Killer Is Dead Speedrun FAQ

Note to self: Turn off Playstation & Generic gamepad configuration off, Xbox configuration on & DS4Windows with KID settings on
Toggle resolution to make windows align on second monitor


Improve the run:
Quick wire kills in E2 & E3
Alice third phase manipulation
DB all 3 Predators (5 roses before the bridge ones)
Better Counter-Shots
Get blood from 2nd Gilded Clawman
Don't farm before elevator
DB lightning
Don't drop combo on Hamada-Yama
AB enemies after upgrade purchase in E9
Avoid unnecessary DBs/killing the last enemy without a headshot







Get Bug (E3, 100k), Headshot (E6, 100k), Revenge (E8, 100k) and Stun (E9, 100k) and Squat x20 (E10, 100k)
for the 1 Red Ticket and 1 Blue Ticket after E8 (for Gilded Clawman & Predators in E9 and Dolly in E11)
THIS IS NOT FAST: 20s store visit, ~10s best possible timesave

15 hs
20 squats (before 1st room door, gunner room, Blanka time)

Moon Crystal optimization
at the end of an episode

E4 - 289

E6 - 26
1st Predator - 17, DB (normal finish) (small crystals)
2nd Predator - Final Judgment 60 (big crystals)
3 Yellow Wires - 27
Vivian wave - 45 (four ABs)
Gilded Clawman #1 - 55
Gilded Clawman #2 - 55
Big Mac - 22, AB
Elevator farming - 46

E7 - 158

E8 - My splits blocked the way

E9 - 5 Predators give almost 140

840 at E9 buy point, 120 more than necessary


The timing method for NG is RTA minus loads for more consistent and fair timing (use the LiveSplit autosplitter plugin by Blastedt) and RTA for NG+

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**LiveSplit has an autosplitter available for the game. To use it, enable IGT and compare against it.**
It removes
-Full screen loads
-Episode intros
-Those animated cutscenes before episode intros, like the one before E6
The following are not:
Streamed loads, like the freeze between Episode 3 and Alice
Loads where the only indication is the blood spatter on the right side
Anything not mentioned
by Blastedt
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NG Any% Speedrun Guide:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_u1CZEnCr1nfQMxzHXPclG73FRL7J8rl

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Speedrun guide
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Legend
-AB = Adrenaline Burst
-DB = Dodge Burst
-HS = Headshot
-CC = Charge Cannon

1. How to go fast in Killer Is Dead?
-Blood management
**Build up combo level to attack faster and absorb more blood**
**Build up combo level with Guard Break (mash 8 and subsequently 10 times), DB (max +3 lvls), and parry (+5 hits)
-Always cancel Dash & Guard Break**
-HS, DB, AB
-Get upgrades
-Buy and use Red Tickets

2. What upgrades to buy and when?
-Dash #1 in E3 after staircase arranges itself
-Bullet Shot #1 & Counter Shot in E6 before collapsing bridge
-Bullet Shot #2 & Gekkou #1 before Victor
-Bullet Shot #3 and Guard Crush before Hamada-Yama
-Dash #2 & Gekkou #2 before going outside in E9

3. How to maximize their gains?
-Always dash when out of fight
-DB, parry and Guard Break for fast combo build-up
-Guard Crush Victor and Hamada-Yama to break their blocks
-Gekkou Limiters unlock lvl 4 and 5 combos. Higher combo levels give you more dmg/blood faster (more blood even at lower level combos).
-Counter Shot gun wielders

Other
-Final Judgment happens when you kill a humanoid wire with a regular attack with your current max combo lvl (3, 4 or 5) and will prompt you to choose an execution method. Always choose Moon Crystal one as it gives you extra crystals and is the fastest. Never do it on the Big Macs.
-If you kill the last enemy in an area with the sword, you will get a stopped frame effect, which is slow, so avoid it. This is especially likely in E6 while waiting for the elevator and E9 when going from room to room.

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General notes
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E2: The enemies' movement changes how fast you can kill them. The fastest way to down them is hitting two at a time and keep them close to yourself and a wall.

E3: To advance the Alice fight, you need to drop her from the ceiling and AB her once her HP bar is down to zero. Alice can keep attacking you despite having "0" HP and not go up to the ceiling, prolonging the fight. It's possible to block her from climbing up in the third phase and do enough damage so she won't get to climb a second time. However she can either go up right away or go in any direction she desires. It is possible to one-cycle the third phase even without blocking her if you get to do enough dmg.

E5: Dolly is invincible from the front and slows you down if you hit her. She can become invisible, which makes her more durable and she can shoot lasers off-screen which knock you down. The shadows can spawn slow or fast. If you kill the last shadow when another has just emerged from the water, you won't have to wait for one to spawn to finish the fight.

E6: Victor can sometimes go to a crouching state if he takes too many hits, which wastes time if he's already out of HP. There are two cutscenes in the fight you can skip after cutting his arms. The second one is sometimes skippable immediately, but sometimes it opens up the start menu making it impossible to skip. My advice is to mash another button to see the start prompt appear in the lower right corner and then skip it. If you AB his second phase too quickly after his arm comes out, you cannot skip the cutscene. Stay close to him to prompt the arm extending attack. Do not parry Victor, as it will slow the game down and kill the run (PC ONLY).

E7: Hamada-Yama can do a jump attack if you get too far from him. It's faster to get hit than to block and mash square all the way, but you don't want to drop your combo in this fight, especially in the first phase.

E8: The wires can sometimes block your path, and with the camera angles they are hard to align properly. Hitting David does more damage to the boss than any other enemy. David appears at a random spot on the boss each turn. The idea is to hit him thrice and then anything else twice, except the young Mondo.

E9: The most RNG heavy boss, Giant Head's eyes can get iframes out of nowhere, which wastes time and blood. He can also opt to do moves that don't break the boxes on the roofs for blood or miss them.

E10: Tommy can take his time with the eyes to do the plunge.

E11: Dolly's different attacks are all bad as they knock you back or stun you, except the quick multiple lasers (which one is that?). The attacks will also linger even if you cut her the first time.

E12: David is unpredictable in the first phase. In the second phase he can stop to create orbs or just dash after downing him once. In the third phase he can do a quick Moonslam or charge it up.

Stay online for the run, as the game will ask you to log in each time you finish a mission and will waste time otherwise.
Cancel combo with gun; useful on Hamada-Yama & Dolly
Red Armored enemies don't show R1 prompt
Charge cannon recoil avoidance : release aim after releasing the shot
Purple attacks = unblockable, except for Hamada-Yama's groundslam, Alice's wave(?)
Which dub you use (JAP/ENG) hardly makes a difference. I've timed all the phone calls using the first phone call you get in E3 on both dubs below.

Timer (Real Time)
**Start at difficulty selection press**
**End at David beheading when button changes from "hold" to "release"**
Split on Kirā izu deddo animation start up or result screen sound

Money gained by mission (personal maxes)
E1 - 91k - Very Hard 200k Rescue Payment
E2 - 109k
E3 - 545k - Alice Bug Payment worth 100k
E4 - 689k
E5 - 743k - Shadow Demolition Payment worth 100k
E6 - 1m - 3.5m (7 RTs) Headshot Payment worth 100k
E7 - 962k
E8 - 201k
E9 - 1m (Stun Payment)
E10 - 1m (Squat Payment)
E11 - 1m - 4.2m (6 RTs)

***Red Tickets after E6 strat (13 Red Tickets)***
-Buy 7
-E7 Scroll #1, Scroll #2, Scroll #4 Ninja/Big Macs
-E9 Samurai, Hall, Gilded Big Mac
-E10 Big Macs/Blankas (7 used)
-Buy 6 after E11
-E12 First room, Samurai #1, Samurai #2, Eye hall, Arena, David phase 2 (13 used)

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CALLS:
Natalia
-Promise: JP 6.17, ENG 6.19
-How long: JP 6.21, ENG 6.24

JP: .05 faster

Koharu
-Forgotten about me: JP 7.06, ENG 6.16
-How could you leave me: JP 6.21, ENG 6.19

ENG .22 faster


Betty
-Night alone: JP 6.14, ENG 6.12
-Bats: JP 6.16, ENG 6.27

JP 0.09 faster


Fastest JP combo: 12.30
Fastest ENG combo: 12.28


Overall**
N JP 13.8
K JP 13.27
B JP 12.30
total: 40.05

N ENG 13.13
K ENG 13.05
B ENG 13.09
total: 39.27


Fastest**
JP N1N2: 13.08
JP N1B1: 13.01
JP N1B2: 13.03
JP N2B1: 13.05
JP N2B2: 13.07
total: 1:05.24


ENG K1K2: 13.05
ENG K1B1: 12.28
ENG K1B2: 13.13
ENG K2B1: 13.01
ENG K2B2: 13.13
total: 1:06.00
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NG Notes							New Game
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-Go for headshots
-More blood drops
-Less enemies
-1920 Moon Crystals for upgrades:
Dash (50, 320)
Bullet Shot Plus (100, 200, 400)
Gekkou Limiter (200, 400)
Counter Shot (150)
Guard Crush (100)

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Episode 1
-Start game on Very Hard
-Rescue Payment to get 200k
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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Change difficulty back to Easy**	-	-	-	-	!!!!

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Episode 2
-Tutorial prompts
-Combo wires against the wall
-Trigger first door wires
-Don't mash early
-Split on results
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Episode 3
-Move to door during phone call
-Tutorial prompts
-Lure blocking wires together for a single guard break/combo by walking to a corner
-Get gilded clawman's drops
-HS all regular wires

-Dash (50) upgrade before Alice**	-	-	-	-	!!!!

-Alice bug payment
-DB Alice
-Re-aim while shooting when she climbs up or falls down for easy targeting
-Skip Mika cutscene on NG+
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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**Move left once in mission select**	-	-	-	-	!!!!

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Episode 4
-Tilt left stick forward bit by bit before loading screen ends
-HS first wave, Guard Break shields
-HS helmetless wires, kill/DB yellow wires
-Shoot & get floating head drops
-Guard Break stun clawman to the door & farm blood/get drops
-AB two upper hall enemies
-AB the two yellow wire enemies, kill Observer in first mirror room
-AB second mirror enemies
-Get blood from eyes
-AB David enemies/get drops/get blood from eyes
-Split on results				Crystal count: ~300
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Episode 5
-Invisible wall on fourth rock before tree cutscene
-Avoid the shadows
-Farm blood for Bullet Shot
-Hit her from the back
-Shoot her after she surfaces
-Make sure one surfaces as you kill the last one
-Execute when she touches the rocks
-Split on results
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Episode 6
-Kill first wave quick
-AB predator
-Get mace dudes/predators' drops
-Make sure to have 3+ roses of blood before bridge

-Counter Shot (150) & Bullet Shot Plus (100) upgrades before bridge**	!!!!

-Shoot four barrels on the right of the bridge
-AB mace enemies (aim for the rightmost)
-Walk back and shoot turret, HS/Counter shot gunners
-AB mace enemies during Vivian
-Get 5 roses of blood from Gilded Clawman

-Avoid suicide machines
-AB shields on rotating bridge
-AB predator, stun & AB Gilded Clawman

-Stunkill big enemy
-Don't do Final Judgments

-Gekkou (200) & Bullet Shot Neo (200) upgrades before Victor**	-	!!!!

-Shoot Victor and walk away from him to bait spit attack
-Don't stun/parry him
-DB unblockable by rolling forward
-DB tarzan stomp
-Get enough blood to shoot him during start of 2nd phase
-Skip second cutscene by pressing a button to see the start prompt (don't AB too early)
-Split on Kirā izu deddo			Crystal count: ~250
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**Buy 7 Red Tickets**	-	-	-	-	!!!!

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Episode 7
-Shoot tanuki from afar to teleport into scroll boss (beginning, 4th, 5th)
-Use Red Ticket during #1 scroll fight
-Use Red Ticket during #2 scroll fight
-Guard Break stun #3 gilded scrollholder
-Tanuki warp from bridge to #4 scroll fight
-Use Red Ticket during #4 scroll fight
-Tanuki warp to #5 scroll fight

-Bullet Shot Plus 3 (400) and Guard Crush (100) upgrade before Hamada-Yama**	-	-	-	!!!!

-During race hit Hamada-Yama 7 times & block, switch lane and mash

-Run towards and shoot him until he blocks, Guard Crush and keep shooting/blocking
-Build combo with Guard break & cancel to Musselback (stunlock possible)
-Don't drop the combo
-Don't go behind him
-Only DB quick attacks during second phase, avoid slow attack
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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Episode 8
-Go for double hits
-Hit David 3 times, last two whatever, don't hit Mondo
-Split on results
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Episode 9
-HS & counter shot first enemies
-AB ninjas
-Use Red Ticket on gilded Samurai
-Get blood from gilded clawman
-First route to eyes
-Use Red Ticket in Big Mac hall (kill Big Mac first, then Blankas)
-HS elevator wires
-Farm blood from gilded clawman & Counter Shot predator
-AB Bridge predators (6 roses) to skip Vivian

-Bullet Shot Ultimate (400) & Dash #2 (320) upgrade before going outside**	-	!!!!

-Don't stop for Giant Head's lasers, just take a hit
-Use Red Ticket on gilded Big Mac & get blood from the boxes
-Stay in the back to bait the rubble throw & spawn wire for blood
-Dodge, don't parry Giant Head
-AB before he hits the roof
-Have blood for all ABs
-Finisher quicker than others
-Giant head quick kill with 1x charge cannon NG+
-Split on Kirā izu deddo (head drops)
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Episode 10
-AB first cart outside enemies
-Counter shot/hs upper gunners (right one drops blood)
-7 ABs in gunner room
-Use CC for four last turrets & blankas & big macs (NG+)
-Use Red Ticket after Big Macs spawn, shoot any Blankas blocking the way
-Hold left stick up and the W-key down to go up doubly fast on the ladders
-Stun eyes and get blood from them
-Don't stun them more than once
-Stay still and shoot Tommy's head
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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Episode 11
-Shoot Dolly in both phases and prevent her jump
-Aim for Dolly on second phase
-Don't drop the combo
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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**Buy 7 Red Tickets & 1 Blue Ticket **	-	-	-	-	!!!!

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Episode 12
-Use Red Ticket in first room 1st wave, Red Ticket 2nd wave
-Get blood drops from first wave
-Get blood from vase in upper left second room
-Use Red Ticket on Samurai #1
-Use Red Ticket on Samurai #2
-Use Red Ticket before eye hall
-Use Red Ticket in arena

-2nd phase David downed only twice:
Red Ticket, shoot 3 roses of blood, 3-hit combo x4, back off and shoot until stun, 3-hit combo x1, shoot and AB

-Combo on David phase 2 carries over
-Use Blue Ticket
-Split on Kirā izu deddo
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Why did you reset?
-Because I played bad, got bad RNG or the game softlocked and cannot beat my time anymore.

Why is RTA used over IGT?
-Because the IGT counter is completely bonkers. The faster you beat the game, the longer the IGT will be at the end. I have a hunch that the IGT might be correct on the very first run, but somehow it keeps adding your runs of the game even on NG. And even if that is so, it counts loading times and cutscenes, as my first run was 2h6m and the IGT was 2h30m.

What kinds of RNG does this game have?
-The biggest RNG comes from the bosses
E3: Alice is the first runkiller, since she can keep attacking you in the second phase instead of going up after one or two DBs. Blocking Alice from getting up in the third phase is RNG and I hope it won't come to the point where I have to get it to PB.
E4: David can be unpredictable with his teleports
E5: Dolly can spawn quickly or not and she can turn invisible gaining additional HP.
E6: Victor can block, be stunned whilst already out of HP and his second cutscene is not consistently skippable.
E7: Hamada-Yama can block a lot.
E8: David's/enemies' spot is random in E8
E9: Giant Head probably has the most RNG out of all. He seems to be invicible when he recovers from his attacks and his eyes receive i-frames randomly.
E10: Tommy's eyes can take a while to plunge.
E11: Dolly only has two decent attacks that allow you to inflict dmg on her and get blood.
E12: David can act unpredictably in the last phase.

-The Adrenaline Burst can target enemies that are farther away than the ones up close you actually want to hit. There are certain spots where you can easily get the correct ones either automatically or by adjusting, but sometimes it's random. Using the Red Ticket for ABs will most likely target the same enemy you already killed, so you must adjust it yourself.
-Sometimes dodging enemies can result in a Dodge Burst prompt, which consumes time and is often not useful.
-Some enemies, especially gilded/head dropping/ninjas can move to suboptimal spots, like away from the next loading area, eye scanner or jump to an unreachable spot.
-Parrying enemies too often wastes time, but I prefer it over dropping a combo.
-Counter Shot doesn't always work as intended, and you can get the prompt for it even if the enemy is already dead. It also glitches out when the CC is equipped.
-The drops in this game disappear fairly quickly, so especially in E6 and E7 you need to stay close to get them for the upgrades.

What upgrades do you get?
-Both Dashes, all Bullet Shots (3), Gekkou limiters (2), Guard Crush and Counter Shot.

Are there any skips/glitches in the game?
-There are glitches, like the ones listed below, but not much that actually helps a run. In E7, you can teleport to a scroll fight by shooting a tanuki from far away.
-Adrenaline Burst can sometimes be cancelled into another AB immediately saving time. To get it, just mash the AB whenever doing it.
This happens most often in:
E6 after the bridge
E9 with the three ninja and before the Big Mac Hall
E10 on the first cart with the gunner room & second cart with Blankas/Big Macs
E12 in the first & second rooms and last room before arena
-The Red Ticket will glitch out if you activate it before the HUD is fully visible, thus eating away your tickets without activating them, which is devastating in an NG run.
-The ladder in E10 can be climbed doubly fast by holding the left stick up and the W-key down.

Why don't you visit Scarlett?
-Because it's not worth it since on easy you get all the blood you need without her.

What's the Red Ticket?
-A PC exclusive item which gives you full blood and allows you to instantly AB any enemy, including gilded clawmen/ninja/samurai/big macs. Do not press confirmation until you have fully brought the Red Ticket HUD up as otherwise it will use up as many tickets as button presses without activating them.

Game softlocks

-Tanuki glitch (CONSOLE ONLY)
This glitch can happen in E7 while shooting the fourth tanuki from the bridge. The animation and sound effect for breaking the tanuki will occur, but the fight will not trigger, softlocking the game.

-Train powerbox glitch (CONSOLE ONLY)
If you shoot a powerbox between the doors before entering the second room with them in E10, it can softlock the game. Doing this on PC saves a little time.

Moon glitch (WHO KNOWS?)
-I call it the moon glitch because it makes a purple half circle appear on screen for an unknown amount of time. This happens sometimes after E6 and continues for as long as the game is on. I'm unsure if this happens on Xbox360 or PC.

Musselback glitch
-You can aim with the gun, but the camera angle will be zoomed out of the regular view and you cannot shoot. I have only had this happen in Bonsai. It probably had something to do with cancelling the slashing of the fences to the gun.

General bugginess
-The game can crash/softlock after restarting basically any mission one time too many. The second scroll area (waterfall) in E7 can sometimes not load, even on PC. On console, your system can crash as freeze as well. E10 is most prone to this. One time I was finishing up E5/VH without taking dmg. I execute Dolly, and all I get is a black screen with ambient sounds. After restarting the game, I had to start the fight from scratch.

Enemy specifics
-Yellow wires (maces, guns, fists) always change their mode when you hit them enough. The ones without weapons can use a grab with i-frames.
-E6 wires at the start have helmets preventing OHKO with the first headshot
-Big Macs are the large armored club wielders
---They cannot be AB'd unless they're stunned (Red Ticket negates this), and they can be standing or crouching while stunned. You can tell they're stunned if they have the spinning dizziness animation on top of them.
-Ninja have i-frames during their back flips, and they always do it after jumping from a hiding spot.
-Gilded samurai seem to have an unblockable dash attack. They also have an unblockable grab. They have i-frames when recovering from attacking.
-Blankas (red spiky dudes) are the most annoying enemies imo. Thankfully they only appear in E9 & 10. Their running smash is unblockable and they always block if you hit them. Should be finished with an AB immediately. Their backdashes have i-frames.
-Gilded Big Macs have a cannon on their left shoulder, which can hit you even if they're stunned. They recover the quickest from stun. Their swing can be DB'd, but has a very tight window. Their attacks are also unblockable. Only three appear in the run, one at the end of E9, two in E12 arena.
-Predators are the gray dudes with snipers or spiky clubs. They have an unblockable jump attack. The gun they use shoots one bullet at a time, making it hard to use Counter Shot. They also change modes like the yellow wires.
-Big eyes spawn smaller ones and should be wasted ASAP. The small eyes are weak and give a lot of blood upon death.

Other
-Invincible bosses
Some bosses, such as Giant Head, Tommy and Dolly can get stuck in a state where they won't move or take any damage for some time. Victor can at times stand in place but will take damage. If you parry Victor right as the fight starts, you can create a slowmo effect that lasts the whole fight on PC.
-The eyes at the end of the last episode can teleport inside the walls/doors.
-Picking up the scrolls in E7 can make the ninja & the samurai's drops disappear.

Videos
-NG Any% Speedrun Guide: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_u1CZEnCr1nfQMxzHXPclG73FRL7J8rl
-Phone call comparisons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMpHPpMaOXQ
-Tanuki Warps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wbWMi5MSO4
-Tanuki Warps #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptM4-MlQZHE