Exciting news!! See Reddit post and YT playlist below.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqCJpWy5FohdC9Cn3EEUkqXV9o5agsO_C
This is outstanding stuff. Thank you venominon. According to some initial tests, this saves just under 3 seconds, which honestly is pretty huge given how optimised the run is.
Just to add that it's not uncommon to get runs whereby the wand holds 15+ charges, i.e. I don't think it would need that much grinding. Also, I watched that run Rujasu and I loved the commentary, you did a great job as always!
Hello – I thought to create a new tutorial explaining in detail all the strats used to run the Any% category, including the most recent ones. It's almost 3 hours long, very thorough, and admittedly a bit repetitive. If anyone is brave enough to attempt watching it, I highly recommend a 1.5x speed playback as I speak slowly.
Got 23:03 today – getting closer and closer. The 'fixed table of hits' strat I mentioned previously doesn't seem to be easy to implement (although there are certain fixed patterns that will clearly dictate whether you will hit or not in a particular section of the game). As for the zig-zagging strat I previously mentioned – that's a game changer for me. Implemented correctly (and it isn't difficult!) it reduces chances of outdoor encounters dramatically and in key location (e.g. at the first bridge, where this strat basically removes the possibility of any encounters). Basically where before I wasted four runs out of five due to RNG encounters, I now waste perhaps one in five. On top of that, yesterday I discovered a consistent strat to save between 5 and 8 seconds in the last two levels of the last cave. It involves stepping backward and forward to lure enemies that are then cheesed in melee, as opposed to losing at least a second per enemy when using arrows. You can see my most recent WR on Twitch (not on YT yet) to see it in action.
That's an excellent idea x_i13, it could be a run-saver when you have low HP late in the game.
That's great Rujasu, I really hope the game makes it through, it would be grand.
In other news, I just got the elusive 23:0X! A 23:07 to be precise. This is in part thanks to two new strats I discovered. One is way too early to explain, but it's got to do with how it seems that hit rolls are determined by a fixed table, and by knowing where you are in that sequence of fixed rolls, you can approach scary enemies already knowing if you are going to hit or not, and hence killing them before they are able to react (case in subject: since I added the fire giant kill, I can now always kill the group of four trogs in the beastmen caves without them reacting). The second strat, which I have already started using a lot, is about outdoor encounters. Again, it would take me too long to explain here, but the short of it is that by zig-zagging in a certain way rather than going straight ahead in the direction you are walking to, you can greatly decrease the chances of enemies spawning. It's got to do with a 'enemy spawn' target that is in front of you. If you move that target onto obstacles by zig-zagging, there will be no spawns.
Better times can be achieved. 22:5X in the cards.
September Update:
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The Uklangor strat in the post above works only 50% of the times.
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New trogs strat: this is now my go-to strat, much more reliable than anything else. If you go fast in the beastmen caves, you will be able to quickly shoot two sets of three arrows separated by a very short pause, and that should – most of the times – let you through the pack unscathed. This should really be shown on screen to be clear.
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I have taken down my tutorial video, it contains too many obsolete strats. I will make a new one if I find the time.
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Sub-23 is definitely in the cards now. My biggest enemy at the moment are nerves!
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Most consistent fire ring strat so far: approach until tile before on-screen animation, shoot 4 arrows, pause, shoot 5 arrows, just before the first arrow hits, move forward. Animation will trigger, keep pressing forward – in many cases, if timed correctly, you won't be hit.
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Work in progress, but if true a big breakthrough: inserting quick kills to boost hp and ThAC0. I now kill the giant in the dragon cave, and a saber tooth on my way back from the pyramid. With more HP, you can save 8 seconds in the temple, by damage-boosting on four traps, each saving 2 seconds. And – this is totally to test – out of two runs where I did this, I had free slots in the inventory to pick up the ring without menu-ing (most likely just a coincidence – or maybe higher level equals less drops?)
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I mentioned to Rujasu to possibility of submitting WotES to the next GDQ. I don't have original hardware though, and don't plan to buy it (maybe I could rent it), and I understand that's the only medium accepted. But Rujasu or Lance or someone else may do it, it would be great to feature this game on a big platform.
I thought to share a few new minor (but significant once compounded) strats:
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After first bridge, after first patch of forest, go +above+ the two bushes, not below – that makes it less likely for RNG spawns to occur.
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Uklangor: why do we turn left to kill him? After the cut scene, just ignore it and go straight ahead, and on the way back go towards it – they'll approach you without attacking and you can kill it easily. This saves a solid second and is 100% consistent. *Note: to make this work, don't hold up (forward) while the cut scenes is playing. Press forward only once the cut scene ended. Otherwise Uklangor will stay put in his alcove.
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Tuataras before Phobosucus: approach the first one without step backward-step forward, spam melee weapon only (sword), just before it dies spam arrows: the second Tuatara will die before they can flee. This saves quite a few tenths of a second.
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Movement from beastmen caves to jungle cave (top-right of map): this segment kept killing my runs, so I found a new itinerary that seems much safer. See my new WR video for more info.
There are 3-4 other minor strats that are just a bit too subtle to explain in words, but that I'd be happy to share if you catch me on stream.
What a huge improvement on your PB – GG! You had a free inventory slot to pick up the fire ring – happened to me so many times, I learned to follow Lance's advice and count items : ) Excited to see what paces you'll come up with next.
So much easier than I thought, using a 18-dexterity elf to kill the party, who gets to -4 AC with the dragon trove. This is a very loose baseline, that could be improved by several minutes, just for reference:
The rules should specify that damage inflicted by party members to party members is allowed, just any damage inflicted by enemies/traps/fire and anything else makes the run fail.
The 17-strength / 18-dexterity roll is the 121st at character creation.
The only truly challenging bit are the scorpions in the fire dungeon. I figured a 100% consistent and safe strat to deal with them on the way in (see video), but on the way out it's tricky. It often works to enter the room, spam the lightning wand 5 times, then retreat back, wait until the lightning is gone, and enter the room again – if you are lucky the bunch of 4 scorpions on the left won't move and you can pass unscathed, or if not at least you can move all the way forward and trick them with arrows.
This is how the Enemies-Off% run looks like:
I think it's a great category for newcomers, as it teaches how to optimise movement and routing without having to worry about enemies.
As for rules, I would allow to boost gold via the cheat menu, but not to boost characters. The former to avoid the hassle of picking up the gauntlets of ogre power to sell and fund the caravan, the latter to bring a tad bit of suspense in the temple, where the wizard has to avoid pretty much all traps.
Well-deserved and well-played! Only a few months ago this would have been world-record.
Just some ideas.
| Fist-Only% | No weapons, armor or spells allowed (is it even possible?)
| No-Death% | 4-member party run. No character can die in the run.
| Pacifist% | This would need specifying the kills that can’t be avoided (e.g. Uklangor cave, etc), but anything else – even if requiring convoluted strats – should be dodged.
| 100% | All dungeon maps explored entirely, all static encounters, all special locations (pools and trees), …
| Enemies-Off% | As soon as run starts, enemies are turned off via cheat menu. This would be a zero-RNG run, with optimised movement playing a key part.
| No-Hit/Damageless% | This would probably be very challenging (I am thinking temple here). But maybe 18 Dex, plus magical armor/shield, and maybe ring of protection may make it feasible. After all, the Any% thief sometimes takes only 2-3 hits during a run.
| Fellowship% | Four halflings | Crusader% | Four clerics | Dwarf% | Four dwarves | Sneak% | Four thieves | Elves% | Four elves | Tank% | Four warriors | Wizadry% | Four wizards | Demi-Human% | Party comprises of one dwarf + one elf+ one halfling; fourth member must be killed with wand.
Maybe a category whereby no outdoor encounter can be dodged/reloaded?
Agreed – not for the short-tempered : )
Thank you for making strides into this new suggested category : ) I look forward to give it a go myself some time soon.
