Any% Guide (updated again)

Stage: A section of the level, like the lungs
Level: One person (like nelson)
GE: Gain Entry, the first stage in every level

Nelson -
Mouth:
From the beginning, there is a glitch that saves about 3 seconds. Once you click play and skip the cutscene, you can right-click then press p and enter. (don't move your mouse after you right click or else it won't work!) This causes the game to force a load of the first stage which is not fully loaded since you did not finish the last cutscene with the zoom-in on Nelson. This will cause some bugs to happen. One of the most important is you can start the stage from the screen where ruff explains how the game works. Keep holding up and once you actually see the first stage, all of the spit will be deleted, and the mouthwash will be changed to soap. Now all you have to do is avoid the soap, and you can get a Nelson mouth time of 0:43-0:45
(You may notice the gate to the bloodstream says "Welcome to the EAR", this is just a visual bug)
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804741642837426277/play.PNG
Bloodstream:
You can beat this stage pretty easily by holding up and right the whole time to avoid the B-Cells. This makes the game think you're slightly higher than you actually are, which causes the B-Cells to attack slightly above you. Since there is no friction in this game, it takes the same amount of time as if you did it normally. With this, you can beat this section in 22 seconds

Lungs:
Once you start, immediately hold down and right and once you hit the first cell cluster, work your way counter-clockwise around the ring of cells. If you don't make any mistakes., this section takes around 14.5 seconds



Dump-it:

Nose:

This is the first GE where soap can be semi-luck dependent. Since it's not hard to avoid it shouldn't be a problem except for some tight sections. There is a part around the middle where you can save a little time by going in a zig-zag pattern. If you can do it well, you will get through that part while holding up the whole time. If you do this section well, you can beat it in around 1:02

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804737219264249866/trade.PNG

Bloodstream:

Same as nelson, just sligthly longer. You can beat this in around 29 seconds



Lungs:

This is the main route by MeesterTweester. The critical point is in the top left where there are 20 scattered cells. Try to go in a zig-zag pattern with these as well, that is usually the fastest method. Doing this section well can get you a time of 1 minute

https://i.imgur.com/z3HWASD.png


Trumpet:

Eye:

The soap can be quite tricky here. In this GE there are two skips that save >3 seconds. This first one is around 1/3 through the stage. Usually, you would swerve around the tears by going up, then down, then up again. But there is an opening to the right that you can go through.  sticking you to the tears temporarily but saving about 5 seconds. The second skip is towards the end. There is a part where you have to go a long way around 3 walls of tears. On the last wall to the left, there is an opening you can barely get through, saving about 4 seconds. Doing this section well can get you a time of 1:25

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804737877987950642/trumpet.PNG
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804738463806259220/trumpet2.PNG


Bloodstream:

This is the first Bloodstream where you have to do the invincible bloodstream trick. This is because the target radius of the B-cells is so large that it's impossible to avoid the antibodies normally. but with this trick, the B-cells will target just above you. The Macrophages will still attack you, but they don't slow you down so they're not a problem. Doing this well can get you a time of 35 seconds in this section

Lungs:

There is a main route made by me. This is one of the toughest lung sections in the game. Mainly because the cells are in multiple clusters, and there are many solo cells scattered throughout the map. As well as there being 3 T-cells instead of 1. The T-cells will sometimes group up to look like one, but they will take a lot of energy if you get too close (They can kill you in 1 second!). Doing this section well can get you a time of 1:25.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/548921197916585984/803764359728988211/trumpet2.PNG

Crumpet:

Ear:

The hardest GE in the game. The soap is very tough here, it can push you down into the earwax, which is very "sticky" (It slows you down the most compared to the tears, spit, etc). There is a skip around the beginning, in a section where normally you would have to go up, left, then down around some earwax, but there is a small opening where you can try to get through two earwaxes (if that's a word), saving around a second. However, this trick is very risky, as it leaves you vulnerable to the soap for a few seconds. Other than that, just be careful of soap and ear hair (those log-shaped objects). Ear hair has a strange collision. For example, sometimes if you go into it while holding up and right, it can teleport you to the right. This can have positive or negative (usually negative) effects, so it would be better to avoid the ear hair. Doing this well can get you a time of 1:40
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804739364709204048/crumpet.PNG


Bloodstream:
Same as trumpet, just a little longer. Doing this well can get you a time of 42 seconds


Lungs:

The last and second-longest stage of the game (the first being the ear). This is the route made by me, it is easier than the trumpet lungs because of the fact that most of the cells are all close to or on one path, so navigating is not difficult. There is a part around the beginning that you have to be a little careful on. When going to the bottom left, a T-cell spawns there, so you have to sacrifice a little bit of your energy to get the cells there. Be careful though, if you sacrifice more than 1/3 of your energy, your run probably won't make it since you will usually end the stage with about 1/3 of your energy. Doing this section well can get you a time of 1:25

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/381802602238705667/804454058698080346/crumpetroute.PNG

Thanks for reading! If there's anything you would like to be added just let me know. I'll update this as new tricks/skips are found.

Any% strategy guide and thoughts

If someone mapped out the Lung sections and made optimal routes that would probably be the greatest contribution to speedrunning this game. Lungs are by far the most nonlinear sections and I think finding the best route would save a lot of time. However, it is hard to route, as you cannot select individual sections, and very little of the full area is shown at once. For the most part I try to start in the middle then go in a circle around the edges, while trying to remember where all the solitary cells are and hit them along the way. Also it seems that moving diagonally is faster than just going straight up down or sideways, so zig zag instead of moving in straight lines when going up, down, or sideways.

For clicking the two buttons in between each round, there is a specific spot where the buttons overlap. Before the Lungs sections the button is a little higher. Memorize where the buttons are to click them as quick as possible.

On the Bloodstream sections, I have a theory that B-Cells (tan circles) have a circular activation radius and throughout the game the radius gets larger. The radius is small and easy to avoid on Nelson, the radius is larger on trumpet but it's still manageable to avoid them, but on Dump-It and Crumpet I assume the radius takes up most if not all of the area. When the B-Cells attack you, I would move up for a while the down for a while alternating. I think that is the best way to dodge most of their attacks. Also I would look at your timer to predict when the exit is coming up. You can try to avoid Macrophages (blue enemies) but they won't do too much damage so focus more on B-Cells. Predict when you will split depending on your pace, then five seconds before that, move towards the center. being on the top or bottom sections will make a slow exit since you will hit the wall instead of going in immediately.

I collectively call the first section on each antagonist (Mouth/Nose/Eyes/Ear) the "Gain Entry" sections since the game refers to them as such. In these, releasing a side arrow will cause a bit of lag. Therefore, you want to release side arrows as little as possible. I have found if you hold down one side arrow than press the other, it will not cause lag, so try to chain together diagonals. However, releasing the side arrow after that still causes lag. You want to get the most out of each diagonal, so I would recommend learning how to play the Gain Entry sections by zigzagging diagonally rather than moving straight up while occasionally tapping left or right. When moving diagonally, move right above the obstacles so you have as much room as possible later on. The three things you want to avoid are sections where you cannot hold up because of obstacles (some are necessary to go through but try to keep them to a minimum), bumping into obstacles, and most of all, getting caught on Mouthwash/Soap. 

Tear Skip - Located in Trumpet Eye, it is one of the only skips in the game. About 30 seconds in, there is a section where the tears form two curves, forcing you to make an N-shape curve through. But on the left, the leftmost tear is a little far away from the edge. Take the energy loss and hold on the left edge through the tear. You will have slightly less energy, but the distance and therefore time skipped will be worth it.

On Crumpet Ear, there is a second unnamed obstacle. It is brown, look like a tree stump, and might me a different type of earwax. Anyway, the collision on them is super weird. If you try to move through them, they could warp you in a direction you are holding. In rare cases, you can warp to the other side of the screen, unfortunately inside earwax sometimes. Sometimes you can warp through them sideways to skip having to move the same distance. I would like to see this explored more so we can use it to our advantage.

Not a strategy but a fun fact: On the walls for the exit of the Gain Entry and Bloodstream sections, you can go behind them to the sides. If you try to go backwards, you will be sent backwards, clipping through the walls back outside. I can only guess the collision forces you backwards, but since they never thought someone would try to push on the other side of the wall, they did not code pushing you back forwards, so you just get pushed backwards the same way.

MeesterTweester

Apeirogon

Name	Author
Any% Guide (updated again)	Apeirogon 2 years ago
Any% strategy guide and thoughts	MeesterTweester 5 years ago