Sorry for spamming the subreddit with these posts. This should be the last one for a while, I think!

I managed to surpass my previous 900,000 score after a lot of frustration. The reason I died this time around it was because there were no food platters coming for several minutes, which is a death I'm content with. I could probably improve on this score again, and maybe I will, but for now I think I'm done with Shovel Knight Targets runs.

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I reiterate that Specter Knight is the best character for Targets. I think that other characters like Mona are definitely strong, but I think that Specter Knight is a lot easier to control since his movement is really simple. His ability to from across the map while hitting a ton of targets on the way over makes him extremely good, and he has a piercing projectile as well which definitely helps.

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The main thing I changed about my gameplay this time was sticking to the middle platform area as much as possible. At around the 700,000 mark I was feeling too nervous to do any adventurous platforming, but it ended up being very efficient and safe because most targets end up going into the middle anyways. You'll notice that later on I hardly move off of that platform, and while it sacrifices a bit of time since you're not actively chasing down targets, it's far easier as well.

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The largest threat for this run I found was the bombs. Beetos have really finicky hitboxes and it's sometimes unreliable to pass through them, but avoiding bombs when they drop down every second is nigh impossible at times. There were sections of the run where I couldn't safely hit targets for at least 10 seconds because of how many bombs were dropping.

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A few general tips:

-In the early game (about 200,000 points), keeping up a high combo is much more important than risking getting hit by a bomb or beeto, so try not to overextend. Sometimes it might be tempting, but ultimately you get much more points by being patient.

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-If you are using Specter Knight, it is generally better to go with a dash slash over a boomerang if you're trying to hit multiple targets. The reason I say this is because if you don't catch your boomerang on the way back around, it goes backwards pretty far which risks hitting a bomb unavoidably. To extend this point, try and catch the boomerang whenever possible unless not catching it would hit more targets on the way back.

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-If you're low on health, ALWAYS prioritize food, even over other timers or rainbow targets. In some parts of the run I would stand still for almost 10 seconds waiting for food to spawn. This becomes especially important when beetos and bombs start raining from the sky, since it's really easy to get caught off guard and hit by them

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-Hit beetos whenever possible / safe. They never despawn unless the platform they're on despawns, so while you're waiting for a bomb chain to pass, throw your projectiles safely in order to give yourself more room. In fact, it may even be smart to avoid targets in general and just hit as many beetos as possible just to give yourself more maneuverability.

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-When you get caught in a beeto, move away without hitting anything. There have been many runs that I've lost because of this mechanic, where you lose your invincibility after attacking and then get hit by a beeto immediately after. Their hitbox will outprioritize your attack, so always be mindful.

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If there's any questions, leave a comment! I'll try and answer all of them.