That Guy
Quote:
Who knows...if you can record, you could submit an SS of this when I submit a segmented one.
That would be pretty terrific! I definitely intend to pick up recording equipment when my income tax comes in, so I definitely hope to be able to do just that!
...I need to sit down and write out my exact route, because even though it seems to actually be fairly set-in-stone at this point and I seem to be running stuff pretty similarly I couldn't actually recite most of what goes on. Let's see what I can remember!
Stage 1 (Fire Man): Preset Cannon in the folder to ensure I continue to get it (I might opt for presetting Minibombs however). In Den 1, I drop down instead of going over the group of enemies, and use the V-Gun I've been guaranteed to rack up some extra cannon chips quickly, since the more I have the better. I pick up a MemUp in Den Area 2 which takes about five seconds to get to, and extra MP this early is really useful to me. Minibomb or Bubbler are used on the mid-boss. FireMan I kinda have to go with whatever I've got - Cannons are nice, but I'm likely out. If I can, I preset both Bubblers to shave off a fast 200 HP and then just work with whatever else I've got - Burners, Wreckers, and even DashAtk are great ways to finish once his HP is low enough.
Stage 2 (Guts Man): Preset is Cannon. I pick up another MemUp halfway through Global 1 (it's near the rail section) for another 5-ish seconds of detour, since I really need it. This is actually a pretty long and MP-intensive stage in practice, but I get lots of Cannons in the process. I try to have Bubblers or Minibombs for the midboss just like before, since that one will drop a free Heat-V (Or is it HeatCros?) if I kill it fast enough. I presently do not do any shopping at NumberMan, but in future attempts I will likely grab a single HP Memory and MemUp from him; it's only a total of 1500z and I should be able to spare that. Chances are that I then deliberately take a death on GutsMan to recharge my MP, because it's going to be empty at this point - and I want to have stronger chips for GutsMan. I'm just not sure what I'll use yet.
Stage 3 (Quick Man): This stage is so hilariously easy, just preset cannon and wreck the entire thing. Seriously, I remember when this stage used to strike fear into me. For the purposes of a single segment, right now, I do take a detour to the right to pick up an HPMemory and MemUp - it's a little risky but I generally don't screw it up; it does cost some time though so if I'm likely to drop any these are probably it. I pick up the RegUp in the first half of this stage, and just take a hit against the Sniper Joe to bypass him (it's faster and safer). The second Sniper Joe, I get right in his face on the ledge below and use cannons to hit past his shield; then I slide under the Flappy viri at the bottom and get a Heat-V from the hot dog at the end. QuickMan himself... the most accurate chip to use against him is cannons due to its nigh-instant travelling speed - weapons like Bubblers that have an actual projectile might be too slow to connect! Plus you can hit him from outside of his boomerang range. After that? It's just a matter of getting him to co-operate.
Prep: I stop by Higsby's and buy an Unlocker as well as about as many Heat-Vs as my wallet can handle. I need at least 5 for the fastest possible Needleman kill, but I admittedly like to have more! I also open both of Mayl's e-mails if I haven't already; the Roll chips are relatively cheap, and they might be a bit slow (as all navi chips are), but they're a really accurate way to damage something in a pinch and recover half my HP in the process, so I'm willing to make that tradeoff, since it's the best HP recovery I'm going to really get. I also open the one from QuickMan's operator, since that gives me a free FastGauge.
Stage 4 (Needle Man): This stage is hilariously easy, but I do have to be careful not to screw it up too bad. I want to gather all four TreeBomb1 en-route (Or at least 3/4) and as many of the Spice1 chips as I can as well. Fortunately, Cannon as a default for this stage is more than enough. I take a mixture of the low and high road in Garden Area 1 and pick up an HP Memory near the end of the area; and also grab the FireSword that's free halfway through. For Garden Area 2, I like to have a bomb or Roll to deal with the enemy guarding the locked data, which is a PowerUp. For now, I'm not grabbing the relatively quick MemUp at the end of the stage, although I definitely could; it's just a little risky getting back. As for the boss, Heat-V + Needle Man = dha ha, finally, a really really easy boss.
Prep: At this point I stop by Higsby's and stock up on Minibombs with the money I earned during Needle Man's stage. I usually max it out but I could probably go for a bit less than that if I want to conserve a bit of extra money (Which I'll get to in a bit).
Stage 5 (Ice Man): I actually start with the Heat-V chip prepared - it can one-shot the penguin viri duo with ease, and I farm for 9 Double Jumps (Again I could probably go for less, we'll have to see; for a single-segment I like the extra leeway). Then I swap to Minibomb to take care of the giant pandas (They take way too many hits to kill otherwise!). In Waterworks 2, I need to learn to be faster - if you do it right you can land on the initial set of blocks while they're in-progress and save a few seconds; and then save several more seconds as that can line you up to land on the second set of blocks! I grab the other RegUp here, putting me at 24mb memory, which is all I ever need. Waterworks 3, I take a death depending on if I have any MP or if I'm basically out, since if I'm pretty much empty, the miniboss not only goes way slower but is much more dangerous. I also take all the PowerUps I've gathered into Power for the fight to help out, since I'll run out of MP anyway! After that it's fairly smooth sailing; I like to switch back to Cannons for the IceMan fight, but I'll do whatever. He's really not that dangerous; it's just his ice spikes that are potentially deadly.
Stage 6 (BrightMan): I start with the Spice1 chips; the shield might not be perfect but it can make navigating the various Satelites going around on the top floor much safer, and I go the top route to pick up an HP Memory. In Shopping 2, I pick up the PowerUp near the start, and the HPMemory located right after the boss' portal (while on the way to pick up the energy capsule). BrightMan himself I preset the TreeBomb1s for; I try to do it the fastest way possible (Which can be done in about eight seconds), but if I miss once, I much prefer to use the safer way (Fire over him, wait, -then- throw the treebomb so it'll hit him as his taunt ends). Failing to kill him with the TreeBombs can really slow the remainder of the fight down, but he's not terrible.
Stage 7 (Color Man): Might stop being stage 7 and might become stage 8. Preset Double Jumps so I can go straight to the key on the left, and if I somehow need another RegUp, I can pick up another one here (I can't think of a reason to, however). This stage is really quite straightforward, although I do take a couple seconds of detour to pick up an HP Memory at the top of the slot machine section of Arcade 2. ColorMan himself is a pain in the neck because he's got a lot of HP to mine through comparatively - presetting Swords or TreeBomb1s are great, because every time he's hit he moves closer and that makes his attacks harder to dodge. The reason that I'm pondering this becoming stage 8 is simple: After Elec Man, I could do my post-stage preparation trip if I have enough zenny and max out my Power Ups, and that would make the enemies of this stage and Color Man himself way the hell easier. It's just a matter of whether or not I'll actually have the zenny... and also whether or not not being able to make the Global 3 shortcut while I'm visiting NumberMan will be worth it.
Stage 8 (Elec Man): Double Jumps preset. I use 3-4 to skip about half of the first section, and another one soon after to pick up a PowerUp. I might start picking up the silver fist directly under it, because hey, free silver fist. Area 2, I tend to take a deliberate death on the enemy at the start to recharge my MP, then use a couple double jumps to get right back to where I would be anyway. The last double jumps are used to reach the ladders early near the end of the climb; especially where I have to climb up and down them. I might opt to climb the left ladder instead and use my double jumps there, as it might be a little faster! There's another PowerUP right at the end of the stage. As for Elec Man, preset Spice 1s do some horrible things to his electric element nature.
Prep: Two trips. The first goes from Dex's PC to Global 3 (to activate the shortcut), then turns around and leaves heading to Outer Net (Picking up an HP Memory on the way). Prepared Double Jumps at the start of Outer Net get me back to what's supposed to be a one-way shortcut, letting me reach NumberMan quickly. I need 14000 zenny at this point (I usually only have about 16000-17000 is what worries me), because I buy all three PowerUps from him. I then max out my Power and Charge. I choose Charge because although Rapid might be a little more effective for bosses that are on ground-level, any viri or enemy that I have to jump at to hit is faster dispatched with charged shots. I then Jack Out, and return to Global 3, and make the detour to pick up the Zero Data. Pretty standard fare. Jack out again.
Stage 9 (Sword Man): Preset Double Jumps and pray that I get a chip like Satelite, MagnetBomb, WoodBomb, FireSword... anything that can break an aqua aura viri down. Double Jumps let you skip the entirity of the first area. For the second area, buster charge shots kill everything except fire-sword viri (Who need a charge and a half) and the aqua aura viri - whom I can either try to jump over/around (and usually fail at) or deal with head-on. They're kinda precariously positioned. SwordMan himself is an absolute riot since I have full buster - Charge Shots don't trigger him to attack (unlike flinching from chips) and he goes down really, really fast.
Stage 10 (Gravity Man): The one Green Mystery Data I pick up deliberately is the one in front of Gravity Man's stage. It either has 300z (Ew), a FireBlde (Never used), or a FstGauge or FulGauge subchip, both of which are awesome. Preset Double Jumps again... or something like a Heat-V to follow up a charge attack with to take care of the somewhat sturdier viruses here just that little bit faster. There's not many ways to speed up this level other than being really good at it; the double jumps only save me about 5 seconds about halfway through part 2. The aura viri near the end of this part are a pain in the ass; although one can be avoided, the other politely declines and -has- to be dealt with; although a bit of waiting and the buster can kill it if absolutely necessary by getting it into the right spot. Gravity Man is a nice big target for bombs thrown from directly above his head, charge shots, cannons, swords - honestly, anything and everything works on this guy so I just use what I've got.
Stage 11 (Star Man): Double Jumps preset again and I pick up the GMD in front of GravityMan's stage again. I pick up an HP Memory halfway through the level for about a 2-3 second detour, and then double-jump to skip the second half of the first area (You just have to be careful not to over-jump!). For the second half, I stick to the top again using some careful use of double-jumps. The enemies here are way too much of a pain to deal with easily and there's another HP Memory to be had. The midboss is dealt with by using Heat-Vs, HeatCrosses, Bubblers, and the like; or cannons. It's an absolute pain if I can't kill it with those, though. As for Star Man, I like to use TreeBombs on him to shave off large chunks of HP; even if the buster charge can do a lot, it still triggers counters, and his Meteors counter at low HP is generally unavoidable and really painful. The fight's over quickly one way or another, though.
Prep: HalfEnrg Subchips at Higsby's please and thank you! Also an Unlocker while I'm here.
Stage 12 (Zero Account): Preset M-Cannons and stop by the GMD for one last chance at a lucky subchip. I start the stage off with only one chip at most to deal with some of the aura viri during the stage as necessary (But I can just wait them out). If I have a FastGauge, I use it immediately. My goal is to shuffle through chips until I draw Z-Cannon and some other decent offensive chip that I can use on Zero. Fullgauges might be used here too if I got lucky. The reason for Z-Cannon stems from his desperation attack; even if I can survive it at full HP due to the number of HP Memories I've picked up by now, I really don't want to have to if I can do something about it; Z-Cannon also does some huge damage and the invincibility it grants is great.
Stage 13 (Shadow Man): I actually preset Minibombs, of all things. Charge shot lets me get a coupel more M-Cannons here, but what I really need the minibombs for are dealing with a candle viri (Who recovers HP really fast so I need to do a lot of damage fast) and the various Ninji viri (Minibombs arc over their kunai, making hitting them really easy; otherwise I have to take a hit). DoubleJump doesn't really save me any time and the Gutsman-style-platforms are easy enough without it. I can skip a bit in the final part of Vacant WWW 1 by riding a nail downwards though, so long as I make sure I'm centered on it. For Shadow Man himself, I prefer M-Cannons if I have a few, or HiCannons otherwise; if I can get him in a teleporting loop and hit him before he lands this boss can be really fast so long as he doesn't decide to break pattern.
Stage 14 (Pharaoh Man): DoubleJump preset. I stop by Number Man one last time on the way to Pharaoh Man (Which is done by going from Global 3 backwards, again). I pick up mostly HP Memories and Memory Upgrades as affordable; possibly some Silver Fist chips but they're falling out of favour. DoubleJump lets me reach Pharaoh Man's stage quickly as well; and the last of them lets me skip the block segment at the start of his level. I have to take a hit from at least one of the NapalmMan-style needle walls, but done right I can slide under the second one, over the tree viri, and then jump onto the ladder in a stylish sort of way. This stage can be a major pain in the neck either way, simply because the enemies are really irritatingly positioned, have lots of HP, and do a lot of damage... but I get by somehow. Pharaoh Man himself is like Sword Man - they both are really vulneurable to charged shots and don't fight back when pelted with them. The only thing I have to beware of is to carry some spammable high-damage chips to kill Anubis if he spawns it.
Prep for the finale: MP Charges from Higsby's, HalfEnergies, a FastGauge if I don't have one. Every cent must go to something!
Stage 15 (Undernet): Begin with DoubleJump prepared and one chip for viri killing; activate Fast Gauge. If you jump up right away using two, you can avoid the Fire viri entirely. Elec Viri never need to be fought, just dodged. The two Wood viri are the ones that must be killed - FireSword will one-shot them if you have it. After the second, slide under the laser from the first neutral viri, then double jump over him - you'll dodge the second's laser in the process. Double Jump over him too and fall down the pit right after (I always double-jump to be sure I land correctly but you might not need to). My goal is to get the Zero chip in my folder by the time I have to fight FireWall, because it saves so much time; if I don't have to wait, I do need an MP Charge to fill up for the fight so I can start with it. Bombs or Swords are great for taking out the top cannon, then I buster through the core so my MP can recharge in the meantime and because frankly I'm not going to find many faster ways.
After that, it's boss rush time. The majority of the boss rush is dealt with easily enough using just the buster charge shots. The exceptions are QuickMan (Buster shots might not reach him or be a little too slow, so cannons are great again!), BrightMan (The window for nailing him after his taunt wears off with your buster is tiny, so WoodBombs, SilverFists, Swords, etc.), and ElecMan (You can turn around and nail him again with the fully charged buster but it requires split-second timing and is tricky; so again, any chip will help a lot here).
Then finally, Life Virus. There's a spot near the left side of the screen where only his Wood and Elec attacks won't hit you, the Ice will be very clear to dodge by then, and the only danger then is the Fire attack (Which is rage because it comes out really fast). The difficulty is in dropping his aura - regular'd M-Cannons are probably best for this if you have a few since they can be used from a safe distance. After that, buster charge shots work great on him, even if you have to fire over his ice or wood attacks. The final phase is easy enough, I just have to not be a complete idiot and let the boss touch me. I use whatever; the buster charge drops him fast but other stuff can help make it faster.
...Phew. There we go. S'amazing what I can remember just by looking at maps.
