Leash flinching: resetting a monster by leaving its territory

Leash flinching is flinching without a safespot. Many monsters only fight inside an area around where they spawn. Hit one, step outside that area before its first swing, and it gives up on the spot: no 8-tick wait for it to calm down. Your next hit gets a fresh retaliation delay straight away, so the pace is set by your own weapon and a couple of steps, not by the monster's temper. Hit-and-run is another name for flinching; this is the version that needs no safespot.

This builds on the timings in the flinching guide: the retaliation delay of half the attack speed, rounded down, and the last tick you can step out.

How a territory works in Microgrind

In the drills each Brute with a territory has a red square drawn around its spawn tile. The square reaches the same number of tiles in every direction, diagonals included, so a Brute with a territory of 2 owns a 5 by 5 block. The rules:

• While it is angry, the Brute checks where you stand at the start of its turn every tick. If you are outside its square it gives up at once, even in the middle of its retaliation delay.
• That check comes before its swing. Standing outside at the end of the tick before its swing is in time, which is the same deadline as stepping behind a safespot (when you have to step out).
• It never follows you out of its square. Once it gives up it walks home, one tile a tick.
• The next hit that lands counts as a fresh one, with the full delay, however soon you come back.
• A Brute never starts a fight on its own. Only the one you hit reacts.

How far you have to go

The bigger the territory, the further you have to get before the swing. The table comes from running the simulation: you stand beside the monster on its spawn tile, swing, and on the tick your hit lands you head straight out of its square. "In time against" lists the attack speeds, from 3 to 8, where it gave up before its first swing.

Running covers two tiles a tick and walking covers one, so keep run on. Against a 3-tick monster, which gives you a single tick, only a small territory can be left in time. If the square is too big, a safespot is the better plan.

Cycle time compared with safespot flinching

Here is what the leash buys you. On Flinching 1: Step Out, the levels' scripted bot swings on tick 3, its hit lands on tick 4, and it steps out on tick 4. The Brute gives up on tick 5, before its swing was due on tick 6. The bot walks straight back in and swings again on tick 7: 4 ticks later, which is simply its weapon's speed of 4.

Against the same Brutes, waiting out the 8-tick timer behind a safespot could never go faster than the calm-down time, and in practice the walk back adds more. Counted in hits per minute (100 ticks):

The timer column is the floor from the flinch table, before any walking. Even against that floor, a leash flinch lands at least 2.2 times as many hits a minute, and it never asks you to count to 8.

How to leash flinch

1. Find the edge of the territory and fight from the side closest to it, so the way out is short.
2. Swing, and queue the step out straight away. Against a 3-tick monster it has to go in on the very next tick.
3. Run, and head straight away from the monster so each tick gains you two tiles.
4. As soon as it gives up, step back in. Your next hit gets the full delay again, so swing as soon as your weapon is ready.
5. With two monsters, only the one you hit reacts. Each has its own square and its own delay, so count for the one you just hit.

How to practise it

Flinching 1: Step Out is the gentle start, with the Brute's timer shown. Flinching 2: Quick Feet uses a 3-tick Brute: you get one tick to leave, so the step has to be queued right behind the swing. Flinching 5: Brute Pair puts two Brutes side by side with different attack speeds and hides the timers, so you switch between two counts.

Quick answers

What is leash flinching?

Flinching without a safespot. Hit a monster that only fights inside an area around its spawn, step outside that area before its first swing, and it gives up on the spot, so your next hit gets a fresh retaliation delay straight away.

Is leash flinching faster than safespot flinching?

Yes. There is no 8-tick wait, so the pace is set by your weapon and a couple of steps. On the drill's leash levels it lands at least 2.2 times as many hits a minute as the fastest possible timer flinch against the same monster.

How far do I have to run to leash a monster?

Out of its territory by the end of the tick before its first swing, the same deadline as stepping behind a safespot. Keep run on: running covers two tiles a tick and walking one, and against a 3-tick monster only a small territory can be left in time.