Since release of the Toybox we managed to find a bunch of Tricks that are more or less useful for speedrunning. Some of these are standard for many runs, while others are not usable(yet).

These Tricks are not specific routing details, but rather universal tricks that can be used in many many places to go fast or break the game in some way or another. As such I will list things as "Tricks" that I think are either unintended by the developer or well hidden. I will also be listing who found a Trick (in case we forget at some point and get curious), though with "found" I mean who first made it public to the speedrunning community.

Trick #01: "Double Springjump", found by: ¤Unknown¤

Short Description: Slide off an edge and Springjump twice.

Longer Description: From what I could gather, it seems like when you first input the button for a Springjump, the game seems to remember that you can't springjump anymore. However, you can slide off an edge while winding up your Springjump and land on the ground while in the Springjump animation. This makes the game think you can Springjump again, allowing you to input another Springjump input shortly after you have taken to the skies.

In the following video, I first show a regular Springjump followed by a Double Springjump

Verdict: So far it seems to be fairly useless, since just doing a regular springjump off the initial platform goes higher. There could be some places though, where it might be possible slide off a very short platform and actually gain a net benefit in height.

Trick #02: "QuickDive", found by: The Razielim

Short Description: Dive quickly by pressing the dive button after hitting the water.

Longer Description: I don't know if this was intended or an oversight. If you have any momentum and press the Dive button right after you hit the water (if you wanna reproduce this consistently, really do aim for pressing the button AFTER hitting the water) you will keep most of your momentum while diving, allowing you to dive very deep very quickly, especially when falling from a high place.

In the following video, I first show a normal dive followed by a QuickDive

Verdict: Probably one of the most useful Tricks so far, as this one is used to great effect every single time we have to dive.

Trick #03: "SpeedDiving", found by: The Razielim

Short Description: Dive through tunnels fast by not allowing Yooka to enter diving state.

Longer Description: The big problem with diving is that once you are underwater, your swimming speed is fairly slow. However, your speed on the surface of the water is fairly fast, so all we have to do is trick Yooka into never actually diving. This can be achieved by hitting the water with downwards momentum and pushing yourself under a ceiling. Keep in mind that you can not input any dive command or enter the water in a state that will make Yooka try to dive. I usually jump into the water from a roll and hold down the roll button until the Trick is taking effect, though this is mostly for safety and is not a requirement.

In the following video I first dive through a tunnel normally and then show off the SpeedDiving

Verdict: This trick is fairly limited, since you must be able to set up the Trick using an underwater ceiling/tunnel and might not be useful in many routes. Whenever it can be used though, it will be fairly cool (both as a timesave and for stylepoints).

Trick #04: "Slope Climb", found by: ¤Unknown¤ (maybe The Razielim)

Short Description: Climb any Slope that has an edge by jumping while falling off the edge.

Longer Description: There are slopes in the game that are too steep to walk up, some even too steep to roll up. This Trick works on any of those slopes. Basically, when you fall off the edge of a slope, you can input a jump command for a few frames, allowing you to do a doublejump and then glide to a higher point on the slope, from where it can be repeated. I usually hold down the first jump command I do and aim for a timing window that is rather later than soon, since in the worst case I merely do a flutter and can maneuver back onto the slope without falling off.

The following video shows off the Slope Climb

Verdict: This one depends on what slope you are trying to climb, and if it makes the route faster or not, since many slopes can either be climbed by rolling or jumped on from a higher place. The slope also needs to have an edge you can slide off of and the whole Trick is fairly time consuming.

Trick #05: "Extended Jump", found by: ¤Unknown¤

Short Description: Jump farther by spinning off an edge before jumping.

Longer Description: As far as I can tell this is an intended mechanic aimed to mimic the behavior of Donkey Kong Country, where you could roll off an edge and jump during your roll to get more distance. The Extended Jump works pretty much the same: Use your spin attack while walking off and edge and you will be able to jump at any point during the spin. If you want to get the most out of this, try and find out how late in the animation you can still jump, you'll be surprised.

In the following video I first show off a regular long jump and then an Extended Jump

Verdict: This will probably be the most used Trick in any run that jumps off any edge, even if you don't even need the distance. It's versatile, it's safe, it's easy.

Trick #06: "Hover", found by: ¤Unknown¤

Short Description: Hover up any slope by glitching with a chest.

Longer Description: This one has somehow been found directly as the Toybox was released. If you do a springjump in a specific spot on a chest (closed chest: below the lock, open chest: under the backside), you can put Yooka into a Hover state, which lasts until Yooka is forced into the air (jumping, falling off an edge, etc.). In the Hover state, Yooka seems to ignore the ground below him, allowing him to Hover up any slope.

The following video demonstrates the Hover and both setups

Verdict: This one is hard to judge. The setup requires a chest, the movement of the Hover is really slow, and unless you want to go up a really long slope close to a chest, this one seems not very useful. However, keep in mind that not every slope can be climbed using Slope Climb, so this one might have some fringe use.

Trick #07: "Grounded Groundpound" or "GG", found by: ImmortalChamp/Greyson

Short Description: Perform a special groundpound by cancelling a springjump.

Longer Description: This seems like it's gonna be a masterkey to all sorts of shenanigans. The trick itself doesn't do much, but has some weird properties that could be used to trigger other Tricks. In order to do a Grounded Groundpound, start up a springjump, but while Yooka is winding up the springjump animation on the ground, simply input a groundpound command. This Grounded Groundpound looks exactly like a regular groundpound, though it behaves slightly differently. For now, it seems like the Grounded Groundpound can be used for Edgeboosting (See: Trick #08).

In the following Video I show off in order: A regular groundpound, a regular springjump, a Grounded Groundpound (slow) and a Grounded Groundpound (fast)

Verdict: I think this one could be the Infinite Sword Glitch to our Yooka-Laylee. A fairly simple trick that doesnt seem to do much by itself, but adds an additional property to Yooka (That I can't understand yet). Try finding more stuff with this one!

Trick #08: "EdgeBoost" (Application of Trick #07, Grounded Groundpound), found by: ImmortalChamp/Greyson

Short Description: GG on an edge for a sideways boost.

Longer Description: This is the first interesting application of a GG. A regular groundpound on a switch for example, might only push you onto the switch or right next to the switch. But because of the yet unknown property of the GG, performing a GG in the same spot as a regular groundpound can yield very different results, in this case namely an EdgeBoost, which pushes Yooka to the side at a high speed.

In the following Video I first show a regular groundpound followed by a GG in the same spot

Verdict: This one seems fairly innocent if you think about it, but there is definitely some potential here. Keep in mind that this sideways momentum can be redirected if Yooka bumps into an object. This can even bump Yooka upwards with the right constellation of level geometry and can bump Yooka higher than even a springjump! It is rumored, that this could be used in the Toybox to escape the intro box...

Trick #09: "Ramp Boost" (Variation of Trick#10, Ramp Clip), found by: ImmortalChamp/Greyson

Shorter Description: Boost Yooka up a ramp by groundpounding its base.

Longer Description: This is where things get a little messy, as both this and Trick #10, Ramp Clip can happen with almost the same setup and it's extremely hard to control which one you will get. It is also hard to get either of the two at all (at least consistently). This trick works by groundpounding the base of a ramp (where it connects to a flat surface). If done at the correct spot, Yooka will clip halfway into the ramp and get bounced upwards at an angle, boosting Yooka up the ramp.

In this video I show off a failed Ramp Boost followed by a successful one

Verdict: Hard to judge. It seems like this one could break the game in half in the correct spots, but at the same time its not very easy to do consistently, and even if you get it the power of the boost varies wildly. It can also randomly be replaced by a Ramp Clip, which can in some cases be catastrophic.

Trick #10: "Ramp Clip" (Variation of Trick#09, Ramp Boost), found by: ImmortalChamp/Greyson

Short Description: Clip through a ramp by groundpounding its base.

Longer Description: The setup for this one is pretty much the same as a Ramp Boost, just that instead of Yooka getting boosted up the ramp he clips completely through the ramp and ends up below the ramp, which can be inside an object. This can be used to clip into objects below ramps, or even reach out of bounds, if the area below the ramp is OOB and doesnt drop Yooka and Laylee to their death. Keep in mind that if you clip into an object the camera usually gets stuck in an odd spot and refuses to cooperate. Your controls also change because of this.

In the following Video I show off a failed Ramp Boost, followed by another attempted Ramp Boost, that became a Ramp Clip

Verdict: Playtonic, please fix either this or Ramp Boosting. It's frustrating to aim for either a Boost or a Clip, only to get the other result. Especially when you accidentally get a clip instead of a boost, it can have catastrophic results. If ways are found to make this trick consistent, I can see this Trick maybe being useful, if and only if suitable ramps can be found for the clip to actually lead to any useful place.