If not, benchwarp to any old bench to skip the cutscene with the Dreamers. Benchwarp to the Ancestral Mound after getting cloak, if you’re confident.Squit pogo to skip a portion of Greenpath (again, practice!).Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for skips: There’s absolutely no shame in taking the intended route. And that’s ok! Not everyone can beat the game hitless in under an hour (which is honestly a good thing that kind of speedrun is exhausting). Hate to break it to ya, but you are not Fireb0rn.
If you can get Claw in under thirty minutes, you’re doing just fine. This may get tedious after a while, so feel free to listen to some music or a podcast or Skurry saying “egg”. Practice getting to Claw a few times before actually starting. I would have gotten an even lower time if I practiced Deepnest, too. For context, I got a sub 20m mantis claw and died 5 times to Watcher Knights, went back and gathered 4 mask shards + fragile heart and strength, got another charm notch, and upgraded my nail twice and still got a sub 4 hour time. If you understand exactly what to do up to this point, you can afford to slack off and still get a low time.
It is ridiculously important to learn how to optimize your movements. Up to Mantis Claw, you’re essentially just gathering the tools and abilities needed to actually kill the dreamers and beat the game. Just, make sure you know where to go and what’s optional and what is mandatory. This can all be done on an old file, or a new one.
Plan how you’re going to get any geo needed, and practice optimizing your movements. Make sure you know how to find False Knight and Vengeful Spirit, take a stroll through the ‘path, make sure you know exactly how to get to each of the three dreamers. Load up your main save and familiarize yourself with the game. Tips for the Speedrunning Achievements Study Your Path