Start With Games You Already Know Inside Out

Listen, I see you eyeing those Sub-30 minute runs of games you’ve never touched, and I’m here to pump the brakes on that dream for exactly thirty seconds. The fastest way to burn out on speedrunning is picking a game because the route looks cool on YouTube rather than because you actually love playing it. Trust me on this one – I spent three weeks grinding Celeste any% before realizing I’d never even finished the base campaign.

Pick something you’ve beaten multiple times already. Something where you know the levels, the enemy patterns, where the health pickups are, and most importantly, something that still makes you smile when you boot it up. Maybe it’s that platformer you 100%’d last summer, or the RPG you’ve replayed four times because the story hits different every playthrough. When you’re learning to optimize movement and memorize frame data, the last thing you want is trying to figure out basic game mechanics at the same time.

Your muscle memory is already doing half the work here. You know which jumps feel sketchy, which enemies always catch you off guard, and where you tend to take damage. This existing knowledge becomes your foundation for building speed. Plus, when you inevitably hit a wall in your times, you won’t be questioning whether the game is worth the effort because you already know the answer is yes.

Master One Small Section Before Chasing Full Runs

Here’s where most casual speedrunners go wrong: they jump straight into full runs and wonder why their times aren’t improving after twenty attempts. It’s like trying to learn guitar by playing entire songs before you can switch between chords smoothly. Break your chosen game into chunks of maybe five to ten minutes each, then absolutely demolish those sections until you can run them blindfolded.

Pick the section that feels most natural to you first. Maybe it’s an early level with straightforward platforming, or a boss fight where you’ve figured out a reliable damage pattern. Set up save states if the game supports them, or find natural checkpoint breaks where you can restart quickly. Your goal isn’t just to complete the section faster, it’s to complete it consistently at your best pace.

Time each attempt and track your progress. When you can hit your best time in that section seven out of ten tries, you’re ready to either optimize it further or move to the next chunk. This approach builds the consistency that separates actual speedrunners from people who just run fast sometimes. Plus, seeing those section times drop gives you constant dopamine hits that keep the motivation flowing.

Don’t skip this step because it feels boring compared to full runs. Every world-class speedrunner spent hundreds of hours perfecting individual sections before their complete runs started looking magical. You’re building the foundation that makes everything else possible.

Learn to Read Your Own Mistakes Instead of Copying Optimal Routes

YouTube speedrun guides are incredible resources, but they’re also dangerous traps for beginners. Those frame-perfect skips and pixel-perfect jumps look amazing in practice, but they’re optimized for someone who’s already running at an elite level. Trying to copy them too early is like learning to drive by watching Formula 1 races.

Focus on understanding why you’re losing time in your current runs. Record yourself playing or at least take mental notes during each attempt. Are you dying to the same enemy three runs in a row? Are you consistently overshooting a particular jump? Are you getting lost in a specific area because you haven’t memorized the layout yet? These problems are way more important to solve than shaving two seconds off with an advanced trick.

Start with safe, consistent strategies that you can execute reliably. If the optimal route requires a difficult trick that you only land 30% of the time, find the backup route that you can hit 90% of the time. Your overall time will improve faster by eliminating major mistakes than by occasionally pulling off advanced techniques.

As your consistency improves and your basic execution gets cleaner, you’ll naturally start seeing opportunities for optimization. Maybe that tricky skip becomes worth attempting because you’re not losing time to silly mistakes elsewhere. Maybe you notice a pattern in your movement that could be streamlined. This organic approach to learning advanced techniques sticks better than trying to memorize someone else’s optimal route.

Build Your Own Practice Routine That Fits Your Schedule

Speedrunning improvement comes from focused practice, not just grinding out attempts. Treat it like learning an instrument, you need warm-ups, technical exercises, and performance practice. Start each session by running through your best sections to get your hands warmed up and your brain in the right mode.

Dedicate specific time to working on your weakest areas. If you’re consistently losing time in level three, spend fifteen minutes just running level three over and over. If there’s a boss fight that keeps ending your runs, practice that boss until the pattern becomes automatic. This targeted practice is worth more than five random full attempts where you hope everything goes right.

Set realistic goals based on your available time. If you can only play for an hour twice a week, don’t expect to see daily improvements. Focus on weekly progress and celebrate the small wins. Maybe this week you finally nailed that tricky jump sequence, or you beat your personal best by just five seconds. These victories add up faster than you think.

Track your progress somewhere visible. Whether it’s a simple text file with your best times or a full spreadsheet breaking down section splits, having concrete data helps you see improvement even when it feels like you’re stuck. Plus, looking back at where you started becomes incredibly motivating when you’re feeling frustrated with your current plateau.

The most important thing to remember is that speedrunning is still gaming, and gaming should be fun. If you’re not enjoying the process of getting faster, you’re probably pushing too hard or comparing yourself to the wrong benchmarks. Your goal isn’t to compete with people who’ve been running your game for five years, it’s to beat the person you were last month. Every personal best is worth celebrating, whether it’s a thirty-second improvement or shaving off just a single second. Drop a comment below with your current project or your latest PB, I genuinely want to hear about your speedrun progress and cheer you on.