While examining the Fly'N leaderboards, you'll notice that certain player names frequently appear in the Top 10. This is often due to a combination of dedication (sometimes 100+ hours played) and a deep understanding of the game's mechanics and design, rather than sheer talent alone. In this guide, I will explain various aspects of these game mechanics and design elements, accompanied by illustrated examples, to help the average player improve their rank. If you aim to reach the number one spot, you'll also need the aforementioned dedication in most cases.

Your rank on the leaderboards is determined by your points, which in turn depend on several factors. The most important factors are your completion time, number of deaths, and the number of collected Helys. While the scoring system is more complex, most other factors boil down to the number of Helys. This is because you need all fuins in a level to get the last Helys, and you typically need to sing to all three hidden creatures to collect all fuins.

The maximum score for a level is 108,000 points. Deviating from the "ideal playthrough" results in penalties that lower your score. As a side note, there is one only one confirmed level where you can collect 5 Helys, allowing you to exceed 108,000 points. So, any level where players appear on the leaderboard with 6+ Helys or 300+ fuins is just the work of some cheaters. You can ignore those pitiful existences. Another point to consider is that if two players achieve the maximum score, it is likely that the player with the better time will be ranked higher.

Of course, you can enjoy the game without ever checking the leaderboards. However, some of the information in this guide can be helpful even if you don't plan on challenging the top (or any other) ranks. Understanding these mechanics can enhance your overall gameplay experience, making it more efficient and enjoyable.

As mentioned before, your points are the crucial factor for your rank. However, the penalties for not collecting all four Helys or dying are significant. I can't say if it's possible to achieve a top rank without collecting everything, as I don't know the exact points a Helys provides or the point value of one second missing in comparison to the preset "best time." This also seems to differ from level to level. To make it simple: if you aim for a top rank, you should avoid dying, collect everything, and only your time will determine your placement.

This means that before attempting a speedrun, you need to know where everything is hidden in the specific level and to learn how to play the level without dying. So, for your chosen speedrun level, follow these steps:

• Play the level normally, not caring if you die or how much time you take. Your primary goal is to figure out where everything is placed.
  
• Determine an optimal route for completing the level.
  
• Assess the different parts of your route to identify opportunities for "faster" execution.
  
• Play the level until you either find yourself unable to stop raging or you achieve a time you are satisfied with.
  
• Optionally, iterate your route until you find the "optimal" solution.

So far, so good. Everyone has to determine the optimal route for themselves. But how do you actually play a section "faster"? Here, I will provide the most general tips & tricks combined with examples. Some of them may be common sense, while others may be rather unexpected.

• The jump button is pressure-sensitive. This means the longer you press it, the higher you jump. Most of the time, it's not critical whether you jump a bit longer or not. However, in a few cases, especially when navigating upwards, this can result in a delay of several seconds in total. On the other hand, if you don't jump high enough, you may not reach the platform.
  
• If possible, avoid gliding. While it's necessary for traversing horizontally from left to right or vice versa, you rarely need it while descending. Knowing where to land and how to jump will save you a lot of time.
  
• Make maximum use of your abilities like the double jump and other game mechanics. For example, when leaving a checkpoint by pressing the jump button, remember that you can still jump two more times afterward.

• To solve the part shown in the two pictures above, you have at least two possibilities. Normally, a player would probably jump out of the checkpoint, land on the ground, jump up, and collect the fuins while gliding. Alternatively, as shown, it is also possible to jump out of the checkpoint and collect all fuins with two well-timed additional jumps without landing on the ground beforehand.
  
• Learn how to switch between your two visions quickly and the most effective way. If you can switch while jumping without losing momentum, you can execute this sequence in one continuous flow. It's easier said than done: approach from the right, jump past the first barrier, switch your vision, land to collect the fuin, jump again, switch vision before the next barrier, and continue in this manner.
  
  
  
• Moving platforms: They are generally quite troublesome as they can completely derail your run. Whenever possible, memorize the timing to reach a platform when it's in the correct position. Often, these platforms only move in one of your two visions. Attempt to use this to gauge their timing, although it's nearly impossible to do accurately. If a platform functions like an elevator, avoid switching visions unnecessarily due to obstacles. Sometimes, it's possible to navigate the section without changing your vision at all.
  
• You have the ability to return to your last checkpoint. In some cases, this is necessary because you're trapped in a section without another way out. On other occasions, this ability can also save time. For instance, consider the two pictures below. Beneath the checkpoint you reach via the stream, there's a small area where you can interact with one of the inhabitants of the second tree (you need two Helys to get there). Instead of climbing back up, you can use the "shortcut". Look at the curved line to see the connection between both pictures.

So far, we've covered the general aspects. Next, I'll delve into more specific details about the buds (at least for two of them).

Since Fly'n's special ability is singing, it's often enough to focus on the general tips and tricks. Additionally, the radius within which an event (like reviving the inhabitants of the world trees or activating a Helys-powered platform) is triggered by singing can vary from one event to another. In most cases, simply running into the event while singing will yield the best result. However, it's crucial to note that while singing, you CANNOT change your vision. This limitation can disrupt your run and cause significant time loss.

In the two pictures above, you can see how Fly'n's singing can alter the level and grant you access to areas that were previously blocked. By destroying the garbage, you've also made the inhabitants of the Helys world a little bit happier.

For the sake of adding content to Fly'n's section, I'll mention an example here that could have been included in the previous section as well. While in the small stream, you can forcefully leave it by changing your vision. In this example you would be guided a bit higher and you would need to track down again. Change your vision and spare the way and time.

Lyft is my second favorite bud. His special ability allows him to stick to any wall that isn't polluted by red garbage. It's important to note that there's a slight delay in sticking to and unsticking from a wall. So try to reduce those steps. You should either commit to crawling the entire wall or use jumps strategically to shorten your path. Here are two examples:
In this case, if you stick to the wall, your path is considerably longer. To save time, start by jumping beneath the first fuin, use your double jump, and then stick to the wall again.






Well, the second example might be a bit better. In the pictures below, you can see that there are some fuins on the right wall.
You could jump to the right, stick to that wall, crawl up, and repeat. A faster method here would be to release from the wall without jumping while pressing right, then perform a double jump without sticking to the right wall. And after collecting the fuin, you can press left to stick to the left wall again.

The black bouncy Ywok is my favorite bud, although controlling his special ability to transform into a black ball and bounce from almost every surface (even the red garbage ones) can be challenging at times. Firstly, it's important to note that Ywok cannot bounce on every surface; for instance, he will also perish like the other buds if hit by the rising garbage level in speed levels. Another crucial detail is that his ability has a slight delay, so sometimes even if you press the button quickly enough before hitting the garbage surface, you may still die.

One of the key things to know is that you don't need to jump to initiate Ywok's first bounce; you can activate his ability while running. If you continue bouncing without reverting to normal form, the altitude of each bounce will decrease. Reverting back once will restore the original altitude. Thus, the crux of mastering Ywok's ability lies in timing when to press the button initially and deciding if and when to revert between bounces.

For me, this was the reason I had the least problems figuring out the optimal route in World 3. You can really appreciate the level design here because you always have the feeling you know how the designer wanted this part to be played. Here two examples aswell.
The part in the picture above can be tricky to navigate, but for me, at least, the optimal strategy seems fairly obvious. Run to the right and transform into ball form around the point where the fuins are rising, then bounce off the wall. The "difficult" part is quickly reverting to normal form between your wall bounce and the next bounce on the garbage surface because your altitude after bouncing off the wall won't be high enough to reach the top of the next platform.

The next example is a good one and consists of five pictures. To summarize, if you start your bounce from the left platform and continue right without reverting to normal form, you'll collect all the individual fuins on the garbage platforms because you'll be on the correct trajectory path. Admittedly, you need to manually hit the first fuin, so it's a bit tricky. But after that, just press right for three or four platforms.

And that concludes my information about Ywok. Now, I'll move on to the last bud.

Well, let me put it this way. I can't provide much information about Nyls for two reasons. First, I haven't played with Nyls nearly as much as with the other buds. Second, I haven't quite grasped the right feel for playing him, which is partly why I haven't spent much time with him. Nyls has a lot of freedom of movement, which makes precise maneuvering incredibly challenging. You can propel up to three times, and while doing so, you need to pay attention to the timing of your first propulsion, the duration of the button press (as it affects the distance propelled), and most importantly, the direction you intend to propel. I haven't figured out (nor have I thoroughly tested) whether it's faster to run on even ground or to propel constantly.

In contrast to other buds (such as Lyft crawling up walls), Nyls' ability requires rapid and continuous use, leaving you with less time to react and strategize. This can create a rather hectic playstyle, particularly for speed runs.

As a side note: There appears to be a difference in playing Nyls depending on your choice of control device. When using a gamepad, you can select the direction he will propel by pressing in that direction. On the other hand, when playing with a keyboard and mouse, Nyls will circle, and you must stop at the right moment to propel in the desired direction. The keyboard and mouse controls "seem" easier to manage but may potentially be slower compared to someone using a gamepad. Unfortunately, I cannot provide examples for Nyls. My apologies for that.

Well, that wraps up my first guide. I'll continue to edit it if I decide to change the design of some parts or if I realize I forgot something important I wanted to share. Please feel free to comment on any mistakes I may have made, whether in grammar, wording, or content. I'll correct them as soon as possible. You can also use the comments section to share your own tips and tricks here. However, due to laziness, I may not incorporate them in most cases. No evil intention here.

So as final words:
Thank you for reading