Lunatic - Sanae B
.ASP - 2,448,862,810 - 6 -
ReplaySo yeah. Someone in #pofv wanted to do a 2.3-2.4B so I need to protect the lead. Initially I wanted to do the 2 blue UFO token trick for the stage 6, but time is not on my side, and I have to settle with green UFO route yet again. Blogging now.
Everything starting coming to place after a month of playing. I managed to establish a better stage 1 route with 900 graze before Nazrin, without risking myself during Busy Rod. I hate that spell with my guts. Usually I look for her ankle to pinpoint the collision's box location, but when she's moving her ankle position moved few pixel above, which inside her collision box. Post Nazrin midboss, I think my route yield a few more grazes than Hecate's due to point survival rate duriblank big fairies grazing. Come Nazrin boss, I manage to get a decent amount of grazes during her first spell card. The key is not to be greedy, always play it safe and read and dodge yellow crystals first and foremost rather than optimizing your grazing the lasers. First and second non card are still dangerous, and I feel +200 grazes each from timing them out doesn't tip the risk/reward scale into timing them out.
Stage 2, Naut pointed out my mistake in 2.3B run by picking two reds leftovers during stage 1. I fixed that, now entering stage 2 with single red UFO token, enabling me to pick static blue UFO during the stage introductory. Bomb timing for SanaeB is, when the small fairies have come, count five shot sfx, bomb. Still drag the second UFO token until it touched the right wall for the second time, and jump to drag the token from invisible fairy until it reached upper-right yin-yang. After that, hug upper wall, then move down before the ufo carrier fairy came. Delay shooting for a bit, then with AoE explosions, take down all of the yin-yangs and UFO carrier. A token from left should changed into green now, which is what I need to summon a rainbow UFO. Delay it a bit, then summon the rainbow. Picking token and destroying the rainbow UFO should becoma a priority. It usually leaves off screen if I become to greedy.
Kogasa midboss non-card, when the timer starts ticking (10s), I end the attack it. I don't want to sit during that attack because it usually catches me off-guard or Kogasa left. Don't want to damage control as it increase my stress level and not give that many grazes (80 more from timing it out completely vs it starts ticking). I pay attention a lot to Kogasa midboss spell card. If I died there, then my focus has severely dropped, and I couldn't expect anything from that run or anything for today. Post midboss Kogasa, I can conserve one bomb over there... dragging one blinking UFO from Kogasa midboss for 1 second, will make it turns green exactly the time when I need it. BUT. Boss Kogasa isn't something that I can perfect each time, so exhausting my resource over there is better. Let's see, 400 grazes + 4M from optimized rainbow vs 1 more bomb, which could translate into : 800 grazes during Ichirin midboss lasers or 2000 grazes during Unzan eye supergraze. I won't do the latter until I grown up into a superplayer, and the former doesn't tip the risk/reward ratio, so I guess I'll still bomb the fairies section.
Kogasa Boss, I don't want to waste my time to supergraze PSM. It feels dangerous, and I haven't learned the timing when to move down. I'll learn the visual cue in the future so I have 100% success rate and Kogasa won't bump me when she moves down. Kogasa 2nd non card is now timed out. I think +400 grazes is worth it, and if I don't do it I will forever cannot show my face to T because he could do time it out without focus everytime. "it always starts clockwise. If she moves right then it's clockwise and viceversa". I don't know if this is true, but I will remember it whenever I watch a replay. I get a half decent capture rate on both her second and third spell card. I still need to be more cautious as losing hundred thousands from being too careful is worth the 100% capture rate. Or 99%. The shotgunning during third card misalignment is also something discover during the course of grinding. The red arrows will be misdirected to a more managable position.
Stage 3, the big fairies after the yin-yang section. I learned that if I summoned a rainbow after the first UFO carrier shot second volley is the best for survival. My movement over there is a prearranged one that it will misdirect every volleys from the 3 big fairies out of harm. Also I'm using the fact that SanaeB's basic shot are stronger unfocused to take out the second UFO carrier. After that section, I use my side options to take out 2-3 sets of small fairies so I can get into position so that even I'm late from destroying the rainbow UFO, I can still graze the small fairies vertically rather than horizontally. I actually haven't calculate which one is better, but I'm going to copy the WR blindly. It's trivial anyway.
I am still couldn't get into the second wave safespot during Ichirin midboss. I will have to in the future, because plan to suicide over there is not going to change forever. I also have a pet peeves during Ichirin midboss spell card. I think in Shin's 3.26B, in all its godly route, didn't graze the fists by positioning his hitbox too low at the spell card startup. It only gives +20 grazes, but it is essentially zero risk to do so. Post Ichirin midboss fight, I fixed my route of not destroying two big fairies during the blue UFO. By damaging them with 3-4 unfocused frogs when they appear, then shooting focused when the last two big fairies (which carry UFOs) come. If I'm not at 4.00 power, I skip the second part, and try to damage them with unfocused only. Most of the times one will get away. I could pick an extra UFO token during the blue UFO, but decide not to do so, so that I can summon red UFO just before boss Ichirin safely. I really hate that part, it walls 70% if I needed the last UFO token.
Ichirin boss first non card, the 13000 graze version. I guess my image in spell card help were off a few pixels to the left, but I decide not to mend it because lazy. King Kraken Strike is still scary, but I now use pause-stop to determine where is the position with the least bullets. Doesn't work 100%, or even 50% of the times, more like 25%, but I will use every tool in my disposal to increase my survival rate. There's nothing special in other Ichirin attacks, but in the last spell card, if I position myself a few pixels to the right of Ichirin's left foot, I can graze Unzan's beard and still have almost my frogs hits Ichirin.
Stage 4, I position myself at the start that way so I getthe +32 grazes from pointblanking a fairy. 0 risk now (or else I wouldn't have done it at all). Really, this stage is nice, and with +1 live and completed 4/4 life fragments from stage 3, it gives me hope that I can finish the run, even if the first three stages wrecked me before. I opted to summon red UFO at the start, delayed destroying it by counting to three. If I play with only 2 ari-ari in the future, I will subtitute it into blue instead of rainbow one. I practiced a lot with blue in stage practice run is one of the reason. Because of that red UFO, the order of UFO is a little jumbled compared to Hecate's teiki takai run, which I use a lot for reference. I stopped being so greedy by not picking one UFO token so early during the 2nd blue UFO, so that I don't have to chase the static red later during the first rainbow section.
Murasa. I will have to time out her attacks in the future. I started to do that on my wasted runs. Sinking Vortex suddenly become uncertain spell card, yet on the bright side the card after that is not a problem anymore, even though I will lose hundreds of thousands due over cautiousness. Survival card capture rate is now even higher, as I learned some trick to make the first (and the most problematic) wave easier, but not 100% surefire.
Stage 5 stage portion has not seen amny changes. Usual stuff. As I stated I tried to leave stage 5 with 2 blue UFOs, but abandoned the plan for now. I relearned the yin-yang portion again, etc. etc. Shou though... I've seen slight improvement in RTG capture rate, which is fantastic. Also I use pause-stop to increase second non card capture rate, pausing when the lasers from left stops curving. La la la I don't hear you Naut, Nereid. Vajra and Total Clarification also saw some capture rate improvement, though I don't think I captured Vajra in this run. The most important thing is, I find out that suiciding just after a Vajra capture will let me to replenish bomb stock, still be at 4.00 power during Nueball, and freely capture Vajra. I can ram myself during the intermission without picking too many power items, get the capture, and start Total Clarification normally. Sure I get some penalty from not suiciding at SHou's 3rd non card, but the assurance that I can capture Vajra without worry is invaluable, at least for now.
Stage 6. Well in this run I hit my head a couple of times. I went to PoC to collect items at the start of the stage, following my muscle memory leftover from drilling stage 6. Oh well. At least I still fill the Green UFO IIRC, assuring a easy time at NueBall. Byakuren fight is a mess. Purple Cloud is a bitch as always, then I autobomb second non card. Captured banana laser card, didn't have the patience to do the fourth non card, captured Devil's Recitation (I have this feeling if I didn't bomb the fourth non-card I will fail the DR), then failing Superhuman Byakuren. I think I need to be at right more so I don't get walled.
That's it. I was hoping to get 2.6B at start, then dropped my target significantly to 2.4. 2.5 should be achievable with 4 ari-ari, though I next time I run UFO Lunatic I will be running 2.