{"id":126254,"date":"2022-07-04T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-133946"},"modified":"2022-07-04T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T19:00:00","slug":"feature-what-it-takes-to-be-a-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-world-record-speedrunner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/07\/04\/feature-what-it-takes-to-be-a-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-world-record-speedrunner\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: What It Takes To Be A Zelda: Breath Of The Wild World Record Speedrunner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Zelda
Image: Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s 1 AM and you have just spent the past 12 hours replaying the same segment of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/a>.<\/em> In your mind, there is no stopping until perfection is achieved \u2013 or the more likely option \u2013 you pass out from sleep deprivation. For the next few weeks, you continue to hone your skills, in the hope of reducing the amount of time it takes to complete a full run of the game. Meanwhile, you are in a race with a massive community of like-minded individuals, each with their own strategies and goals in mind. Welcome to the world of speedrunning.<\/p>\n

Since its release in 2017, Breath of the Wild has been featured in several speedrun categories<\/a>, with the most popular being Any%, where players attempt to defeat the final boss and complete the game as quickly as possible. Despite the longevity of the main adventure during a casual playthrough, BOTW can now be beaten in less than 30 minutes, with the world record currently sitting at 24:10 by a runner named Koroks<\/a>. To understand the work that goes into running this huge game, we spoke with Koroks<\/a> about that astonishing world record run, and life as a speedrunner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know how I got to this point to be honest with you,\u201d Koroks \u2014 also known as Johnathan \u2014 tells us. Although it depends on the game, a speedrun can take years<\/em> to master, but this speedrunner from New York was able to reduce his first run\u2019s time by a significant amount in a matter of months.<\/p>\n

[embedded content]
Korok\u2019s WR Run<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a big fan of Zelda speedruns for many years now, but I became interested in running Breath of the Wild in November 2021,\u201d he tells us enthusiastically. However, it was another player\u2019s run that really resonated with him. \u201cI remember watching another runner called Player5<\/a> achieve his 24:56 time, and that had a huge impact on me.\u201d Player5 is another American speedrunner who is currently just behind Koroks on the leaderboards \u2013 they have both been able to secure a time of 24:10, but Koroks was able to seize the top spot by a couple of milliseconds.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot\"
The leader boards at the time of writing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy first run was 1 hour and 58 minutes, but my goal was to eventually get a run to under 30 minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter a while, the goal post kept on getting shorter and shorter until I eventually got the 24:10. I still can\u2019t believe it, it\u2019s crazy!\u201d During an Any% run, players are required to take advantage of several glitches and traversal techniques that look impossible from a surface level, though speedrunners have been able to develop routes that intentionally utilise some of the game\u2019s more hidden mechanics.<\/p>\n

These strategies and mechanics are called \u201ctricks\u201d or \u201cstrats\u201d, terms that have since become synonymous within the scene. \u201cFor me personally, the tricks looked really interesting and fun \u2013 which to me is a big part of my enjoyment of speedrunning.\u201d Breath of the Wild heavily relies on three major techniques, Shield Clipping, BLSS (Bow Lift Smuggling Super Slide), and Shield Surfing. There are more tools that are used throughout runs, though Koroks highlighted these as the most important.<\/p>\n

[embedded content]
BLSS Explained by Little_L<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBLSS is a big part of the run, as it allows Link to quickly traverse the overworld. It\u2019s the primary form of movement throughout the run and mastering that can take a long time. You can\u2019t let the analogue stick return to its neutral position, otherwise Link will fall and lead to heavy time losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Shield clips were probably the most difficult technique to learn. They\u2019re used a lot in the run to allow Link to clip through walls, but we primarily use them to get into shrines<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Obviously, a lot of practice is required to learn these tricks, and depending on your skill level this can take a long time. However, Koroks was able to advance extremely quickly. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d get to the point where I\u2019d achieve a record though,\u201d he admits. \u201cIt has been seven months of non-stop playing, and I was surprised at how quickly I was able to optimise my runs.\u201d He acknowledges that his advancement didn\u2019t come without its challenges, though. Some mechanics took a substantial amount of time to learn, but he has since started to understand where improvements can be made.<\/p>\n

To get an idea of how these mechanics are used in a speedrun, we asked Koroks to explain what the biggest reset point in the game is \u2014 the moment when you may as well throw in the towel if you didn’t nail a specific trick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say right now the biggest reset point in Any% is at the beginning of the run. It\u2019s very technical and can be a run killer. Essentially, you need to grab a weapon from a nearby Boko Camp and to do that, you need to whistle sprint at a specific time to get said weapon, but sometimes the Boko\u2019s can beat you there.\u201d ‘Whistle sprinting’ is a mechanic that was discovered earlier on by the Breath of the Wild speedrunning community, a trick that allows the player to negate Link\u2019s stamina consumption while running.<\/p>\n

For Koroks personally, a key challenge during his early BOTW speedrunning days was shield clipping, a glitch that allows Link to clip through walls and acts as a massive time save.<\/p>\n

[embedded content]
Player5\u2019s Run<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cShield clips were probably the most difficult technique to learn. They\u2019re used a lot in the run to allow Link to clip through walls, but we primarily use them to get into shrines. They complement other mechanics in the game, so it was important to master those as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

100% is another popular category in the Breath of the Wild speedrunning community, often lovingly referred to as \u201chundo-percent\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

In the beginning it was quite easy with the whole running thing being new and exciting. [100%] is all about keeping composure and just keeping your mentality good<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Unlike its Any% counterpart, 100% runs demand more intense gameplay strategies, as well as a deep understanding of the game\u2019s world map. We were able to speak to a runner by the name of Johnnyboomr<\/a> from Belgium, who is currently sitting in 2nd place on the category\u2019s leader boards. We wanted to understand the challenges that come with such a large undertaking, in addition to the hurdles that can negatively impact player morale. At the time of writing, the world record for BOTW’s 100% run is 16 hours and 36 minutes by an Austrian runner named Coensi \u2014 obviously a massive jump in time compared to the standard Any%.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning it was quite easy with the whole running thing being new and exciting,\u201d Johnnyboomr tells us. \u201cThis category is all about keeping composure and just keeping your mentality good. For example, if I make a big mistake and lose a lot of time, I just have to accept that and move on and focus on the next thing to do.\u201d Compared to Any% runs, the point where it makes sense to throw in the towel is far less obvious.<\/p>\n

However, according to Johnnyboomr, the most challenging part of completing a 100% run is managing your bathroom and water breaks. \u201cWe used to only have two breaks, now we have three and it’s a bit nicer to manage.\u201d As you\u2019re aiming to fully complete everything in the game, this takes an even higher level of motivation and dedication. Although time losses are possible in Any%, it can be especially heart-breaking 10 hours into its much bigger brother. Koroks also admitted during our conversation that he admires the 100% category and intends to complete a full run of it in the future.<\/p>\n

[embedded content]
Part 1 of Johnnyboomr\u2019s 100% Run<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking of motivation, we asked both runners to explain how they stay focused and driven in their individual runs, and the advice they would give to new runners. \u201cI feel symptoms of burnout now and again, but to be honest \u2013 it never really affects me,\u201d Koroks tells us. Enjoying the game is the most important quality of a speedrunner, he says, and if you\u2019re not enjoying the game anymore, it\u2019s probably worth taking a break. \u201cI\u2019ve ensured that I only practice what I need to practice and take breaks whenever I start to feel that burnout.\u201d<\/p>\n

For 100% runner Johnnyboomr, it\u2019s a very similar mindset, though perhaps more intense due to the length of these runs. \u201cKeeping your mentality positive throughout the run is very important. It\u2019s very hard to keep going if you\u2019re not feeling up to it.\u201d Regarding new runners, both players say that the Breath of the Wild speedrunning Discord server is easily the best place for learning routes, and that other players tend to be very welcoming to newcomers.<\/p>\n

It’s clear that speedrunning is a real art \u2014 it takes a substantial amount of time to master, and a high level of dedication to improve your personal best. Of course, every game is different, especially from a speedrunner\u2019s perspective, as you often need to think outside of the box to find optimal routes. The BOTW community is close-knit, passionate, and resourceful. There\u2019s no doubting that more incredible feats will be performed in the near future as other speedrunners eye Koroks’ world record.<\/p>\n

And with the sequel<\/a> on the horizon next year, there will soon be a whole new game for Zelda speedrunners to break in beautiful ways.<\/p>\n

\"Zelda
Image: Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image: Nintendo It\u2019s 1 AM and you have just spent the past 12 hours replaying the same segment of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In your mind, there is no stopping until perfection is achieved \u2013 or the more likely option \u2013 you pass out from sleep deprivation. For the next few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}