HLD Any% Routing (WIP)

Last revision: April 2nd 2016

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HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER ANY%
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NOTE: Boss names in this guide are in no way official and are just for ease of reference

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
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"Modules" - the key objects you pick up to progress through levels. Three in each area are needed to access the boss door for that area, and four from each area are required to complete the game.

"Key" - ...A key; opens special doors. Only one is acquired and used in this route.

"Bit" - Short for "gearbit"; the currency found throughout the game used to purchase upgrades. 4 bits = 1 full upgrade point. 3 full upgrade points can buy an upgrade for dash or sword

"Sword 2" - The second sword upgrade; reflects projectiles.

"Dash 1" - The first dash upgrade; chain dash.

"Frogger" - colloquial name for the frog boss of the eastern zone.

"Priscilla the Parrot" - colloquial name for the bird magus boss of the northern zone.

"Greybeard the Pirate" - colloquial name for the crystal knight boss of the western zone.

"Mr. Snuffles" - colloquial name for the final boss of the game.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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P.1 Prologue
N.1 North part 1
E.1 East
N.2 North part 2
W.1 West
S.1 South
F.1 Finale
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Key items/upgrades:
1. Shotgun
2. Infinite Dash
3. Dash Attack Sword Upgrade
4. Reflecting Sword Upgrade
5. Grenade (optional, maybe good for "quick" kills)
-> Grenade probably isn't worth it for the time it takes to gather the currency. Time save is negligible in comparison

Safety strats:
-Dash shield
-Medpac capacity
-Ammo

Progression order:
1. East (easy boss, get shotgun)
2. North (lots of easily accessible upgrade points, moderate boss)
3. West (easily accessible modules, difficult boss)
-> NOTE: should return to town ASAP to get upgrades in priority order
4. South (boss rush)
[module acquisition order TBD]

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P.1 | PROLOGUE
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Self-Explanatory; you should have 3 medkits by the time you wake up in town.

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N.1 | NORTH PART 1
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Exit the house, head north normally out of town. Loop up and around to the right to find a patch of land with a bit; collect it, then head back and continue north.

Upon entering the northern zone, head up the stairs and clib the first ladder, then go to the left of the stairs with the two large banners and dash across the gap to find a bit at the bottom of some stairs and across a gap; collect the bit, then head north.

On the next screen, go to the right and climb the ladder onto the large building. Behind the gridded wall on this upper level is a switch; activate it to spawn a platform, then dash to the right across the gap to collect a bit. Return down the ladder, and head up the stairs and to the right into the next screen.

Follow the cliffs normally to the right, then climb the ladders and stairs and jump across the multiple platforms. In the patch of trees where the wolves spawn, head to the right along a semi-hidden path and enter the cave there. In the cave, climb up the ladder, head to the right, and go down through a hidden doorway to collect another bit. Exit the cave, return to the left near the wolves, and head up into the next screen.

Dash past the other drifter and up the stairs, stopping at the halfway point to loop around to the right to collect another bit. Go back to the stairs, and head left at the top of the stairs along the narrow cliff edge. After dashing to the left onto an island, dash downwards onto some invisible platforms and head down the stairs into a cave where you will find northern module 1. Exit the cave, dash back up to the island, then follow the cliffs up and left to collect another bit. Return to the top of the stairs, and dash upwards past the wolves into the next area.

Kill the bird sorceror, dash upwards, and clear the two sorcerors and the goblin to collect another bit. There is a spare medpack in the corner if you need it. From the upper left corner of this area, dash left onto a hidden platform leading to a group of sorcerors. Kill them to lower the barrier to the south, then head to that area and follow the cliff edge to collect a key from the corpse. Head back to the main part of the room and head north into the next area.

Head up the stairs and dispose of all the sorcerors to collect another bit. There are two spare medpacks in the upper left and upper right corners of this area if you need them. Continue upwards into the next screen and clear out the arena to lower the barriers and activate the northern warp point. Once the warp point is active, warp back to town.

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E.1 EAST
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Head east normally out of town. On the next screen, go down first to get 1 bit, then continue back up and to the right to progress into the East Zone proper, killing any small enemies along the way.

Continue advancing normally, dashing as much as possible; these first few screens are pretty linear. Just kill the frog ninjas after the short cutscene. Continue to the right and then down once you reach the edge of the water to enter the tunnels, then take the elevator down.

Upon entering the dark basement, cross the first room normally, then in the second room turn immediately to the left at the bottom of the stairs to find the first module of the zone. Continue back to the right and up to the next elevator.

After reaching the surface, go up and immediately left to collect another bit. Return to the right and continue on to activate the East warp. Continue right and then down to the only accessible area, down the stairs. Head all the way to the right, then down to the elevator to return to the underground.

Kill the enemies and open the gate, then head to the left and clear all the enemies in the small arena to open the doors to the north, west, and south. Go north first, and simply continue to the left dashing past the enemies to find the second module in the next room. There is a medkit nearby here if you need one. Activate the switch to lower the barrier, then jump down the ledge and and return to the right (the arena you cleared before). From here, head south.

In this room, head up the stairs to the right and clear the enemies to collect another bit. Ignore the switch, return to the elevator just below where you collected the second module, and continue down to the next floor.

Pick up the medkit in the nearby corner if you need it, then continue left and open the door to the next arena. Clear the enemies (strats may differ), then go to the left to collect another bit, giving you 1 full upgrade point. There is a spare medkit near the bit if you need one. Head back down and open the key door.

In the key room, dash along the blocks heading down and to the right, avoiding combat when possible. At the end of the area is the third module. Collect it, then return to the previous room and head north to the elevator to the surface.

Upon reaching the surface, follow the dog upwards and run past the other drifter, wrapping clockwise around the temple to exit the screen upwards. Move forward and activate the switch to lower the barrier, then warp back to town. In town, buy the chain dash upgrade, then warp back to the eastern warp pad and enter the 3-module door.

Killing enemies as you go, continue left, up, and right until you reach a barrier that drops once all enemies in the area are killed. Before advancing, wrap around to the south to a semi-hidden area to collect a bit. Continue on past the barrier to the right. Kill all the enemies in the next screen, collecting a bit from them as loot. Head to the right, then up the stairs to the surface. There is a spare medkit in the right-hand corner before the stairs if you need it.

Once you reach the surface, continue north until you hit a dead end, then turn around and clear the arena to advance left and down the stairs. Move upwards, kill the two frog alchemists, and activate the switch. Make your way left, up, then right to exit the area. Activate the switch to trigger the bridge, then head south and return to the arena on the right. Clear the enemies, then continue north across the bridge and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, head to the left to clear out a small encampment of enemies and crates to collect another two bits. On the opposite side is another small camp containing a spare medkit should you need it. Continue on through the boss door. Fill up your ammo prior to the fight.

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BOSS 1 (Frogger)
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Empty 5 of your pistol's 6 shots into the boss immediately as the fight starts. The boss can then be manipulated as follows: walk into melee, fire one pistol shot and immediately slash, then immediately dash out to avoid his melee attack. Walk back in, and repeat. This will lock him in his first cycle for much longer than intended, potentially for his entire health pool if executed perfectly. If the boss transitions into his minion-spawning phase, slash the minions as soon as they leave his mouth so they explode and stun him as early as possible. Once he is stunned, get into melee range and alternate pistol->melee->pistol rapidly until he either dies or breaks out of stun. Continue this cycle until the boss is defeated, pick up the bits, then continue north and activate the pillar.

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After activating the pillar continue left and down, and loot the shotgun. Exit the room to the south. Collect the fourth and final module for the zone, then continue down the stairs and collect a bit hidden by the foreground trees and warp back to the northern warp pad.

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N.2 | NORTH PART 2
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From the warp pad, head up to the next screen and collect the module to the right, bringing the total for the zone to 2. exit the screen to the left, and head down the stairs to the small teleporter pad. Use the teleporter pad, then dash left and take the elevator down.

Once underground, use the teleporter pad to the right to enter the arena and dispose of the sorcerors, collecting a bit as loot. Head up the stairs and use the teleporter pad. There is a spare medkit in the destructible objects to the left of the stairs if you need one.

Dash past the blocks, across the pit, and head down the stairs. Dash past the next section of blocks, minding their patterns, then head up and quickly use the teleporter pad before the turret can hit you. Dash to the left, avoiding the turret and killing the birds to lower the barrier. Take the elevator down.

Dash to the right. On the next screen, kill the giant and dash down and right past the blocks to kill another giant, then dash upwards and clear the rest of the enemies (some sorcerors and yet another giant). Collect a bit as loot, hit the nearby switch, and return to the locked door on the other side of the room. Exit through the door.

Destroy the object immediately to your left to collect another bit; there is a spare medkit directly upwards past a block. Dash to the right past the blocks, then head up to the next section of blocks. Here, dash upwards into the middle block as it comes down to crush you, then spam your dash upwards to be thrown into the block, then into the wall, and beyond the barrier without having to hit the switch. This is faster than hitting the switch when done properly. Afterwards, continue upwards past the last blocks, and enter the door to the next room.

Clear the enemies, and collect a bit as loot if you are counting on safety strats (shielded dash). Continue on to the next room, and collect the module. Use the teleporter pad to the left to return to the surface.

Jump down off the pillar, and use the warp pad to restore your resources if you need to. Head up the stairs and to the right past the used module 2, then head down a few ledges and enter the 3-module door.

Head upwards through the atrium area, and go up the stairs. There are a lot of enemies in this room, and the fastest way through is to chain dash straight up the middle, then right down the stairs and up into the next room. You may have to kill the two shaman near the stairs if you drop the chain dash prematurely.

Clear the enemies in the next room to unlock the door. There is a spare medkit in the crate to the left of the door if you need one. Once all enemies are killed, head directly downwards from the exit door to pass through the wall and collect the fourth module for the area. Continue through the door into the library; this room has plenty of medkits scattered around among the books, so stock up on what you need to feel comfortable fighting the boss. Make your way to the top of the library and advance into the boss room.

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BOSS 2 (Priscilla)
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This boss is fairly straightforward, although learning the patterns may prove difficult. Simply dash in whenever you have an opening, and deal as much point-blank shotgun damage as possible, combined with whatever melee attacks you can string together. Kill the adds as they come, and rinse and repeat until the boss dies, collect the bits if you have less than three upgrade points, then head upwards to activate the pillar. Collect the rifle if you choose to. After activating the pillar, warp back to town.

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IN TOWN
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Dash over to the sword upgrade shop, and purchase reflecting sword (upgrade 2). Exit the shop, and dash west out of town and into the forest.

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W.1 | WEST
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WIP
1. easy underground diamond
2. south woods gauntlet hidden path
3. underground north of warp pad (hidden path by cell)
4. straight up from L-bridge (beyond 3-m door, wrap clockwise way up and around