TOP 15 SOLO EXTREME // THE LIGHTNING ROD // VERIFIED

Showcase (with shake and alignment): This level is the most work I’ve put into anything in my entire life. Since I started it back in last may, it took over my life. Creating and verifying it has always been my ultimate goal and a challenge that seemed more impossible the deeper I got in it. It’s surreal that it’s finally over. You can probably assume or have even experienced the mental journey that is beating a level this hard, so instead of going into that I’ll explain each part in the level to the maximum character limit. Enjoy! 0-4%: This part is definitely up there with the best parts of the level, in my opinion! Since it was the first part I built, it has gone through the most refinement through time, and I think the ideas and execution are clean and I am very proud of them. In terms of difficulty, this is probably the easiest part- or maybe its bias since you pass it so much. 5-10%: key spider Maybe my favorite gameplay design. This part went through the most trial and error, until I finally reached this design and gameplay. In terms of difficulty, this part literally had me bashing my head on the wall because of how intermittent it is. I guess that’s just high cps for ya. 10-15%: first ship Honestly, this part most likely has the cleanest deco in the entire level. Sure, its nothing crazy, but everything comes together to make a really clean part in my eyes. It’s not my favorite though, nor to play because the visual cues are very confusing due to the nature of the part and the fast moving ship. 16-20%: pulse wave I really like this part! The song is represented pretty well here, and I LOVE the effect. If its hard to tell whats going on, basically the electricity catches up to you and hits you into oblivion (the next part). 21-30%: synth ship Okay- now we’re getting into the meat of the difficulty. This part looks like one of the easiest parts at first glance, but it is no exaggeration that it is the biggest chokepoint in the entire level. Let’s split it into four synths: -depends on the day, sometimes really frustrating -probably the hardest but sort of consistent and fun. every time I hit the blue orb I say “nice“ because I just passed the hardest release in the level and that’s something to be proud of -free, but when you tilt, you tilt, and I died here multiple times in a row in some sessions for some reason. -free, so dying to it is annoying and very possible. 31-37%: waterways/sewers Explanation: In the background are sewer branches that carry electricity and electrify the water. I basically buffed this part to hell and back, then buffed it a little more. In terms of raw difficulty, yes it is harder than the synth ship, but since I practiced it so much it ended up only being a minor inconvenience at times. This part is really fun to pull off. 37-42%: router (hard machine ship) You know that one ship in hard machine where you hold for a while, then fly down and straightly? In hard machine, that maneuver is past most of the difficulty so you usually wouldn’t die there, but its still nerve-racking. Same for this part. I LOVE this design: the pink pads are like buttons that send up electric signals to break through the copper walls. Try missing a pink pad: the remaining wires kill you! 43-54%: buildup wave My favorite part(?). Not my BEST, but it gets the job done. Dying here was fine since it mainly showed consistency. This part is really really consistent on good days. Remember when I said the synth2 release was the hardest release in the level? yeah, well, I forgot about the mini wave release LMAO. 55-61%: corridor (last HARD hard part) This part is epic. It caps off the difficulty of the level, so passing it and getting to the drop is a feeling like no other. I beat the level (WOOHOO) on my 8th or 9th drop attempt. *This part reveals that this whole time you were travelling upward, scaling the lightning rod!* Except the sewers and the synth. Yeah, this part is special. I think it has the hardest raw timings. Drop Wow. Idk what to say. This part took a million years to actually make, and that was the plan. I wanted it to be like a release of energy from the calculated, simplistic deco in the first half of the level. I think I mostly succeeded, apart from a little messiness. In terms of difficulty, this part is free relative to the rest of the level. There are some specific choke points, though! -Key Wave: I purposefully kept this part ridiculously hard cause I thought “key wave“ sounded cool and I want people to say it lmaooo. I think its a pretty cool concept and harder than it looks. -Last click: I changed this from a spike jump to a electricity dodge, and I’m proud of that decision. No deaths here lets go!!! Thanks! I kinda got tight on characters lol Attempts: 101285 Editor hours: 265 Personal opinion: top 15 Placement as of recording: N/A Furthest death: 88 Enjoyment: 75/100 Lvl ID: 93917076