Dark Souls 3 All Bosses Speedrun FAQ

Dark Souls 3 All Bosses Speedrun FAQ
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Q: Why does the timer stop when he quits out and during loading screens?
A: The timer tracks in-game time by processing data retrieved from a memory address in the Dark Souls III application. In-game time stops during quit-outs and load screens.

Q: Why isn't real time used instead of in-game time?
A: In-game time may have some inaccuracies related to framerate, but due to the difference in load screens and possible low FPS delays, IGT is decidedly more accurate than RTA.

Q: Why does he choose Assassin as starting class?
A: Assassin is the only class that starts with the Spook spell.

Q: Why does he need the Spook spell?
A: Spook is a combination of the Hush and Fall Control spells, which you may be familiar with from Dark Souls 1. This allows him to:
  1. Take falls he wouldn't normally be able to take to skip certain areas
  2. Use quit-outs in conjunction with Spook to take falls that would otherwise cause death
  3. Avoid being detected by certain enemies

Q: What sword is he using?
A: The Estoc is used for a few early bosses. After that, he uses a raw Astora Straight Sword until he gets Twinkling Titanite to upgrade Anri's Straight Sword.

Q: How is he doing so much damage?
A: The Astora Straight Sword has great base damage but poor scaling. Making it raw increases that base damage rating and removes the scaling bonus. This allows him to do very good damage in the early game. As for Anri's sword -- see below.

Q: Why level up luck and why use Anri's Straight Sword?
A: Luck improves the chance of bleed damage. Bleed damage is OP for a lot of bosses. Anri's Straight Sword scales with luck, and you get the Carthus Rouge to apply bleed to the weapon.

Q: Why does he suicide after the Greatwood boss fight?
A: He does this to remove his ember, otherwise he would get invaded by an NPC in the area after.

Q: How is he doing that side-step animation through the swamp?
A: That's the weapon art for the Dagger, which you can trigger when you two-hand the weapon or use a specific shield type.

Q: What stats is he leveling? What items is he getting? What rings is he using? Are there route notes?
A: Route notes are here, which probably has the information you want: http://pastebin.com/fczrj4LF

Q: Why is he quitting out at doors and/or certain other spots?
A: This is usually to get rid of aggressive enemies that can easily kill you or waste your time, but could occasionally be used as a small time save as well.

Q: Why is he quitting out after casting Spook and falling?
A: So he doesn't die. If timed and positioned correctly, this allows you to land in a certain area that might otherwise kill you. Useful for skipping segments.

Q: Why is he occasionally toggling Anri's Straight Sword on and off in the menu?
A: This allows the HP regeneration modifier on the sword to occur more often.

Q: Why is he selling souls instead of using them?
A: It takes longer to use a soul than it does to sell it to the maiden. It's a minor time save.

Q: What does peach mean?
A: Peach means bitch, aka "safe strats".

Q: What's the world record?
A: See http://speedsouls.com/darksouls3:Leaderboard for leaderboards. Keep in mind that this isn't updated immediately, so a new run may not show up for a few hours.

Q: Why is x boss not on the boss list? Why are all of the bosses not on the list of splits?
A: If any of the bosses seem to be missing from the list, you can assume that the list scrolls.