While Grandmaster Score Chaser isn't the rarest achievement, it is undoubtedly the badge that demands the highest level of skill. This guide is geared toward players that can already beat low Challenge (≤3) runs, since otherwise you really shouldn't be eyeing that 1M score yet anyway.

If getting a score of 1M sounds to you like a goal impossibly out of reach (as it once did to me), you've come to the right place! This guide aims to cover everything you need to know that's specifically related to this badge. Instead of dying repeatedly and getting no closer to achieving it, you'll form a concrete idea of how to work on it.

This guide is up-to-date as of v3.0.x, the current major stable release. The upcoming v3.1 will bring changes[shatteredpixel.com] to how the score is calculated.

This guide contains some unmarked spoilers.

A more comprehensive breakdown of the score system is can be found on Fandom[antifandom.com]. This section is an overview of the score system, written specifically with the 1M badge in mind.

If you take a look at the result of a run in the Rankings screen, you can click on the ℹ️ button next to your score to view the score breakdown:



Your score is the sum of five scores, each depending on an aspect of your performance:


We'll further break down how each score is calculated later in Section 3.


Your base score is capped at 120K, and higher scores are only achievable when other multipliers are applied to your base score:

• ×2.0 for ending the game after obtaining the Amulet
  
• ×2.5 for ascending with the Amulet (obviously not stackable with the first one)
  
• ×1.25 for every Challenge you enable (stackable)

Thus, a score of 1M only becomes obtainable if you enable 6 or more Challenges. If you don't want to do the math, here are the highest possible scores on 6 and 7 Challenges, rounded up:


You can also calculate the minimum base score needed to reach 1M on 6 and 7 Challenges. For 6, you need 105K, and for 7 you need 84K (both rounded up).


To unlock the badge, you can pick one of the two routes below:

• Ascend on 6 Challenges. This requires you to perform very well in all five categories, otherwise even a successful 6 Challenge Ascension might not get 1M.
  
• Ascend on 7 Challenges. While it's still possible to get less than 1M score this way, a 7 Challenge Ascension will almost certainly get more than 1M.

I took the first route, and it's also the one I recommend in this guide. The last three Challenges can be really brutal, so IMHO it's much easier to do an amazing 6 Challenge run than a mediocre 7 Challenge one.

Obviously, if you only have a few 0 Challenge victories under your belt, you are unlikely to have a good time brute-forcing this badge. Here are some rules of thumb I can think of to help you determine if you are ready.

• You should be familiar with how each of the 6 Challenges you choose work. You can also divide them into two sets of 3 Challenges, and practice 3 Challenge runs with those two different sets.
  
• You should be able to consistently (say, ~75% win rate) beat 3 Challenge runs with your main subclass, ideally with your main class. Sometimes RNG can really push you toward one subclass over the other.
  
• You should be able to make good use of just about every equipment (maybe except some weapons) and consumable you come across in the game. If you rely heavily on being blessed by RNG with certain OP items (e.g., WoCorrosion, RoHaste) to be able to win, you might die a lot on 6 Challenge before finally winning.

If you have trouble winning on 3 or fewer Challenges, that's outside the scope of this guide, but I can wholeheartedly recommend The Complete Newb Adventurer's Guide by u/Supernewb52. You can also watch some YouTube vids/streams that has commentary and learn from the way they play.

Now I'll take a closer look at the score categories outlined in the table from Section 1, as well as providing tips for getting higher scores in each one. You don't have to read this entire section, just refer to the categories that you have trouble with.


Progression score = the max depth you've reached × hero level × 65, capped at 50K. You always reach depth 26 on winning runs, so the only variable is the hero level, and you must reach Lvl. 30 to get the full 50K.

Tips:

• Your hero stops gaining XP after reaching Lvl. 28 while descending, but will continue to gain XP all the way to Lvl. 30 during Ascension.
  
• Other ways of leveling up:
  
  • Starflower seed is associated with PoExperience. Either cook a Blandfruit with a Starflower seed in an Alchemy pot to obtain a Starfruit, or turn three Starflower seeds into a PoExperience. I don't recommend gambling with seeds by adding one Starflower seed and two other seeds.
    
  • Acidic Scorpios always drop a Potion of Experience. Note that this doesn't mean other mobs can't drop it.
    
  • In crystal path rooms (i.e., six crystal doors and only three crystal keys), the innermost two rooms always contain either a SoTransmutation on the scroll side or a PoExperience on the potion side.
    

This one is straightforward. You don't even need to go out of your way to get rich, just work toward the victory and your Treasure score will always be maxed out.

Tip: In case you are wondering, it's impossible to reach 1M just by farming. The base Treasure score is capped at 20K.


Exploration score = floorsEntered × floorsExplored × 50, boss floors and quest sub-floors don't count.

As you can see, Exploration score is calculated individually for each floor and summed up as your total, and for each floor, you either get a full score if you've fully explored it, or 0 if you haven't. No partial credit awarded for the effort, oof!

As for the criteria for a floor to be considered fully explored:

1. No level-generated items left unseen or containers left unopened
   
2. No level-generated animated statues or mimics left alive
   
3. No sacrificial fire or magical fire room left unfinished
   
4. No barricades, locked doors, or undiscovered hidden doors
   
5. No keys left unused

Some explanatory notes for each point respectively:

1. "Level-generated" means loot dropped from mobs don't count. "Unseen" means you don't need to lug all the trash in your bag for the score, it's enough for the item to enter the hero's line of sight. Containers that you can't open (e.g., the chest in crystal choice rooms, crystal chests) are exempted.
   
2. "Level-generated" means guardians summoned by guardian traps don't count.
   
3. Self-explanatory.
   
4. Doors that you can't open (e.g., crystal path rooms) don't count, but those crystal doors that require you to fall down from the floor above do count. Also, those hidden doors that open up an alt path (instead of a secret room) also count, so make sure to examine them.
   
5. Self-explanatory.

Tips:

• Read Supernewb52's guide mentioned above to better understand level generation, if you have trouble finding secret rooms.
  
• I'd also recommend making good use of Scrolls of Magic Mapping. Use one each on floors 21–24 since those floors can be deadly, and on your way ascending, use a SoForesight at the start of floor 19, optionally paired with a PoStamina, and make sure to walk by suspicious areas, to reveal the secrets you previously missed.
  
• You don't have to deal with animated statues and sacrificial fire rooms if your hero's not yet geared up properly. Come back after exploring the next 2 or 3 floors if needed. Alternatively, find ways (Ethereal Chains, WoBlast, Aqua Brew) to drop those statues into chasms for an easy kill (their loot will be found on the floor below).

You are awarded 1K/2K/3K/4K/5K base score for the five bosses respectively, as well as 1.25K for each demon spawner left alive on floors 21–24. However, every time you get hit (dodging successfully still counts as getting hit) by a telegraphed attack, your score will be deducted accordingly:

• Goo's pump up attack: -100
  
• Tengu's phase 1 trap, phase 2 fire, shocker, or smoke bomb: -200
  
• DM-300's falling rocks: -300
  
• DM-300's electrified wires or water: -200
  
• DM-300's pylon shock attack: -100
  
• Dwarf King fight, Dwarf Warlock's dark bolt: -400
  
• Yog Dzewa's deathgaze: -500

Tips:

• Note that the only factor that affects the score of your victories is getting hit by telegraphed attacks. There are badges that impose more limits on boss fights (e.g., Spotless Victory that requires you to never let Goo heal in water, or No Weapons In His Presence that requires you to never directly attack the King), but those do not affect your Bosses score.
  
• Note that even with fire immunity (e.g., Elixir of Dragon's Blood, Brimstone armor), you will still lose score if you are caught in Tengu's fire attack.
  
• Here are my tips for maximizing your Bosses score:
  
  • For Goo, fight where you can repeatedly break its line of sight (e.g., one tile of grass) to cancel the pump up attack.
    
  • For Tengu, you must have mobility tools, e.g., Seed of Swiftthistle, Stone of Blink, PoHaste, Ethereal Chains, Timekeeper's Hourglass. Shocker and smoke bombs will still be thrown at your location even when you are invisible.
    
  • For DM-300, high mobility is still top tier, and invisibility also works. Avoid constantly hugging the walls during the fight, or there may not be any safe tiles around for you to avoid the falling rocks. The pylons' attacks can be fully avoided even by a melee hero, just pay attention to the rotating pattern.
    
  • For Dwarf King, mobility tools can get you inside Dwarf Warlocks' melee range before they spawn, and Potions of Invisibility/Shrouding Fog also work.
    
  • For Yog Dzewa, drink a PoLevitation to gain immunity against being rooted by the Soiled Fist. I also strongly recommend leaving all four Demon Spawners alive. This will obviously make the Yog fight significantly harder, but the bonus points will help significantly. You'll want a plan to deal with the troublesome mobs Yog summons:
    
    • Craft a few Scrolls of Psionic Blast and pair them with Stones of Flock, and you'll deal massive damage to all enemies. Stone of Aggression also works great, especially for the last phase.
      
    • A Scroll of Siren's Song can permanently turn an enemy into your ally. A Scroll of Prismatic Image grants you a copy of yourself as an ally.
      
    • Potions of Shielding/Earthern Armor and Elixirs of Aquatic Rejuvenation/Arcane Armor help greatly with survivability.
      
    • For ranged builds, crowd control options such as a high level WoFireblast/Corrosion or offensive potions like the Potion of Corrosive Gas, paired with several Potions of Paralytic Gas and/or Potions of Shrouding Fog, can do wonders. Melee builds might want some SoChallenge for damage mitigation.
      

You are awarded 1K/2K/3K/4K for completing each quest. Note that the Blacksmith score is equal to the amount of favor you gain, so you need to finish his quest perfectly.

Now, with all the nitty-gritty details out of the way, it's time to draft an actionable plan for you to work toward obtaining the badge. Here are my suggestions and tips:

1. Improve your skill to the point where you can comfortably beat 3 Challenge using your main subclass/class. Refer to the end of Section 1 if you aren't sure how to get better.
   
   • Personally, I recommend Badder Bosses, Hostile Champions, and On Diet for this step. Those three change the gameplay substantially, and getting familiar with them builds a solid foundation.
     
   • Your preferred class obviously depends on your playstyle, but I would recommend the Assassin subclass in particular, even though I usually prefer the Huntress or Mage. Having the flexibility to engage/disengage on your own terms is a huge advantage and can make up for your lack of skills.
     
2. Make sure to also familiarize yourself with the other 3 Challenges: Barren Land, Into Darkness, and Swarm Intelligence. Those are the 6 Challenges I (and probably everyone) would recommend, since the remaining three (FIMA, Pharmacophobia, and Forbidden Runes) can be brutal.
   
3. Next, start leaving all Demon Spawners alive (i.e., the Doom Slayer badge) in all your Badder Bosses runs. Get used to fighting Yog this way.
   
4. I strongly recommend doing practice Doom Slayer runs on 3 or more Challenges. Since your score gets a ×1.25 multiplier for each additional Challenge you enable, you can calculate if your performance is good enough. For example, if you can get more than 512K on 3 Challenge, the same performance would grant you 1M on 6 Challenge. (512K × 1.25 × 1.25 × 1.25 = 1M)
   
5. Once you have won a few times with 3 or more Challenges where your score would exceed 1M if you apply the missing score multipliers, you're in pretty good shape to try your hands on this ultimate badge!

Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments :)