RETURNAL | R_A.0205 Tower of Sisyphus, Phase 17 [Dreadbound] (HDR)

Part 2 of 3. Part 1 is available at • RETURNAL | R_A.0204 To... , and Part 3 may be found at • RETURNAL | R_A.0206 To... .
This run started as most do for me: farming Phases 1 through 4 for ASTRA Scout Log AST-AL-094. Then, having achieved peak Proficiency, I found a Dreadbound that prompted me to push myself as far as my patience and skill would allow.
R_A.0205 is the second part of a three-part series, chronicling my eleventh attempt to ascend the Tower of Sisyphus. We resume where Part 1 concluded, with Phase 17, fighting ever onwards, ever upwards, as we close in on and ultimately surpass 200 million points.
▶️ RETURNAL
🎯 Dreadbound
🧭 Tower of Sisyphus
🌗 Phase 17, Room 1-20
🌟 Recorded 2022 April 4
Chapters
0:00 Phase 17, Floor 2 (A Harmless Parasite)
0:16 Phase 17, Floor 3 (Green + Blue + Red + Dreadbound)
0:53 Phase 17, Floor 4 (A Roll of the Dice)
1:07 Phase 17, Floor 5 (Melee Jackpot: Lamiadon)
2:23 Phase 17, Floor 6 (Pylioid Detour, Firefight)
3:12 A Keyed Door Ignored; Empty Statuary
3:22 Phase 17, Floor 7 (A Costly Set of Missteps)
4:21 Phase 17, Floor 8 (Melee Jackpot: Turrets)
5:32 Phase 17, Floor 9 (Annihilation)
6:31 Phase 17, Floor 10 (Melee + Malformed)
7:14 Phase 17, Floor 11 (A New Weapon?)
7:38 Phase 17, Floor 12 (Pylioid Detour, Firefight)
9:33 Phase 17, Floor 13 (Parasite Predicament)
9:58 Phase 17, Floor 14 (Melee Jackpot: Tripods)
11:11 A Keyed Door Ignored; Empty Statuary (Reprise)
11:24 Phase 17, Floor 15 (Disaster, Recovery)
13:10 Phase 17, Floor 16 (Obolite Rush)
13:39 Phase 17, Floor 17 (A Brief Break)
13:51 Phase 17, Floor 18 (Devastation)
14:41 Phase 17, Floor 19 (Arhythmic)
15:45 Algos, aka Phase 17, Floor 20

[@bluraymex23]

Pure awesomeness

[@mwm433]

U deserve a lot more followers. U are undisputed king of Returnal

[@returnalarchive]

That is very kind of you to say, thank you!

[@ChickenSoupLotion]

Thanks for uploading these. I got into the top 100 multiple times and had made it further than some (phase 10) so I was looking for someone who had made it really far to see how I could improve. Great job :)

[@returnalarchive]

You're welcome, and thank you for the compliment. Great work on your progress-the satisfaction of achieving a personal best is unmatched! I hope you saw something valuable in the video; if you've any questions, I will do what I can to answer.

[@ChickenSoupLotion]

@@returnalarchive Thank you very much! Your skill is fantastic and it's super inspiring. I did have a question - do you have any videos of the first few phases of this run? I noticed that the best players seem to get their multiplier really high really early. I do my best with air melees and leaving rooms ASAP but I wanted to see how you tackled the first few phases of a run like this.

[@returnalarchive]

@@ChickenSoupLotion The earliest clips from this run are currently being processed by KZbin, are Algos battles both (Phase 11, Room 20 and Phase 12, Room 20, respectively). Another clip is available at kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZKtnquIZdKKY5o, showing the action of Phase 15, Room 14-but none of these show how I built my Multiplier. As a consequence, I'll do what I can to tell what I am presently unable to show. The speed with which one finishes a Room has no impact on one's Multiplier. (On that note, and contrary to what some think, one does not earn a Speed Bonus for how quickly one clears a Floor; the Speed Bonus is a measure of how quickly one uses the Sisyphean Elevator after it unlocks. That said, it is in one's best interest to use the Sisyphean Elevator promptly after it is accessible as doing otherwise will quickly drain one's Multiplier.) How, then, does one race one's Multiplier to x100.00? To reduce the answer to its simplest form: prevent the Multiplier from ever decreasing. Because not damaging hostiles causes it to eventually decrease, the task of maintaining one's Multiplier can then be reduced to two strategies. First, monitor the Multiplier bar. If it begins to decrease, ‘tap’ a hostile, even with a single shot, before it is empty and the Multiplier begins to drain. (This is easily accomplished by a Dreadbound with Expanding Shards and Exploding Shards; each Shard has a sizeable radius and can damage hostiles through walls. Other weapons that inflict area-of-effect damage can capitalize on this, as can the Hollowseeker with its Phasing Rounds Trait.) Additionally, and more importantly, keep minor hostiles alive until spawning hostiles enter the fray. Too often players clear a Floor of its minor hostiles only to be made to watch their Multiplier drain several points before spawning hostiles can be damaged. (If it is Points you seek, maintain your habit of air melee kills. At x100.00 Multiplier, eliminating a minor hostile like a Turret or Strixera or Gyropod in that fashion will net you 250,000+ Points apiece.)

[@ChickenSoupLotion]

@@returnalarchive That's super helpful, thank you!

[@returnalarchive]

@@ChickenSoupLotion You're welcome; I'm glad it's helpful!

[@elbaronsass]

excellent

[@returnalarchive]

Thank you. It is my hope that Part 3, which covers most of Phase 18, will be available later today (or, at the latest, this time tomorrow); I am patiently waiting for KZbin to finish processing the clip's HDR.

[@kadoman0]

Bro, I hope Housemarque does not watch all of these videos and nerf my baby #Dreadbound every other weapon seems lame by comparison 😂🤣