KHFMHD Any% (Beginner) Guide/Dive to the Heart

Dive to the Heart is a fairly basic world but can be surprisingly input-intensive when starting out. While Dive to the Heart can be a common reset point for experienced runners due to its few key points of RNG, new runners should not be dissuaded and are encouraged to take whatever Darkside I times they get. Be sure to have visual and/or auditory clues for every cutscene; mashing cutscene skips is less advisable than timing them due to having to mash 3 inputs and the possibility of early pauses on some cutscenes.

Start off the run with a 3+ minute break.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Timer at 3:27

```

Walk forward into the light.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   _This cutscene needs a cue_

```

Hold File:PS3 left Analog downright.png and jump onto the pedestal with the Dream Staff. Mash  and  until you've confirmed your selection of the Staff. Continue to mash until the camera is directly behind Sora and all the text has disappeared.

Hold File:PS3 left Analog upleft.png and jump onto the pedestal with the Dream Shield. Mash until you've confirmed your dropping of the Shield. Continue mashing to confirm both of your choices.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Pedestal falls
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Cinderella hits left side of screen
   Cutscene Skip.
   _This cutscene needs a cue_

```

Mash  to swing the Staff, and then mash through text until the black textbox disappears from the screen.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Immediate, then immediately hold forward.

```

Run forward slightly to position Sora past the first shadow as it lunges, then mash  to kill it.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Immediate

```

Mash through the first black textbox, then hold File:PS3 left Analog right.png while mashing through the next two textboxes. Sora should stop moving just below the second segment of Cinderella's dress. This will position the Shadows in the next fight much more favorably for a two-combo fight.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Immediate

```

Mash through the black textbox, then immediately hold File:PS3 left Analog up.png.

## Shadows I

Run up to the first shadow and use a ground combo on it. Your position should ideally allow this combo to catch two Shadows. The remaining two will hopefully jump/lunge at you, but either way, continue attacking until all Shadows are gone. If a shadow gets hit by only a finisher then it will die to the next attack. Feel free to use an aerial combo on the final shadow if one gets away and you're feeling ballsy.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Just before Sora's left foot touches the ground (almost immediate)
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Sora's eyes open after blinking, then hold File:PS3 left Analog upleft.png.

```

Mash  as you approach the door to skip the text and then examine the door.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Camera points to Sora, then hold File:PS3 left Analog up.png.

```

Mash  again as you approach the chest, skipping the text and opening the chest. As the chest opens, hold File:PS3 left Analog downright.png and begin mashing  at a medium pace in order to jump towards the box during the next cutscene. Mash through the next textbox and use an aerial combo to break the box. Walk towards the item if it didn't land on Sora and mash through the next two textboxes. Mash through the barrel textbox, then hold File:PS3 left Analog upleft.png (or File:PS3 left Analog upright.png if it spawned on the right side of the door). Run a bit, then jump towards the barrel and perform an aerial combo to break it. If you have trouble breaking the barrel without landing on it, simply use a ground combo. After you break the barrel, hold File:PS3 left Analog upright.png (or File:PS3 left Analog upleft.png) and mash  as Sora approaches the door.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Camera points to door
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Destiny Islands becomes visible (about 5s after previous CS)

```

Mash through the textbox and run up to Selphie while mashing  to skip the next textbox and talk to her.

The answers you select to the next three questions determine the EXP route during the game. Dawn route (2/3 top) lowers the experience needed to reach each level until around level 30 and sacrifices level requirements after level 35. Midday route (2/3 middle or one of each) is a middle-ground and Night route (2/3 bottom) is the opposite of Dawn. This run is done on Dawn route, so select at least two answers from the top. The options below give the shortest amount of scrolling text and are therefore believed to be the fastest[citation needed].

Select the bottom answer (Template:Dpad) Template:VersionDifference then hold File:PS3 left Analog downleft.png and rotate it as you hold File:PS3 right Analog right.png to turn the camera to face Tidus. Press  to talk to Tidus. Select the top answer to his question. Hold File:PS3 left Analog downleft.png, talk to Wakka, and select the top answer. Mash through the resulting text and confirm your selections.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Immediately after the dialog box disappears
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: If playing in 4:3, wait for black bars to appear. Otherwise, listen for your PS3 to make a loud disc-spinning noise (about 8.5s after previous CS).

```

Run forward and mash through the text as you reach the light to initiate the Shadows II fight. This fight is a crapfest of RNG, so don't get too dismayed if the fight goes poorly. The basic strategy is to simply combo all the Shadows to death, but what follows is an attempt to set up a faster fight that has served several runners well.

## Shadows II

Wait a fraction of a second, then hold File:PS3 left Analog upright.png and run a few steps to avoid the Shadows that leap at your position. Immediately follow up with a ground combo, ideally positioned so that the first swing is a horizontal one. Continue using ground combos to finish off the remaining Shadows, trying to lock-on to Shadows positioned within the center of groups in order to hit as many as possible with each swing. Sora should reach Level 2 after killing the third-to-last Shadow, which will make both remaining Shadows take two hits to die. Remember that a Shadow knocked away by a finisher will only survive one more attack, so consider using aerial attacks on the last few Shadows.

At the end of the fight, run a few steps towards the bottom-middle of Aurora's dress, then jump to gain a bit more distance during the next cutscene. You're aiming for the spot where the Save Point will appear, as can be seen to the right.File:Dive\_to\_the\_Heart\_Save\_Point.png [image should be embedded]

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: HUD disappears

```

The camera will re-position itself differently based on Sora's location, but in most cases it should end up directly behind Sora, pointing at the Save Point, so hold File:PS3 left Analog up.png until Sora touches the Save Point. Mash through the text.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: HUD disappears

```

Hold File:PS3 left Analog down.png and File:PS3 right Analog right.png, adjusting accordingly as the camera turns. Walk a few steps up the stairs and press Start.

Continue up the stairs and to the middle of the room. The Darkside I fight will initiate after the next cutscene skip.

```
   Cutscene Skip.
   Cue: Camera changes to face Sora's profile (about 1s after HUD disappears)

```

## Darkside I

 Second
 Third
 Fifth

Darkside I is a fairly simple boss and considered one of the easiest bosses in the run. It is, however, the first introduction of spamming multiple air combos for new runners. Therefore, proper air combo mechanics will also be covered on this page.
## Air combos

Air combos are a fairly simple concept, but take an immense amount of practice to master. They are used throughout the entire run and therefore well worth the investment. Not only are the individual swings from air combos faster (or the same speed) than their ground counterparts, but the standard ground finisher has a fairly long animation that is impossible to cut short without getting hit. Once Sora lands from an air combo, all animations in progress immediately stop, so air finishers can have the portion of the animation after the damage is dealt cut off.

The trick to pulling off smooth air combos is minimizing 4 factors:

1. Rising time (time between jumping and the first swing of the Keyblade).
2. Time between swings (a.k.a. the aggregate time of the full combo).
3. Falling time (time between the finisher damage and landing).
4. Ground time (time on the ground between combos).

Every runner has their own method of performing air combos, but there are two basic camps: mashing combos and timing them. Most runners prefer to mash their combos using their right or left thumb. Some runners, such as spikevegeta, prefer to time the combos, using only three (or more, once you've equipped Air Combo Pluses) presses of the attack button. Try both out and see what works best for you in order to minimize the time between swings.

In order to minimize rising and falling time, practice short hopping by lightly pressing the jump button. The PS3 buttons are pressure-sensitive and Sora jumps higher the longer you hold the button. As Sora lands on the ground, there are a few frames during which he cannot take any action. Learning the timing for this inactive window is **crucial** to having smooth air combos. Attempting to jump during this window will give the impression that your input was eaten by the game as Sora will not respond. One trick to learning this window is to hold a direction as Sora is landing and waiting for him to take a step. As soon as Sora budges, the immobile window is over and you can jump again. Eventually, you'll learn the timing and not have to wait for Sora to move to know when to press the jump button.

## Darkside I

Darkside will only last for four 3-hit combos, so it'll go down pretty quickly to some fast air combos. Additionally, Darkside always opens with the punch attack, so the only RNG factor of this fight is the attack patterns of the Shadows that spawn. You *could*, therefore, simply sidestep the punch attack at the beginning and kill Darkside with 4 simple combos. However, in order to hit level 7 before the Guard Armor fight later in the game, we're going to need some additional experience points (xp). Landing a finisher on Darkside's *head* yields two tech points. Darkside will die on the fourth finisher, so that's an additional 8xp that can be gained during this fight. This turns out to be worth it in the long run, so practice climbing Darkside's arm. Hold File:PS3 left Analog down.png at the start of the fight, dodge the punch by jumping (or tank the hit), and then climb the arm with a couple quick forward jumps. Mash out four air combos and you're good to go.