General and Advanced Movement Guide

An in-depth breakdown of important and valuable movement tricks for surviving and traversing the world. Includes gifs with input display.

Introduction

Note: Due to Steam guide limitations, this guide has been created as a condensed offshoot of our full guide, which covers all known movement in exhaustive detail. We've also had to trim many gifs to fit Steam's file size restrictions.

You can read the full guide and view the full length and quality gifs here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o3gouaiHsHT2H9d2HD5gDhgmoWwoL94gSFt7Ka1-vDk/edit?usp=sharing

This is a general guide to movement in Rain World, covering the majority of moves from beginner to high level techniques and combat. Many advanced movement techniques have narrow input windows. If you’re having difficulty performing a certain move, then try varying timings! Be sure to also avoid holding down other buttons which may override or cancel the move.

Please note that this guide was primarily written with keyboard controls in mind. The inputs shown here are still applicable for controllers, but a few moves which require very rapid directional input changes might be a lot more difficult / less reliable. Using D-pad might be easier for some of these moves, but all moves are still possible with analog stick!

“Warehouse” and “Nest” are great sandbox maps for movement practice. To discuss and share tech, or get further advice and help, check out the #meta-and-tech channel in the Rain World Discord[discord.gg]!

Difficulty guide

* - Beginner - Useful in a first playthrough, simple execution (Rubble/Spear)

** - Intermediate - Useful for players who feel confident with basic movement (Slide-pounce)

*** - Adept - Worth learning for a second playthrough or hunter run (Down-throw)

**** - Advanced - For speedrunning and advanced play (Slide-flip pin)

External links

Official Discord Server[discord.gg]

Companion Video Guide

ICED's Rain World Exploits and Glitches Guide[docs.google.com] (Major spoilers!)

Official Rain World Wiki[rainworld.gamepedia.com]

This guide is as spoiler free as possible! Mild spoiler warnings for the combat section (IC spoilers) and the final section (SL spoilers). The beginning sections can be read without fear of spoilers; nothing past Outskirts is shown.

Basic Moves

Jumping

Pulling up onto ledge *
When hitting a wall just below a ledge, holding forwards and pressing jump allows slugcat to climb up.


Wall-jumping *
Slugcat will slide down walls when holding into the wall.

Wall-jumping is performed by pressing jump while sliding down a wall (holding into the wall), immediately switching holding direction to the other wall and tapping jump as soon as Slugcat comes into contact with that wall.
Note: It’s important to switch holding direction as soon as possible after jumping. The aim is to jump as soon as possible while holding into the wall, to minimise height lost to sliding, then immediately hold away from the wall to minimise negative aerial drift.


Coyote jump *
It is still possible to jump a few frames after running off an edge. This can be used to maximise horizontal jump distance, or safeguard against tight jumps.


Pole coyote jump **
This can also be done off of poles.


Item management

Right hand usage *
If holding items in both hands, Slugcat will always throw or use the item in its right hand.


Swapping hands *
Double-tapping grab causes slugcat to swap the items in its hands.


Dropping items *
Tapping grab while holding down will drop a held item.


Storing items *
Holding grab when holding a small inedible item in Slugcat's main hand causes it to store the item in its stomach. Doing the same again will recover the item.

Crossing gaps

Charge-pouncing *
Entering the crouching position and holding jump until Slugcat’s back is arched, then releasing, allows for a charge-pounce. For almost all pounces Slugcat is subject to aerial drift, and so holding forwards mid-pounce allows the player to maximise Slugcat's horizontal range whenever jumping or pouncing.


Crouching to safely position on edges *
This gif shows the farthest slugcat can extend over a ledge while crouched, useful for maximising charge-pounce distance.


Landing upright out of charge-pounce *
Tapping up immediately after charge-pouncing puts slugcat in an upright position, giving it more height. This can help grab ledges upon landing.


Throw-boosting *
Throwing rocks or spears during a jump or pounce increases horizontal velocity, allowing slugcat to travel further than normal jumps and pounces. This is most effective when done at the start of a jump.
Note: Throw-boosting can be used at the start of any aerial move to increase speed / range.


Optimal throw-boosting **
This can be done with two objects to further increase speed, optimally either out of a charge-pounce or max length roll-pounce (Explained later in guide).


Turning around

Backflipping *
Backflips are performed by jumping immediately after turning around. Note that the leftwards press near the end of the move is only to prevent Slugcat from falling off the platform.


Turn-hopping **
Turn-hopping involves repeatedly jumping after turning to conserve turn momentum and cover ground quickly. Momentum conserved this way only depletes when in contact with the ground, so will last longer with more precise and better timed jumps.

Tunnels

Mobility in tunnels

Turning around *
It is possible to turn around inside tunnels by holding in the opposite direction and pressing jump. This is possible in vertical tunnels as well, but only turning upwards, due to free-falling.


Free-falling *
It is possible to fall vertically inside tunnels by holding down and pressing jump. This works whether slugcat is facing forwards or backwards.


Tunnel boosting

Boost end-lag *
Boosts inside tunnels can be performed by pressing jump. This gives a short burst of speed with ending lag. This ending lag makes the boost slow slugcat down overall, unless this lag is cancelled.


Cancelling boost end-lag
Boost ending lag is cancelled by boosting into a room pipe, a shortcut, or into open space. This can be combined with jumps to exit tunnels at running speed.


Boosting out of shortcuts/room pipes **
Pressing jump when exiting tunnels & pipes gives a burst of speed, which represents slugcat kicking off the wall behind it. This can be combined with jumps to exit tunnels at running speed.


Boosting out of shortcuts/room pipes in tunnels **
The same can be done in tunnels.


Boosting around tunnel corners *
Pressing jump and holding forwards when rounding a corner also gives a boost. As with boosting out of shortcuts and room pipes, this is like kicking off a wall behind you. This can also be done around T junctions, as long as there is ground behind Slugcat’s feet.


Sliding into a pipe **
This is a more efficient way to enter ground level pipes. This can also be done with regular tunnels.

Slides

Basic slide **
Slides can be performed by pressing down and jump together while moving. A specific sound can be heard when performing a slide.


Slide-pouncing

Basic slide-pounce **
Jumping mid-slide results in a long pounce.


Landing upright from pounce **
It is not possible to change to an upright state mid-pounce, and so unless able to roll, slugcat will always land in a crouched state, which slows the player down.
This can be avoided by pressing jump on landing, to enter a temporary upright state, and then pressing up to switch to standing.
This also conserves momentum, which is extremely useful for exiting all pounces and roll chains.


Slide-boosting ***
This can be done by throwing an item backwards mid-slide, and greatly increases distance travelled. As with regular slides, holding forward is needed to get a full length slide.


Slide-flipping

Basic slide-flip ***
Pressing jump while holding backwards mid-slide results in a long backflip.

Rolls

Roll from falling *
Holding down and left/right when falling from a height greater than a normal jump (a height of about 4 tiles) will send slugcat into a roll. This will negate landing stun when falling long distances.


Chaining from moves **
It is possible to roll in either direction upon landing from flips, pounces and bounces by holding left/right and down.
Rolls can be entered from the following:

Rolling from backflips **


Rolling from slide-pounces **


Rolling from slide-flips ***


Roll-pouncing **
Pouncing can be done by jumping out of a roll.

Rolls can be chained together indefinitely on flat ground by pouncing as late as possible.
A rapid series of beats can be heard when rolling. (1 initial on beginning the roll, then 4 more in total) These can be used to time pounces for maximum height.

This can be done regardless of which way slugcat is landing, as long as the pounce was initiated late enough.

Instant-pounce **
The longer the roll, the higher the pounce arc. Tapping jump while holding down and left/right will instant-pounce without rolling at all.

Poles

Vertical movement

Boost end-lag *
Pressing up + jump while on a pole gives a short upward boost, the ending lag of which can be cancelled by entering room pipes, shortcuts, or jumping off the pole.


Boosting to top *
Boosting to the top of a pole cancels boost end-lag and switches slugcat to the balancing position immediately.


Cancelling with jump **
It is also possible to cancel boost end-lag by holding outwards and jumping off the pole mid-boost.


Pole re-grab ***
Switching to the other side of a pole while also tapping jump causes slugcat to let go of and instantly re-grab the pole in a couple of frames.. While not useful on its own, this can be used to cancel boost end-lag as described below.


Fast pole-climbing ***
Boosting up a pole then immediately re-grabbing resets boost-lag and immediately allows for another boost. This can be done repeatedly in a rhythm to quickly climb up poles, alternating sides each boost. Pressing jump too early will cause a laggy boost, and switching sides too early will cause Slugcat to jump off the pole.
Unlike other pole-climbing methods, this is applicable on all poles and vastly increases climbing speed, allowing Slugcat to outrun fast pole-climbing lizards.
Note: This can be done in a slower sequence or as a single instance for practice! The “end” of this move is the pole re-grab (the boost end-lag cancel).


Dropping down poles *
Pressing jump while holding down (instead of jump in isolation) allows for falling directly downwards from vertical poles instead of drifting to one side.


Horizontal movement

Jump-pullups along a pole **
Pressing jump + forward mid-pullup propels slugcat forward, which is useful for long stretches of pole.


Jump-pole-hopping ***
Pole hopping is done by jumping, holding forward, and tapping jump while hitting the pole.
Note: The timing can be tricky, remember not to press jump too early. This will also not work if holding any other button except forward when pressing jump. It is also possible to pole-hop while rising up through a pole from below.


Pounce-pole-hopping ****
To pole-hop from pounce, release and enter the upright position in mid-air by immediately pressing up, then let go of up and jump in time to hop.

Combat (minor spoilers)

Rubble/Spear combo *
Lizards have armoured heads which protect them from most spear damage. To hurt them, slugcat usually needs to spear them in their softer back.
Rubble will flip lizards over when thrown at their heads. A spear can be thrown immediately after for a simple attack.
Remember to keep the rubble in Slugcat’s right hand to throw first!

Note: There are some extremely niche conditions under which a lizard will not flip when hit with rubble. These include the lizard having just climbed up onto a ledge, and being hit with rubble when directly next to Slugcat (essentially touching).

Pinning creatures to walls **
Creatures can be pinned to walls with spears to immobilise them for some time.


Spear-lock *
On taking damage, lizards and some other creatures enter a stun state for a short amount of time. As lizards lose more health, this amount of stun per spear increases. This can be used to repeatedly spear lizards by pressing grab and instantly throwing again multiple times.


Spear cooldown *
Spears cannot be picked up immediately once thrown, preventing slugcat from stun-locking to death more resilient creatures with one spear.


Double-spearing *
Spear cooldown can be circumvented with multiple spears, as the cooldown applies per spear, not for the player. This allows for more rapid stun-locking, and is useful for quickly incapacitating tough creatures.


Throwing midair **
Spears can be thrown while midair to catch lizards on poles.


Slide spearing ***
Throwing a spear or rock forwards mid-slide causes the object to bounce off the floor and travel much further horizontally. This allows spears to embed into walls much further away.
Spears can be slide-thrown from further away to hit targets.

Slide-spearing a lizard in the mouth will do 1.5* damage and stun them for longer.
This allows for consistent stunlocking with a single spear.
Example video of spear sliding


Downwards/upwards throwing

Backflipping to downthrow **
To throw downwards, hold down and throw mid-backflip without holding any other buttons. If holding left or right, the object will be thrown in that direction instead.
Spears thrown downwards will become embedded in the ground and can be climbed.


Slide-flipping to pass lizards ***
Slide-flipping can be used to safely pass lizards without being caught. This works for lizards with high aggression.


Downthrowing from slide-flips ****
You can also throw downwards mid-slideflip.


Pinning creatures to floors ****
Downthrown spears can pin a creature to the ground.
Combat showcasing spear-sliding and slide-flipping
Combat showcasing turn-storage


Creature strategy (minor spoilers)

Lizard tracking - Move safety/Laziness *
Lizards have differing levels of aggression depending on multiple factors, including lizard spawn variation and the gamemode.
Less aggressive lizards will have slower reactions and can be backflipped over, for instance, while more aggressive lizards will quickly turn and snap slugcat out of the air if this is attempted. Backflipping is generally only recommended as a reasonably safe move for green lizards.


Dealing with tongues *
When grabbed by a lizard tongue, reaching the same height and throwing objects at the lizard is often effective.
If not possible, getting close to the lizard will often cause it to snap and miss slugcat, especially if done quickly.
Throwing at the same height as a white lizards mouth has a chance to hit and is very effective when their tongue is out.


Grace period / Bite lethality *
Lizard bites have a chance to immediately kill slugcat.
It is possible, for a short window after only being stunned by a lizard bite, to pick up / throw a rock or spear which can often hit the lizard and allow slugcat to escape.
Information on lizard bite lethality can be found here.[rainworld.gamepedia.com]


Mask responses *
When wearing a vulture mask, lizards will run from the player for 17.5 seconds, starting from when they first see slugcat wearing the mask. After this timer has run down, the mask will no longer scare that lizard. This is extremely effective for passing through regions without trouble, or playing as Hunter.

Swimming (region spoilers)

Water Boosts *
Pressing jump underwater gives a speed boost but reduces breath.
The amount of speed given reduces each time, and more than a couple will quickly cause slugcat to start drowning.


Using boosts to escape danger **
Speed-boosts are usually best saved for dangerous situations (eg. escaping from salamanders)


Fast horizontal water movement *
Dipping under the surface and boosting once horizontally and slightly down, then resurfacing and repeating is an effective way to travel quickly through large surface bodies of water. This makes use of boosting, using some breath, but preserves most in case of creature attacks.


Buoyancy **
While swimming, slugcat has a constant upwards drift towards the surface of the water. To swim underneath the surface (and consequently faster), use swim-strokes / boosts to swim slightly upwards, angle down slightly to maintain initial depth, and repeat,
Counteracting upwards drift is important for swimming through underwater tunnels, to avoid being trapped against the ceiling.
For swimming vertically, moving straight up makes the best use of natural buoyancy!

Wriggling **
Alternating between up and down while swimming horizontally also increases swimming speed. This is important when navigating underwater tunnels.
(The gif for this is too large for steam, so visit the full guide for more info)

Credits

This Guide was designed by Axolittle and pinecubes, with editing feedback from Rob[www.twitch.tv] and ICED[www.twitch.tv].

If you're interested in learning about more advanced movement, check out the full guide[docs.google.com]!

Credit also goes to:

Ga - Posted a ton of amazing movement gifs in early 2018, introduced fast pole-climbing, backflip pole-jumping, grounded wall-hopping, and many more invaluable “tipssssss”. Messages can be searched on the Discord server[discord.gg].
Kehtapbi - Communicated a lot of interesting gifs and information from the Chinese rainworld community in early 2018. Possibly led to Ga joining the discord.
Olkinim - Contributed a lot to uncovering turn-storage and other moves (sliding into ground pipes)
Trash Typhoon - Finding pole-hopping in the 1.5 beta test.
Turtle - Finding turnaround pole-grab, leading to turn-storage discoveries.
Applebread - Early player, found a lot of tech and posted tutorials on youtube.
Houkou, Xen, Sipik for noticing moves we forgot to include.
And many others for experimenting, discovering, rediscovering and documenting movement tech online.

There’s a lot more out there to discover! Procedural physics based movement has some really interesting quirks which can take hundreds of hours to find out. It’s been a collective community effort to find, share and document as much as possible, but it’s always likely that there are undiscovered tricks and options still waiting to be found.

Please note that this guide is a condensed version of the full guide, and so naturally has movement tech missing. We've aimed to strike a balance between usefulness and concision, mainly for beginners to mid-level players, and as a gateway to the fully comprehensive guide.
If you have any suggestions or questions relating to the full guide[docs.google.com], feel free to add and DM @gwyn#9899 (Axo) or @laura#2871 (pine) on Discord, or email [e-mail] or [e-mail]. You could also ping us in the #meta-and-tech channel on Discord[discord.gg] - we check there regularly!

Happy hunting!

[HeraxiuS]

playing on console is HARD af

[Net]

I dont know if the community of discord knows about this already, but I found out that you can Wallpouce from a Backflip:

https://youtu.be/W0Hi86ggliw

Still getting used to it though and try to apply to more tight places.
Appreciate you guys for showing the ropes of this game´s movement for others players out there

[BadMedium]

No, I'm just not able to do the coyote jump after multiple attempts with different timings, off of both ledges and polls. Also I was reading the pole boosting method wrong, that my mistake.

[laurapigeon]

both are in game and in the guide. boosting up a pole was not in 1.01, if thats what you mean?

[BadMedium]

Ok, I'm not seeing the coyote jump as being... in existence. Also jumping up a pole. Have things been patched out?

[LavA]

i looked at the google doc for a good 15 min what the hell is this game
ALL I SEE Is <><<<>>><<>><>^^^vvvvvv^^^^^VV<><><><>V<V><>V<>VVV<>^V<>V>^V><^V>V<^^>V^V>< and all this has to be achieved in 1 frame

[Raugintas Kopustas]

this is incredible

[laurapigeon]

thats a different move introduced in the dlc

[digbissapointment]

this has probably been noted, but wall jumps retain momentum, so a charge pounce into a wall can send you pretty fast + far if you time it right. Its pretty situational, but it can be fun to get right when you do.

[Khanical]

You sir, are a messiah.