R-mode notes

R-mode:

How to activate:

1. Have health in reserves, and have them set to automatic.
2. Have a small enough amount of health such that getting hit by an enemy will trigger reserves.
3. Have x-ray selected.
4. Trigger a transition while in a pose that x-ray can be used, such that you are hit by an enemey during the transition.
5. Hold x-ray, and keep holding until all of the reserves have been used.

If you release x-ray very early, nothing special will happen. If you release x-ray slightly too early, you will enter g-mode instead.

Effects:

R-mode has close to no effects. You can break graphics by crystal flashing, but if you are just running around you will be unlikely to notice much. If you leave the room you are in, there are no longer any effects.

The major effect is that the first time reserves automatically trigger, you will be forced into a standing pose. Note this will not happen if you are in a forced crouch pose, but it does happen if you are morphed. Also note that doing this can break graphics, especially in larger rooms.

Since entering R-mode requires reserves to be triggered, this means in order to use this, one of four things has to be true:
1. You need to be able to CF, to put health in reserves.
2. There needs to be infinitely respawning enemies on the screen you entered.
3. You need to have more R-tanks than you have E-tanks, to have done R-mode so you end up at full health, and then farm a single enemy for a health drop. This allows R-mode forced stand with only one enemy (that can drop health) and one other damage source.
4. If there are a lot of enemies in a room, you may be able to get enough health drops to get health in reserves even if the number of R-Tanks is less than or equal to the number of E-Tanks. This would require at least 5 * (difference in tanks + 1) enemies, and one additional damage source [assuming all relevant enemies can drop 20 health]. This is more RNG dependent, and hence less likely to be useful for humans.

Limitations:

1. You cannot take the effects through a door transition. Thus, there needs to be an enemy in a neighboring room that can reach and damage Samus during the transition into the desired room.
2. You cannot R-mode with a yellow suit, since the x-ray usage cancels the yellow suit. You can with a blue suit.
3. Given that you must transition while in a pose that you can use x-ray, horizontal transitions are easier to handle.
 - For an upward transition:
  -- You can use ice beam and an appropriately frozen enemy. Freeze the enemy at a height such that if you are crouched you do not trigger the transition, but if you are standing you trigger the transition. Be crouched on enemy. Time standing (by pushing forward) with the enemy unfreezing, so that it unfreezes and hits you during the transition (or use another enemy).
  -- You can also use other things that Samus can stand on, the most common being a Yard in Aqueduct for the R-mode clip to Botwoon.
 - For a downward transition, there is a method for TAS. I have not managed any method RTA.

Uses:

1. R-mode clipping:

Since you are forced into a standing postiion, this means that Samus suddenly becomes taller. This allows clipping through one block tall ceilings. (Technically, more than a block, but two doesn't work. Also technically, you can do two blocks, but it involves doing more complicated things like using a spark. I do not know of a situation where this is notable in the vanilla map, but maybe it is in hacks. But three blocks doesn't work.)

Some applications:

 a. Botwoon Hallway:  The most common application. Use a Yard to R-mode into this room (a little strange of a set-up, since it is a vertical door). Have # R-Tanks > # E-Tanks. Farm a health drop from an enemy, to put health in reserves.

Now use a mochtroid. At the crumble blocks, time the reserves to trigger with a jump morph, so you are morphed JUST BELOW the ceiling, JUST BEFORE you hit it. Then reserves will trigger, force you into stand, and you will continue to go up with your momentum. Quickly kill the mochtroid before it eats you again.

Note this requires fighting Botwoon with very low health, which is unfortunate.

Also note for weird randomizer applications, morph is technically not needed:  Jumping and aiming down can allow the clip to work, and R-moding into the room in the first place does not need morph (morph just makes it easier).

 b. Clip through other crumble block locations, similar to the above. This has very few applications in vanilla, and still has very few in randomizers. Some examples of possibilities:
  I. Clipping through the crumble block at the bottom of Green Brinstar Main Shaft, to get towards Etecoons Power Bombs without going left. This is pointless, but doable.
  II. Clipping past the grey door to get to Spore Spawn, without opening it. Again, pointless, but shows you can clip through vertical doors.
  III. Clipping past the crumble blocks to enter Mission Impossible from the back. Pointless still (although note from this position, you can then x-ray climb past the power bomb obstacle, so this could be a method in a randomizer: I would instead be using G-mode).
  IV. It is possible to R-mode into GT's room from the top left (the Space Jump locked side), go down the crumble blocks, collect the Supers, farm health on GT to get health in reserves, and then use heat damage to clip back past the crumble blocks and leave the room without killing GT (as this door does not lock).

Some examples of things that don't work:
  I. You cannot clip to Shaktool, as there are not accessible damage sources in both legs of Pants Room.
  II. You cannot reverse LN entry, as you cannot get through three layers of crumble blocks.

2. R-mode Blue Suit:

If reserves trigger when you are in the wind-up for a shinespark, you will be forced into a stand, the shinespark will end, and you will have a blue suit.

The easiest location to do this is in Big Pink. R-mode into the room, farm bugs to put health in reserves. Damage down so getting hit by a bug once will trigger reserves. At the long runway next to spore spawn supers, perform a simple short charge. Then jump up to the bug spitter, run right next to it, and enter windup after waiting for a little bit. The bug should hit you, and you get a free blue suit.

There would be other locations where this can be generated as well, but you can also carry the blue suit from here for many applications. Note if # R-Tanks > # E-Tanks, this can be generated in any room you can (1) R-mode into; (2) has at least one enemy that can drop health and one other damage source; and (3) you can charge a shinespark sufficiently near the damage source.

3. R-mode CF Suit:

If reserves trigger during a Crystal Flash, you will be forced into a stand interrupting the crystal flash and hence giving a flash suit.

This has a difficulty:  You are gaining health during a Crystal Flash, so you have to take damage faster than you are gaining health. Since you also need health in your reserves, this means you must take a lot of damage very quickly after health has been put in your reserves.

Note since Samus does not have i-frames during a crystal flash, it is usually possible to take damage very quickly. However, since you can't move, you usually have to take damage from an enemy. Then the power bomb that you lay cannot kill this enemy. Also, the enemy will be damaged if it goes over a certain location of Samus during the CF while in R-mode, so this must also not kill the enemy. Of course, if you have a way to use projectiles, then this also works.

Still, this can be generated simply enough. I find it easier than Elevator CF at many spots. A couple of example generation spots, that is nowhere near exhaustive:

 a. Below Botwoon Energy Tank Room:  This one is mentioned first, since it is useful for 14% X-Chargeless, with no L+R. This location requires varia/gravity suit to be unequipped, and to have no energy tanks, so it is not very useful for other needs.

 b. Spiky Room of Death, power on:  You can use the kzans in this room.

 c. Skultera in Fish Tank:  This is a neat application. It allows immediately using the spark to get Main Street, or can be used to spark towards Mama Turtle. This requires having at most 10 Energy Tanks, although becomes more precise as you have more E-Tanks.

Note you can also use the purple pirate projectiles here to easily get a suit. I have not looked at energy boundaries for this, but have done it before.

4. Max 10-Power Bomb R-mode CF Suit:

This is listed as a separate application, because I haven't done it before so I can't speak to how difficult or reliable it is.

By being in a position where you can get a power bomb drop and can also get an R-mode CF suit, you can generate a CF suit with only 10 power bombs.

ED has a video doing this in the post Frog Speedway farm spot. I tried briefly in other spots that it would be convenient if this was possible, but gave up on getting the correct RNG for it.

5. Clipping an enemy into a wall:

If there is an enemy that attaches to Samus (Beetom, Mochtroid, Metroid), then being forced into a stand can clip this enemy into a wall. Using this in conjunction with ice beam, this allows Samus to clip horizontally a pixel into a wall. Using this in conjunction with x-ray climbing, this allows x-ray climbing from weird positions.

I only know of two applications of this, since Beetoms are not a very common enemy:

 a. Getting the gauntlet items from the back. I've done this before, and it isn't that bad. However, note that in order to do this, you do need power bombs. Thus, the odds of this being useful, even in a randomizer, are very, very low. (Arguably, unless the number of power bombs given was changed, one could always instead come from the front even with only one power bomb pack, by getting two lucky power bomb drops from the wavers.)

 b. X-Ray climbing past the power bomb obstruction towards x-ray location. This can be used in a randomizer, where the doorcap leading to x-ray was changed from yellow to a different color. It has no applications in vanilla.