Bastion/NG Any% Route

This is a description of the Any% route for both New Game and New Game+. Every core and a shard that is picked up must be duplicated(but if a dupe is missed, backup strategies exist in the form an additional level that has a core, usually Mount Zand or Melting Pot).

Level Order

1. Wharf District
2. Workmen Ward
3. Hanging Gardens
4. Cinderbrick Fort
5. Roathus Lagoon
6. Colford Cauldron
7. Burstone Quarry

Doing these levels is the fastest way to acquire 14 cores/shards. Wharf District is unskippable. Workmen Ward, Hanging Gardens, Cinderbrick Fort, Roathus Lagoon and Colford Cauldron are all short levels that have a core or a shard. Burstone Quarry is faster than the other available options(the Melting Pot or doing Prosper Bluff to unlock and do Wild Outskirts) thanks to, mostly, the Ura Invasion Skip.