4% Optimal Route

Do Item Loss Skip and wallcrawl to Seekers. After collecting Seekers, do ILS again and go do Early Power Bombs. Along the way, scan the elevator in Hive Transport Area and blow open the gate in in Industrial Site. Get the E tank and the Missile before heading to Agon.

Once in Agon, head to pirate fortress and collect dark beam and then collect light beam. If you're going inbounds, DON'T LOWER THE GODDAMN SAND. Make sure to collect the Energy Tank in Mining Station Access, and if you want you can also collect the Energy Tank in Bioenergy. When you travel through Dark Oasis, blow up the wall.

After getting Light Beam, collect the two Pirate Fortress Agon Keys and then head to Amber Translator. After getting Amber you want to head to Portal Chamber to collect Dark Suit, but you could also go collect the Energy Tank in Mine Shaft.

After getting Dark Suit, hit both of the bomb slots in dark portal chamber and in transport center and head to Torvus.

Once in Torvus you need to collect Super Missiles. You can just go inbounds which is the easier strat, but it's faster to wallcrawl straight from the elevator to Torvus Temple.

After collecting Supers, collect Emerald. It's faster to take the elevator in Torvus Temple, but if you want the tank in Temple Access now is the time to get it (if you're going for segmented, you should scan the elevator even if you're getting the E tank). Either way, make sure to blow open the Super Gate that leads to Temple Access and lower the translator gate before heading to Lower Torv. In Lower Torvus, DON'T DO THE PUZZLE IN HYDRODYNAMO STATION. Go OOB in Hydrodynamo Station and get Gravity. Go through the portal in Hydrodynamo Shaft, get the key, and fight Power Bomb Guardian. Then leave to the portal in Dungeon.

Leave Lower Torv. Head to Torvus Grove and then the teleporter in Forgotten Bridge.

Collect the key in Arena and then head to go fight Chykka. Pick up the last key along the way. If you want to, pick up the E tank in Dark Torvus Temple.

After killing Chykka, go to Putrid Alcove to get oob and use the Virtual Boy to pop the keypod in Poisoned Bog. Then go back inbounds and leave the Dark World through Portal Chamber. Do the secret world and then ceiling warp into Torvus Lagoon.

Make sure you have at least 2 power bombs before leaving Torvus. Older routes had problems with Power Bomb management here, but you should with the current route. It's still worth mentioning. Head to Temple Grounds and then go through Windchamber. Pick up the E tank too (DON'T EVER SKIP THIS E TANK. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT E TANK IN THE ENTIRE RUN). Once you reach GFMC Compound, go to the portal in Sacred Path. Make sure to collect a power bomb in Sacred Bridge along the way. Pop Reliquary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M0Dznx6djs

NOTE: that strat is kind of obnoxious and RNG dependent and unfun bullshit. That can be mitigated with more E tanks. 2 is heavily RNG dependent, 3 is slightly RNG dependent but generally pretty consistent, 4 is generally pretty consistent with no RNG dependence (farming for drops isn't necessary and you can boost out the way you came), and 5+ is really consistent if you practice a couple of times and know where the spots are. If you really don't want to do this there is a time to come later with Cannonball so this isn't necessary.

Get Violet, scan the gate leading back to Sacred Path and the gate leading to Temple Assembly Site and the gate leading to Meeting Grounds and (DON'T FORGET THE LIGHT BLOCK), and then head to the elevator that leads to Agon.

Shoot the Light Block in Temple Assembly Site, then pop Lake.

IMPORTANT! If you have scanned the thing in Industrial Site that moves the giant thingy, then you MUST lower the bridge before item loss.

Once in Agon, head to Portal Chamber and go to the Dark World (it's probably faster to use the Portal in Transport Center, but Transport Center is annoying). In the Dark World, pop the keypod in Battleground and then go to Feeding Pit. Do Feeding Pit SW, wallcrawl to Oasis and pop the key there. BLOW UP THE WALL IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. This is your last chance to blow it up. Make sure you have at least 1 power bomb, ideally 2 before going to the light world and heading to Sanctuary.

In Sanctuary, DO NOT SOLVE MINIGYRO PUZZLE. DON'T. DON'T. DON'T. Use a power bomb on the tube and enter the portal.

Go up to Hive Dynamo and open the portal. Go out of bounds and pop Hive Dynamo. Wallcrawl down to Hive Entrance and pop the pod there. DO NOT HIT TERMINAL FALL. Clip back inbounds and head back up. Along the way, BLOW UP THE BLAST SHIELD IN HIVE REACTOR.

Go to the light world, then immediately get oob in Dynamoworks then wallcrawl up to the PB door in Main Gyro Chamber and get the wifi adapter. After getting the wifi adapter, head to Watch Station Access and pick up the E tank. Then go to Sentinel's Path and get oob to wallcrawl past Grand Abyss. DO NOT TRIGGER THE ROBOTS. DO NOT. YOU NEED THEM IN LIKE 3 MINUTES

In Vault, DO NOT LOWER THE BRIDGE. LOWER BRIDGE = RUN DED.

Dash to the platform then solve the puzzle. DO NOT PICK UP SCREW ATTACK.

Enter Grand Abyss, and do Reverse Grand Abyss.

Do the puzzle in Watch Station, then go to the portal in Dynamo Works. You can either get oob in Hive Dynamo and wallcrawl to Quad, or you can go inbounds and do a BSJ. Either way kill Quad and get Annihilator.

This is the hardest part of Prelude. You have to dash to this tiny pole sticking out of the wall. It's really precise and annoying and is why you want so many E tanks.

After getting this dash, head to the light world through Watch Station and use the portal in Dynamo Works, and do Post Quad Quad Skip. Steal the planet's energy and then do the dash again.

After doing the dash again, head to the Light World. Return the planet's energy and get Cobalt. Then scan the Cobalt gate in Sanctuary Temple and leave to Watch Station. DO NOT ENTER A CANNON IF YOU GOT CANNONBALL. It is ok to enter the Central Flow Chamber in Hydrodynamo, but nothing else.

Enter the portal in Watch Station and dash over to the door to Central Hive Transport West (If you don't want to do the dash in Aerial Training Site, you can go through Central Area Transport West, but that's slower and I seem to recall hearing that it can crash the game). Solve the wifi adapter puzzle in Staging Area and then fight Caretaker. After killing Caretaker, kill the bot in Central Area Transport West and then head to Torvus.

Once in Torvus, go to the portal in Dungeon. Go up to Undertemple Shaft and then go OOB and pop Dungeon. Leave through the portal in Dungeon then go to Upper Torvus and then leave to Temple Grounds

Head back to Great Temple and then head to Meeting Grounds. Break off the blast shield in Hall of Eyes and then make sure that the door opens (the shield exists on both sides and you need it gone on the other side. It only disappears on the other side if the door opens). Use the portal in Hall of Eyes. Go pop defiled shrine, and along the way break every Blast Shield. At this point you should be ready for item loss. You should have popped all 9 keys at this point, unlocked Screw Attack, and unlocked Light Suit.

HAVE ANNIHILATOR EQUIPPED. PRESS C-DOWN BEFORE ENTERING THE PORTAL AND TALKING TO DARK SAMUS.

Talk to Dark Samus and convince her to take away all of your shit. This includes Cannonball.

She does a shitty job taking away all of your shit and she doesn't dequip Annihilator. DO NOT EVER PRESS UP ON THE C STICK BEFORE ENTERING THE TELEPORTER IN HALL OF EYES. C-UP = RUN DED.
If you did not lower the bridge in Industrial Site, then you have to ghetto jump onto the giant thingy and then ride it during the cutscene up to the ledge. If you're a dummy like me and skip the cutscene too early or forget to lower the bridge, then run = ded.

Go to Great Temple and get Light Suit (1%). Unfortunately, all of the Temple Energy Controllers require bombs to leave, so you can't really use the light rails yet. Head down to Temple Assembly Site and then Agon to go get Space Jump.

Go to Portal Terminal, then to Judgement Pit and kill Jump Man.

Go back to the Light World and then do Sandigger and then wallcrawl to Sanctuary. Once in Sanctuary, do Minigyro SW and wallcrawl to Main Research. Transition to CATW, and then warp Main Research, then head up to Watch Station.

Enter the Dark World in Watch Station, and then do Judgement Drop and wallcrawl to the Portal.

Go collect Screw Attack. Screw Attack across Grand Abyss and then head to Sanctuary Temple. Go OOB and collect Cannonball. Then wallcrawl to Sanc Energy Controller and use the light rail to go back to Great Temple. Now head down to Temple Assembly Site and then Agon to get bombs.

Use Screw Attack to kill Bomberman. After getting bombs, you're finally ready to start collecting keys. Go to Portal Chamber to get out of Bounds. DO NOT ENTER THE CANNONS. DO NOT.

Go collect Battleground. Do Battleground SW and then collect Oasis. Enter the portal and get oob and wallcrawl past the Light Beam door in Main Reactor, then go to Sanctuary. Collect Hive Entrance. Go back to the Light World and then go up to upper Sanc. Wallcrawl to the teleporter behind Spider and collect Hive Dynamo. Go back to the teleporter and then wallcrawl to Watch Station. Head to Torvus.

Do Hydrodynamo Station SW, then wallcrawl to Catacombs. Collect Dungeon. Go back to Catacombs, then do Transit Tunnel South SW and wallcrawl out. Head to upper Torvus and enter the portal in Portal Chamber. Collect Poisoned Bog and go back to the portal from when you came. Do Portal Chamber SW and then get back inbounds and head to the light rail and go back to Great Temple. Use the portal in Temple Assembly Site and then go collect Lake. Go up to Great Temple then head down to Sacred Path. Go collect Reliquary. Head back to Great Temple and then go to Meeting Grounds and collect Landing Site, then enter the Sky Temple.

Press C-Up.

Kill Emperor Ing.

Leave Sky Temple and then kill Dark Samus.