Tech
Techniques, often simply known as tech, are special moves Madeline can do to enhance her mountain-climbing ability. They come in a wide range of uses and difficulties. Many can be used to skip sections of a room or multiple rooms at once. There are a lot of techniques in Celeste and their variations, so it is virtually impossible to describe them all.
All numerical values of speed given are in pixels per second.
Note: Some higher-level and more obscure techniques (like 7-Jumps) may be missing, improperly named, or poorly described, so do not expect 100% accuracy or comprehensiveness. If you notice any issues, inaccuracies, or typos, please let us know by reporting them on the talk page or fixing them yourself. This way, you get to improve Celeste Wiki for future readers, and we appreciate your help in making the wiki more complete!
Some other (possibly more extensive) sources of techniques:
- Celeste TAS tech document
- Strawberry Jam Collab gyms and library
- Celeste tech Iceberg (no explanations of techs listed)
Mechanics
Not to be confused with Mechanics (game objects).
These "techs" were added primarily to make the game feel smoother and more forgiving to play, but can be taken advantage of.
Coyote Time/Jump
Madeline can input a jump for 5 so-called "coyote" frames after walking off a ledge, allowing for more distance in certain situations. Hyperdashes and superdashes can be done during coyote frames despite not being on the ground.
Directional Spikes
Spikes won't hurt Madeline if she collides with them as long as she's moving in the direction they point.
Fastbubbling
Dashing inside a stationary green or red bubble will make it move instantly in the direction of a dash, saving around a second if done immediately after entering a bubble.
Fastfalling (Fastfall)
Holding down mid-air will change Madeline's max fall speed to 240 pixels per second instead of the usual 160. This is notably required in Farewell and is used to save time in "falling" areas.
Input Buffering
Attempting to perform an action not currently possible will "buffer" (store) the input for the next 5 frames. If it becomes possible within those 5 frames, Madeline will instantly perform it. For example, if you press jump slightly before landing on the ground, Madeline will jump on the first possible frame. This is notably used to execute techniques instantly after a screen transition or to turn frame-perfect tricks into 5-frame windows. It can be done with almost every action in the game.
Screen Transition
When transitioning between two screens, Madeline's dash(es) and stamina are restored. This can be used to gain height or reach otherwise unreachable areas. This is required to get a crystal heart in 2A.
Dash Tech
Dash Techs require a dash to perform, though, for many, a dash can be substituted with a bubble.
Superdash (Super)
To perform a superdash, dash horizontally on the ground and jump before the dash ends. This will result in a longer and faster jump, granting 260 speed.
Superdashes can be extended or reversed.
Hyperdash (Hyper)
To perform a hyperdash, dash diagonally downwards into the ground and jump before the dash ends. This will result in a burst of speed similar to a superdash, only granting 325 speed instead of 260, and half the height of a regular jump.
To gain the higher speed of a hyperdash as well as the full jump height of a superdash, you can do a short hyperdash by only tapping jump and then doing another full-height jump afterwards. This is usually referred to as a hyper bunnyhop.
Hyperdashes can be extended or reversed.
Wavedash
The wavedash is a variation of the hyperdash in which the down-diagonal dash is started midair rather than on the ground. Wavedashes are functionally identical to hyperdashes as they provide the same speed and height, however, wavedashes can be done on smaller surfaces. Wavedashing is taught in the Event Horizon subchapter in Farewell.
Wavedashes can be extended or reversed.
Extended Dashes
A dash lasts 15 frames. When performing a dash, there is a 10-frame cooldown before Madeline's dash is restored. When performing a super/hyper/wavedash, you can regain your dash by jumping at the right time; dashing after the 10-frame cooldown has passed, but before the dash has ended.
Reverse Dashes
When performing a super/hyper/wavedash, the direction of your dash is not actually relevant. By jumping in the opposite direction of the dash, the tech can be performed in the opposite direction, for instance, a reverse wavedash by dashing down-left and jumping right.
Ultradash (Ultra)
An ultradash, commonly referred to as an ultra, is a diagonal-down dash performed when Madeline is traveling with a high horizontal velocity. By doing it, she gains a 1.2x multiplier to her horizontal speed upon touching the ground.
The simplest and most common way to perform an Ultra is to perform a hyperdash (though one can be performed any time Madeline is moving fast, like after dashing diagonally-down out of a red bubble or getting flinged by a bird) and dash down-diagonally as soon as possible. The dash must end before Madeline touches the ground to maintain the momentum (Dashing will reset your speed after ending, unless the dash is down-diagonal. Landing on the ground converts a down-diagonal dash into a horizontal dash, thus losing the speed), so players should start from high enough up that it will end before they land. It's important to jump right after you touch the ground to lose as little speed to friction as possible. Players should aim not to buffer the jump input because this is likely to prevent the 1.2x boost, and instead should jump shortly after landing on the ground.
Chained Ultras
Multiple Ultras can be done in a row. This requires very specific terrain, but Madeline can quickly reach incredible speeds due to the multiplicative speed gain of Ultras.
Grounded Ultras
Grounded Ultras are the fastest way to move on flat terrain (390 speed optimally). Dashing down-diagonally while on or very close to the ground will still give the 1.2x speed multiplier, but all of it will be lost when the dash ends.
To perform a Grounded Ultra, down-diagonally dash into the ground. As this is a down-diagonal dash, you will receive the 1.2x speed multiplier, but since down-diagonal dashes are converted into horizontal ones on the floor, the excess speed will be removed when the dash ends. Because this is essentially the same input as a hyper (a down-diagonal dash into the ground), players can jump before the dash ends to perform a Hyper and be given 325 speed and Hyper height. This can be chained infinitely on flat terrain by dashing down diagonally right after jumping. It's more optimal to jump as late as possible, on the 14th frame optimally.
Grounded Ultra Cancel
When dashing at high speeds, excess speed is only removed once the dash ends. By interrupting the dash before it ends, the speed from the grounded ultra can be retained. This can be done in many different ways: grabbing a throwable, skipping a cutscene, bouncing on a snowball, so long as it interrupts the dash.
Delayed Ultra
When colliding with the ground, if your last dash direction was down-diagonal, you will get an ultra, granting a 1.2x speed multiplier and crouching you. This can be abused by dashing diagonally without landing on the ground, stalling in the air before landing somewhere different, and gaining the 1.2x speed multiplier at a later point somewhere different.
An iconic example of an RTA Delayed Ultra is used in the Awake checkpoint of 2A, where runners build up massive amounts of speed utilizing a Delayed Ultra, multiple cornerboosts, and multiple chained Ultras.
Demodash (Demo)
Demodashes (shortened to demos), also known as crouch dashes in-game, is a technique that allows the player to dash with the crouched hurtbox (4 pixels instead of 9), allowing you to slip through spinners, dust bunnies, and other obstacles unharmed, provided the gap between them is at least 4 pixels.
When a demodash ends, Madeline will uncrouch, returning her hitbox to full height. This is often used to make cornerkicks more lenient by demodashing up-diagonally into the corner, causing Madeline to uncrouch as soon as she passes the corner and touches the wall.
You can bind a Demo button in-game since the 1.4.0.0 version of the game. You can do a demodash manually by dashing down and then holding a different direction before (within 4 frames or 0.068 seconds) — but not during — a dash. There are no advantages to doing them manually.
Demohyper
Dashing down-diagonally is not necessary to do a hyperdash: so long as Madeline is crouching, a hyper will be performed instead of a super. This means doing a horizontal demodash will result in a hyper rather than a super. Demohypers have a higher dash speed than regular hypers (240 instead of 169) since they're horizontal rather than diagonal dashes, though this can be disadvantageous in places where space is limited.
Up Diagonal Demo (Diag Demo)
It is also possible to Up-Diagonal Demodash with the demo button. It reduces Madeline's hitbox and hurtbox and allows for an easier cornerkick. This can be done by doing the diag-demo onto the ceiling that precedes the corner. After the end of the dash, Madeline's hitbox will return to normal and make the cornerkick possible if Madeline is close enough to the corner. It also has a few other uses.
Wallbounce (wounce, wb)
Wallbounces are a technique mainly used to gain height. To do a wallbounce, dash up and jump during the dash duration while next to a wall. It is to be noted that wallbounces have a slightly lower vertical speed than an updash. Thus, jumping as late as possible is more optimal for gaining height.
Wallbounces can be performed out of red or green bubbles.
Dashless Tech
Dashless Tech refers to techniques that don't need a dash to perform. They tend to be more complex or precise.
Liftboost
Liftboost, rather than a tech, is a basic game mechanic. When being moved by an entity like a Traffic Block, the amount it moves you is stored as a value called liftboost. When letting go of the moving object, your speed gets set to your liftboost value. There is a maximum value for liftboost, which is -130 for vertical velocity and 250 in the moving direction for horizontal velocity. When jumping, liftboost is added to your jump speed, so the maximum vertical speed for a jump with liftboost is -235 and the maximum horizontal speed is 355.
Other actions, such as hypers, supers, and dashes, apply liftboost the same way a jump does. The speed calculation for a hyper is (260+liftboost)*1.25 horizontal and (-105+liftboost)*0.5 vertical, so liftboost is applied slightly differently to hypers than to other actions.
Bunnyhop (Bhop)
A bunnyhop is loosely defined as jumping the moment Madeline hits the ground. Because there is more friction on the ground than in the air, bunnyhops allow Madeline to conserve speed over longer distances. Bunnyhops are often used after a wavedash or a hyperdash to get the height of a full jump and keep the speed received.
Because each jump gives Madeline a short burst of speed (+40 speed), repeating bunnyhops is the fastest method of dashless movement along flat ground. It is common among speedrunners to bunnyhop in Prologue, as it is not possible to dash there.
Neutral Jump (Neutral)
Neutrals are one of the most fundamental pieces of dashless movement and vertical mobility in general. They allow Madeline to scale flat and uneven walls alike without using any stamina, even with downward wind.
To do a Neutral, jump off the wall without holding directional keys, then immediately move towards the wall again. Rinse and repeat to keep moving up. The jumps can be delayed to stay in place.
Cornerkick
Cornerkicks are wallkicks off corners. Performed when Madeline passes right under them, they give a little bit of height.
To cornerkick, jump towards the corner, and press Jump again when you're right next to the corner.
Cornerkicks will be neutral if no directional keys are held on the frame you press jump.
Crouch Jump / Crouch Climb
Madeline can jump while crouching and will keep crouching as long as she goes upward. This can be used to reduce her hitbox to avoid getting hit. Madeline can also climbjump while keeping crouch state, but she can not grab walls without moving downward and hence uncrouching. Wallkicks will also uncrouch you.
Note that it is possible to be crouched while holding a wall if the player lands a delayed ultra by sliding to the bottom of a wall while still grabbing it. They can then wallclimb upward while keeping their crouched hitbox until they next move downward.
Wallboost
Pressing away from a wall 11 frames or less after neutral climbjumping will refund the stamina cost from the climbjump as the jump is converted into a wallkick 'after the fact.' After performing a wallboost, unlike a normal wallkick, you can still press toward the wall again to quickly return to it. This allows stamina-less climbing but is only faster than neutral jumps when performed optimally by a TAS. It has other uses, mainly in beating stamina puzzles. Performing a wallboost will cause falling blocks to drop instantly, since you stopped grabbing the wall, but it's possible to regrab them significantly faster than you could with a neutral jump or a wallkick.
If you do a wallboost while grabbing a wall and also touching the floor, the stamina from a climbjump will still be 'refunded' despite not being consumed in the first place. This means you will have 137.5 stamina, whereas Madeline's maximum stamina is supposed to be 110, allowing you to do five climbjumps before running out instead of four.
5 Jump
When Madeline grabs the top of a wall, she will slide down a significant amount and not be able to climb up further. However, you still can climbjump or wallkick off the top of the wall. A 5 jump is executed by using a neutral climbjump to reach the top of the wall and then jumping or climbjumping off it. This technique allows you to cross a 5-tile gap, hence its name.
Cornerboost (cb)
When Madeline collides with a wall (when her speed attempts to move her inside the wall and is blocked by the tile), the game stores her current speed as "retained" speed. If the wall no longer blocks Madeline from moving forward within the next 5 frames, the retained speed will be refunded (so Madeline will keep moving at the speed she had when she hit the wall).
The most common way to intentionally use retained speed is to do a cornerboost. Doing a climbjump at the top of a wall with momentum will push Madeline over the top and refund the retained speed. Since climbjumps cancel dashes, this is a way to preserve the speed of a dash if it would otherwise have been lost when the dash ended.
Climbjumps, like ground jumps, give Madeline +40 speed in the direction the player is holding. If the climbjump is done before Madeline collides with the wall, that extra +40 speed will be included in the retained speed value. This is known as a 'good cb', where climbjumping after colliding with the wall is called a bad cb. Above 180 speed, it is possible that there will not be a frame where Madeline can climbjump before she collides with the wall, and as such, a bad cb will be inevitable even when jump is buffered. There are 3 pixels Madeline can occupy and climbjump on before she actually collides with the wall, so if moving at 4px/frame like in a typical horizontal dash, 1 in every 4 pixels will give a bad cornerboost.
Downward Cornerboosts
Grabbing a wall immediately removes all of Madeline's speed. Note that grabbing is not the same as climbjumping. In order to grab a wall, Madeline needs to:
- Be on one of the two pixels closest to the wall
- Not be moving downward
- Not be in dash state
- Not have less than 20 stamina (sprite flashing red)
As you do not want to grab and lose all your speed for a cornerboost, another of these conditions must be met if Madeline is moving downward and the player wants to cornerboost. The simplest method is to do a down diagonal dash as in a delayed ultra. However, if the cornerboost needs to be done without dashing, Madeline needs to be 3 pixels away from the wall - too far to grab but close enough to do a climbjump. She will now be moving upward on the next frame and unable to jump for that reason. Note the similarity to climbjumping on a moveblock without activating it, which is also about avoiding grabbing the block.
6 Jump
A '6 jump' is a dashless cornerboost that travels over 6 tiles, typically over spikes. This is done by being at full air-strafe speed (90) and doing a cornerboost on the top of a wall to gain another +40 speed. It must be done in the first room of Crossing for the Winged Golden Strawberry in dashless City.
Double Cornerboost
If Madeline has a horizontal speed below ~144, it's possible with precise pixel positioning to climbjump once and not yet collide with the wall, making it possible to execute a second climbjump before colliding and gain an additional +40 speed. This is typically a frame-perfect input, as you need to jump twice on consecutive frames.
Reverse Cornerboost (rcb)
A reverse cornerboost is executed by climbjumping a corner that is behind Madeline. This cancels the dash and conserves momentum on top of giving height like a normal cornerboost. However, the +40 speed from jumping is applied in the opposite direction, slowing Madeline down slightly. This is usually done to cancel an up-diagonal dash and is beneficial because the speed from the dash (minus 40) is conserved. This was initially considered a TAS-only tech, but it has been implemented by high-level players, especially in individual-level runs.
Neutral Reverse Cornerboost
A neutral reverse cornerboost allows you to not lose any speed compared to a regular reverse cornerboost. To execute this you must face towards the wall and then release all directions before jumping. Since this is a neutral climbjump, pressing the opposite direction Madeline is facing within the next 11 frames will cause a wallboost- setting your horizontal speed to ~125 no matter the previous speed. For this reason, neutral RCBs are generally undesirable at high speed as air friction is doubled when you are not holding the direction that Madeline is moving, and the 11f of extra friction outweighs the -40 speed from the reversed climbjump. However, this is sometimes used intentionally at low speeds to gain speed from the wallboost (e.g. Pillarless in 5B) or to wallboost after a screen transition and gain some extra horizontal speed (e.g. the fastest entry to City start room 6).
Spiked Cornerboost
A Spiked Cornerboost is a cornerboost on a corner that has spikes on one or two adjacent surfaces. A notable example of a spiked cornerboost is the "Dreadcorner" strat in 5B, which skips the same rooms that a Bubsdrop does.
Disappearing Block Cornerboost
A block disappearing (such as a door or a cassette block) works just the same as going over the top of a wall for the purpose of refunding retained speed.
Spike Jumps
 | This section is missing information about spikejumps off moving blocks. Please take a moment to improve this section. |
Spikejumps can refer to one of two situations: either Madeline is being pushed into spikes (via wind), or spikes are being pushed into Madeline (when attached to moving blocks).
Wind applies a constant movement to Madeline every frame, however, this movement is applied independently of her regular speed calculations and after collision checks occur. As a consequence, it is possible to jump off of surfaces beneath spikes before collision checks are applied.
Entity Tech
Entity Tech refers to using various blocks or entities to do useful techs.
Bumper / Fish / Seeker Explosion Boost
Getting near Pufferfishes, touching Bumpers, and being near Seekers when they revive grants Madeline some momentum. If you're holding the same direction Madeline is boosted towards, you gain about 50 extra horizontal speed.
Fish / Ice / Oshiro / Seeker / Snowball Jump
Holding jump when landing on top of Mr. Oshiro, a snowball, a pufferfish, a seeker, or an ice ball (in Core) will grant a significant amount of height compared to not pressing jump, and if dashed into will also preserve any horizontal momentum as the bounce will cancel the dash. For this reason, dashing horizontally onto one of these entities and jumping is sometimes referred to as a "fish super", "snowball super", and so on, despite mechanically not being related to a superdash.
Bubble Super / Hyper
You can Hyper or Super out of bubbles if the bubble is at ground level or if you're in coyote frames. In the first case, simply perform it in the bubble. You can also fastbubble using a regular dash or a Demo and then jump to get a Super or a Hyper. If using coyote frames, dash into the bubble to buffer fastbubbling and a jump before entering it. The bubble will then launch you with the momentum of a Super.
This tech is used mainly in custom maps.
Archie
Tutorial: Flesh117
An Archie is entering a bubble with a crouched hitbox (from any direction), raising it by two pixels. This is usually performed with a demodash, but can also be done simply using a crouch jump.
Cloud Jump / Spiked Cloud Jump
Madeline only needs to jump when the cloud is at its highest position to gain the vertical speed boost; this can be used to avoid dying if there are spikes or other hazards under the cloud. Jump quickly to push it down, then jump again as it comes up.
Cloud Super/Hyper
Just like on the ground, Madeline can do a Super or a Hyper off clouds and still get the vertical speed bonus, although it is somewhat more precise. Input a Super or a Hyper as the cloud bounces upwards. The higher you jump, the more height you'll gain.
Cloud Hyper Bunnyhop
On top of doing Supers and Hypers on clouds, you also can do a Hyper Bunnyhop on white clouds, but since it's extremely tight, most Cloud Hyper Bunnyhops are done with a reverse Demohyper (doing a Demohyper instead of a regular Hyper makes it easier since the vertical dash of the Demohyper is faster and thus goes further than a down-diagonal dash).
To execute it, do a very short Reverse Demohyper with a tiny jump as soon as you land on the edge of the cloud, then Bunnyhop when the cloud reaches its highest position to get maximum height.
Core Boost
By jumping off a lava block a few frames before it breaks, you can gain a vertical speed multiplier of 2.25x and a horizontal speed boost depending on the block's launching direction: the more horizontally it launches you, the more speed you get. This tech is required to complete a few rooms in Core.
Core Hyper/Super
By the same logic as Dream Hyper, you can get lots of horizontal speed and height by inputting one of these techs at the last few frames (coyote frames) of the lava block's launch. This works the same way as a Core Boost and as such, the core block's launching direction affects how much horizontal speed you get.
Since you input the Core Hyper during coyote frames, you can even do it by grabbing the block: since this always launches the core block horizontally, you'll always get a massive speed boost.
Dream Jump
You can jump out of dream blocks since they give coyote frames. The jump grants height and horizontal speed gain (+40 speed) and doesn't consume your dash. To execute it, simply press jump as you leave the dream block. This technique is taught by the bird in the Old Site B-Side.
Dream Double-Jump
You can double jump out of dream blocks by buffering a first jump in the dream block and jumping a second time in coyote frames after exiting it. Although this doesn't grant additional height compared to a regular dream jump, it does give an additional horizontal speed gain of 40, making it almost as fast as a Hyper (320 speed compared to 325).
Dream Hyper
Instead of simply jumping out of dream blocks, a Hyper or a Demohyper (which has a slightly bigger window) can be done in the few frames right after you leave the dream block due to coyote frames. This gives much more horizontal speed than a regular dreamjump but less height. Unlike dream jumps, this does not give your dash back, as it is used after exiting the dream block.
You also can do a Super out of a dream block, but it doesn't have as much practical use as a Dream Hyper or a Dream Double-Jump.
Featherboost
Holding a diagonal direction with the movement buttons on the first frame of feather movement will give you an initial speed boost.
Feather Super
If you move horizontally along the ground in a feather and perform a jump, you will exit the feather state and perform a long jump.
Seeker Bounce
After hitting a wall, seekers enter a different state for a brief moment. In this state, you can bounce into them and get a horizontal speed boost (approximately Hyper speed). On top of refreshing your dash, it also affects your vertical speed depending on the angle at which you bump them. You cannot bounce off the top of the seeker since that's where the hitbox for "killing" them is.
Theo/Jelly Regrabs
Grabbing a Theo Crystal or a Jellyfish while in a dash state cancels it, which makes you maintain your vertical and horizontal speed. You can do a regrab even if you're already holding a throwable object: to do so, throw it and quickly dash and grab into it. This can be useful if a small amount of height or distance is needed. Theo Regrabs are more challenging than Jelly Regrabs.
Jelly Laddering
Using two jellyfish, Madeline can grab one after the other to keep some of her vertical or horizontal speed.
You can use this technique to move upwards indefinitely by dropping and regrabbing the jellyfish, though it doesn't have many practical uses and is quite inconsistent.
Theo/Jelly Ultras
You can also use the regrab mechanic to cancel a Grounded Ultra and keep the massive momentum from it.
Throwable Backboost (Backboost)
Throwing an object opposite the direction Madeline is moving gives her a little speed boost.
Jellyvator / Theovator
Vators rely on the fact that holding down while releasing Grab will simply drop the throwable Madeline is holding (neutral drop) rather than throwing it. After dropping an item, dash upwards into it and grab it again. The dash will be canceled and its momentum preserved, giving Madeline more height.
Note: Throwables appear to give more height the later they are grabbed. This is not due to a difference in the amount of momentum preserved from canceling the dash but simply due to Madeline being higher up when it is actually canceled. Theo crystals provide less height than Jellyfish since holding a Jellyfish lowers Madeline's gravity.
Waterboost
When you are on the surface of water, it is possible to jump multiple times, with each jump giving 40 horizontal speed. Humans can generally only do two or three jumps, while the TAS can bounce on every possible frame, achieving incredible speed.
Reform Tech
Reform Tech is tech done with blocks that can once again become solid at their initial position, like cassette blocks and moving blocks, while they are reforming.
The block will not become solid if Madeline is in it and will instead start reforming once she leaves the block. The block becomes solid before spikes and other objects on the block are generated (except on cassette blocks, which reform instantly), enabling Madeline to grab onto normally spiked walls of the reforming block, or land on the reforming block even if its floor is spiked.
Reform Kick
Reform kicks are performed by being inside of a non-solid reforming block's hitbox, then moving horizontally out of the block after it is supposed to start reforming. If you input a jump while exiting the block, you will wallkick off its side. This is possible regardless of whether this side is spiked or not.
Reform Boost (Cassette Boost)
Jumping off a reforming block as it reforms while you are just barely inside of its hitbox will push you upwards out of its hitbox. This can also be performed with two overlapping cassette blocks. The jump input cannot be buffered.
Cassoosted Fuper
A Cassoosted Fuper is getting a cassette boost as you perform a feather super. This is a joke tech.
Other Tech
These techs have very niche uses. Some of them are very difficult to perform.
Binoculars Clip (Bino Clip)
To reduce strain on the game, when using binoculars, the game will unload spinners not currently visible, allowing Madeline to dash or even walk through them with total safety until they load back in. To do this, look in the binoculars, move them away enough to unload the spinners, and then quickly leave and dash through them.
Bubsdrop
The Bubsdrop is a use of a wallkick or a climbjump to cancel the upwards momentum gained from going into a vertical screen transition so that you don't land on a one-way platform and can return to the previous room. Upon re-entering the original room, your spawn point will be set to the nearest available spot. In Mirror Temple B-Side, this trick is used to skip a significant portion of the Central Chamber checkpoint.
Ceiling Pop (cpop)
Tutorial (referenced in Celestecord): Parrot Dash (YouTube)
When Madeline grabs a wall with downward momentum, she slides a tiny amount down. If she holds the bottom pixel of a wall while she has a low enough subpixel, she will slide below the wall while still being able to climbjump for one frame. Because there is no wall in the way, this climbjump will give Madeline forward momentum. This tech is mainly used by the TAS but can be done RTA if there's a setup, such as in the last room of Shrine in 4A.
Cutscene Warps
Some cutscene skips only teleport Madeline along the X-axis and keep her Y position. This allows Madeline to end up in unexpected places and is sometimes used in 2A and 5A to skip a part of the room.
Pause Buffering
When unpausing the game, there is a short window (~10 frames) in which the game has not started yet. Inputting anything in this window will make the input processed in the first frame of the game running. This allows you to input a movement command as well as another pause command, effectively making the game run one frame at a time making frame-perfect techs (like Demodash) significantly easier to perform.
Spinner Stunning
Information: Msushi (YouTube)
To reduce lag, the game splits spinners into three randomly assigned groups and only checks one group each frame. By pausing the game every third gameplay frame, you can prevent one group of spinners from ever being loaded and pass through them without dying. This tech has been executed RTA, but is generally not considered human-viable because every pause is a frame-perfect input, and which spinner group you end up deloading would be pseudorandom for humans.
Spinner Freeze
After waiting for around 118 hours in a level, the TimeActive variable will stop increasing due to floating point imprecision. TimeActive is the variable that decides which spinner group to check, so two-thirds of spinners will never be loaded, making a variation of spinner stunning humanly possible.
Undemo dashing
This tech is the opposite of a manual demodash. Instead of forcing the frame 1 crouch check to be made on a non-downward dash, the player avoids the crouch check on a downward dash by redirecting from a neutral or non-downward direction. It is useful in particular circumstances, like entering a dream block uncrouched or collecting a heart from the bottom with a down dash. A good example of this is the Weightless Pressure mod
Half Stamina Climbing
For a straight vertical wall, immediately after performing a wallboost, there are 2 frames where Madeline is still close enough to the wall to jump off it. Climbjumping gives you +40 speed back towards the wall, allowing you to return to the wall sooner at the cost of stamina. This combination of a wallboost and a climbjump uses the stamina of one climbjump but gives the height of two.
This tech can be made somewhat more RTA-viable by binding the same key to left, right, and jump. After climbjumping away from the wall to wallboost, pressing it within 2 frames makes Madeline turn around and climbjump.
Madeline can also neutral jump within 2 frames of a wallboost. This does not consume stamina and allows Madeline to climb faster than using only neutral jumps.
The 100% TAS uses this technique when obtaining the heart in 6A.
Kermit Dash
Kermit Dashing is more like a joke tech, very rarely used. Dashing through a vertical screen transition cancels your dash, but does not remove the 'dashattack' timer which allows Madeline to do 'dash actions' like wallbounce, breaking blocks, and entering dream blocks. The 'dash direction' of a cancelled dash is also maintained. For example, this lets you activate a Kevin from angles not usually possible or for preserving your dash. This is used in the "True ending" from Ivory in Strawberry Jam Collab.
Trivia
- 1A - Dashless tech is used extensively to collect the Winged Golden Strawberry. The Cornerkick named "Coffee Jump" refers to the Cornerkick in the room with the coffee shop in the background.
- 2A - Screen Transitions are used to obtain the 2A Crystal Heart.
- 3A - The Elevator Shaft Demo strategy, which requires a Demodash through the Dust Bunnies created by Mr. Oshiro, can be used to skip many rooms at once.
- The bird will teach the player multiple techs throughout the game: climbing and dashing in Prologue, Dream Jumps in Old Site B-Side, Wallbounces in Summit B-Side, and Hyperdashes in Core C-Side.
- The game will teach Wavedashes to the player in Farewell right after passing the Crystal Heart Gate in Event Horizon. The bird is also mentioned in that tutorial.
- The Demodash was discovered by the player DemoJameson on October 14, 2018, and was subsequently named after him.
