ENERGY ROUTING
Spend energy where it buys something
Every dash you spend should buy distance, safety, or damage. If a dash buys nothing, walk instead. Walking is free and base speed is already 100 units per second, so a dash that is not solving a gap is pure waste.
The 70/30 Tap Rule
A tap dash gives roughly 70% of the distance for 30% of the cost. Use taps for almost everything and save full holds for the three situations that truly need them: a wide gap, a hazard crossing, or a boss phase.
Bank Before Doors
Never enter a new area below 75% energy. A single mistake in a fresh area can drop you to 0%, and a respawn starts you at 0% with no margin. The orb you skip in the previous room is cheaper than the run you lose.
Directional Dash Economy
Dashing in the direction you are already moving preserves your speed and costs nothing extra. Perpendicular dashes cancel your momentum and force a rebuild, which is why quick back-and-forth movement is so expensive.
I-FRAME MASTERY
The five frames that make you untouchable
A dash grants 5 frames of invincibility starting on frame 1. At 60 frames per second that is roughly 0.083 seconds of free pass through anything. That is longer than it sounds, and it is the single most transferable skill in the game.
- • Dash the instant a light beam starts sweeping, not after it reaches you
- • Dash through the Warden's shield bash instead of circling behind it
- • Dash across spike beds on frame 1 to take zero damage
- • Dash through enemy contact for the full 20% drain to become zero
Late Dash Beats Early Dash
New players dash too early and arrive at the hazard already out of frames. Hold your input until the last possible frame. The dash still covers the gap but the protection lines up with the danger.
Dodge Through, Not Away
Backing off from a boss removes your i-frame advantage and gives it room to reset. Dash laterally through or under the attack instead, and you stay on the front line where your damage output is.
BOSS PRESSURE TECHNIQUES
Reading each encounter at a deeper level
| Boss | Level | Advanced Read | Punish Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drowned Sentinel | 4 | The lantern flash also telegraphs the arena. Dash on the flash, not on the lunge. | Full lunge recovery |
| Echo Sentinel | 6 | It mirrors your movement, so every move you make is feeding it. Freeze and it commits. | Long lock on a grate |
| The Warden | 7 | Hazard-immune, so terrain kills are gone. It telegraphs with a shoulder drop before the bash. | Stagger after the bash |
| The Heart | 9 | The floor sweep is a three-hit sequence. It is one combo, not three separate attacks. | After the third hit only |
| Gate Captain | 12 | It charges the other guard. Stand where both meet and let the collision stagger them. | Both guards staggered |
ORB FARMING LOOPS
Reliable energy income per area
- Level 3 Guard Post: Guards drop 15% per kill and patrol fixed routes. Farm the two closest patrols and move on.
- Level 7 Prison Ward: The densest enemy population in the game. Clear the ward cells and the payoff funds the Warden fight.
- Level 9 Behind The Heart: A full restore sits behind the boss, so a beatable Heart attempt doubles as a refuel.
- Level 11 Shadow Alcove: Restores all energy. Treat it as a mid-run reset rather than a prize.
ADVANCED MOVEMENT
Skill moves that shave real seconds
Peak Dash
Start a dash at the apex of a jump to extend air time while keeping speed. This is the widest gap you can clear without holding Extended Dash.
Gravity Cancel
Enter a gravity well mid-dash and keep your horizontal momentum through the flip. It is difficult and it breaks the pattern of most Level 8 deaths.
Anchor Hold
After Level 9, hold the Gravity Anchor to lock your position for precise platforming at a cost of 1% energy per second. Cheap compared to a fall.
OPTIMAL BACKTRACK ORDER
How to spend your revisits
| Revisit | Target | Why First |
|---|---|---|
| After Level 2 | Level 2 energy cache | Needs Wall Jump, which you just gained, and it funds the whole mid-game |
| After Level 5 | Level 5 long gaps | Extended Dash turns the awkward shafts into straight lines |
| After Level 6 | Level 6 echo door | Opens before you need it and costs only a short detour |
| After Level 9 | Level 8 wells | Gravity Anchor makes the wells controllable for the rest of the run |
| After Level 11 | Level 11 shadow alcove | A full restore right before the Gate Captain is the safest place to spend it |
COMPLETION CHECKLIST
Everything you need for a full clear
- Three abilities: Wall Jump, Extended Dash and Gravity Anchor collected in that order.
- Five major bosses: Drowned Sentinel, Echo Sentinel, The Warden, The Heart and the Gate Captain.
- Six secret rooms: the Level 2 cache, Level 3 locker, Level 4 tunnel, Level 6 echo door, Level 8 false wall and Level 11 alcove.
- Every checkpoint activated: each one restores 25% on activation and 10% on respawn.
- True ending: the final orb set in Level 12 is what separates the true ending from the standard one.