Pharaoh - First Screens

For the two routes (Pharoah First or Bright First), there are two strategies for this screen.

For either one, note that Mega Man might sink slightly between slides if your timing is not perfect. Expect to have a small hop every 3 to 5 slides.

Bright First

This is fairly self explanatory - use Bright so enemies do not move or spawn, and slide as fast as you can. Given the Bright Slide mechanic, you could conceivably reach the end after one use of bright. Use Bright again on the second

 Most experienced runners can make "The Jump" to Balloon without Rush Coil, but if you wanted Rush, you must wait for the Flash Stopper effect to end.

Pharaoh First

Scorpions have 4 hit points. This requires either quick mashing (especially if the scorpion is moving fast), or a prepared full charge. Jumping over the scorpions is also possible, but it is laggier than killing them.

You can also slide under a scorpion. Mega Man must sink slowly into the sane 3 times (typically after sliding) to "fit" under a scorpion on the surface.

Should You Ever NOT Get Balloon?

The raw amount of time to get balloon versus reaching the checkpoint the normal way is about the same. The primary advantage to taking the lower path might be the E-Tank in the path, though Rush must be summoned to reach it (I think...that shows how often we go that way)

On top of that, time saved in Ring and Skull is enough (along with potential Bright Grasshoppers for experts) to get Balloon in most normal scenarios anyway.