Revision as of 13:04, 11 July 2013

Current Fastest Time

34:29 by Onin (Segmented)

Warrior-specific techniques

Using Charge

The most important ability the Warrior learns is Charge. Using Charge as efficiently as possible throughout every chapter is key to speedrunning this campaign. Generally speaking, you'll want to find an efficient use of the skill on every cooldown, or save it for a particularly long stretch of Charging. Particularly the end of the Charge is important:

• Hitting a monster immediately ends Charge and allows you to continue moving.
• Hitting certain environmental objects at certain angles allow you to continue moving. The most specific example is some forms of river banks, and the edges of rope bridges.
• Hitting a wall, solid object, or non-animate object (polyps or bouncers) will Stun you for about 1 second. Generally to be avoided.
• In version 1.0, hitting the Swap Weapon key will cancel the Charge movement, but keep you immobile for a duration equal to how long the Charge was going to last. This technique is vital to preventing Stuns after a long Charge, but keep in mind that cancelling too early will keep you immobile longer than you would be stunned. It is possible to restart your Charge after cancelling it by clicking attack while still immobilized.
  

In addition to movement, Charge is also the Warrior's biggest source of damage. Use it while fighting big monsters, or to one-shot certain monsters for easy experience. It does not need a weapon to work, and does not scale with weapon damage.

Shuriken

Shuriken are the Warrior's ranged attack option. They fire extremely fast and deal a decent amount of damage, but are very limited in quantity. Most of your money will go towards buying shuriken, as there aren't too many to be found throughout the campaign. Shuriken can also press buttons from range.
Chakram are a type of shuriken that bounces off walls, and eventually either flies back to you or drops to the floor, rather than being consumed on use. Due to their unreliability, they're ignored in current routes.

Crashes

Never use your Harpoon spell on a Vampire's bat form. This form has 1 hp, Harpoon deals 1 damage, and the game will get confused about having to move a dead monster, which crashes the game.

Chapter 1-2

There are two ways to complete the first chapters, one significantly more risky than the other and mostly being for segmented runs only.

• Segmented route: Break the first barrel for two apples, then sell all your clothes to the merchant and buy another 7 apples. Run back to the exit of the level, then use a reload-bump to get past the locked door, straight into chapter 3.
• Single-segment route: Get the apples, then break open the wall to get the experience bonus from finding a secret. Head into town, discover the second secret, and do the Gauntlet access quest as normal. Make sure to collect 9 apples from the gardens, and also make sure to kill as many bats as you can easily do (you can miss at most two of them).
  

Proceed into the Gauntlet. In the first room with lava, use a 6 strength applebump to get through the iron gate. Jump over the lava, flip the switch and kill the ogre, then go south and exit the Gauntlet. You should get exactly enough experience to reach level 2 and learn Charge. Now head back to the exit, selling your clothes and sword, and reload-bump into chapter 3.
You might want to make a manual save here to use as a starting point for future reload bumps.

Chapter 3

In the single-segment route, this chapter has a lot of very long Charges to learn.
Run straight to Ix, picking up as many healing potions as you can afford at the encampment. Proceed straight to the pygmy cave and into their little trap. Take out the first mage, then run straight past the other two; you might want to wait for a second or two before going through the doors, as doing so can avoid aggroing the mages and save a bit of health. Pick up the apprentice's armor, then head back to Ix.
Single-segment runs can use Charge to one-shot the pygmy mage, but if you used the segmented strategy, you haven't learned the spell yet. Instead, you'll have to defeat the mage with only your starting sword. The best way to do so is to immediately run at him, then as soon as you're in hitting range, stop running. If there's a small distance between you and the mage, it will often run off to the right and get stuck in a corner; if you get too close, he will more likely run into one of the passages, and it will be very difficult to chase him down.

Chapter 4

Buy some more healing potions at the start. On the second level of the catacombs, in the first coffin on route, is a Sword of Bewilderment that is vital for the run. Also pick up all the Shuriken you can find, and use one to press the red button.
The Necromancer fight can either be completed by throwing a load of shuriken at him and adding Charge damage, or completely bypassed by bumping through the gate. Doing so may be difficult without using a reload bump from an earlier save, and you're going to need more apples later, so a reload bump is generally the wisest.
After dropping down, pick up the mace from the chest; it's your best source of fire damage, and you're going to have to clear the ext corridor. Head south, clear the zombies behind the iron gate, then use a 6-strength apple bump to bump into that room. Continue south-west, and drop down. (If you used the segmented strat, you should be level 2 and have Charge now.)
Again, there are two ways to deal with the Guardian of the Tomb. One is to defeat him using Charge for damage and Sword of Bewilderment to keep him off you; two Charges should kill it. Alternatively, you can reload-bump through the gate again, but this bump is highly inconsistent and it's likely faster to simply kill him.
Proceed as normal, finding the best places to Charge for extra speed, up to the Keeper of Souls. To kill this boss, hit him with a Charge and then barrage him with Shuriken while chugging a load of potions; his Lightning spell is extremely deadly and Bewildering him does not stop him from using it at all. A second Charge should kill him.
Make sure to take all the bosses' loot with you. If you skipped the Guardian, then ope the north coffin after leaving the catacombs, and take the shield with you to sell instead.

Chapter 5

Head into town, and restock on apples, meats and ciders for bumping purposes. Sell all your loot, and buy as many shuriken as you can afford (most expensive ones first). Proceed to the ogre village.
Either a 3-strength bump or a reload bump can get you past the gate into the ogre village. The former requires you to clear all the ogres with shuriken, while the latter makes going through the village a lot more dangerous. Either way, flip the switch to open the gate up afterward, then head to the maidens.
Again, two choices: Either you can clear the whole village of ogres, then open the gate and escort the maidens to safety. They are very fragile and a single death forces you to reload a save. Alternatively, you can clear away the ogres around the cage, bump inside of the cage to trigger the quest, then bump out again so the maidens can't follow you and get in trouble that way. Once you leave the map, you'll complete the quest anyway.

Chapter 6

Another chapter with some very long Charges to learn.
Run past everything. On the second level of the castle, take a secret door to the south-east to bypass the need for keys. Before entering Horrendous's room, try to unequip all your armor while on the move, then after the cutscene ends, pick up a full set of armor. You could loot as many gauntlets, boots, armlets and helmets as you can carry to get a lot of gold, but doing so isn't necessary in the current routes. You might not want to pick up a pair of boots, as you'll get another pair in the next chapter, and you'll save the time required to equip it.
Fighting the Necromancer, simply Warcry immediately after a Charge to prevent him from going invisible, then unleash a barrage of shuriken. This should be enough to kill him before the silence dissipates; if it isn't, Bewilder him before it runs out, then continue.

Chapter 7

Ignore the drunk guy, buy more apples. If you've picked up all the armor from Horrendous, you can sell it here for either Fire resistance armor, or a Warhammer (which you can't use yet because you're too low level). Either way, proceed to reload bump past the iron gate and into the tower.
In the wizard tower, save all your Charges for one-shotting any wizards that get in your way. Pick up as many healing potions as you can, and use them freely. Know where to use Warcry: on level 1, use it when entering the room with the ruby key. On level 2, use it when exiting the room with the silver key and after the purple wizard. On level 3, use it on the first purple wizard. On level 5, use it before opening the chest with the key. On the other levels, use your own discretion.
Level 2 offers the first boots with a movement speed enchant, which easily pays off the time it takes to pick up.
On level 3, you might want to try to use the purple wizard's Blink ability to your advantage. If you chase him closely, you'll follow his Blink spell, and with any luck you might be teleported into the last room of the level, saving some time. You only get one chance, if you're not lucky, go through the level the normal way. There is a Flimsy Warhammer in this level that could be used, though current routes don't use it.
Level 4 is the hardest area in the entire game. There is no way to make it more consistent, aside using Charges to get rid of the brown wizards, since their fireball staff cannot be Silenced. Try your best to dodge fireballs and to save Warcry for the worst situation, chug as many potions as you can; you can afford it. Getting through this area with the least deaths possible is key to a good run.
On level 6, Charge the top wizard and immediately Warcry; if done correctly, he'll start running into a wall, allowing you to easily kill him (Bewilder him after the Silence wears off, then kill him). The second wizard should pose no threat afterward, simply Bewilder him as well and kill him. Stock up on as many potions as you can on this level. You can ignore and run past the final two wizards with a properly timed Warcry.

Chapter 8

Another chapter with long Charges to learn.
While it is possible to bump through the door leading to the Temple by simply running at it from the right angle, simply doing a 2-item bump is far more consistent. Inside the temple, use Charge on the boulders; you may get stunned, but you still do damage to them, and a few more Halberd hits should break them and allow you to pass faster. The gate can be bumped or reload-bumped, depending on how many items you have left. Make sure to Silence the Beholders as soon as they try to cast Slow, or if they're in your way; touching them triggers their Spark and kills you. Proceed through the temple as normal.
The rock golems are extremely deadly in melee range, so for the most part you'll be using shuriken to kill them. However, it's possible to hit them with Charge and immediately retreat fast enough for their attack to miss you, and doing so is vital for a quick kill.

Chapter 9

This chapter offers the choice to use Charges for either experience, or pure speed. The man-eating plants offer a lot of experience and die in a single Charge, but most optimal Charge ranges don't hit them; similar with the shadow crawlers. One Charge must be saved to kill a plant that blocks off your path. The fairy fight is mandatory; the plants that block the way will respawn when killed, and furthermore there is an invisible wall behind them. The guy who offers his help has no useful items for you. The necromancer afterward can be skipped.
The ogre stronghold section has a number of mandatory kills, save your Charge for these. There aren't too many places to use Charge to gain time, anyway, so using it to pick off problematic monsters is probably a better idea. The only mandatory Charge is past the pit of spikes towards the end.
The snow section has a number of good Charges. Be wary that some monster spawns are completely random, and some of these are Ghosts; look for illuminated spots in the snow, and avoid them. Take your time on the three necromancer fight, they're unlikely to harm you much and will die soon enough. Try to stick as close to the Lich as possible and Charge+Warcry him as early as possible to prevent him from casting Forcefield; it halves your damage output.

Chapter 10

More very long charges to learn.
A well-aimed Charge can get you past the first corridor without falling into any holes; finding the positioning is key. After triggering the next two switches, you have approximately 10 seconds of waiting to do; you can use it to snipe a few gargoyled with shuriken. After counting out 10 seconds, Charge past the next corridor, and cancel it just at the end; if done well, you'll avoid aggroing the gargoyles in the alcoves.
In the following area to the north-east, you can easily get the key and get out without having to kill a single mob. To the south-east, open the second coffin and pick up the greatsword; it has knockback, which is vital for fighting the vampire in the next room. Vampires will one-shot you, so make sure to kite him around with your knockback, and be VERY wary to hit your Charge properly.
The Iron Golem is even more deadly than Rock Golems, so again stick to shuriken and the occasional Charge. Proceeding through the mazes, feel free to kill a few gargoyles, you're likely to get levelup here which can save you a healing potion. In the bumper room, head straight to the switch to the north-west, then hug the north wall to get to the exit.
Charge past the next vampire, you'll avoid aggroing it. You can attempt to bump past both purple lasers (between 4 and 6 strength required) but it's extremely inconsistent (about 2% consistency). The more consistent route is to head south-east and collect the first skull key, then use a 3-item bump to get past the one remaining death ray, a much easier bump. You can restock on healing potions in the following rooms for the Hecubah fight.
The easiest way to kill the Lich King is to barrage him with shuriken from the edge of the screen. This won't aggro him, unless you have Shuriken of Bewilderment. Finish him off with a Charge, and proceed into the spinning laser room. Quicksave and quickload to reset the cycle, disable all the switches, then turn on the north-east switch and wait for it to kill the golems and liches. If their AI didn't cooperate entirely, either turn the laser off again and fight them the ordinary way, or just reload and try again. The latter is generally faster if there are iron golems alive.
Finally, pick up the Staff of Oblivion, then either use it to empty the room of anything dangerous, or, in a segmented run, simply run through the horse of monsters, avoiding all ghosts and Confuse spells, chugging potions all the way.

Hecubah

Get in a position that allows you to immediately kill all the demons, reload your staff, then stand by a fully charged pylon and wait for Hecubah to return. Chasing her down is never a good idea, no matter how long she takes. When she appears, immediately Charge her, then retreat back to your pylon and unload your Stff of Oblivion on her. Only use Warcry to dispel her Summon Gargoyle spell. When your staff runs out of mana, your Charge should be ready; hit her with it, retreat to a second pylon, quickly reaim your lightning to kill the Demon that spawns, then continue hitting Hecubah. Skip through the dialogue she starts, repeat damaging her until she's dead.
There are two ways this strategy can fail: she can hit you with a Death Ray before you're able to heal up and kill you, or she can Blink away from you just after you hit her with Charge. Generally staying at max range will prevent the former from happening, while the latter can be avoided by timing your Charge to hit during her casting animation. In addition, pay close attention to your buff bar; never Charge while Confused.