Wawku Key Skip

Note: This page describes a glitch, trick, or exploit. To see others, click here.

Explanation

On the ground floor of Wawku Shrine, there is a lockjaw which blocks off the center column where you can use a Waterspout pillar to reach floor 3. To get the corresponding key, you have to take a detour to the side room with the scale puzzle and ice ball. This can be skipped, saving a minute, by either KT'ing directly to floor 4, or by melting the ice block in the middle of the column to warp through the lockjaw.

Note: If the scale puzzle is skipped, the game will crash after defeating Nechku (the dungeon's mid-boss) and returning to the center room with the gold gear. This can be avoided by performing Nechku Skip, or by completing the scale puzzle and only skipping pushing the ice ball. Note that if you do the latter, you must completely balance the scales. After that, you can simply leave the room and perform this key skip.

Via KT's (NG+)

In NG+ Any%, Wawku can be entirely skipped via Ark Early. In NG+ All Brushes, one must enter Wawku solely to obtain Blizzard, after which you leave without fighting either boss. After entering the main room of the shrine, KT up and to the left. At least 10 KT's are required to get all the way up.

Demonstration: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/610440187?t=2h5m52s

Via Brush Warp (NG)

Melting the ice block automatically teleports Ammy in front of the resulting pond, even through the lockjaw. This can, of course, only be done once, but there is no need to return to floor 1. There are two main methods of melting the ice from behind the lockjaw, depending on whether the route has obtained Inferno or Fireburst (at least one is required).

With Inferno

This strategy is used in NG All Brushes and NG Any% routes which do not do City Checkpoint Skip. With outer camera, dash up to the left corner of the lockjaw door. Jump, double jump, and air tackle bounce for height. Angle the camera down and slightly to the left. Draw a line from the torch left of the lockjaw to the top of the ice block.

Demonstration: https://youtu.be/1axZtxRQ-x4?t=11562

With Fireburst

This strategy is used in NG Any% routes which skip Inferno via CC Skip. Unlike Inferno, Fireburst has only a small range from which it can melt objects, based on the location of the fire ball, and that location is dependent on the position of the camera. As a result, we must get the camera itself close to the ice block using a Brush Adventure.

1. Dash straight toward the lockjaw.
2. Set the camera to inner perspective.
3. Jump into the lockjaw to store dash.
4. When Ammy lands, angle the camera to face all the way down.
5. Brush and drag the camera all the way down (without rotating). Holding the fast brush button helps here (as with all Brush Adventure movement).
6. Release both sticks and any face buttons, then the brush button.
7. Brush and drag the camera all the way down again. The camera should clip through the floor. If it failed, reset the camera by toggling between outer and inner, then try again.
8. Without re-brushing, rotate the camera to face up and to the left while dragging it down and to the right. The camera should continue to move until it is almost directly beneath the lockjaw.
9. Re-brush, then rotate the camera slightly down and to the left, while dragging it up-right. Continue until the camera clips back up through the floor on the opposite side of the lockjaw.
10. Rotate the camera to the right while dragging up-right. Continue until the camera get un-stuck and moves toward the ice block.
11. Rotate the camera so that the ice block is in-view but toward the right edge of the screen. Draw the infinity symbol close to the ice block and release.
12. If Fireburst failed to melt the ice, hold the brush button and make sure not to touch the sticks or a face button while you wait for the cooldown effect to expire. When the brush comes up, fiddle with the camera to drag it closer to the ice and try again.

Note that due to the tight collision, this Brush Adventure can be more finicky than most. It is recommended to practice this method thoroughly to avoid losing time.

Demonstration: https://youtu.be/VcpbculRaes