Mega Man X5 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 Damage taken (by stage) enemies defeated (by stage) Time taken (by stage) Total Mavericks defeated As such, there are two routes, one for WR attempts, and one that is safer for beginner. Dinorex First, which requires getting an immediate GA rank to make the parts routing work. It gives the Hyepr Dasher and Saber+ quickly, which is of course faster. Bat first, which is more likely to get you GA rank after two stages (with Dinorex second), at the cost of having those parts slightly later and a longer journey through the Bat's stage. The parts gained are listed on the parts page - https://goodboyrush.net/books/mega-man-x5/page/maverick-parts   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. 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 Bat - Life The Anti-Virus options are not useful in a speedrun, so take the HP Mattrex - Life Again, neither part is particularly useful. You should be here early enough there is no part anyway Grizzly - Energy (Hyper Dash) Whale - Life Weapon+ grants the Energy Saver Axle Rose - Energy (Z-Saber+) Izzy Firefly - Life For the HP. Energy gives shot eraser for Zero Squid  Life if you play the last stages as X Energy grants Saber Extend for Zero but is not available until the final stages Pegasus - Life this part will never be built if you do it next to last, but this creates the Jumper part 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? Rank increases a maverick level. The route assumes GA before fighting Grizzly Hours left until impact Does not affect Level after the colony is destroyed (such as by using The Manip immediately) 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Get on the right edge of the moving platform As soon as it starts moving, dash jump to the wall, and slide down it Your objective is to take damage from the electrical plug in the wall, then stand on the spikes with the invincibility frames until the platform arrives When the platform does crushing damage, quickly jump up the wall and air-dash through the gate. 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. Dinorex AKA Mattrex Dinorex - First Half This stage is all about moving fast, but also not taking damage. If you are playing Dinorex first, you need to achieve GA rank. Decent The first section of the stage falling and outrunning the flame throwers. Dashing off the ledges is largely enough to outrun the fire, but be quick. The timing is important for saving a cycle at the bottom in the lava section.   Lava Tunnels The Heart Tank is in the bottom in the lava, in the far left. Most categories want nothing to do with this.