Nail Jump?

[jjrobinson2]

I've tried with keyboard/mouse and the Steam controller, and just can't get it. On spikes, I can sometimes get one or two jumps before dying. No instructions in game, very difficult to find anything online that actually tells how it's done, game unplayable without it. As I understand, I have to Look Down, Attack, Jump (in precise rhythm), and Move left or right simultaneously. Some people report lag is the issue. How is this done?

[Batbro]

To Nail Jump off of something you simply have to strike it with a downward nail strike before you land on it. Hitting the jump button after that is not required, but nail jumping does refresh your double-jump if you have that.

The Long Nail and Mark of Pride charms increase the size of your nail and makes nail jumping a little easier.

It's infrequently REQUIRED in the non-optional content, but getting good at it can help a lot. You can skip certain sequences and repeatedly "pogoing" off of enemies' heads can be a potent strategy.

[batteran]

The good sequence for a basic nail jump is:

jump -> (while in mid air just above something to strike like pikes or ennemies or bouncing mushrooms) down+nail attack

The moment your nail hit something you automaticaly bounce upward. No need to press the jump button. All you have to do is to time well your downward nail strike.

Once you master that, you can add dashs, moves, ect to the formula.

The purple mushrooms early in the game can be of good practice, cause they don't hurt you if you fail your timing.

You can find theses mushrooms without any knowledge of downward strike. In fact, as I was very new to theses sort of games when started HK, I wasn't aware downward striking is a possibility. It's only when I google theses irritating purple mushrooms that I found that out.

[ZEnglishOwO]

You don't need to hit jump afterwards, hitting the spikes or whatever with your nail bounces you up regardless. So don't worry about jumping, just worry about the attack itself.

[🉑 rezno[R].technology]

I agree, this mechanic at the very beginning was giving me a bit of getting used to it too. But you will get it, eventually.

I found it easier on the XBox 360 Controller, while I was just keeping the analog stick always all the time in the down position, and only slightly moving it left or right to change direction, then immediately back down again. I haven't tried doing it on keyboard.

This game is all about discovering new things you can do in the game world on your own. They give you only the absolute basics. The rest you discover, experiment and learn for yourself.

The requirement to use downward slash (purple mushrooms in Fungal Wastes) is already quite late in the game, where you probably already used it on your own (while figuring out how to defeat Vengefly or Hornet for example, or go over the walking bugs in the acid, or while just trying to smash/hit the purple mushrooms and notice they bounce you off). It's the only area in the game where it's required to progress further, if I remember correctly.

PS. don't press jump. No need to complicate simple things :)

[Perseus]

It is easier when using keyboard(+mouse) because you can just keep the down button pressed.

[MADE IN IRON]

Originally posted by jjrobinson2:

No instructions in game, very difficult to find anything online that actually tells how it's done,

It's true this game doesn't come with instructions for many things, but you don't find online info on this probably because it's simpler than you think... The best advice is the one already given, to practice with the purple mushrooms until you can consistently do it.

And if you are strugling to pogo jump on spikes, just don't... pogo jumps on spikes are mostly shortcuts that I assume might help in speed runs, but they are not the only way. If you find yourself needing to pogo jump an area, it's most likely you can clear that area later on the game with other tools you might not have yet like Crystal Heart, Mantis Claw, Mothwing Cloak, Shade Cloak, or Monark Wings.
Pogo on spikes it's more likely to be a life saver if you miss a jump to avoid landing on them than something you need to master in order to beat the game.

Trut me, I can't handle pogo jumps consistently but I reached 100%, so it's not a must.

[Goga Boga]

I personally find it harder on controller. There is no real way of doing it. Just do it and you will become better overtime. Also I highly suggest you change the controls if they feel slightly uncomfotable. I use left and right click for nail and dash

[jjrobinson2]

Thanks, guys. I'll give it another shot.

[GOOSE]

Just go... just go to the white palace. That'll teach you pogo.

[Kalvix]

The white palace teaches you about all the platforming in this game, it honestly felt like an entirely different game in a way. But ye the pogo jump is a little awkward at first but you can easily practise on the bouncy fruit later on / if you've found that spot as they don't hurt you but don't bounce you high at all if you don't land the pogo.

As for on spikes, honestly I didn't even think of trying that... I only used it on moving enemies you can't kill from above to get around certain areas. I feel like a lot of areas would have been much easier if I'd just pogo'd on the spikes instead...

[zhai]

You'll just get into it.

Nail jumping or pogoing is certainly hard at the beginning but if you put yourself on practicing it then it'll be pretty easy.

First off, you need the timing. Know the length of your nail, anticipate the spike's distance from your character whenever you're in mid-air, and strike down when the distance between you and the spike is reachable by your nail.

Also, there are certain places in the game that may serve as a good practice field for pogoing.

(SPOILER)
-In case if you don't want to get spoiled, there are places where spikes can be located so you can probably practice there.

I do recommend the route leading to Sheo in Greenpath or Ancient Basin's route leading to the Broken Vessel (the part of the map where you optionally use crystal dash or just pogo on top of the spikes to reach the other side).

[kanna]

Practice first in one spot without going left or right, and with a stationary object (like some simple low spikes with level or lower ground you can leave and return to as needed), so you're not trying to manage too many variables at once. Pogo once and land normally. Pogo twice and land normally, once you're consistent at that. Add more pogos as you get the rhythm of it.

POGO BASICS

Basic pogo key combination: down + nail swing

Basic pogo technique:

Timing - Time the hit so that you have a little room to fall slightly without your Knight's body hitting the thing you're trying to pogo off of, but not so high that you miss the swing. Nail swings are all you should worry about first when it comes to timing, because most of the time you can pogo while holding down the whole time. Eventually you might learn to time when you actually need to start holding down for a pogo (it just goes with the nail swing) but to keep things simple at the beginning, just hold down the whole time. I doubt you'll ever need that kind of precision for normal runs and exploration, though it could come in handy as an emergency save in some boss fights and platforming areas.

Distance - Probably about 2/3 the height of the Knight is a good distance. You do not need to be right next to or directly above whatever you're trying to hit. You can have a little room (but obviously you don't want to be too far either).

Movement - Only jump at the start if you need to. No jump button again until you're on the ground. No up button ever. (At first, just hold down until you're ready to land. Once your timing is really good with nail swings, you can start holding down only when it's needed for the nail swing to be downwards)

To move sideways while pogoing, keep holding the down button, and tap sideways at the same time, as needed. Usually you only want to move slightly so it's only a light tap. If you've got the basics of the pogo down (see above), sideways movement should come naturally with a little practice.

Location - First practice pogoing from above things as described above. Then you can branch out to pogoing the *sides* of things. You'll need to be closer to do it from the side, but it's not hard once you get it.

[Beef Hammer]

Originally posted by perseus:

It is easier when using keyboard(+mouse) because you can just keep the down button pressed.

Also works with controller, but I agree pogoing is a bit easier with a keyboard.

[sekai]

You can use keyboard to do nail jumps, aka pogo. I can give you some tips since I played this game via keyboard (I grew up playing Megaman X on keyboard, and I can't for the life of me figure out playing this type of game on controllers now I've gotten one).

Remember you can use left and right direction while pressing down to give a direction to your pogo'ing.

You can practice basic pogo'ing by finding a bed of spikes (you can find one in Forgotten Crossroad somewhere on the left side of the region; though there are many other spikes in the region too) and jump -> press direction (left or right) AND down at the same time, and attack in a rhyme so you keep pogoing forward. Then you can try pogoing back that way.

Once you get a hang of 1-directional pogoing, you can try switching directions wiggling left and right.

You can think of it as simply playing the character normally, like how if you jump and attack and press direction -> jump -> attack, but just that you are holding 'down' button to direct your attack downward, but otherwise nothing changes from how otherwise you would play your character.

Alternatively, think of that as doing bunny-hops (hopping continuously) but instead you're jumping using your sword attacks instead of the jump button, while also holding the 'down' button. That's kind it, really. It was somewhat daunting until you tried it a few times and got a feel of it, then it comes as second nature.

.........

Also remember, you are not just spamming the attack button to pogo.

Your character will travel an arch/parabola, you must time it and measure your attack range accordingly so your attack can actually hit the spike to produce a bounce. You can also bounce on enemies, too. Some of the challenges in the later stages of the game may ask you to perform pogos to navigate the puzzles (not always specifically required since you can circumvent some of it using other tools you have in store, but some of it would be required).

Longer nail from charms, Longnail or Mark of Pride, can give you some advantages in practicing pogoing since you essentially get a bigger/longer attack range. Longnail is acquired pretty early in the game; Mark of Pride is just an upgraded version of it (and also cost 1 notch more) that you acquire by beating a boss in mid-early game.

You can also go full training wheel if you have poached Quick Slash charm and just mash attacks at spike, though you only get access to it past mid-game.

[jjrobinson2]

I finally got it figured out. Haven't played this again for several months, though.