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Many players have already gone through Deltarune Chapter 2, seemingly finding most of the secrets hidden within. What secret caught most of the players off guard, however, was the hidden route that parallels Undertale's genocide route.
An important thing to note is that playing this hidden route does not change the ending of Deltarune's second chapter. However, it does change how the story plays out and the status of certain characters by the end of the chapter. Because of this, it is clear that choosing this route does seem to have consequences that will carry on over to future chapters.
Due to the nature of Deltarune's Genocide/Snowgrave/Pepis route, it is highly recommended to complete the second chapter normally before attempting the route. Certain story elements in Deltarune are assumed to have been revealed already and may cause confusion if the initial context isn't given first.
Starting the Run
Despite the common nickname for this route being the Genocide route, killing all enemies isn't necessary from the very start. In fact, the variables that contribute to the route don't even begin until players have just Kris and Noelle in their party.
Noelle joins the party shortly after Susie and Ralsei leave Kris to take another path. Because of this, if players want to make alternate save files for their different routes, the save point by the city's entrance after the party split is the best place to make that extra save.
Taking Noelle to the Trash Zone
As soon as Noelle joins the party, players will want to backtrack to the Trash Zone and hit every enemy encounter possible. Instead of just attacking, players need to make Kris defend and have Noelle use Ice Shock on every enemy to defeat them. The best tell for the run being active is when the maps start to become filled with the frozen enemy bodies and the cars stop coming.
Once players are back in the Trash Zone, they need to go into the hole in the west side of the Trash Zone. There they will find the locked door of Spamton's shop. Players won't be able to open it, but Noelle will comment on it.
Note: If players want a chilling moment at the end of the route, they should take the time to unequip Noelle's watch from her and put it on Kris instead. This isn't needed for the run, but it does add to the atmosphere. |
The ultimate goal of this run is to make Noelle's ice magic incredibly strong by killing everyone she comes across. This is why backtracking to the Trash Zone was so important, as the defeated enemies won't come back.
The Ferris Wheel and the First Ring
After making it to the end of the Trash Zone, players can proceed through the city normally. It is still required to have Noelle freeze all of the enemies and have Kris defend each turn to have enough TP for the spell.
The next big step in the run is the map with the Ferris Wheel sign, as shown above. Before interacting with it, players should clear out all of the enemies with Noelle's magic. When prompted, players need to pick the following choices in order:
- "I will ride with you."
- "Noelle will ride with me."
After this interaction, players need to talk to the salesman in the room and select the option:
- "We're something else."
Making these decisions will have the salesman offer Kris a Freeze Ring for Noelle. The correct choice is to keep pressing the "Get it" option until Noelle relents. Equip the ring to Noelle.
City Puzzles and The Second Ring
After getting the Freeze Ring, it's time to go through with the usual Deltarune puzzles that lay ahead. Before getting to them, though, a conversation begins with Noelle. Select the option:
- "It's natural."
Players will come across more enemies that need to be frozen by Noel. Once again, it's important to state that every single possible enemy at this point needs to be frozen by Noelle. If all of the cars in the traffic section are gone, that is the confirmation that players are still on the Snowgrave/Genocide/Pepis route. While on the normally car-filled roads, players should look for a path southwest that leads to a dumpster.
The dumpster room normally has an Easter Egg where Toby Fox runs over Kris with a car, killing them as a joke in the normal route. In this route, however, players need to interact with the dumpster. Inside is Spamton, who will tell players how many enemies need to be killed. Remember him for later as he is critical for the route's completion.
When getting to the second mouse puzzle room, players need to pick the option:
- "Proceed."
Like with the ring, Noelle will refuse multiple times. Keep selecting the option until the lightning is gone.
From this point, players should keep track of how many enemies they've frozen with Noelle. As soon as they've reached the amount required by Spamton, players need to go back to him in the dumpster before making any story progress. Spamton will then offer the Thorn Ring. Equip it to Noelle, as her having it is the key to locking in the run for good.
Birdly Battle
If players have done all of the above, it will be time for the Birdly battle. Before the battle, players need to keep selecting the option:
- "Proceed."
While Birdly won't summon allies for this fight, he will use more difficult bullet patterns. To secure the Deltarune route, players must use Noelle's new spell on Birdly named Snowgrave. It costs 100% TP if players have the Thorn Ring and 200% if they don't. Because of this, the Thorn Ring needs to be equipped to use the spell.
There is no point in attacking other than Noelle's new spell. With this in mind, players should have Kris and Noelle defend until the TP meter is 100%.
When selecting Snowgrave, Noelle will refuse to use it. Like all the other times, players need to keep picking it until she relents. This will secure the route and cause Noelle to leave.
Deltarune: Chapters 1 and 2 are available now for PC via itch.io and Steam.