Misty Lake

Misty Lake is a rather infamous track with many shortcuts and air sections.

## Shortcuts

Misty Lake contains many shortcuts and paths that make it difficult to master.

### Shortcut 1 - NISC

The first shortcut takes place right after the first hairpin turn, which needs to be cut sharply to go onto the platform that rises up alongside the fence. This will generally be done by purposefully bonking against said fence, but high Drift characters can make the turn directly.

Upon leaving this platform, the next turn can be skipped, but you must be wary of the deathplane to the left, which extends rather far squarely. While not necessary, a Fan can make it easier to reach all the way to the bend of the curve before the platform with a single ring on it, though more often than not it will be safer to land near the ring before this on the curve itself.

### Shortcut 2 - NISC

By using a Cradle or a Reverie shortly after the lone ring on the platform, you can fly through the columned wall and save a considerable amount of time. After using the cradle, you can position yourself against the wall and slide along until you fall through. Be careful not to angle too far inwards or you may bonk and have to take the normal route.

There is also a rare chance that you may gain more height than normal, which can cause you to cut off significantly more than usual.

The Fan and NISC version are slightly different as they aim at sliding against the wall directly upon leaving the platform, where you try and push yourself up and over. In a similar fashion you can use a Cradle or Reverie after dropping from the platform with the ring and aim at the wall for this alternate method, though it is slightly slower.

### Shortcut 3 - NISC

At the end of the inverted pyramids section, you can skip from the penultimate pyramid on the right side to the curve ahead, skipping a turn. With a Cradle or Reverie, you can even skip the entire hairpin by cutting to the left side of the fence ahead, though this will align you somewhat poorly for Shortcut 4. A Fan is enough to pull off the common NISC variant where you aim for the right side, staying to the left of the vertical pole that is visible just to the right of the pyramid.

If not using items, a switch is necessary, often with holding down after the switch to stay airborne enough to make it across. Depending on the air stat, a second switch may be necessary after shortly drifting to the right. Keep in mind that everything to the right of the pole is a deathplane, and behind it there is another deathplane that protrudes squarely, so you should not go too far to the right, only just enough to land to the right side of the fence on the inside of the curve.

### Shortcut 4 - NISC

Right after the previous shortcut, there are some billboards visible on the right side of the track. Taking off directly to the left of these will give you a good amount of air that allows you to fly over the upcoming S-bend, landing just before the bridge. Several switches are necessary to make it across as a NISC, while using any of the speed Spells will allow you to make it across fairly easily as long as you stay clear of the deathplane, which is a corner that protrudes in on the left side on the first curve that you fly over.

## Paths

In addition to the above shortcuts, there are several paths that are almost as important as the shortcuts themselves to playing the course properly.

The first split path at the beginning is due to a large ice block that forces you to either the left or right side. The right side is faster since it is in the direction of the next turn.

After this curve is a fence to your left, which you will generally want to bonk against in order to skip past the hairpin and fly off a more elevated section to perform the first shortcut. Characters with high drift can instead make a wide turn, almost falling off the right side of the track before the curve, in order to make it all the way onto the elevated section. When taking off, be sure to stay on the right two teeth protruding, as any further left is where the deathplane begins.

After the castle section are several inverted pyramids. The fastest route is to take the left one at the first split and the right one at the second split, in order to take Shortcut 3. However, if not taking the shortcut for whatever reason, the left pyramid at the end is better for the normal route.

After Shortcut 4 there is a bridge, but you can go to the left of it and gain air for the whole section until the ending spiral. This is a must for characters with high Air, but be careful not to go too far to the left from the bridge as the deathplane is fairly close.

Before the spiral is another columned wall, with a small gap in the middle. This gap can be flown directly through, skipping a small curve. This does not require the air gained from skipping the bridge and can be done from the ground path.

At the end of the spiral you land on the surface of the lake itself, which features ramps and rings to either side. Generally the fastest route is to go to the right side, hit the ring behind the first ramp, then take the second ramp and fly to the last ramp. However, this strategy may change depending on the Air stat of your characters.

## Strategy

With so many shortcuts and flying around, this track is very skill-based and requires lots of knowledge on the locations of the deathplanes to be able to do well on it. It is also a very strong for flying characters. Since all of the shortcuts can be done itemless and only one of them is significantly improved by the use of one, items generally are not as useful on this course.

However, Last Words that interrupt other players can be extremely powerful, especially against players that are in the middle of taking shortcuts who will be forced to either abandon or fail them, causing significant time losses that can help you catch up.

## Trivia

* The BGM is actually an arrangement of a song from another of illuCalab's games: I.⑨ -Intelligent Fool-
* This track and Cirno Circuit share the same song.
* The track was built by Cirno, who wanted to build an ice castle with her newfound power, but after it didn't turn out as she'd hoped, she built a racetrack instead.
* The castle present behind the columned walls is the Shining Needle Castle.