Rope Race Tutorial

This rope race tutorial consists of three main sections, the rules, tips, and screenshots of tricks. This tutorial was written by TonY, and the screenshots were taken by TonY. Hope you have fun, and learn something new =)

Tips

General Tips

• Know your limits. Don’t attempt that nice and long water part if you know you only have four seconds left. Most seasoned players would disagree with me, as do I occaisonally, but if you are more or less new, do pace yourself.
• Slow down! Don’t try to go extremely fast when you’re newer. I’ve seen people who can go relatively fast for about a good couple of seconds and then they almost always mess up. Yes, it’s possible to be very fast and consistent, but that will come with time and practice.
• If you ever need to leave your computer while in a game and you're afraid you won't get back in time for your turn be sure to use the /afk command. That way, your turn is skipped as it starts.

Starting Tips

• When placing your worms at the beginning of a game don’t stack worms on top of each other as this annoys most people and sometimes prevents them from jumping. Either place your worm next to the other worms or drop it from such a height where you would usually take damage, then it just falls through the rest of the worms, instead of stacking.
• Aim your rope to the side or just slightly up when starting your turn; make sure the angle you aim your rope at never exceeds 45 degrees as this usually slows down your start significantly.
• I've noticed that in certain RR maps it can be a little confusing in which direction to go from the start. Remember the golden rule: Always go the way where there is no immidiate fork. Believe it or not, that will actually help you =)
• Don’t waste your time with a very fancy start, most anything will do as long as it’s fast.

Speed Tips

• Bouncing off walls is the key to speed. Pull in slightly as you bounce off walls for power. If you are in a corner, you should always try to attach your rope a couple of millimeters away from the wall so as to compensate for the upward motion you get from pulling in as you bounce (important for bounces that lead into scrolls).
• Don’t use only the up arrow when climbing up a shaft. Be sure to bounce off the walls and pull in as you let go every time to give power so that you can cover more distance per rope change (see the climb screenshot in the tricks section. Be sure to let go when your rope is perpendicular to the wall so you go up instead of hitting a wall. Alternatively, you can do what is known as an extension (see the tricks page).
• Never lower your worm down a shaft on a rope; try to always fall down a shaft. Make sure your rope is attached to the ceiling and forms an angle with the ceiling no larger than 45 degrees, or that it is attached to the wall opposite the wall you are going to catch when you fall, and that it is more or less horizontal (parallel to the ceiling, usually) before you let go. More advanced alternatives are to spike, shadow, or swoosh down a shaft.

• Most people agree that your mood strongly affects how well you rope race. It can easily become a downward spiral if you’re in a bad mood; you can’t concentrate as well because you’re in a bad mood, causing you to mess up, which even worsens your mood. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play worms if you’re in a bad mood, but be sure not to take it out on others.
• I find that music often helps me rope race better and warm up faster. My worms playlist is primarily made up of rhythmic rock, but I’ve heard techno is good too. Be warned though that the wrong music can have quite the opposite effect on you, and that playing while playing worms can lag older computers.