Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This first jump over the boat's flag is very tricky to do correctly, but I can just start over if I miss it.
Here is Emily. She's a sweet little princess.
She's really excited about playing hide and seek, so I tell her I will.
Then I ditch her.
I jump into the dialogue trigger with Sokolov so I can begin skipping it while moving forward.
Now that I've got some time, let's talk.
I am Fearful Ferret, and I've been speedrunning Dishonored on and off since February of 2013.
I also speedrun Bioshock Infinite, Rayman Legends, Monaco, The Swapper, and Knytt Underground.
I stream my speedruns live at twitch.tv/FearfulFerret (link in description)
Other Dishonored runners include Derkman12345, Wymorn, Fripic, Cirno, CrimsonPhoenix, Sainiku, ...
... Phxntxm, Qaz, Yeti, Nayon, ProPhantom, RectangularBox, Damagak, Nomi, and many others, ...
... including my greatest rival, DecidedSloth, the previous world record holder.
You can find a link to the up-to-date leaderboards for Dishonored speedruns in the description.
This run is the Any% category, where there are no restrictions; I only need to get to the end of the game.
Other popular categories include non-lethal ghost (NLG) and all collectibles.
This intro gets really boring after watching it a few hundred times.
Running around too much while waiting can make the last assassin never spawn, which soft-locks the game.
Killing the second assassin with a headshot makes him despawn slightly faster.
This makes the third assassin spawn faster. The same technique works for the third assassin.
Plot twist: I really did kill the Empress.
I'm a terrible bodyguard; may as well change careers to assassin.
The final time for the run does not include loading times.
This allows for accurate comparisons between runs performed on different computers.
Over the course of the run, I spend 65.7 seconds in loading screens, so my final time is 37:54.
The run is played on easy difficulty, mostly because mana potions restore a larger amount of mana on easy.
This dialogue skip here has no audio or visual cue, so I start it when my segment timer hits 10:00.
The prison is easy to get through, but has a lot of small random elements due to guard AI.
Because it's at the start of the run, any significant mistake generally warrants a reset.
The guards here usually give at least one damage boost.
I avoid picking up a sword because wielding one reduces run speed.
These two guards can spawn in many different patterns; this one is the fastest. They both have a key to the gate.
I'm sure an explosive with a clockwork mechanism will be totally safe to run and jump with.
This guard can be in three different places; he's in front of the gate, but ideally, he would have opened it for me.
Going above the gate via the pipes takes just as much time as using the switch, but this gives more chances for damage boosts.
Rocks give great boosts.
Thank you, based urn god.
It's possible to jump on this bridge as it is lifting up.
Falling on the slope lets me negate fall damage.
Swimming is very slow, so it's best to avoid it when possible.
The gold split means that this was the fastest prison I've ever done, by 0.12 seconds.
It's faster to constantly jump while crouched, even when hitting my head repeatedly.
I make this jump as late as possible to avoid swimming.
The rats in this room are supposed to stop you from turning the wheel ...
... but they don't aggro you if you stand on this pile of rocks.
The first indication of the quality of a run is the time at which you pick up your weapons.
6:35.5 is the fastest I've ever done.
The camera locks during this cutscene, so I pick up the weapons while facing towards the gate.
You can begin moving while the screen fades in.
I use the swordless glitch to holster my sword while keeping my crossbow equipped.
This guard can sometimes block me and sometimes gives a damage boost; this time, he does neither.
Up to this point, I had already saved 6 seconds on Sloth's previous world record. This was incredibly good up to this point.
This is Samuel, the most talkative character in the game. Almost all of his dialogue is unskippable.
For good times, go to Kingsparrow and kill Samuel, then play with his corpse. It has some interesting properties.
The swordless glitch lets me holster my sword and equip any secondary weapon, letting me run at full speed.
I will be using it with blink throughout the rest of the run.
To perform the glitch, hold the use key to holster your weapons, then try to use your secondary weapon while the sword is being folded.
The intermissions between each mission can be boring, but there are still some optimizations.
Dialogue skips can sometimes begin before the icon shows up on screen.
Grabbing this whale oil tank while standing on the stairs, as opposed to jumping, is called the "Ferret Fetch."
It is pretty much the only real trick I have contributed to the run.
Most of my contributions are optimized blink routes to take full advantage of mana.
This is where I get the all-powerful blink ability, which acts as a short-range teleport.
Careful mana management is extremely important throughout the rest of the run.
Because this level is so simple, the blink route for it is very optimized.
This cutscene begins to fade in as soon as you step on the platform, so there's time to grab the mana potion.
This blink was the first non-trivial mistake of the run, and forced me to skip a blink to save mana.
The first ability I will level up is Agility 1, which requires two runes, so I skip the powers screen for now.
I won't be buying anything from Piero; blink and agility are the only upgrades needed for the run.
The blink down is a bit tricky; depending on where you blink, it's possible to get a fall animation ...
... or an instant death. No idea why.
I took that route to Samuel to avoid a conversation with Callista. Or was it Lydia?
Now for mission 2.
Shut up, Samuel. Nobody likes you.
With careful timing, I'm able to avoid these two ledge climb animations.
The whale oil tank is the fastest way to disable the wall of light, but can be a bit unpredictable.
A shot with the crossbow disables the second wall of light.
The items in this guard post can be difficult to grab.
Agility 1 lets me double-jump.
It's possible to complete the mission without rescuing Martin.
However, it would require me to perform the upcoming door clip an additional time.
This is a locked door.
No, really, it was locked.
Ideally, I would end most every mission with no mana remaining.
My route for this mission needs a bit of polish to maximize mana efficiency.
Jumping on Samuel's head negates fall damage.
Samuel sometimes takes an extra second to turn towards you before he starts talking; it's hard to avoid, but I managed it.
Jumping on Samuel's head deals a small amount of damage, and if he aggros you, you get a game over.
Crouching before you land lets you damage him up to 3 times before he aggros you.
Don't worry, I'll explain the door thing later.
I left myself with two blinks of mana for the start of this intermission.
Awkward hand gestures!
This intermission is a bit tricky.
Let's go say hi to Havelock!
Hi!
Bye!
I need to take care of two weepers in the sewer.
I take out the first with a bolt before she sees me, which is a one-hit kill.
Level up agility 2
I take out the second weeper with a sleep dart, then leave as quickly as I can.
Sometimes, Martin doesn't spawn until after the game tries to start this conversation.
It's important to leave the sewer very quickly after taking out the second weeper.
A short time after the objective completes, the sewer grate will close and it takes a second to open again.
If you're very slow, Lydia (or was it Callista?) will force some unskippable dialogue when you leave the sewer.
The Golden Cat is a very difficult mission; the guards in the Cat have a large hitbox that stops you from blinking near them.
SAMUEL PLZ STAHP
Careful jumping and aiming lets me avoid three ledge climb animations here.
Though this first area is basically the same as in mission 2, having double-jump allows for a faster route.
This mission has the first major source of randomness, aka RNG.
The Pendleton twins can spawn in either of two combinations of rooms.
First, I need to say hi to Emily.
How'd she get there?
Then I grab the key to the exit and level blink 2.
I know I got the good Pendleton spawn because the red lights outside the opposite room are turned on.
With a bad spawn, one of the twins would be in the steam room.
This was an incredibly good Cat.
I need to bump Emily and wait for her to turn away from the door, or else she won't be considered "rescued."
I always get some lag here, which I use to set up this blink.
When killing mission targets, I avoid getting the kill animation by jumping before attacking.
Even when I jump, there's still a possibility of getting a slow-motion kill. They're difficult to avoid in this mission.
Emily is the fastest character in the game.
The game gives you a full health and mana refill at certain points between missions.
It's important to plan around these to make sure you use up your mana before each refill.
Let's hope she never heard the word "retribution."
There is a refill at the beginning and the end of this intermission, so I can blink as much as I want.
Cuuuuuuute
Callista: Would you like to see your room?
Emily: Can I see it?
Callista: Yes, you may :D
Blinking at the wrong spot here can soft-lock the game by preventing the conversation with Havelock from triggering.
Kaldwin's Bridge is a fun mission c:
Samuel
pls
PLS
In this first section, I break a window and blink through it.
There's a very specific angle required for the blink, so it has to be done in the middle of a lean.
I have to wait for the objective for the next area to load ...
... so missing the first blink costs very little time.
I had some trouble here; it took me a bit to realize I was crouched.
More blinking
Removing the whale oil tanks is a mandatory objective.
[blinking intensifies]
I do a damage cancel in a bit.
By falling a certain distance, I avoid a fall animation by taking a small amount of damage.
I lose some time here by getting a ledge animation, which kills my momentum.
Up to this point, the run is very close to perfect.
(That was foreshadowing, by the way)
Sometimes, Emily can be a bit creepy.
Here's another damage cancel.
Pendleton asks me to give this note to Lord Shaw, which begins a duel if I do it.
If I don't give the note, Pendleton talks about it in the next intermission.
If I give the note to Shaw and carry out the duel, Pendleton talks about it as well.
However, if I give the note to Shaw and don't bother with the duel, Pendleton forgets about the whole thing.
This mission has the single most significant RNG in the entire run.
The fastest way to know which Boyle you have to kill is to read a note.
However, the note spawns randomly in one of the three upstairs bedrooms.
The letter will randomly point to one of the three Boyles.
The blink to this lamp can be very tricky, so I take some time to set it up.
Giving the note
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
(,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,) (,,)( o(..)o )(,,)
DAMMIT
I know the letter isn't in the room because the painting of the Lord Regent disappeared.
The fastest way to complete the mission now is to kill all three.
I get a damage cancel here; I didn't know you could do that.
I take a route out of the mansion that avoids music-box overseers.
I accidentally deselected the Dishonored window. Sometimes, Dishonored decides not to bind the mouse cursor.
Though I got worst possible Boyle luck (which is a 66% chance), this mission was still executed very well.
If I had gotten best possible Boyle luck, I would have been about 11 seconds faster on this mission.
For reference, the sum total of every mistake I've made in this run up to this point is about 8 seconds.
Best Boyle luck is letter in first bedroom targeting the Boyle on the stairs.
See you after the break
This mission has a lot of difficult tricks that are tons of fun to pull off.
The fastest way to climb the water lock is to blink up this outer wall.
The second blink is particularly tricky, and can result in a quick death if you miss.
I was a little bit careful in my setup.
I avoid a ledge animation for this last blink by aiming to the right and above the wall.
It's possible, but very difficult (and very swag) to grab the mana potion in the guard post while falling.
Non-lethal is faster than lethal for this mission.
The combination for this safe is 935 ...
But I don't have time for that.
(I'll explain it in a bit, I promise)
This is the first proper out-of-bounds glitch.
I call it the Amnesia skip. Watch a speedrun of Amnesia: The Dark Descent if you haven't, it's pretty cool.
I lose all my mana potions after this mission, so I've planned it out such that I have no potions remaining.
I use Samuel to break fall damage again.
So, about that safe, and the door in mission 2, and the Amnesia skip ...
IT'S MAGIC
It's possible to blink through (or into) most any flat surface in the game.
The setup varies. For the door in mission 2 and the wall in mission 6, I blink straight down while double-jumping.
For the safe, I crouch next to it, lean into it, and blink while uncrouching.
There will be another out-of-bounds clip in the Flooded District that skips the sewer in the last section.
The clipping glitch that makes all these work was patched out in version 1.3, so I'm running on version 1.2.
Clipping saves roughly 1:40 throughout the run, but for those who only have access to a later version ...
... there's a glitchless any% category where clipping isn't allowed. Most people run version 1.2, though.
Here's the obligatory bathroom break.
I always get really nervous here when I'm on a good run.
It's hard to maintain a good flow after this cutscene, as there's so much time with nothing.
The rest of the run is very tense. Flooded District is probably the most difficult mission in the game.
See you after the break.
The fastest way to complete this little bit is to hold left, back, and jump.
However, my keyboard ghosts (can't read those 3 inputs together), so I turn a bit to the left and jump left.
Oh God I'm nervous
My hands are sweating
hands, please stop sweating
please
pls
There are a number of ways to break these planks
Theoretically, it's fastest to look straight up and catch the brick on each rebound,
but it's very inconsistent.
Coming up is the Sloth Dive, which is a more consistent way of doing the Sloth jump, which you may have seen in my prior runs.
It's still very difficult.
I very nearly failed it.
Damage cancel
Daud is a completely optional objective, so I'm just going to stop by to say hi.
He can sometimes just one-hit kill you.
Damage cancel
There's a cool out-of-bounds where you skip this entire section and open this gate from the back.
The OOB takes slightly less time than this way, but picking up the mana potion near Daud makes up for it.
Figuring out when to blink in Flooded is a real pain; I'm still not sure about what the route should be.
It's very easy to accidentally close the shield over this tank.
This blink was the single biggest execution error in the run.
It cost me a lot of mana, as I did an extra blink to compensate.
OOB HYPE
I normally do an extra blink here, but I chose not to due to my reduced mana.
Looking back, it would have been better to just do the extra blink and use an additional mana potion in the Loyalists.
This would leave me with one less mana potion for Kingsparrow, but it would have been a good trade.
It's pretty obvious that my nerves were getting to me at this point; my movements are pretty rough.
It's pretty obvious that my nerves were getting to me at this point; my movements are pretty rough.
Say goodbye to Callista. I'm pretty sure it's Callista, anyway.
Samuel starts moving as soon as I activate the flare. I blink out to the area boundary to meet him.
I trigger his dialogue by swimming along the port side of his boat ...
... and he skips the rest of his dialogue because I'm too far away.
This is where I freak out because I know I'm about to set a new world record.
I get the low chaos ending because even though I've killed whenever it was convenient for me ...
... and I've been detected multiple times in every mission ...
... the total body count was only 13.
If you want to check my math, don't forget collateral damage from the explosions in the first couple missions.
The final mission is fairly straightforward.
This missed blink cost me a small amount of time.
It's rare to get to this mission during a speedrun, so playing it in a high-pressure situation is always difficult.
The hatch to get into this elevator is very narrow. I got in very quickly.
Almost there!
These guards can sometimes give a bit of trouble.
a
aa
aaa
aaaa
aaaaa
aaaaaa
aaaaaaa
aaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand
GOT IT
Thanks for watching, everyone, and check out the links in the description for more good stuff!