Sea of Tranquility

Sea of Tranquility is a track with a few shortcuts and many not-too-sharp turns.

## Shortcuts

Sea of Tranquility features a few shortcuts on the first half of the track.

### Shortcut 1 - NISC

At the beginning of the lap, take the right path upwards. The Cradle should be used right upon leaving the ground at the angled left side of the road. There are also some other options for using the Cradle to fly over the same cut.

If using a Fan, the timing is less strict and the shortcut can be pulled off as long as the item is used while on the ground at the correct angle.

To perform the shortcut without items, the same angle is used while switching and using elevator to get enough height and speed to go across the gap.

If using a Cradle or Reverie, you can actually combine it with the second shortcut and cut across the second gap as well, though it is rather difficult. This is a very volatile shortcut that can cause you to get stuck with a voided lap, so it is not recommended for use in ranked lobbies.

There is another variant which can be done without any spell by using a ring bounce. This is done on lap 1 in ranked matches when there is no spell or items to be had.

### Shortcut 2 - ISC

The second shortcut is directly after the first. It requires a Cradle or Reverie and cuts across another gap similar to the first shortcut.

### Shortcut 3 - ISC

After landing from the red ring, you can cut across a stretch of the moon's surface to the right with a Cradle or Reverie.

### Shortcut 4 - ISC

On the last U-turn before entering the tunnel, you can cut off a small gap by using a Cradle or Reverie on the inside of the turn. Prior to the 2.070 update, you were able to cut off much more, but the update introduced a new death plane, so you cannot cut as much, but it is still worthwhile if you have a flying item since there are no more item shortcuts after this.

## Paths

At the start of the track, there are two paths from the ground and one path that can only be accessed from the air. On lap 1, the left path is faster since it brings you closer to the following road where the curve is. However on lap 2, the right path is optimal because it allows for the shortcut. If you want to play it safe, then taking the middle path from being airborne is fastest because it has the most rings.

After landing on the moon, there is a split with two overlapping paths. The right path is slightly faster because it ends by putting you on the left side, which allows for a tighter line.

After the exiting the tunnel, you will be airborne for a good while, with the path beneath you curving to the left. However, you can fly directly from the tunnel's exit over the gap with just a few switches. Just be mindful not to fly too far to the right there is a fence in the way that you could bonk against.

Right after this gap, there is a vertical curve, where the middle section of the path elevates above the outer sections. The middle section is faster because it takes a shorter path upwards. However, be wary for Dolls or other hazards which will be very hard to avoid because of how narrow this section is.

Right before the finish line, there are two elevated paths with a descending path between. The right path is faster because it sets you in a favorable position to take either the right or middle path at the beginning of lap 2, and it also travels more directly towards the finish line, compared to the middle path which goes down a slope. There is not much reason to take the left path as it has the drawback of being much wider of a line without any additional benefits that the right path wouldn't also have.

## Strategy

At high level play, getting the opening NISC on lap 2 is key to ensuring victory.

There are several flying sections in this track, so be wary of spells that can be damaging while in mid-air, such as Amulet attacks at the red ring, or a Reverse Hierarchy when flying after leaving the tunnel.

## Trivia

* This track was built by Clownpiece using the Miracle Mallet. She chose the moon instead of Hell because the latter was too noisy. The complaints from the moon's inhabitants went to Reimu.
* As of the 2.070 update, a massive NISC that allowed you to skip the tunnel entirely has been removed. This removal occurred shortly after showcasing the shortcut being taken in the Touhou Station tournament.