After six messy months and ~300 hours across Celeste Any% and Super Metroid Any%, I finally built a repeatable system that took me from “random golds but no PBs” to steady improvements every week. The breakthrough came when I stopped chasing one-off tricks and treated speedrunning like a craft: low-latency setup, deliberate movement drills, segment-based routing, and community-verified strategies. This is the exact process I use now-what worked, what wasted my time, and how to avoid my dumbest mistakes.
Step 1: Pick the Right Category (and Lock Your Rules)
My first plateau was picking categories that didn’t match my skills. I kept bouncing between glitch-heavy routes in Super Metroid and glitchless in Celeste and never got consistent. The fix was committing to one clear ruleset and learning it deeply.
Open your game’s leaderboard page and read category rules top to bottom. Note timing method (RTA vs. IGT), banned tools, and platform allowances.
Choose a “learning-first” category. If you’re new, start with Any% or glitchless-whichever has the clearest beginner route and active guides.
Join the game’s Discord. Pin messages and “resources” channels usually hold the current best routes; older forum posts can be out of date.
Watch two top runs and one “beginner route” run. Write down splits and key tricks. Don’t try to copy everything; mark risky strats with an asterisk.
Common mistake: I wasted a week practicing a trick (Celeste 5B demo dashes) that wasn’t even used in my chosen Any% route. Always verify tricks against the route you’re actually running.
Step 2: Build a Low-Latency, Stable Setup
I shaved 10+ seconds purely by fixing input lag and inconsistent framerate. You can’t execute tight movement if your rig fights you.
Display: Use a low-latency monitor. Switch your game to Video → Display Mode → Exclusive Fullscreen when available. Disable V-Sync unless the category requires fixed timing; test both for stability.
Controls: Use a wired pad or keyboard. In your game or driver, set a reasonable deadzone and sensitivity. I bind movement to my most comfortable fingers and move jump/dash to bumpers where applicable.
PC tuning: Close overlays and background apps. Cap framerate if the game misbehaves uncapped. Consistent frame pacing beats raw FPS for timing and muscle memory.
Console specifics: Prefer official hardware. If using upscalers or capture cards, enable “game mode” and avoid filters that add latency.
Timing/recording: Install a timer (e.g., LiveSplit) and capture via OBS. Create a scene with game, timer, and input display if allowed. Hotkey start/reset to avoid misclicks: Settings → Hotkeys → Start/Stop → F9.
Pitfall to avoid: I ran OBS at 60 fps with a heavy encoder preset. My game stuttered only during menu mashing-exactly where I needed precision. Use a lighter encoder preset or hardware encoding if available and test with a short run.
Step 3: Master Movement Before Tricks
The biggest unlock for me in Celeste wasn’t a new skip—it was clean diagonals and consistent hyper/ultra timing. Movement makes up 90% of free time saves.
Create a 15-minute daily drill. For Celeste I do: 5 minutes diagonals on flat, 5 minutes wallbounces, 5 minutes hyper lines across set rooms. For Super Metroid: mockball lines, short charge spacing, and precision wall-jumps.
Use input display and slow-motion replays to spot early/late presses. If your category allows training mods or practice ROMs, use them.
Practice on a clean save or practice file so resets take seconds, not minutes.
Only add one new technique at a time. I don’t start ultras until my dash exit angles are 90%+ consistent.
What finally worked: counting rhythms. I literally whispered “tap-tap-hold” for wallbounces until the timing stuck. Silly but effective.
Step 4: Route Like a Pro (Risk, Safety, and Splits)
My PBs started rolling in once I treated routing like project management. A “safe-first” route gets you a PB; then you replace segments with riskier strats one by one.
Build splits that match natural checkpoints. Keep them short enough to diagnose errors but not so granular it’s distracting.
Color code: green for safe strats, yellow for “backup if pace is good,” red for YOLO. In each pace, you’ll know which version to take.
Add notes to each split. In LiveSplit, right-click a split → Edit Split → Segment Notes. Write “2 extra dashes OK” or “if late, do backup wallkick.”
Record gold segment benchmarks from a top “beginner route” run and compare. Your goal is stability first, not WR pace.
Don’t make my mistake of copying an advanced route wholesale. I lost a month chasing a single one-cycle boss strat that cost more runs than it saved. Upgrade segments gradually.
Step 5: Segment Practice with Save States (or Fast Resets)
Segment drilling is how you convert knowledge into PBs. I schedule 60-minute blocks: 40 minutes targeted practice, 20 minutes full attempts.
Break the game into 5-8 chunks. Grind one chunk until you hit your consistency target (I aim for 8/10 clean clears).
Use save states, practice ROMs, or fast in-game reloads. If you’re on console, set up a route that returns you to the relevant checkpoint quickly.
Log your reps. I track attempts and successes for each trick; when I hit 80–90% in practice, I allow it in full runs.
Stitch chunks: after two days on a section, run the adjacent segments together. This exposes stamina and pacing issues you won’t see in isolation.
Motivation tip: set “micro golds.” Even if the full run dies, celebrate a new best for a tough segment. That kept me grinding on bad days.
Step 6: Study VODs and Events the Right Way
Passive watching did nothing for me. Active analysis changed everything. I started pausing top runs and annotating decisions: line choices, damage boosts, menuing cadence.
Watch a world-class run and a strong mid-tier PB. Ask: what does the mid-tier runner do that I can replicate today?
Use 0.25x playback to see input rhythms. Count frames between jump/dash or charge/shot in your notes.
Events like GDQ marathons (including the 2025 shows) are great for commentary. Listen for why a runner picks a backup or delays a trick.
Recreate a runner’s visual cues. For one boss, I dash on the second flicker of a sprite—it’s more reliable than “feel.”
Step 7: Record, Verify, and Submit Cleanly
My first accepted submissions were painless because I treated verification with the same care as routing. Here’s the checklist I use.
Before the run: verify category rules, patch/version, and allowed tools. Clear your save according to rules. Set Timer → Start hotkey and make a quick 10-second test recording with audio.
During the run: show your file select and settings if required. Keep the timer visible. Don’t cover the HUD with overlays.
After the run: do not cut the VOD immediately. Let the final screen linger. Show credits if rules require.
Submission: include your splits file, platform details, timing method, and any notable deviations (e.g., “used safety save at X, allowed by rules”).
Be ready to answer mod questions politely. Once, my capture dropped 3 frames; I shared the raw local file and my OBS log and it was fine.
Step 8: Platform Differences and Load Times
I learned the hard way that platform matters. My PC Celeste times crushed my console times due to loads and input feel, but some leaderboards separate categories or use load removers. Check rules before grinding.
Identify timing method: real-time vs. in-game time. If a load remover is allowed, configure it carefully and test against manual timing.
Controller polling and deadzones vary by platform. Spend one session per platform dialing sensitivity and checking diagonals.
Some tricks are patch-dependent. Confirm the allowed patch and stick to it—don’t auto-update the morning of a race or submission.
Step 9: Mindset, Health, and Pace Management
My worst slump was pure burnout. I tried to brute-force PBs with 4-hour reset streams. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Here’s what did.
Schedule “no-reset” days. Finish the run no matter what. You’ll train late-game consistency and stop tying your mood to early golds.
Micro breaks: every hour, stretch hands and shoulders. Shake out tension before the next attempt.
Set tiered goals: consistency goal (finish rate), execution goal (segment time), and PB goal. Hitting two of three is success.
Mental reset cue: when I chain three resets in a row to the same trick, I switch to segment practice for 20 minutes.
Troubleshooting: Fast Fixes for Common Plateaus
“Great practice, bad runs”: You’re overfitting to save states. Add scuffed-start practice—intentionally enter the segment slightly off-cycle to learn recoveries.
“Random input drops”: Test another USB port/cable. Disable overlays (GPU, chat, FPS). Lower OBS encoder load.
“Menuing always slow”: Script a visual mantra: up-up-confirm-right-confirm. Practice on a blank file for 5 minutes daily.
“Die at same boss”: Add a mid-fight backup. For example, if a one-cycle is tight, plan a two-cycle that loses 5s but saves the run.
“Nerves on PB pace”: Switch to safe strats in red-marked segments. Your route should tell you exactly when to downshift.
Advanced Techniques to Level Up
TAS study as benchmark: Don’t copy frame-perfect inputs, but learn the line and intent. Ask: what human-safe version preserves 80% of the gain?
Segment RNG management: Track patterns across attempts. Sometimes tiny position tweaks change cycles in your favor.
Race prep: Practice with a metronome or ambient noise to simulate event nerves. Events (including the 2025 marathons) reward consistency over flash.
Community engagement: Share a WIP route doc and invite critique. I’ve had huge time saves handed to me just by asking, “Is there a safer line here?”
A 30-Day Starter Plan (What I’d Do If I Started Today)
Days 1–3: Pick category, read rules, watch two top VODs + one beginner route. Build initial splits.
Days 4–10: Daily 45 minutes movement drills + 15 minutes segment practice. No resets; finish runs to learn late game.
Days 11–17: Introduce one new tech. Route backups. Start logging consistency per segment.
Days 18–24: Two focused segments per day; stitch adjacent segments. Record a full run every other day.
Days 25–30: Optimize setup (latency test), verify patch/version, record two serious PB attempts with clean VOD and notes. Submit your best clean run.
Final Encouragement (From Someone Who Reset Too Much)
If you’re stuck, you’re probably one structured week away from a PB. Lock your rules, fix your latency, drill movement like an athlete, and route backups like a chess player. Study smart, practice in segments, and treat verification like part of the craft. The runs you’re proud of won’t be the perfect ones—they’ll be the ones you finished with a plan. See you on the leaderboard.
