Expert Lords of the Fallen players interested in speedrunning face the daunting task of completing the expansive gothic realm rife with menacing enemies and bosses as fast as possible. Accomplishing record speedrun times requires meticulous routing, mastery of movement tech, and utilizing skips and exploits. This guide covers essential speedrunning strategies to shatter Records in this punishing soulslike game.

Optimizing Routes

Following optimized paths through levels is key. Some routing tips include:

• Use shortcuts and sequence breaks to bypass sections.
• Plan routes to grab essential Lords of the Fallen items quickly.
• Ensure proper leveling for just enough stats/gear.
• Avoid unnecessary enemies and hazards when possible.
• Memorize enemy layouts and patterns.

Exploiting Jumps and Skips

Various jumps and skips enable sequence breaking. Useful examples are:

• Skip Gharn fight by jumping onto balcony.
• Early Lords armor to trivialize fights.
• Shortcut jumps in Forked Road and Crypt areas.
• Skip Champion using out of bounds ceiling clips.

Leveraging Movement Tech

Mastery of movement mechanics like roll cancelling, toggle escaping and super jumps is vital.

• Roll cancelling - Dodging then instantly attacking to skip animations.
• Toggle escape - Toggling run on/off to escape stagger animations.
• Super jumps - Unlockable late-game ability for rapid traversal.

Abusing Enemy and Boss AI

AI manipulation tricks make encounters highly exploitable when mastered:

• Pulling enemies into 1v1 situations.
• Tricking humanoid foes to fall off cliffs.
• Forcing bosses into easily dodged moves.
• Spells and ranged attacks to lure bosses.

Powerful Equipment and Build Optimization

Careful build planning and gear selection is crucial. Prioritize:

• High damage output weapons.
• Minimal yet effective defensive gear.
• Stats for maximizing speed and power.
• Upgrading essential gear rather than variety.
• Pyromancies offer quick high damage spells.

With diligence and dedication, these strategies will propel players to peak speedrunning performance. Analyze records for new routing ideas, drill tech skillishly, and formulate cunning approaches tailored to every encounter. Victory over the Lords of the Fallen's minions will soon arrive in record time!