No Straight Roads: Encore Edition

No Straight Roads: Encore Edition

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Master Yourself, Master the Enemy Achievement (Perfect Parry Exploit)
By Laura:INFINITY
Easy-ish way to get the Master Yourself, Master the Enemy Achievement.
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Basic Info
Are you a completionist for any reason and the Perfect Parry mode is just too difficult for you? Turns out there's a way to get to it much easier.

As of when this guide was written (October 22, 2023), if you play every boss on perfect parry mode with the Rehearsal Pass equipped, then complete a boss on the same mode without it, the achievement will unlock. I have no idea if this is intentional or not on behalf of the devs, but if you use this technique, it should make unlocking the achievement MUCH easier.

If you don't like using exploits, you can try practising parry mode using the pass until you know each boss by heart, then complete it without the pass.
Detailed Info
1. Equip the Rehearsal Pass sticker in the sewers, at Zuke's workshop. It will enable you to fight the bosses without taking damage, but you won't get any fans or rank. Don't worry about this now.

2. Beat every boss on Perfect Parry mode with it enabled. You will know it's enabled with the OFF AIR text at the bottom of the screen.

3. BE CAREFUL DURING YINU'S FIGHT. At the end of the fight, Yinu will start throwing triplets at you; if you get hit once, you're dead. Look at a video guide or keep practising on easier difficulties until you feel comfortable enough dodging them perfectly.

4. Once you beat every boss, no trophy will unlock. Don't worry, that's okay.

5. Pick a boss you are very well versed in and beat it on Perfect Parry mode after removing the Rehearsal Pass sticker. IMO, pick a boss where there's an equal amount of parrying and melee combat so that even if you miss a parry/get hit, you have a way of regaining health immediately.

6. Tips for EVE (since I got the achievement with her): during the first phase of her fight, keep hitting the disembodied hands to keep up a combo/keep your health meter up. Also, during the second and third phases, when the eyes on the wall open, DON'T MOVE. Stay still and the room won't be turned upside down/throw projectiles at you. Use the dodge mechanic when the hand is throwing projectiles at you, and when the foot is about to stomp, move slightly so it doesn't hit you but you're still able to parry it.
Why I Made This Guide
Simply put, the parry mechanic in this game is not very well implemented (sometimes you wait until after the attack has landed, other times you have to make sure it hasn't?) and I wanted completionists with sensory/motor disabilities to have a way of getting 100% in an easier way.

If you absolutely, positively struggle with this achievement and can't get it no matter what, even with this method, please feel free to DM me. I don't want to potentially get blacklisted from Steam if I mention any exterior sources of help, but I am always willing to give out information privately.
Conclusion
I have no idea if this exploit is intentional or not by the devs, but if you really need 100% completion on a game and Parry Mode is a pain in the ass, you might as well use this method while you can. Remember that games should be FUN more than anything, and that if a gaming experience is too frustrating for you but you still feel the need to get every achievement no matter what, it's okay to use methods to make the gaming experience more enjoyable.

Have fun, and I hoped this helped!
10 Comments
DronClon 5 Jul @ 3:27am 
5 June 2025, still works. Thank you! 1010 maybe most easiest boss for Perfect Parry.
Paya 24 May @ 1:10pm 
Coming here to say thanks for the guide.

I think 1010 is actually the easiest boss to cheese because you can use both characters healing abilities either to immediately recover after getting hit or to i-frame any of the Load and Shoot bits. You can get full energy on both characters by AFKing for like a minute before the fight starts. After that the hard part is over and you just gotta dodge and wait for your energy to recharge to shoot ranged attacks at the factory.

Took a few attempts but it was worth it. Ended up getting a B rank since you're tanking ALL of the damage (i took nearly 300k somehow?) but the time and combo bonuses will make up for it.
TheBadDeadFox 12 Nov, 2024 @ 2:22am 
Can confirm that this exploit still works as of November 12th, 2024
DracoMelody 20 Oct, 2024 @ 1:36am 
Thank you so much for the exploit! It still works!

Some notes I wanted to add in case for anyone else:
1.You don't have to do it consecutively, make sure they all say clear before you actually defeat one on perfect parry (I wasn't sure, so just wanted to make that clear)
2. Zuke can heal from a hit by hitting something right after, including the parry windows.
3. That same ability also let's Zuke a moment to heal by using the heal mod right after.
4. Most mods (haven't tried them all) gives you some i-frames, so if there's an attack you just don't want to deal with, just use a mod. Zuke's shield varies tho.
5. You generate more energy by standing idle, so stand still during dialogue. Also doing so at the beginning of any match also carries over into the fight.
6.I perfect parried 1010, so for anyone who needs tips on that:
-In Phase 1, stand in front of and parry Blue twice. Least likely to get hit by the others this way.
-The pink cameras shoot their lasers every 2 riffs/measures.
Laura:INFINITY  [author] 2 Jul, 2024 @ 6:45pm 
@T Thank you! And glad to know the guide still works!
T 2 Jul, 2024 @ 6:40pm 
HOLY CRAP YOU ARE INCREDIBLE. THANK YOU SO MUCH <3333 for anyone wondering, this still works as of July 2024 <3
Pieterflieter 3 May, 2024 @ 11:40am 
Thank you! I love this game, but I knew that this achievement would give me a more negative view of the game. This saved me lots of frustration and now my view of the game isn't tainted by this achievement! :D
LOCAL CULTIST 12 Jan, 2024 @ 12:38am 
I heard though from youtube comments that some of the parrying timing is sometimes buggy
Laura:INFINITY  [author] 12 Dec, 2023 @ 7:47am 
@GEDR0CHT you're welcome! Glad I could help!
R2 12 Dec, 2023 @ 3:45am 
Thanks a lot, probably wouldn't have tried this achievement if it wasn't for this guide.