Aria All Zones Guide and Tips

Overview

This is a strategic guide on how to beat All Zones with Aria for the first time for casuals. If you have really good reflex and sense of rhythm, or you’re already waaaay past casual level, this guide wouldn’t be as helpful. This is for mediocre tempo keepers and slow-reflex gamers like me. Brains for brawns.

Intro

Aria is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥… to play as. All Zones is exponentially biitchier. Hell I don’t even wanna talk about Coda.

Disclaimer: All “you” in this guide is basically “me”. People play differently and I’m saying this is the way you *should* play, at all, but just what worked for me.

Theoretically there are 2 ways to go about it: Low% and regular. Surprisingly, Low% can get you through earlier levels with a higher success rate since you encounter less enemies/complex situations, but you might run into damage issues that maybe result in time issues later on. However, the first level always seems the hardest since you have awful gear and will die a lot. That’s okay, because you have to get as much as possible by farming weaker enemies. And you get to practice a lot for Level 5 enemies.

Before You Start

Change the music to Danny B. Aria’s default music is the FamilyJules7x remix. Music is pretty badass, but the bass percussion is horrible to follow, especially Level 3. All you’ll be hearing is the raring electric guitar.

Level 5 General & Level Specific Tips

• Kill as many enemies as possible and collect gold. “Voltwaltz” is fairly long (one of the longest at 03:04), so you’ll have plenty of time to roam around.
• Open every door and grab every loot you can.
• Use the bomb if you can, for a secret portal or crate. If walled-off Shopkeeper spawns (decent chance), there’s a very high chance you can find bombs on the same level, so there’s no point saving it.

• ALWAYS enter a new room through the door. NEVER enter a new room by digging. Sure sometimes it’s faster, but without chain lightning, you’ll get thrown into a wide range of unexpected situations, such a hitting hard block or accidentally checkmate yourself by popping a headbanger while the red devil is flying towards you. Exceptions: Glass Torch and Circlet of Telepathy -if you can see the enemies, feel free to dig through, you’ll be mentally prepared.
• If deemed safe, try to utilize your “throw dagger” skill to take out EyeTunes and armored enemies like deviled eggs and orchestrators.
• EyeTunes is you BIGGEST enemy. Usually your attention is focused on the 1-2 adjacent tiles, but EyeTunes can strike from 3 TILES AWAY. Always jump ASIDE, as opposed to jumping away as one often does subconciously or panicking, resulting in unpleasant surprise buttsex.
• Deviled Eggs, counter-intuitively, is not as deadly as EyeTunes, even though their movement pattern can appear quite intimidating. Every time you hit an egg, jump to the side for the next hit. If the situation makes you unable to compute, JUST JUMP BACK, aka the opposite direction of your strike, and you’ll be fine most of the time. Unless there are two eggs surrounding you on adjacent sides (e.g. top and left or bottom and right); if that’s the case you’re toast. You could pinch the egg onto the enemy/wall behind him, just be careful because it messes with your own movement pattern. Jumping back is always safer and allows you time to survey the battlefield.
• Black Skulls requires you to retreat twice (hit, jumpback, hit, jumpback, hit) on a wire. The main issue is that sometimes you forget it’s not a White Skull or Yellow Skull which you only need to hit 2 consecutive times.
• Fran Zappas. Take them out with chain lightning if possible. The ranged attack is too annoying to deal with and you can get hit by jumping on either the tile it’s hitting the next beat, or the tile it’s currently on, which is different from ground currents in the Frankensteinway fight. Golden Fran Zappa: generally speaking, avoid these ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ unless you have 2 damage.

Time is your biggest enemy, since “Power Chords” is one of the shortest tracks in this game (30 seconds less than the previous song, an alarming 16.67% percent decrease). Having a map or torch of walls would help immensely. If not, pick your fights and prioritize exiting the level before time runs out. Head towards the exit IMMEDIATELY when the Groove Bar turns red.

Equipment

Let’s take a little detour and talk about item. You’ll be picking up items throughout the run, and at this point might have to start making choices: which item is better for each slot?
SURVIVAL is of the utmost importance. Always prioritize survival gear over anything else, since Aria just dies. Justifications:

1. Two damage is usually enough for you to finish the game, having more is nice, but it’s more about saving time, minimizing risk and “feeling good”. But feel good doesn’t win you the game. Not dying does. Less glamorous, but gets the job done.
2. Dying to a missed beat feels infinitely worse than dying of “natural” causes such as a bat bite, because it feels “your own fault” and this mindset might tilt you in the next run. Oftentimes, being chased by 2-3 different enemies requires split-second decisions, and in that split second your brain will do weird stuff because it’s trying to process so many things simultaneously: you might freeze, you might fat finger 2 buttons at once, you might tunnel-vision and hit the wall, you might even run into the enemy. You don’t even feel like you’re panicking or tilting, but you will do random hilarious ♥♥♥♥♥ like these.This is totally normal and okay, it doesn’t mean you’re bad. It’s just what happens, so keep playing. However, as fallible humans, you have to find ways to cope and minimize the tilt effect of your natural reactions. It is better to focus on not missing a single beat, even if it mean taking a hit or two. That’s where protective gear comes in: to help you focus on clearing the floor instead of dodging, so that you can get out of a bad situation as quickly as possible.
3. Another important reason I put so much emphasis on not missing a beat is because of the Spiked Ears item. It is the only common item that grants you +2 attack at the risk of breaking upon a missed beat (don’t fancy Ring of Wonder, likely not gonna happen. I have 150 hours and only seen it once). If you take a hit without missing a beat, the Ears stay on.
4. Also, you’ll feel like a badass not missing a beat, which can offer some emotional support while you’re grinding and dying.

So here’s a list of my preferred items:

Shovel:

1. Pickaxe, to mitigate the risk of missing a beat on hard block and you don’t lose the benefit even if you get hit once or twice (if you found a potion or scroll of need).
2. Shovel of Strength, for reliable damage.
3. Battle Shovel, for early level bosses when your gears suck. AVOID Shovel of Courage as it messes up your movement pattern.

Armor:
Glass Armor or Heavy Glass Armor (for obvious reasons), duh. Though Karate Gi is good since you get the benefit of double damage and don’t have to worry about taking double damage since you die in one hit anyway, the protection is too good, and also has a clear sound cue to alert you.

Headwear:

1. Spiked Ears, as mentioned above, too good for Aria.
2. Crown of Teleportation, 1-UP.
3. Monocle and Circlet can help you strategize better for earlier levels.

AVOID Sunglasses at all costs, as the damage is very tempting but you NEED visual cues to help you survive.
AVOID Miner’s Cap, it messes up your movement pattern and creates an uncontrolled situation by releasing a flood of enemies.

Shoes:

1. Levitation Boots by far, for levels 4 to 1; you’ll need the wire buff for Level 5 though, the Headbanger is too much, and Fran Zappas are asses to take out because of their ranged attack.
2. Glass Slippers, you die in one hit anyway.
3. Lead Boots, because ice terrain in level 3 messes up your rhythm very badly and leads to uncontrolled situations.

AVOID Boots of Leaping, water walking is nice and all, but it takes away your “throw dagger” ability and messes with your movement pattern.

Torch:

1. Torch of Strength, for reliable damage.
2. Infernal Torch, creates happy little accidents that can help you clear out enemies sometimes.
3. Glass Torch, since you die in one hit anyway.
4. Torch of Walls is good for early levels but gets totally thumped by the Map.

Ring:

1. Ring of Frost, makes the situation even more manageable, good balance between survivability and damage.
2. Ring of Shielding, very good for survival as it offers a 20-beat invicibility.
3. Ring of Might, for reliable damage.
4. Ring of Gold, a time saver and allows greater freedom of movement.
5. Ring of Piercing, Use with CAUTION. This ring is weird, as it offers amazing survivability by de-escalating evasive manuevers, but creates a completely different set of reactionary movement pattern you need to adapt to.

AVOID Ring of Shadows as you need visual cues to survive.
AVOID Ring of Courage as it messes with your movement pattern.

Spells:

1. Shield, for survivability.
2. Freeze, for emergencies or a breather amidst the intense dungeon crawling.

AVOID Earth as it creates uncontrolled situations when near swarm of enemies.

Maps, Charms, Coupon and Bombs: Gotta grab ’em all!

Consumables:

1. Scroll of Need, should ALWAYS be carried around and used as a potion in need.
2. Shield Scroll/Tome, for survivability.
3. Freeze Scroll/Tome, for emergencies or a breather.
4. Heart Transplant, use with GREAT CAUTION. This item is tricky. While it offers amazing survivability on paper cuz you don’t die to missed beats, moving out of rhythm mess up your feel of the game.

AVOID Earth Scroll/Tome as it creates uncontrolled situations.

Familiars:
Personal preference: Rat on top, Snowman on left, Shopkeeper on bottom.
AVOID Dove as it creates uncontrolled enemy layout.

Of course, if you’re good enough, unlike me, any gear would work because you wouldn’t need any in the first place.

Movement Pattern

Reliability and predictability over gimmicks and cute plays. You get a situationally amazing item in one run, but it likely doesn’t appear in 60-80% of your other runs (I made that number up). To throw away what you’ve practised more just to make a cute play or two is not helpful to the big picture. It’s a game of endurance, not flashiness. You want everything to be in control. You want to know what’s gonna happen next. If you get really good, sure, you can do whatever-the-♥♥♥♥-you-like, but if you just want to beat it for the first time, accept that you’re mediocre and can only handle medriocre techniques. Leave the flashy plays to the streamers or your future self.

Now back to the level.

Level 5 General & Level Specific Tips (Continued)

This level is just ♥♥♥♥♥… I mean you need to get kinda lucky. “Six Feet Thunder” is fast. The enemies will likely have a lot of health, so chuck bombs and spells at the clusterfuxk as seen fitting. Save some for the boss if you could, but if you have to, do anything you can to survive.

Boss Strategies

Ranked from personal easiest to hardest:

1. Coral Riff: Stand on the edge of water to minimize number of dampened tiles.
2. Fortissimole: Watch out for the AOE attack when he dives and emerges, you’ll be fine.
3. Deep Blues: It’s ok to play a little slow and fight a few queens, don’t get caught in the crowd is more important. If you have a grenade charm, three steps up, chuck it at the king and this fight is over in a jiffy.
4. King Conga: The skipped 8th beat isn’t as much of a problem as the extra enemies. Try not to fight two lines at the same time by means of divide and conquer. Beware of red zombies that are out of sync with your hit beat.
5. Death Metal: Biggest problem is the intro riff, lots of bass and barely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ audible cuz it’s ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ muffled outside the room. “Metalmancy”‘s fast tempo also makes it very hard to adjust if you’re slightly off.

Level 4 General Tips

Starting from Level 4-2, your gears should be reasonably decent. So you wouldn’t have to worry about evasive maneuvers as much since you one-shot most of the enemies.

• One room at a time. If you have a map, pick the path with least resistance. Try to open all available chests for complimentary gear.
• Harpies: Just jump back and take them out one by one. You have time.
• Yawnies: Take them out quickly to prevent uncontrolled situations.
• Gillespie: Not hard to take out, but DONT EVER get confused or you ♥♥♥♥♥♥.
• Pixie: Don’t resist. Let it happen.
• Golden Ariamadillos: Generally speaking, avoid these motherfuxkers. Bull-fight them away and never look back.
• Old School Wrapper: The most annoying ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ piece of DESECRATION that ♥♥♥♥♥♥ out her ROTTEN MUMMY EGGS that can JUMP DIAGONALLY and you DON’T KNOW WHEN she’s OVULATING HER SPAWNLINGS OUT OF HER SHRIVELLED ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ PIECE of GARBAGE ASSS on EVERY OTHER ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ BEAT. Just use all your spells on her. Apply all the buffs. Treat her like the final boss.

Level 3 General Tips

• Must wear ice terrain resistant boots. Or die. Your choice. Hard to see a third option here…
• You should be decked out by now. Path of least resistance. Chests are optional. Maybe visit the shop if it’s convinient. But GTFO ASAYC.
• Backup Dancers: the reason you should gtfo asap. They really like surprise buttsex when you’re front-fencing other enemies.

Level 2 General Tips

Overall the tempo’s a lot slower, the enemy movement is a lot simpler, so shouldn’t be a big problem.

• Can get a little crowded at times with the mud and huge AOE of Shiitakes. Be careful not to get overwhelmed.
• Shiitake Shakes: Beware of their AOE spill. Shiitake on Steroids are best to avoid.

Level 1 General Tips

You are your own worst enemy. You will think “I’ve come so far…” You will begin to wonder “What if…” Your sweat will be breaking. Your hands will start shaking. Your mouth will be breathing. Your adrenaline will start pumping.

• Pause. Take a break, drink some water, relax your digits and recover your wits (at the beginning of each level, that is, of course). You’ll need them for the final fight.
• Don’t sweat too much. If you’ve come this far, you’re pretty good at keeping tempo. It has become a force of habit. So don’t tell yourself “I must focus.” Instead, de-focus and forget about keeping the tempo. Let your muscle memory do the work. You focus on dealing with the situation.

Golden Lute

Actually not bad on a meta level, considering you can practise him a lot in the lobby and may have already did with the regular playthrough. The upside is: with good gear collected in the previous 4 levels, you don’t really need to worry about his movement. This downside is… everything else, including the possibility that you might die ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. But hey, it’s actually a very good run because you’ve gotten that far. The fact that you got to him makes it a good run, so keep your chin up.
Shield Ring + 1 Shield spell (2-3 Shield spells/scrolls/tomes) plus 3 damage is enough to take him out. The only catch is you’re so used to using spells that you might forget he’s only vulnerable to melee hits.

That’s All Folks

For a casual, completing Aria All-zones solo requires a lot of practice and a decent bit of luck. Shoot for 150 non-idle hours of game time (total including other characters). Good luck and have fun!