Hellsinker/Strategy

See Hellsinker for the main page.

General Strategy

TBA

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Segment Specific Strategy

Segment 1 Behind

• TBA
• Boss: Quiet Minstrel

Segment 2 Behind

• TBA
• Boss: Glorious Symbol

Segment 3 Behind

• TBA
• Boss: Sunken Bishop

Segment 1 Lead

• TBA
• Boss: Rex Cavalier (Aerial Form)

Segment 2 Lead

• TBA
• Boss: Scarlet Queen
  • Scarlet Queen has a multitude of parts to dismantle, and which parts she has can dramatically change her attack pattern. They can be split up into talons, the two singular parts down below that fire blue energy blasts; wings, the multi-segmented side pieces that can be SEALed; and the Queen's Throne, the small knobby piece at the top that attempts to shoot you down when you get too close.
  • The fight starts with Scarlet Queen swooping in from the top left down to the center bottom. She will be releasing bullets from the get-go so try to not let her push you into them. As long as all pieces are alive she will stay in this basic pattern, shooting a small number of bullets from her wings and attempting to wall you with her talons.
  • Both talons destroyed, wings symmetrical (a piece is either alive or dead on both sides, no mismatches): Scarlet Queen will shoot many grazeable needle bullets from her wings. This pattern is static and worth a lot of FINELINE bonus so it's worth doing for score. Moving too high up the screen during this pattern will SEAL some of her wing pieces and reduce the number of needles shot. Stay near the bottom.
  • Both talons destroyed, wings non-symmetrical:Her wings will perform two different attacks, depending on whether they are up or down. While up, they will shoot a stream of arrowhead bullets aimed at you. While down, it is instead small circular bullets aimed straight down. If you can remain above the boss and close enough to one wing to SEAL it entirely, this pattern is a simple dodge. Note that even if the wings are symmetrical, the above pattern will eventually end and lead to this one.
  • One or both wings left with no SEALable feather pieces (talon status to get this pattern needs to be confirmed): The remains of Scarlet Queen's wing will start shooting homing missiles at you. Pretty mediocre attack.
  • Queen's Throne: Anytime you approach the Queen's Throne it will attempt to shoot you with small circular bullets. This piece is quite hard to hit, but destroying it drops several Life Chips so it is worthwhile. Note that the Throne being alive or dead has no impact on any other attacks the boss has.
  • All subparts destroyed (excluding Throne): Scarlet Queen will attempt to wall you with arrowheads while shooting small circulars inside the bullet corral. Reaching this pattern always causes a New Stella Relic to drop, in case you need to increase your rank. Destroying the main piece causes a bullet cancel so try to make it profitable.
  • Boss destroyed, rank high (7 or 8, exact value needs testing): Spirit Kernel form. The boss's soul will attempt to destroy you with fast and dense patterns. This phase lasts 16 seconds of consists of 4 attacks performed in rapid succession. Destroying the boss will cause another bullet cancel and a Revive token to drop (useful if you are not already life capped). As the boss's final pattern is the densest, it is worthwhile to delay killing it til the last second.

Segment 3 Lead

• TBA

Segment 4

• TBA
• Boss: Rusted Dragon
  • Rusted Dragon is considered a step up in difficulty for first time players, as it is a lot more aggressive than the bosses from the Behind Segments. However, a lot of its difficulty can be mitigated through knowledge and practice.
  • Before the fight even starts, if you have 2 lives of less Rusted Dragon will not appear at all, ending the stage early. This may save new players from a difficult fight if they are struggling with the start of the game.
  • In the event you do fight Rusted Dragon, it starts the fight by quickly swooping in and firing mostly static walls of bullets.
  • One note about this static phase is that fairly early in it, Rusted Dragon will fire large elliptical bullets from the left and right ends of the screen. Destroying these offers the largest NUTCRACK bonus in the game.
  • Rusted Dragon's two wings can be attacked and destroyed, and have 2 health bars each. Emptying the first bar offsets the wing a bit, erases the boss's shots for several seconds (similar to a discharge), and makes its initial attack pattern more complicated.
  • Destroying a wing a second time will fully remove it. If this is the first wing destroyed, it will fire an absurdly dense burst of red elliptical bullets that you can milk for a NUTCRACK bonus. If it's the second wing it will release some Clambons and move to the final phase of the fight.
  • The final phase is timed. The faster you destroyed the two wings, the earlier you will reach the lucrative final attack in this phase.
  • Rusted Dragon will release Clambons, and replace them with another random set when they are destroyed. Clambons have varying attacks, dependent on their size and how many are in this particular wave. Each attack is fairly simple.
  • Rusted Dragon itself will mostly attempt to track you vertically and release bullets straight down.
  • Eventually, Rusted Dragon will start to release UNCHAINable Clambon trains from the top, and small Clambons from the bottom. The UNCHAIN target is the most valuable but make sure to kill as many Clambons as you can.
  • It's also important to keep Rusted Dragon's HP high if you are milking this boss, as it will take lots of incidental damage from stray shots.
  • Rusted Dragon will begin its final attack after several sets of trains. it will stop moving and release dense random bursts of bullets. Very large Clambon trains will swoop in from the left and right.
  • These large trains have an UNCHAIN bonus of 19 which is a very high value. Milking this boss involves maximizing these train kills and their UNCHAIN bonus, only killing the boss at the last second.
  • Kill trains on the side they spawn on. Once they cross the middle of the screen (marked by Rusted Dragon itself), the lead Clambons on the train will start to move offscreen and reduce your UNCHAIN bonus.
  • Rusted Dragon's attacks are mostly random and will need to be sight read to find safespots and paths to the other side of the screen.
  • Make sure to kill Rusted Dragon at the last possible second. The bullets it fires become more dense as the time reaches 0 and killing Rusted Dragon will cause a bullet cancel. Missing this cancel will undo some of the work spent milking Clambons.
  • If you happen to destroy Rusted Dragon without destroying either wing, it will drop a Revive Token. However, this is not very useful.

Segment 5

• TBA
• Boss: Perpetual Calendar
  • Fate Control: In Perpetual Calendar's final attack, if you destroy all its turrets twice without killing the main core, you will unlock a secret attack. In this form Perpetual Calendar will instantly respawn when destroyed, and give you 2 Terra every time you destroy it. This will last until the fight times out and is a vital part of controlling your Terra level.

Segment 6

• TBA
• Boss: Apostles of the Seed (Dawn & Dusk)
  • First of all, Dawn is the red one and Dusk is "bluish". Keep this in mind because they are very different from each other.
  • The percentage in the middle of the screen is their combined health percentage. Their phases are dependent on this number so refer to it often.
  • Sometimes they will have a glowing runic circle around them. This circle strongly reduces damage they take from all sources. You can avoid using resources on them during this time or you can use their increased resistance to control their HP totals more effectively.
  • Phase 1: This phase starts off with a wave cannon attack as they both swoop in from the sides. This phase is static; they will merely shift up and down and fire some simple waves of bullets.
  • There are two ways to end this first phase: destroy all 8 of their limb launchers (the SEALable bumps) or push their combined HP total under 70% (which then destroys the limb launchers automatically). Score players may want to use this easier phase to damage them close to the breakpoint to raise their Spirit values and then move on to destroy the launchers.
  • Phase 2: The Apostles will take turns trying to overwhelm you with fast attacks. Each Apostle uses 1 of 4 unique attacks here, chosen randomly(?).
  • Dawn:
    • Dawn will fire large electric shots randomly. These will travel a medium distance then stop and expand. Culminates in an even larger bullet that expands into a giant starburst. This ones about reaction times.
    • Dawn will attempt to chase you down and hit you with a melee attack. This attack will happen 3 times in quick succession, and every melee attack also releases some bullet walls to try and corner you. Try to keep movements small so you can pass through these.
    • Dawn will appear at the left or right edge of the screen, then fire a twister of bullets and move to the other side. Some small circular bullets will also be aimed at you. If you hug the far wall from Dawn's starting position and keep your Suppression Radius up to erase the small bullets, this attack can't hit you.
    • Dawn will appear in the middle of the screen, fire a burst of extremely homing bullets, then immediately fly away. This attack can be SEALed by being close to Dawn when it lifts its arms, however Dusk has many attacks that start by punishing players in the middle, so dodging it is best.
  • Dusk:
    • Dusk will harmlessly float at the top of the screen, while walls of plasma rain down from above. Walls can have an opening to the left, right, or in the middle. If you are above Dusk here this attack is harmless.
    • Dusk will float high on the screen, and fire arrowheads and teardrops at you, while simultaneously trying to wall you with arcs of electricity. This attack is difficult and relies on making quick decisions to move past bullets safely. If your Suppression Radius activates during this you will likely die as the arrowheads will slow down.
    • Dusk will teleport to the middle of the screen horizontally, directly above you, and fire a large beam. Being under this is naturally fatal. Some bullet walls will be released at the same time, meaning after you dodge the beam you will need to move through these lanes. This attack happens 4 times in a row.
    • Dusk will fire a small random burst of fireballs at you. This burst will speed up over a few seconds and end in a 3 pronged stream aimed right at you. Dodge the random bit and then stream the attack once it reaches its climax.
  • This phase makes up the majority of the fight, as both ways to exit it will take a long time to achieve. Learning how to deal with these attacks will give players the best chance of surviving (and/or scoring) this fight.
  • Team Attack Phase: This phase has two requirements. Both Apostles must be alive, and their combined HP total must be under 20%. If an Apostle dies before their total is under 20%, this and the next phase will be skipped. Be aware of this.
  • The Apostles will fly in on opposite ends of the screen from each other, then tether together with electricity.
  • While tethered, they will spin in one direction slowly, or spin in the opposite direction quickly. The order these happen in is random.
  • Aside from the tether itself being deadly, the Apostles will also fire destructible elliptical bullets at you, as well as summon many harmless adds to destroy. This phase has high scoring potential between the Nutcrack bonuses available and the extra kills.
  • If you thought you could avoid the tether by following one of the Apostles, you can't. They constantly fire streams of bullets from their sides to prevent this.
  • This phase lasts 14 seconds, or will end early if an Apostle dies. If it does not end early, it goes to the next phase.
  • Self Destruct Phase: The Apostle with lower HP will destroy its own limbs and attempt to kill you with a final desperation attack.
  • This attack is different for each Apostle. Dawn will fly toward the top and attempt to rain down large, eye-searing electricity attacks. Dusk will fly to the middle and fire random bursts of exotic bullets that look like clubs.
  • This phase only lasts 10 seconds, and timing it out will cause the Apostle to fully self destruct, preventing you from getting score from it.
  • During this phase, the Apostle will have a supercharged version of their shield on. This blocks the vast majority of damage from all attacks. Entering this phase with more than ~5-6% HP will make it very difficult to get value from this Apostle.
  • Final Phase: The surviving Apostle will use a final, simple attack.
  • These are once again dependent on the Apostle. Dawn will perform a spiraling attack using the same club bullets Dusk just used. Dusk will simply try to wall you with fireballs.
  • Killing this final Apostle will finally net you a bullet cancel. As Dusk fires many more bullets during this final attack than Dawn, you should set up the fight to end with Dawn as the weaker Apostle. This mostly matters for scoring but as ingots also decrease the Necessary counter survival players may also appreciate this.
  • If left alive long enough, the Apostles will use a second attack for a bit before moving back to the first one. Dusk will attempt to kill players beneath with. Dawn's attack here is currently unknown.
  • Survive this phase, and you will finally have banished the Apostles of the Seed, one of the longest and most arduous bosses in the game...
  • Post-Boss Waves: Except you're not done yet. Several waves of enemies will spawn once the bosses are dead, and this lasts until the real end of the stage.
  • The good news is the wave spawns and the bullets they fire are static. This phase can be routed to the players content.
  • If the bulky Unnamed 335 enemies are left alive long enough, they will fire a very dense of spread of elliptical bullets in front of them. This can be used to earn a small amount of extra Spirit.
  • The large fighter jet looking Unnamed 336 will behave similarly, except it launches landmine like Unnamed 337. These are worth extra Spirit as well, however Unnamed 337 will fly away after releasing these. This means you need to have very high damage available to make use of this.
  • This phase ends with a large streaming pattern. The end of this phase has a small bullet cancel, so try not to bomb during it. Additionally, the enemies fly in from the top right, which tilts their bullets to the left a bit. As such, you should stream from left to right rather than the other way around. Doing it the other way will eventually wall you. Once the cancel happens, this Segment is finally over.

Segment 7

• TBA
• Boss: Rex Cavalier (Land Form)

Segment 8

• TBA
• Boss: Unnamed 290/HellSinker
  • The goal of this boss is to raise it's Satisfaction meter to level 3. Doing non-bomb damage to it raises it (fairly slowly) while not hitting it for awhile will cause it to fall (also slowly). Bombing will cause it to fall very rapidly and should be avoided.
  • Each pattern during this phase is static. They can be practiced in Segment Location. Use this to your advantage.
  • Whenever an attack during this phase ends (based solely on time), the boss will drop 6 Life Chips. This can be used to gain a couple extra lives/Immortality bonuses.
  • Based on your Satisfaction level at the end of this boss, an extra boss will be spawned.
• Boss: GARLAND
  • Requires Satisfaction level 3. This boss can potentially lead to the TLB and the true end.
  • Your goal is to fill its health bar to max by dealing damage. This will unlock the TLB.
  • Beyond this mechanic, GARLAND is invincible (but can still be shot for score).
  • This phase will last 102 seconds.
  • The giant green lasers can be used to damage GARLAND if the white hexagonal shielding pieces are destroyed.
  • In this part of the game only, enemy Misteltoe bullets can be cancelled. These bullets will cancel into Life Chips rather than Ingots. GARLAND will do this three times, at LIMIT 80, LIMIT 07, and LIMIT 00. Keep as many of these bullets on the screen as possible to earn your last extends of the run.
• Boss: Lost Property 771
  • The True Last Boss.
  • Like GARLAND, completely invincible but worth shooting.
  • This phase is pure survival, and lasts 74 seconds.
  • Good luck.

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Spirit Scoring Strategy

TBA