Embers of Blazing Hell

Embers of Blazing Hell is a complicated track with many tight turns.

## Shortcuts

Embers contains 3 shortcuts, each of which requires an item.

### Shortcut 1 - ISC

The first shortcut is the most defining part of Embers: the spiral skip. Using a Fan, Cradle, or Reverie, it is possible to skip the first turn of the spiral in the beginning. This saves a large amount of time and usually guarantees that frontrunners do not fare well on this track, especially as the spiral itself is difficult for characters with low Drift.

With a Cradle or Reverie, it is recommended to use the item right after passing the ring on the ramp. This gives you enough height to get to the upper part of the spiral while also ensuring that you do not bonk against the ceiling of the archway that you pass through. Keep in mind that a Reverie will also give you additional speed so with a character that has trouble turning, you will end up going very wide after making the cut.

The strategy is rather different with a Fan. The recommended method is to line yourself up on the right side of the ramp, then use the Fan before the actual ramp starts. Begin holding down to get the elevation boost midway through the Fan's boost, and then start drifting to the left at the end to breakdrift onto the ramp, letting the rear end of your board get onto the right side of the spiral that is closer to you. The difficulty of this shortcut is heavily dependent on the Air stat of the character, so it may be worth swapping the Spell to another character if you are running a combo with two different Air stats.

### Shortcut 2 - ISC

Just before the alternate path where you go up and ride the left wall after the spiral, you can actually ride a corresponding wall with a small ramp at the end. Using a Cradle here can give you enough height to fly over and skip the first turn in the angled section, which saves a small amount of time. Using another Cradle while still in the air can give you enough height to make it all the way to the ending jumps section.

### Shortcut 3 - ISC

At the end of the track with the lava jumps section, there is a small hole in the cave wall on the right side that can be flown through, which will put you just before the finish line. The strategy for this is different based on which Spell is used.

For a Reverie, it is simple. You just have to use it as you leave the initial ramp, before the lava section even starts. It will carry you all the way to the hole in the wall and you will not have to worry about hitting any of the spewing lava at all.

For a Cradle, you must use it on the first ramp in the lava jump section, preferably the one on the right side as that is much closer to your target destination. This also allows you to avoid the spewing lava.

For a Fan, you must do it one ramp later, which unfortunately is right where the lava spews onto. It is possible to get it even while the lava is active by aiming for the back right part of the platform.

## Paths

The track features several alternate paths, some of which can grant substantial time saves.

After the first turn at the beginning, the path splits briefly to the left and right before closing back up again. The left path is slightly faster since it will bring you closer to the next turn, but the time difference is not very large.

After the turn after the spiral, there is a small section to the left of the normal path that you can ride on, both before and after the small jump that takes place there. The earlier part is used in Shortcut 2, and is generally not used. However, the left wall after the jump can be easily made from the bottom route, and is always a good option as it cuts off a portion of the turn.

Shortly after this, there is a turn with a small gap on its inside. This gap can be cleared directly by most characters, though some who have low speed may need to switch just before going across or end the drift mid-gap just to make it without falling.

Immediately after that turn there is a path that leads directly through, meaning one turn can be skipped entirely. While there appears to be lava in the way, this lava has no hitbox and can do no harm. You can still fall off if you go too far to the left, however.

Right after this is one more turn with a small gap that can be cut similarly to the previous one. Characters with wide drift will struggle with readjusting afterwards, so you may need to start the drift rather early if you are using such a character.

The ending lava jump section has more or less two general paths you can take, one to the left and one to the right, but the fastest way is actually to use mid-air switches to fly all the way to the middle platform.

Another strategy is to go directly in the lava, which if done properly will respawn you at the other side. This is slower than the optimal path but only results in a minor time loss, and is sometimes necessary if you have uncontrollable speed like from Froggy Braves the Storm or a Peerless Patriot's Elixir EX. The best spot to fall into the lava is right after the second platform in the middle, to its right side. Any earlier than this will send you back to the beginning of the lava jump section, so make sure to go far enough or else you will suffer a massive time loss.

## Strategy

This track is very infamous and is unlike most others in the game. It is easily the best track for technical characters because of the spiral, which most of the speedier characters struggle with. Additionally, the sheer strength of the first shortcut makes Cradles (and Fans) incredibly important, to the point where being in first on lap 3 is usually a sign of assured defeat.

In addition, the track is fairly long, generally taking at least 2:30 to complete, which means there is plenty of time for Last Words to charge. Some of these can be very deadly on the ending lava jump section, where a well-timed attack can cause you to fall into the lava early, giving you a terrible respawn.

## Trivia

* This track and Underworld City Depths both share the same song.
* This is the deepest part of the former Blazing Hell.
* The crowded bridge is said to be a miracle of kappa ingenuity.