AoS/Baselard manip

The Baselard manip is a manip which drops a Baselard from a Zombie at the very start of the game. It is a simple manip which can be performed on any version of the game, and is used in every non-NG+ Soma speedrun category. Its only requirement is that the player can skip cutscenes, unlocked by completing the game once.

Standard Baselard manip

1. Slash 3 times anywhere in the first room.
2. After the door closes, short hop and throw a spear from anywhere on the slope to kill the first Zombie. The timing of the first spear throw doesn't matter much as long as the first Zombie dies.
3. At the middle of the pyramid-shaped pile of bricks in the background, roughly when the front of Soma's head touches the dark vertical line separating the top two bricks, short hop and immediately throw a second spear.
4. As soon as you land from the hop, quickly hop again and throw a third spear at the edge of the brick pile.
5. The farthest Zombie should die to the third spear slightly before the closer Zombie dies to the second spear, which should drop the Baselard.

If running the Any% or All Bosses categories where gaining XP early on is important, it can be useful to also throw a fourth spear when Soma's head touches the edge of the column in the background, which can kill one or two Zombies that always spawn there. An early throw will kill one Zombie, a perfect throw will kill both, and a late throw will miss both.

Video tutorial

by Chewy4u

Tips

You can hold up+right the entire time to make the inputs for walking and throwing the spears simpler.

If the closer Zombie doesn't die from your second spear because the spear vanished, that means you threw it too early from too far left of the bricks pile midway line.

Similarly, if the closer Zombie doesn't die from your second spear landed because it landed too far to the right of it and missed, that means you threw it too late from too far right of the bricks pile midway line.

If both Zombies die but no Baselard drops, it's because your third spear throw was too late and the farther Zombie didn't die on the first possible frame.

No cutscene skip Baselard manip

If the player does not have the ability to skip cutscenes from finishing the game once, an alternate Baselard manip can be used which requires a frame-perfect input on the spear throw.

TODO video