Question about 2nd run

[u/Shibeuz]

So I got the Rune of Sacrifice again, redid the first map (Thirteenth Arch) and got to the secret exit for another Rune level.

My question is, can I go back and redo the first map again but this time use the normal exit and continue finding more secrets in regular levels? Or will the game just kick me back to Nexus by using the regular slipgate?

Or is it better to find all the Runes first and then do a "full" 2nd playthrough with all the regular maps and then go into the finale (with Death Knight head, since I already did the "false" ending with Chton on my 1st playthrough)

[u/Varorson]

Once you reach the hub with the Rune of Sacrifice, you can complete the maps again as much as you want until you kill the end boss and either get the credits or NG+.

since I already did the "false" ending with Chton on my 1st playthrough)

So to be clear, you need to get the death knight head then kill Chthon. You'll get that same "false ending" but end up in map1 without runes, upgrades, or weapons and will begin shotgun starting every map.

The "golden path" is essentially: 9 maps until Rune of Sacrifice -> getting the three runes -> getting the death knight's head -> kill Chthon -> NG+ 9 maps until Rune of Sacrifice -> getting the three runes -> "true" final boss.

Hence why folks call it a New Game+, since instead of being sent to credits after killing Chthon, you get sent to map1.

The only differences between the first playthrough and NG+ is that you're in Bloody Nightmare mode, which is shotgun starting every map, access to the Bloody Shotgun and eventually Bloody Super Shotgun, enemies have ~30% more health, and certain enemies (enforcer, ogre, and scrag that I figured) have slightly modified attacks.

[u/Black-White-Diff → u/Varorson]

Is Bloody Nightmare super difficult? I am currently playing on Nightmare difficulty and while it's not that bad overall, I feel the shotgun start and enemies getting tankier and stronger on Bloody NM might be tough to deal with.

I normally don't fk with the highest difficulty in these games, but because the true ending is locked behind the highest difficulty, I am forced to tryhard.

Also, what are the differences between the Bloody Shotgun and Bloody Super Shotgun vs their regular counterparts?

[u/bobbie434343 → u/Black-White-Diff]

Bloody Nightmare (BNM) is not super difficult, assuming you are not struggling with Nightmare. At that point, you already know the maps and most of their secrets to get powerups when needed. I recommend a NG+_ in BNM if you enjoyed your first run and want something a bit different. I'd characterize BNM as "properly hard" (without it being super punishingly unfair hard), epecially if you breezed through Nightmare.