What Kap, and Tela said. Make it a seperate category, maybe in the miscellaneous tab, and then we might indeed get more people interested in this game. I'd say, throw it in there or, at least, gauge if there's interest, make an announcement here and in the discord, and see if it indeed has a place on the board.

While I've not seen any PS4 footage yet, but if it's about the same as the XBone (the new release) one, then the load times are about 2-3 seconds at most, which makes them best console versions right now.

A short update regarding the leaderboards, and a casual reminder.

Due to a recent request influx, and also support, for individual level categories, the decision has been made to add these ILs to the board, as well. The categories for these ILs are the same for the NG+ ones. The reason for this being, on a new game, you can fairly easy obtain everything from the shop, and unlocking other weapons through Platinum codes, with a bit of grinding, making the term "new game" obsolete. Difficulties are also the same as the full run categories, and are done in RTA.

As a casual reminder, we have a discord, for anyone interested in running the game, or just want to learn about either bayo 1 or 2, and 3 when it releases. https://discord.gg/DkVK85x

When on a new game, not all the cards are there yet. It appearing into existence means, that it has to appear in that flash of light that plays before you can select the chapter card

Alright, so this suggestion has been going around the discord already, but I'm posting it here as well for others that might not be in there.

My suggestion was that we got rid of the intro chapter: "Records of Time - The End". I don't mean that we should bring the old timer offset back, either. The suggestion is that it's cut from the run completely, and that the timing for the run begins on pressing start on the prologue. However, should it go like this, then there are a few parameters that the file that's run should follow, and must be shown in the video of said run. (These are the ones I came up with)

1. The In game time of the file must not exceed 4 minutes
2. The halo count on the file must be 0
3. The file must have the image/ title of the intro chapter (Records of Time - The End) on it.
4. The prologue's chapter card has to appear into existence.

Now, there's been valid reasoning both for removing and keeping the intro chapter, of which I will name a few.

In favor of keeping:

1. While the intro chapter can sometimes be tedious, mostly if you are a heavy resetter. The intro chapter is still part of the game and should be in its full run
2. There are other games that do not get the luxury of just cutting off part of their run just bacause the intro might be tedious for those runs.

In favor of removing:

1. While you are indeed in control during the chapter, the fact that it will always play out the same means this is a glorified cutscene, that will also lose you time depending on which version you run. (however, this counts for the entire run)
2. It basically means it takes nearly 4 minutes to actually start up a run, and while you can save maybe a few seconds, leaving such a timesave on the bulk of a "cutscene" in a 2 hour run, feels a bit mundane.

The gist of this post, though, is to gauge how others feel about this new rule. If you are for or against it, please also respond with the reason why.

(As an added note, after a bit of time to think about this. Even though I was the one to propose this, I've become neutral to this rule, myself.)

I'll probably add NG+ Normal, soon. Also, what rules would you like to have more clarity on, and in what way.

Alright, I decided to add a quick sort of update to the forum, regarding the leaderboard and some other stuff I will be addressing.

First off, the Speedrunning Discord: For those that are interested in running, or just learning about Bayonetta 1 or 2 (and 3 when it releases in the future), here is the link to the Bayonetta speedrunning discord: https://discord.gg/DkVK85x (never expiring link)

Second, there have been a few requests to add categories to the leaderboard. While I agree that could be a good idea, I am hesitant to do so in fear of it only being there for just one runner (and to an extent, a "one run and done" kinda thing), or worse, just to have the category remain empty. This is why I'd like to urge any potential runner to request their category on the forum, so we can at least see if it also spikes other peoples interest.

Third, there are some resources and guides available. Among the resources are save files and splits for certain categories (and the discord server link). The guide section has some general information and also stuff partaining to particular runs. If you feel there's resources or guides that should be there, please feel free to ask, or put it on there yourself. (The resources tab doesn't allow you to add stuff unless you've done a run for some reason, though.)

Lastly, if there's anything unclear about any existing runs, rule etc, or you just have questions about the game, please feel free to ask.

Alright, so after running Tag climax on the different difficulties. I have to say, that aside from 3 star as a category, the minimum lower one should be at least 1 or 2 stars. Because even on a 3 star, 6 card run, I managed to get through it in less then 5 minutes with the AI, so I have to agree with frolkin that at least 1 or 2 stars should be good for that.

However, for an all cards run, 2 stars might be too much in the long run, so I'm sorta thinking about 1 star, but that might still be a bit too easy. I'd like to know what others think about this.

Also, I do want to add to the character rule: switching around during the run is allowed (same with accessories). so you would be able to do early/ easier cards, with a faster character, but have survivability for harder cards.

And a better way to stop the timer at the end of 6 cards, would be when the screen shifts to black.

3 star also has you fight extra enemies, changing the duration and the difficulty of the fights. I will probably take a quick look on how much a difference the stars make in terms of the enemies attack speed/ frequency/ damage etc at a later date. Mostly because I'd like this main category to not be overrun with too many subcategories, at least the 3 star should be in there, because of its difference to the lower star difficulties.

I suppose, a slight bit more of a challenge wouldn't hurt. You have to know though, that doing 1 star, has you bet halos, and will make you lose a slight bit of time, each time after the battle ends to show the winner, which is also why I only put 0 star on there (also to rush through TC as fast as possible). But you do have a point of not making the run too easy, should definitely be considered.

CPU partner run will probably lose some time, yes. But not everyone might have the option to play with someone else. Also, this would make it easier for people to get a run on the board, should they choose to run this. I wouldn't count it out just yet.

I'd like to suggest, and am also wondering if people are interested, in a Tag Climax category. The rules for this would look like this:

Category: Tag Climax Subcategories: 6 cards & All Cards, and 0 Stars & 3 Stars Difficulty 2 players, second player can be either human or CPU controlled All characters allowed No Restrictions Timer starts on starting the first card, and stops when the medal jingle of the last card's verse result screen plays Emulators are banned Video is required for submission

Quick rundown on the rules,

1. 6 cards is just one round of TC and you gotta select the cards that are gonna be the fastest. All Cards is about 9 rounds of TC. (the last round, should you do them without dying, is only 5 battles)
2. I chose 0 stars and 3 stars, because 1 and 2 stars are basically the same as 0 stars, except enemies are just harder to kill and do more damage. 3 Star difficulty however, gives you more enemies to beat, making the fights different and more difficult. It also cuts down on the subcategories. (This rule is up for debate, though)
3. Human or CPU controlled partner, because maybe you wanna go at it alone, or your internet might not be the best. (This rule is also up for debate).
4. All characters allowed, because some might be faster than others, and on 3 stars, you might choose survivability over power.
5. No Restrictions because the amount of accessories you can use is already limited in TC (Balder and Rodin cannot even equip accessories)
6. Not too sure about the timing rules, but at the top of my head this seems like this seems alright. If anyone knows a better way to time it, lemme know.

If need arises, I'll probably do a run to get it on the board (that's basically +1), shouldn't take too long, and maybe I'll even enjoy it enough to do more of them. So far, it would probably just be me and A4| Mr.DarkIce, it looks like

For the NG+ rules though, I feel they'd kinda look like this.

Main Category: New Game + Subcategories: Hard or Infinite Climax Rosa preferred, anything else is just gonna be slower No Restrictions (still kinda up for debate) Timer starts when the Prologue chapter is selected and ends on the final enemy death in the credits Emulators are banned Video is required for submission

Sorta like that, like, not using Rosa would just feel like a waste because she does the killing far faster than Bayo and Jeanne. And the Bracelet of time ban was only a suggestion IF there was going to be a restriction on using certain things. Personally, I have no problem with it being used, but it's open to discussion.

Alright, lemme throw in my opinion, should there be a NG+ category, a 3rd and Infinite Climax category would probably be good. The playstyle between those two categories changes quite a lot. Between switching up the enemies on Infinite climax, as well as a lot more of the enemies knowing how to expertly parry/ dodge attacks, I feel like that would be quite a difference.

Also, as for what is allowed to be used on NG+ runs, I'd just figure anything goes. With either of the climax braces equipped, you'll gain valuable time by not having to mash through another result screen at the end of a chapter, plus, to me, a NG+ run without accessories would just feel like a slightly buffed NG run. The only item that I maybe would consider banning is the Bracelet of Time, because imo, that combined with the Climax Brace would probably the most broken accessory in the game, even without it, since you'd have maxed out purples.

As for what characters to use, it would probably just be Rosa, even as a glass cannon, you coud just use yellows, and with Umbran Climax at your disposal (and probably at least a hotshot), you would probably not die, ever. and using any other character would just make you slower, because the reason why Rosa would be going so fast, is because she automatically has the earrings of ruin, and can also equip climax brace 1 and 2, with CB 2 giving her even more power, while sustaining the armour indefinitely because of CB1. Bayo and Jeanne would have to forego one of those bracelets to equip the EoR. Should people choose to run other characters, it should probably just be a manual filter, instead of an actual subcategory.

Alright, so I just did a practice run with Rosa on infinite climax. Grinding on this chapter is absolutely not viable. Almost everything kills you in one hit, Accolades don't always get stunned and will just get a hit off, resulting in your death. If you die, you will start at the point right after when you get your guns, and you will not have received any halos.

Also, I only managed to hit about 75000 halos when exiting the level, so you would either: Have to go into chapter 2, then buy the hornet and items (unless you're lucky and got 100000/ 130000 halos), and then go back into the prologue. Or, you take another trip to the prologue, get more halos, then go into chapter 2, buy the stuff you need, and then go back again. And both of those things are just not worth it. Especially when the prologue is probably one of the hardest parts of the game on New Game infinite climax.

So all I can say about grinding for the bracelets is: Love yourself, don't do it, and just play through New Game infinite climax normally with Rosa.

Note: All versions of Bayonetta compete in the same categories and are timed in real time.

If you start running Bayonetta, it is highly recommended that you run it on PC, as it has a near constant 60FPS and minimal/ non existant loading times.

Should you run it on console, then the order from best to worst system to run it on is probably: Switch/ Xbox One Xbox 360 Wii U PS3

As you go down the list, the game is going to have more framerate problems at times and longer loading screens. Also keep in mind, that installed versions of the game run smoother than physical copies.

I'd like to request to be a (super)mod for Bayonetta, the current super mod has not been active in over 3 months and the regular mod has not verified my run yet (It's been pending for 3 weeks now). Also, as an additional reason, Bayonetta has been getting more runners lately, and with (another) re-release of Bayonetta coming up this week, we'll hopefully get more exposure. Because of this, I feel it would be useful to have at least one other mod for the game.

Those should be seperated in sub-categories, because getting the star fox suit early on is quite an advantage.

The rules of this run are simple: Start a New Game Pick Rosa as the character Choose 1st Climax as the difficulty. Timer starts on pressing A on the textbox that appears after choose whether or not you want to have the Immortal Marionette equipped, and ends on the last hit on the last enemy in the credits.

There are a few runners that have done this run already, but since this category is not added, none have submitted a run yet. Therefore, I'm requesting one now.