Speed Demon

[Cyfe]

Hello !

Is it possible to do the "speed demon" achievement with Zone 5 ?
Any of you did it ? '-'
Any of you have advice to share please ? xD

[PaperLaur]

It is most definitely still possible! Some speedrunners can get times under 10 minutes, and I'm not that great at the game and managed to get my first Speed Demon with the DLC.

It's a matter of skill, perseverance, and luck. Something that helps is knowing where the exit usually spawns on each floor so you can make a beeline for it; Z1 it's usually on the bottom right, follow the layout; Z2 is shaped like a horseshoe with the exit on one of the two outer prongs, you can usually dig into the wall you start next to to save some time; Z3's basically luck; Z4 the exit is on the opposite corner you start in (you can kind of see it on the map!); Z5's in the largest room in the map, always the first room off the main hallway (not behind any doors inside rooms), and has two wires crossing in it.

Also it's good to know when to go to shops and when to leave them alone. You'll be surprised how many items you'll come across without the shops. Shops in x-2 and x-3 levels are usually better than x-1 versions (so check the shop on 2-3 rather than 2-2 or 2-1, for example).

There's always a blood shop on either 1-1 or 1-2 in a cracked stone wall that can get you a nice weapon early on.

If you kill bosses without taking a hit or losing your multiplier, you get the choice between three chests with good items, meaning you'll be able to head straight for the exit faster without having to bother with looking for items. Every boss has a different strategy--practice them and look them up!

Also the more damage you have, the faster you can go, because you aren't getting stuck whittling away enemy health.

Other than that, it's a matter of practice. Good luck!

[1.2M | Missingno.]

I can consistently get 12-13m clears, and my best time is 9:07. And I'm not even close to the best players, there's people who can consistently sub-8 and the current world record is 5:32. IMO, 15m was too easy in vanilla, now it's a real challenge to get started with speedrunning this game.

In addition to everything PaperLaur said, one of the most important things to learn is boss quick kill strats. Obviously killing them fast is better than killing them slow, and it'll safely get you those valuable boss chests.

I also highly recommend watching experienced players on Twitch to learn from them, you'll see lots of useful tricks in action. And don't be afraid to ask questions, we don't bite!

[Turbopasta]

Originally posted by Mega Missingno.:

IMO, 15m was too easy in vanilla, now it's a real challenge to get started with speedrunning this game.

Yep, 15m in vanilla was way too easy. It only took me 10 hours of non-stop runs over several days to get it. WAY too easy. /s

I eventually got amazing items and sort of tanked my way through the end of it in about 13m. It can be done more elegantly but if you run it long enough eventually the items end up doing a big amount of the work for it.

Quick tip: coral riff on zones 1 and 2 dies to thrown dagger into a bomb. Very quick kill, try to have these things ready if you have a chance to do this.

Quick tip #2: You can rush the Necrodancer quickly by laying out bombs on the stage until you reach him and the lute (it takes three).

[Cyfe]

thanks for your advice =)

[Gemmi3]

I switched to non-amplified to try and get the achievement, got it, went back to Amplified and promptly got a better time. Taking quick trapdoors is very helpful and the axe and cat, once getting to grips with their mechanics, are pretty much the best speed-running weapons in the game. I tend to go a bit safer with longswords and spears though, or a warhammer if I'm lucky enough to find it.