLUDE
-Talk to Dorado at ruins, then mayor, then museum curator; turn in items if you're feeling confident with money
-Big ogres' heads are their weak points; best dealt with air slashes
-At Nayuta's house, cook an egg burger with the Yold Egg (page 2, row 2, column 3). Save it for later
-Break back into Terra at Orbus's hut
LEXENDRIA
-Order: District I -> IV -> III -> II
ALT DISTRICT
-Nothing of note; White Nova Gio after he falls down in phase 2 for a quick kill
WOR DISTRICT
-Dash behind boss and wail away for phase 1
-Phase 2: Walk behind it with Gear Shield up, then release and use White Nova
HEIM DISTRICT
-Build up chain on phase 1 (and try to keep it by guarding lightning strikes)
-PHASE SKIP: Hang on to the closest grapple point from the boss's rear end, then eat the burger you made earlier, attack the weak spot, then White Nova as soon as you hit the ground. Rush over to the boss's head and wail on it. If you get it to 1914 HP before it starts roaring in pain, you skip the phase where it goes back up in the air again. (NOTE: You need to be at least level 25 to do this!) For a demo, see:
RIESE DISTRICT
-Pick up chest at far north end at big four-way junction; you can cross gap with only one platform with a well-timed gear dash jump
-Buy Lost Dragon as soon as you have 35000 mira
-Boss: The usual
STELLARIUM CRADLE
-Oh boy, my favorite stage. Lots of fun jumps and tricks here
-SKIPPING ROCKS: Frustratingly precise boost jump saves about a minute if you can pull it off. For a demo, see:
-WRONG WARP: Jumping over platform at start of gauntlet bugs out the game. Then hitting two switches at the same time despawns the platform you're riding on. Hold down left and stay there as you fall to skip entire section. See:
SELAM
-This is the toughest boss fight in the game. Make sure you have Lost Dragon and are at least level 27
-No specific strategy here, his AI is very erratic. Some tips I've picked up on:
-You can get a dive attack and two more hits in on him at the very start of the fight. Just make sure to dodge back afterward
-Keep your chain up as long as possible to help cut through his high defense
-If he uses projectile attacks, guard them to despawn them. This makes him stagger backward
-Don't let him corner you or he'll combo you to death
-Below half health, he can use an ultimate attack that will almost certainly one-shot you if he catches you. If he starts winding up the attack as you're dive attacking or right before you dodge, you can't escape. Be extra careful during this phase
FINAL STAGE
-Two nifty jumps right at the beginning of the stage that save about a minute. For a demo, see:
-In area 2, press the first and third switches. You can ignore the second one
ZECHST
-White Nova whenever you want to for first fight, ideally to cut through the orbs that guard him
-Legs: Dive attack while Gear Shielding to get rid of pincers
-Arms: Dive attack with Shield up. You only need to break one of the arms, so focus one down
-Head: Gear Bust both hands, then wail on him
-Tail: Wait until core shows himself, then White Nova and go to town
Done! (With Any%)
TRUE ENDING
-Make food for safety (and eat to level 35) if you want to, these fights are tough
LABE VIRGO
-Hope you're good at Flash Guarding. Save as much food as possible for next fight, you get no break between (though you do get a full heal)
NOI
-Don't. Stop. Moving. Keep your chain up at all times; prioritize not getting hit over speed
And NOW you're done!
