Skeleton Tech (Advanced Guide)

This section will cover the basics of Skeleton's tech and then all of the intricate details. It overlaps with the daily sheet page and builds off of mechanics explained there.

Note: Much of this information is pedantic and is only useful in the most niche or extreme circumstances.

Skeleton's leveling mechanics have been changed over the courses of the betas, so the page will be split between Non-Beta and the later Betas. They are as follows;

• Melting and Skeleton both start from Set 1 on Non-Beta (u99r1) and see the exact same sets.
• Melting and Skeleton both start from Set 0 on Beta (2021 & 2025 branches) and see the exact same sets.
• Skeleton's sets will have a random separate set on early beta branches (modbranch 2021 and likely Switch). This also includes Melting's Redemption.
• This guide will focus on just Skeleton on Non-Beta and the later Betas, not the versions with random sets.
• Randomized sets also apply on NTT v9940 and v9944. If wanting to test set mechanics use v9921 for Non-Beta and v100 for Beta mechanics.

Non-Beta Mechanics

This section applies to u99r1 (default Steam branch). Testing these mechanics can be done on NTT v9921, with the exception of Redemption which is broken in this NTT version.

Normal Leveling	On Non-Beta, Melting will start on Set 1 and Skeleton will as well. Hitting Ultra, taking Detachment, and having active Patience as Melting will not effect what sets Skeleton sees at all. In this version Crown of Destiny does not grant Skeleton an extra mutation. If Melting takes Heavy Heart then it will not reappear for Skeleton. Example: As Skeleton sees the same sets he can route differently based on what mutations he's seen. In this case he takes Laser Brain in Set 2 instead which uncovers a mutation in Set 3, which so happens to be Strong Spirit.
Last Wish	If Melting takes Last Wish and then transforms into Skeleton on 5-1 on any loop, the Jungle Flower can still be entered. This will grant Skeleton an extra set allowing him to have 9 mutations. Skeleton will start on Set 1 as normal, unless if Melting visited Jungle earlier in that run. (See below) Example: The start of the routes for both Melting and Skeleton. Once Skeleton enters the Jungle on L1 he sees Set 1 first, and will see through Set 9 normally for nine full mutations.
Skeleton Jungle Skip	On Non-Beta, if Melting enters Jungle before transforming into Skeleton it will permanently advance the set number by one. This means that visiting preloop Jungle as Melting, then transforming to Skeleton afterwards, he will start on Set 2. This can be done multiple times as Melting to further the set number that Skeleton starts on. On the other hand, becoming Skeleton and entering Jungle on the same level will not skip any additional sets, he will still start on set 1 if it's the first Jungle visit. Example: Melting's route visited preloop Jungle, so Skeleton starts on Set 2 rather than Set 1.
Redemption	Skeleton transforms back into Melting and is instantly granted eight mutations and a choice between ultras. Redemption counts as ultra skipping, so Melting will then begin on Set 2 and see through Set 9. (Patience tech to be added later) If Detachment is taken it will use its usual Non-Beta mechanics and give a mutation from the last two sets seen (8 and 9), then one from the following set (set 10). After Detachment is taken the game will grant Melting an option of taking ultras again. Taking Detachment a second time does nothing, however taking Brain Capacity allows Melting to run both ultras. This is patched in the betas. Example: Skeleton takes his mutations from Sets 1-8 as normal. Melting then starts from Set 2, then sees through Set 9. He then takes Detachment which gives him Sets 9-11, following normal Detachment logic.

Beta Mechanics

This applies to openbeta 2021 and openbeta_64. Testing these mechanics can be done on v100.

Normal Leveling	On the Betas, Melting will start on Set 0 and Skeleton as well. Hitting Ultra, taking Detachment and Vault Skips as Melting will not effect what Skeleton sees at all. Vault Skipping works as normal on Skeleton, skipping over a set. If Melting takes Heavy Heart then it will not reappear for Skeleton. Example: As Skeleton sees the same sets he can route differently based on what mutations he's seen. In this case Melting sees that Trigger Fingers reappears in Set 1, so Skeleton can take Rhino Skin in Set 0 knowing that his build will have both mutations.
Last Wish	If Melting takes Last Wish and then transforms into Skeleton on 5-1 in any loop, the Jungle Flower can still be entered. This will grant Skeleton an extra set allowing him to have 9 mutations. Jungle set ordering will not be reset if Melting transforms. This means that if Melting saw Jungle 1, then Skeleton would start on Jungle 2. Example: On the Melting route he enters Jungle in preloop, seeing the Jungle 1 set. Last Wish is taken a second time later in the route and Jungle is entered again in L1 after transforming. Skeleton then sees the Jungle 2 set, and will receive 9 mutations.
Patience	If Melting transforms into Skeleton while having Patience active (not yet granting the reroll), this will not grant Skeleton an extra mutation, but rather change the order of the mutations he sees. The first level up will grant Skeleton the Patience set, and then Sets 0-6 normally. Skeleton can then take Patience which will grant him the same set a second time, allowing him to siphon off a second mutation from the same set. Example: Melting takes Patience in Set 3 while entering Labs, but does not see the Patience set. The first set Skeleton sees is the Patience set upon leveling up, and then sees Sets 0-6 normally. In Set 3 he takes Patience which gives him the same set a second time, allowing him to get a second mutation from it.
Redemption	Skeleton transforms back into Melting, the amount of mutations depends on the beta. For 2021 openbeta: Gives eight mutations and a choice of ultras. For 2025 openbeta and NTT v100: Gives nine mutations and a choice of ultras. (NTT Skeleton start still only gives 8.) If Skeleton takes Patience and then Redemption in the same level up screen this will grant an extra mutation for Melting. The sets that Melting sees continues two sets after the one Skeleton left off on. If Skeleton ends on Set 7, then Set 8 is skipped, and Melting sees Sets 9-16. Detachment on this version skips the next set after then gives the three following sets. This would be sets 18-20 normally without any Vault Skips on Skeleton. On the extreme end, the max set number reachable in this version is Set 23. If Skeleton sees up to Set 10 with vault skips, then Melting sees Sets 12-19, and then Detachment sees sets 21-23. Example: Skeleton's route stops at Set 7 which is typical, thus Set 8 is skipped. Melting starts to see mutations from Set 9, which would end on Set 16 in this case.
Destiny	In the Betas, Crown of Destiny now works for Skeleton transforming. Skeleton will not see the Destiny set ever, but rather start on Set 0 and end on Set 8. This can be combined with Last Wish tech above, allowing Skeleton to get 10 total mutations. The odds of Skeleton getting an optimal set out of this is extremely unlikely in a vanilla run, however. As the same above if Patience is active when transforming, then Skeleton will see the Patience set first, then Set 0-7. Example: There are three example routes of a Weekly using Crown of Destiny. Route 1: Melting sees his Beta Destiny set, and then sets 0-7 normally. As he sees Heavy Heart this permanently removes it from the pool, thus neither Skeleton route sees it. Route 2: Skeleton's normal route that skips the Beta Destiny set, but rather sees Sets 0-8. Route 3: Patience is taken while Melting enters labs, so Skeleton's first set he sees the first slot from Patience which is Trigger Fingers. Upon taking Patience in his route, Recycle Gland is the second slot so he receives that instead.