Welcome to Coco mode! If you're playing this mode, you're probably craving a challenge. Coco has challenge coming out the ass, so best of luck to your runs, and hopefully this guide can help.

No, I haven't beaten the true ending as Coco yet, but I'm working on it. Playing as Coco can be brutal, especially when you're facing some of the more unfair challenges. (Looking at you, sawblades in minuscule corridors.)

The primary differences between Coco and Wally are:

• Coco's default projectile only shoots in 4 directions, instead of at the cursor.
  
• Coco gets 2 upgrade options instead of 3.
  
• Coco starts with 2 max hearts instead of 5.
  
• Coco has a max bomb count of 3 instead of 9.

These changes are clearly designed to be brutal, but the real killer here isn't the low HP, it's the default projectile (which I'm gonna call Lockshot for lack of a proper term). Being locked into the cardinal directions severely limits your options when it comes to attacking enemies, so you'll be dealing a lot less damage unless you can find a way to mitigate it. How do you do so? Glad you asked!

There are three different approaches to getting around Coco's crippling inability to aim with the Lockshot, in order of ease. All of these are dependent on luck, but some are easier than others.

• Grabbing a secondary weapon.
  
• Giving the Lockshot homing.
  
• Finding the Goggles.

Getting a secondary weapon - ideally a good one, like the one that lets you fire as fast as you click - allows you to bypass the Lockshot's weakness by simply not using it. If you're going this route, it's ideal to get a lot of ammo for your secondary so you can keep firing on bosses. Use the Lockshot to take out weaker opponents, like the baby spiders, and go ham on your secondary otherwise. Remember, you only have two hearts, and it's better to spend ammo than take damage!

Alternatively, you can give the Lockshot homing with a variety of items. Bat Wing immediately comes to mind as an effective item, although it's pretty rare, so best of luck finding it. If your run errs towards this route, consider investing everything you can into Lockshot to make it a machine of death. If available, grab buffs like Shot Size+, Range+, and Chaining to really make it crush anything in your way.

Finally, you can find the Goggles. If they're still in the game, they're pretty damn rare. The Goggles removes the aiming limitation from the Lockshot (though it keeps the range penalty), allowing you to actually shoot things in your vicinity. Best of luck finding them, I haven't seen them in my last several runs, and I've been farming as many items as I could.

When you're playing as Coco, getting as many items as physically possible is an absolute must. Your crippled stats and meager range means you need all the help you can get. Your solution?

Blowing ♥♥♥♥ up.

With a bomb cap of three, Coco isn't exactly showing up as a demolition expert, but key items like Every Third Bomb Spawns More Bomb and Jalapeno Business allow you to really start to tear through walls in order to reach those sweet, sweet chests, which might contain those sweet, sweet Goggles. Remember to use the explosions generated from leveling up, grabbing blue money crystals, getting items, and drinking Potions to break walls and potentially get more loot for less bombs. If you're REALLY fortunate, you can pick up a Bomb Quest and periodically get bombs just for doing damage. Don't waste these on enemies; getting items takes priority.

I'm tired as hell so I'm going to bed but I'll continue this guide later lol