= Introduction to SOTN Alucard Blindfolded Any% NSC =

The first known completed blindfolded run of SOTN was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPF4K2xYEwo| Romscout's 53:41] in 2016. It pioneered many of the basic movement strategies of the category, and proved that a blindfolded run was possible in the first place. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPF4K2xYEwo| Romscout's 53:41] presents the original route for the category, but the rest of this guide uses an alternate route, detailed below. Although this guide will attempt to give a detailed step-by-step method for completing the game that is reliable, the strategies given for each room are not necessarily the most optimal or the fastest, and are certainly not the only successful strategies that can be employed. The player is encouraged to experiment and develop their own strategies for each room that is optimal for their individual play style.

= Sound cues = These sound cues can be used in several spots of the run to help you with timing your actions or determining if you have veered off course. == Music == Each area has its own musical theme. This can be used to determine which zone Alucard is in, and in some cases can be used to infer other things, such as whether or not the Clock Room Statue is open (detailed in the [[SOTN/Alucard_Any%25_NSC_Blindfolded#Save_before_Doppelganger|Save before Doppelganger]] section below) == Landing == Whenever Alucard lands on the ground after falling or after a jump, you will hear a sound. If Alucard has fallen from a great enough height, his landing sound will be quite loud. == Taking Damage == Whenever Alucard takes damage by coming into contact with an enemy, you will hear Alucard let out a yell or a grunt. This can be used to narrow down or determine Alucard's placement in a room, since most enemies spawn in the same locations every time a room is loaded. == Notable events lacking sound cues == Some important game events do NOT have sound cues, most notably:* Running out of mana* Depleting the Alucard Shield + Shield Rod spell timer* Being forced out of bat form (for example, from running out of mana or reaching the end of a Wing Smash) = Basic Moveset moveset =

NOTE: All actions The only section of the blindfolded route where you have to care about Alucard's experience is in this guidethe very beginning after the Prologue, such but before Death Skip. Just as "Jump left" or "Jump right" refer in the normal Any% run, your goal will be to specific moves that are normalized for blindfolded playarrive at the last Warg before Death's room while Alucard's XP value is between 88 and 99. Refer to  The first interior room of the castle poses a significant challenge, however, as the zombie spawns in this room are [[#Basic_MovesetSOTN/RNG|Basic Movesetrandom]] section for more detail. As you advance through this room, you must be careful when you choose to attack, as even though you can hear when Alucard kills an enemy, Zombies have a habit of grouping near to one another, and it is very easy to kill multiple of them in a single swing and have no audio cue that you have done so.

The only section of As a result, the blindfolded route where you safest way to have to care about Alucard's the correct experience value for Death Skip is in to kill the very beginning after first Warg outside of the Prologue, but before Death Skipcastle 4 times. Just as You can do this by leaving the room it spawns in and coming back multiple times. After killing that Warg 4 times, proceed into the next room (the Zombie Hallway) and kill the normal Any% runfirst 2 Wargs normally. After that, your goal you will be need to arrive at avoid using your sword for the rest of the last room. Instead, try jumping over the 3rd Warg before Death's room while Alucard's XP value is between 88 if you can, and whether you succeed or fail, proceed to hold RIGHT and 99WAIT.

UnfortunatelyBy holding RIGHT and being patient, there is no reliable way to predict or control the random Zombie spawns, so it is likely that if horde of Zombies will eventually swarm around you and push you attempt slowly to kill the Wargs or Zombies in right until you leave the Zombie-spawning portion of room. You will be able to tell when you have reached the route, next room once you will accidentally kill an extra Zombie or two without realizing itno longer hear thunder crashes intermittently. As Once you stop hearing thunder, proceed to hold RIGHT for a result, the safest way few more seconds to give Alucard time to have walk off the correct experience value is to kill stairs and approach the first Warg you see 4 timesbreakable boulder. You can do Break this boulder by leaving the room it spawns in and coming back multiple times. After killing that Wargattacking twice, then proceed into right for a few more seconds. Break the next room and kill boulder, then perform the first 2 Wargs normally. After thatfollowing: Hop in place, you will need to avoid using your sword for the rest of the room. InsteadPivot Left, try jumping over the 3rd Warg if you canDash twice, and whether Jump Right. The reason you succeed or failhop is to permit Alucard to pivot again, proceed as attacking leaves him in a state where he is unable to hold RIGHT and waitpivot while crouching normally.

By holding RIGHT and being patient, the horde of Zombies will eventually push you slowly to the right until you leave the room. You will be able to tell when you have reached the next room once you no longer hear thunder crashes, which the previous room had. Once you stop hearing thunder, proceed to hold RIGHT for a few more seconds until Alucard has walked off the stairs and is next to the breakable boulder. Proceed to break this boulder, then head right for a few more seconds. Break the next boulder, then perform the following: Hop, Pivot Left, Dash twice, Jump Right. The reason you have Alucard hop is to permit Alucard to pivot again, as attacking leaves him in a state where he is unable to turn around normally. Once you have jumped right, proceed to Shield Dash until Damage Check(you will hear a room change during this, as well), then turn around and kill the Warg, and turn back around again. Shield Dash until Damage Check again, then turn around and kill the Warg, and turn back around again.

By this point, you should have between 88 and 99 experience. If you heard a level up prior to this point, you may have killed exactly ..too many Wargs or Zombies and will need to reset the run.

TODO: Finish describing The position after you kill the Experience sectionsecond Warg in this room is approximately 8 Dashes away from the 3rd and final Warg. Tap left, then proceed to Dash 8 times. After your 8th Dash, you should hear the Warg begin to charge. Jump right to clear it while it charges, then hold right for a few seconds more, to give Alucard time to walk up against the breakable block in this room.

If you are already proficient with the Neutron Bomb Death Skip in a normal Any% run, it is possible to execute the trick blindfolded the exact same way. However, there exists a normalized setup that can guarantee a 100% success rate if performed correctly. The setup revolves around involves getting Alucard to a very specific X position using a particular sequence of jumps and dashes, detailed below. Once Alucard is at this position, a map buffered input can be usedto complete the skip.

== Goals:* Perform Relic Skip ==* Kill Dracula Dangers:* Not performing Relic Skip correctly if you didn't save