Stock runs vs assisted runs

The stock case

A stock run is the game as shipped: no preview extension, no slow-mo, just you and the reflection law. The argument is pure — every stock clear is unimpeachable evidence that you, alone, solved the chamber.

Stock players also report a harder-won instinct: without training wheels, the geometry moves into muscle memory faster. There's truth in it.

The assisted case

Assisted players aren't skipping the puzzle — they're studying it. Trajectory Guide turns every death into a lesson; Slow-Mo converts timing walls into learnable windows. The assist system's entire design premise is 'externalise what experts do internally'.

And here's the thing: the game's hardest chambers were tuned with assists in mind. Some late-game routes practically assume you'll use the toolkit.

The leaderboard doesn't ask how you climbed. It asks whether the climb was real — and both kinds are.

What the telemetry says

Tracking skill growth across 12,000 players: stock-first players develop marginally better aim; assist-first players develop faster route-reading and reach endgame chambers sooner. By season three, their par rates converge almost exactly.

Translation: pick the style that keeps you playing. The loadout guide maps assists to specific sticking points if you go assisted.