Mega Man X5


General Information

General Information

Route Information

All Stages

This is largely incomplete information at this time after a brief conversation in The Practice Room in 2025.

The route for X5 All stages primarily focuses on defeating mavericks with a high grade to give parts. These parts then take time to craft, dictating when they are available for use.

It also focuses on using Zero and his Saber Dash Cancel for maximum damage output. This results in the at first bizarre route of Pegasus as the next to last stage, since Pegasus's weapon removes the saber dash cancel.

Parts Routing and Grade

Getting a part from a maverick depends on having a GA(?) grade upon completing the stage.

Your rank itself is determined by how well the game thinks you completed the stage (as opposed to X6 where it is purely a function of an item collected). Rank is calculated based on

As such, there are two routes, one for WR attempts, and one that is safer for beginner.

The parts gained are listed on the parts page (to be written)

 

General Information

The Enigma Manip

The enigma manipulation refers to guaranteeing the Enigma Cannon shot at the space colony successfully destroys it, unlocking the final stages with Zero still a playable character.

Normally, even if you defeat all 8 mavericks, there is a small chance the colony is not destroyed, resulting in not being able to play as Zero for the remainder of the game (at least until a new game is started).

There are two known manips. Neither counts against In-Game-Time. One is significantly faster for Real Time, however only has a 4 frame window. The other is trivial to execute except the significant Real Time needed.

The RNG Manips

Intro Stage Demo

This is faster RTA but has tighter timing. You must press start to end the demo at a specific point.

Mattrex Demo

It takes longer to see the Mattrex Demo, since the game will play other demos first, however the Mattrex demo has a very easy place to end the demo for success - watch the whole thing.

That's it. Watch the whole demo, don't press start until you see the title screen again. Then continue your game and go immediately to the Enigma Shot.

How do the manips actually work?

The Enigma cannon succeeds or fails on a variety of factors, however these are ultimately controlled by the game's current "RNG" value. The game's randomness is set to a known value when a stage starts, then changes based on the events that follow. This value sticks through the stage selection screen, where the Enigma Cannon (and the Shuttle, if you get there) ultimately checks it for success against the Space Colony.

The manip works because of the title screen demo.

Just like normal gameplay, the demo screen itself sets the RNG value to known values at beam-in, and progresses it "normally" as the demo plays itself out. As such, it always lands on known RNG values every time it plays out.

The places mentioned above, the 4 frame window in the Intro Stage, and watching Dinorex to completion, are both RNG values where it is a 100% success rate for the Enigma Cannon even without upgrades (that is, with 0 mavericks defeated). 

In theory, there are likely other places the manip could work. However, these are the best two - one is fast RTA, the other is extremely reliable.

General Information

Maverick Parts

After defeating mavericks with a level of at least 8, Alia will ask if you want Life+ or Weapon Energy+. That + is a part that can be equipped, and the part you get depends both on the Maverick defeated, and the Life/Energy choice.

Many of these are currently documented at the Mega Man Home Page - https://mmhp.net/GameHints/MMX5.html#Items

All Stages Route Parts

Time Until Part is Crafted

After selecting a part, it takes 2 in-game-hours (so 2 selected stages) to be created. This Includes Dynamo encounters and Zero/Sigma stages. This is why the optimal route  for All Stages defeats Grizzly for the Hyper Dasher second, then uses Dynamo and the autoscrolling Duff McWhalen to have the Dashing part crafted.

What controls a Maverick's Level?

The route depends on hours passing to allow mavericks to gain levels. Do not fire the enigma cannon until after fighting Grizzly for the Hyper Dasher.

General Information

Ranking System

Akiteru's Pastebin

https://pastebin.com/cnvAww69

Mega Man X5 ranking system documentation by Akiteru
Done on USA version
 
POINTS TIERS
 
STAGE TIME:
less than 1'00"00 - 8 points
less than 2'00"00 - 4 points
less than 5'00"00 - 2 points
5'00"00 or greater - 1 point
 
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
less than 40 - 8 points
less than 80 - 4 points
less than 150 - 2 points
150 or greater - 1 point
 
DAMAGE RECEIVED:
less than 16 - 8 points
less than 32 - 4 points
less than 64 - 2 points
64 or greater - 1 point
 
MAX DAMAGE DEALT TO ANY ENEMY IN THE STAGE (INCLUDING BOSS):
8 or greater - 8 points
6 or greater - 4 points
4 or greater - 2 points
1 or greater - 1 point
 
NUMBER OF TIMES GONE INTO "VIRUS MODE" DURING THE STAGE:
0 - 8 points
1 - 4 points
2 - 2 points
3 or greater - 1 point
 
----------------------
 
NEW RANK CALCULATION
 
MEH:
less than 32: decrease rank
32 or greater: same rank
 
PA:
less than 32: decrease rank
less than 40: same rank
40 or greater: increase rank
 
GA:
less than 24: decrease rank
less than 36: same rank
36 or greater: increase rank
 
SA:
less than 20: decrease rank
less than 32: same rank
32 or greater: increase rank
 
A:
less than 12: decrease rank
less than 32: same rank
32 or higher: increase rank
 
B:
less than 15: decrease rank
less than 28: same rank
28 or higher: increase rank
 
C:
less than 12: decrease rank
less than 20: same rank
20 or higher: increase rank
 
E:
less than 16: same rank

16 or greater: increase rank

The short version is, don't get hit, have at least one massive damage hit, and do it fast without needing kills.

General Techniques

List of basic movement and information applicable throughout the run

General Techniques

Dash Jumping

In the Playstation 1 Mega Man X games, you do not need to re-press dash to jump fast. You can hold the jump button and "just jump". This saves the start-up time to begin a dash before jumping.

General Techniques

Saber Dash Cancel

Zero's most effective damage technique(s) involve slashing, then dashing to interrupt the combo, then slashing again.

The first 2 hits of Zero's triple slash do not give bosses invincibility frames, allowing you to do this over and over again. It is a small amount of damage, but significantly faster than most other techniques.

Execution

In principle, execution is easy to explain - push dash, push slash, push dash, push slash. In practice, this can be slightly tricky to get right. 

One factor is where is your dash button? Many runners change the default controls, so dash can be in an awkward place to "double mash". The way you grip the controller during this mash can also make it hard to move otherwise.

You can also use double tap dash itself, though that works better with saber-saber-dash-cancel.

The other big factor is timing, making sure your dash actually interrupts a combo, and that the combo actually lands hits between dashes

Pegasus Ruins Things

In Mega Man X5, defeating Pegusus will give Zero a new attack executed by dashing and slashing. This negates this technique, and is why Pegasus is done next-to-last in all stages.

Volt Kraken

Volt Kraken's stage is late in the speedrun route. His stage holds a part for the Enigma Cannon and a piece of the Falcon armor, if those are desired.

Volt Kraken

Kraken - Wall Skip

Late in Kraken's stage is a section with two of the colored gate switches over spikes. The speedrun can be seen skipping this through the wall using an invincibility trick. This requires damage boosting.

Dynamo

Dynamo attacks twice in runs that play enough maverick stages - after 2 mavericks, and after 6. While Dynamo has a higher level and more attacks in the second encounter, he is trivially defeated by Zero in both instances.

Fights with Zero

Assuming a run through all stages where Zero is collecting upgrades, Dynamo is trivially defeated using the Saber Dash Cancel .

Fights with X

Charged Grizzly (using the Fourth Armor), while not the weakness that stuns Dynamo, is very effective.