Everything is Crab Small-Body Build: Size, Dodge and Minimalist

What an empty slot costs

In the v1.0.1 evaluation, megad16 reports +15% Damage and Progress per empty slot and no starting dash. Compare that dated effect with your current Genetics card. Before filling a slot, identify what the ability solves; before leaving it empty, identify how you will escape or finish encounters without it. Unbinding a control does not establish that the equipment slot is empty.

Route phases

1. Choose Dechonked, Dodgy, an ordinary Minimalist run or a damage-restricted achievement before choosing a genetic. If Minimalist is unavailable, its locked card is the place to check the requirement; do not substitute a guessed Size threshold.
2. For goals that allow dealing damage, compare Stinger, Pincer or one ranged attack by its useful reach and the slot it occupies. This attack advice does not apply to Zen or Dove. A single-attack layout is an option, not a complete proven recipe.
3. If walking cannot clear an attack, compare a dash with the empty-slot bonus. In the Dove discussion, sirlockjaw describes Minimalist with a dash and recommends unbinding attacks; OddDreamsDigital endorses the control precaution, not a guaranteed build.
4. Keep a food route available between encounters. Before a boss, check your movement control, available space and any protection duration. For Zen, avoid both dealing and taking damage: the official 1.1 notes say recorded meteor damage invalidates it.

Check the result against the goal

Read Size for Dechonked and Dodge for Dodgy. For Can’t touch this, the run must finish without taking damage; Zen also excludes dealing it. Restored health or remaining armor does not prove that no damage was taken. Use the result and achievement notification to check the attempt instead of judging success by how small the character looked.

Continue planning

• Dechonked condition
• Dodgy condition
• Minimalist effect and unlock boundary
• Equip and change abilities
• Compare dash tools
• Food and Progress
• Dove and Zen route
• Plan your own choices

Read the current movement and Dodge choices

Leap can appear as a Common Evolution since 1.1. If the immediate problem is leaving an attack area, compare the usable movement offered now rather than waiting only for a higher-rarity option. Common availability does not guarantee that Leap appears, or make it mandatory for a small-body run. Source: Official 1.1 notes

The 1.1 notes also changed Shifty to distribute its bonus between Dodge and Damage. If your specific goal is Dodgy, check the resulting Dodge value instead of counting the whole bonus as Dodge. For a no-damage-dealt goal, distinguish increasing a stat from choosing and actually using a damaging attack. Source: Official 1.1 notes Source: Steam achievement conditions

FAQ

Does 75% Dodge prove that a no-hit run is safe?

Dodgy’s threshold and Can’t touch this’s requirement are different. A qualifying Dodge value does not certify that no damage was taken during the run. Continue checking attack patterns and available space, and assess the no-hit achievement from the actual completed run rather than the displayed Dodge number alone. Source: Steam achievement conditions

Can I substitute lower Size for the Dodge target?

Dechonked measures Size at 40%, while Dodgy measures Dodge at 75%. Read the attribute named by the chosen achievement. A visually tiny character or a movement improvement is not a second way to meet the Dodge condition, just as a Dodge improvement does not establish the required Size. Source: Steam achievement conditions

Can healing undo meteor damage for Zen?

The official 1.1 correction makes meteor damage count on the end screen and invalidate Zen. Restoring health afterwards does not turn that event into a run with no damage taken. Treat avoiding the hit as the relevant decision; recovery can support ordinary survival, but it cannot supply the stated no-damage result. Source: Official 1.1 notes Source: Steam achievement conditions

Sources and version scope