Guide / Climbing higher

Climbing higher

Most runs end the same few ways. These habits fix them.

Stop falling

• Look one platform ahead. By the time you are in the air, your eyes should already be on the platform after the one you are landing on, and on whatever is flying above it.
• Take the near platform. Skipping platforms feels fast, but the camera only moves when you pass the middle of the screen, and a miss costs more than the skip saved.
• Use the wrap. A platform at the far left is one short hop away from the far right. Players who never cross the edge are playing on half a screen.
• Stay off the bottom third. The lower you are on the screen, the less time you have to recover. If you have dropped low, climb two quick platforms before doing anything clever.
• Don't rest on a crumbling platform. It gives you less than half a second. Have the next landing picked before you touch it, and press jump as you land.

Stop getting hit

• Go under, not through. A drone crossing above you will be gone in a second. Waiting one jump is nearly always cheaper than threading past it.
• Shooters glow before they fire. Move sideways when you see it, and the bullet goes where you were.
• Springs are a commitment. A spring throws you about three platforms up into whatever is there. Check the sky first.
• Keep a shield for the bad part. If you are holding a Hard Shield near a boss or a new biome, don't trade it for an unknown orb.

Earn gems faster

• Height beats time. A gem in Neon Grid is worth 50; one in the Atmosphere is worth 5. Pushing for a new biome pays better than replaying the first.
• Beat the boss. 300 gems (double with GEMS x2 or 2X GEMS, four times with both) and three hearts (worth another 450 gems) for one fight.
• Follow gem trails only when they go your way. A trail traces a real jump between two platforms, so it is safe to follow, but not worth a detour downward.
• Buy Crystal Hoarder before the two most expensive Pixels. Double gems halves the time to everything after it.

Spend well

1. Keep 3 hearts banked before any run you mean to take seriously. At 150 gems they are the cheapest height in the game.
2. Buy Chrome Unit or Nebula Drifter early; both cost less than a handful of hearts.
3. Then work up the shop one tier at a time. See Pixels and perks for what each tier adds.

Use the day

The solo layout is the same all day, so every attempt teaches you the next one. It is also what the day's top 10 is ranked on, and the board starts empty each day, so an early run has the best odds of a place. Your ghost shows where the last run went. If a stretch keeps ending your runs, it will be gone tomorrow, and a friend playing today can tell you how they crossed it.

Settings that help

• Reduced motion turns down screen shake and flashes. Some players simply see better with it on.
• Show ghost can be switched off if the second Pixel distracts you.
• Touch buttons can be shown or hidden on a phone; the right half of the screen jumps either way.

Achievements

Records, on the menu, lists all 30:

Pacifist Pilot is the hard one: 5,000m without touching a single power-up orb. Pick a Pixel whose perks do the work instead, and steer around every orb on the way.