Normally, trying to load the Sky during Back in Time crashes the game, since most layers of the Sky cannot be loaded properly in BiT. However, the layer corresponding to the loftwing tutorial can load correctly, and therefore this tutorial can be accessed during BiT. This would normally not be useful, as that tutorial has a boundary that cannot be crossed while on the loftwing. However, the Eldin Light Pillar is within the boundaries of the tutorial.
Using the Story Flag RBM variant of the Early Light Pillar glitch, it is possible to enable the Eldin Light Pillar on a file that can access the loftwing tutorial during BiT, and therefore reach the surface during BiT. This allows for the Back in Time state to reach the Sealed Grounds, Faron Woods, and Lake Floria, greatly expanding the list of available scene flags for use in Reverse BiTMagic tricks. It also opens up a variety of new statues for new BiTWarps, and allows for Reverse BiTWarps into areas of the surface, such as Ancient Cistern.
It is also possible to reach the Faron light pillar during the loftwing tutorial if you have the diving ability unlocked on a file that has access to the loftwing tutorial. This method is more complicated to setup.
Note: If you clear the cutscene for entering a light pillar for the first time with your file that can enter the Wing Ceremony in Back in Time, then you can attempt to enter the Eldin Volcano in Back in Time. That however leads to a crash.
While the original Faron BiT was found using the Early Eldin Pillar, it is also possible to enter the Faron Light Pillar in Back in Time. Three useful setups are described below.
To access Faron during BiT, using the Eldin Light Pillar you need a specific file setup. This file must have the following characteristics:
These two things are normally mutually exclusive, but we can save a file at the prompt after the loftwing tutorial, copy it to a spare slot, and later enable the Eldin Light Pillar on that file. To perform this version of the Early Light Pillar trick, we must have:
Then we can load the Ruby Tablet into BiT by obtaining a Stamina Fruit with the Tablet File selected. We then enter the goddess statue with our Target File selected, then place the loaded Ruby Tablet into the pedestal (possibly having to Skyward Strike the crest to raise the pedestal). The light pillar cutscene will begin in BiT, and by starting our Target File at the right time (about 1 second after the second camera change, as the light pillar forms), we can gain access to that pillar on our early game file.
The setup time for this method is lengthier than the Eldin Light Pillar method, but this one has the benefit that it can be done before even leaving Skyloft. It is therefore useful in order to skip part of Faron, by performing tricks such as Skipping the Sealed Grounds, or Reverse BiTWarping into Skyview Temple.
The Faron Light Pillar is out of the boundaries you can reach during the Loftwing Tutorial. This means you need to set the story flag for being able to dismount your loftwing while in the Sky on a file, and have that flag loaded in the Sky in Back in Time. The only way to load story flags while in the sky is, funnily enough, by the action of mounting your loftwing which cannot be done without dismounting it first, thus the file that has access to the Loftwing Tutorial also needs to be able to dismount from the loftwing. This is usually not possible, as you only unlock that ability when talking to Fi after obtaining the Hero's Tunic, either on Skyloft or in the Sky near where the Faron Pillar is.
It is not possible to get the Fi Text that unlocks the ability to dismount the loftwing on Skyloft without getting the Tunic (which would progress the Sky layer). However, the Sky Fi text is accessible with clever routing.
It turns out that the default sky layer is layer 2, ie the normal sky. Thus, if you perform a Reverse BiTWarp into the Sky with a file that is saved before rescuing the loftwing, that file will be able to get the Fi text in the Sky, unlocking the ability to dismount the loftwing. Then by rescuing the loftwing on this file afterwards, it becomes possible to reach the Faron Pillar while in the loftwing tutorial, which allows Faron BiT.
To Reverse BiTWarp successfully into the Sky, you first need a file that has rescued the loftwing (to be able to call the loftwing in Back in Time), but this file needs to be a different file from the one that will be warped into the sky early. Furthermore, to RBW into the Sky in a way that makes Link spawn directly on the loftwing, the Reverse BiTWarp must come with a save prompt effect: the file thus needs to be saved on a save prompt before rescuing the loftwing. There are normally no save prompts before that point, but it is possible to either BiTSave that file on the save prompt after placing the emerald tablet (BiTSaving to avoid the tunic), or RBW a new Hero Mode file and perform a trick known as File Duping to not lose your progress from the prologue. This last method is the fastest and the go-to method in speedruns.
Thus, to setup Faron BiT with the Faron Pillar, you need the following file setup:
Perform Early Faron Light Pillar on File 3, using the Story Flag RBM technique. Make sure File 3 also has the goddess sword.
You are now going to Reverse BiTWarp into the Sky. This requires being saved at a save prompt. The fastest way is to use File Duping. Activate BiT. Select File 1 (the Hero Mode file) and go back to the splash screen, and then Save at the Bazaar Statue while opening the splash screen. This will file dupe File 3 over File 1, but File 1 will still say "Hero Mode". MAKE SURE NOT TO GO BACK TO THE SPLASH SCREEN OR SELECTING FILE 1 TWICE. Now BiTSave File 2 to load the Loftwing. You can now jump into the sky, mount your loftwing, and start File 1 as you enter the Sky loading zone in order to RBW into it.
Now, go towards the Faron Light Pillar and watch the Fi cutscene around it. That cutscene unlocks the ability to jump off your loftwing. After that ability is unlocked, go back to Skyloft and rescue your loftwing for real ; if File 3 was saved at the Waterfall Cave statue you can deathwarp to get back there quickly. Save at the Wing Ceremony Save Prompt, or escape the tutorial thanks to your newly gained diving ability. File 1 can now access the Loftwing Tutorial in BiT and dive to the Faron Light Pillar.
Notes:
This setup takes longer than the others. It requires already having access to Faron. In this method, we will unlock the ability to jump off the loftwing on a file that did not save the loftwing yet, and then we will save the loftwing on that file. This will grant us a way to reach the Sky in BiT and be able to dive. Remounting your loftwing in BiT can be used to load story flags, and thus light pillars.
The file setup is the following:
Now activate BiT. Perform bed trick by starting file 2 and file duping file 3 over file 2. File 2 will now be an early game file on the surface. Now chose to fly to the Sky and go near where the Faron light pillar is supposed to be to trigger a Fi cutscene that unlocks the ability to dive. Now fly to Skyloft and save your loftwing. You can escape the loftwing tutorial thanks to the ability to dive, and save anywhere. You now have a file that has the loftwing tutorial layer and the ability to jump off the loftwing on file 2.
Once we have our file setup correctly, to reach Faron Woods during BiT we can take the following steps:
Reaching Faron Woods itself requires either going through the Sealed Temple, or climbing a log to access the Behind the Temple area directly. The log is generally used for this purpose; BiTMagic can be used to have the log pushed down.
Depending on how you set up Faron BiT, reaching the Lumpy Pumpkin (or any place in the sky for that matter) could be trivial or difficult. To reach it in BiT, follow the next steps:
If Faron BiT is set up with method 2 or method 3, you can simply get some height then dive to the Lumpy Pumpkin. It's if you set it up with method 1 that it becomes trickier:
In order to get to the Sky in BiT, you must load your loftwing. As seen above, the best way to load the loftwing is usually to BiTSave a file that has rescued the loftwing at the Bazaar Statue. That method will always work.
However, there are faster methods to load the loftwing, but they require a specific file setup. You can indeed use the Thunderhead Opening to commit story flags. Watching the cutscene of the thunderhead opening usually softlock BiT, so in order to load the loftwing in BiT without softlocking, the thunderhead opening cutscene must be triggered but must not play. The cutscene can be delayed by being in the air, by hanging off a ledge, or by triggering a different cutscene that has priority at the same time it tries to play.
Below are the two main methods for this.
For this method, we will be delaying the thunderhead opening cutscene from starting using the shed cutscene. The file setup is the following:
Then follow the next steps:
This method saves about 7 seconds compared to BiTSaving at the Bazaar.
Note: Instead of the shed cutscene, the light tower rising cutscene can also be used. This can be done by using BiTMagic to set both scene flag Dx02 and scene flag Dx04. This is slower than using the shed cutscene and more difficult to setup.
With this method, we will have a file that has the auto-commit property on Skyloft (see BiTMagic). This is most often done with a Deep Woods file that has opened the doors to Skyview Temple, and this is what this description will be using. The file setup is the following:
As soon as Back in Time starts, select File 2. The game will immediately attempt to start the thunderhead opening cutscene due to the auto-commit property of the Deep Woods file, but the cutscene won't be able to play due to Link being in the air. This loads the loftwing into BiT. Select another file when you respawn (usually a file that has the tunic, allowing for more sky loading zones to exist), then jump into the sky immediately as you gain control and call your loftwing. Select File 3 before loading into the Sky, otherwise the game will crash
This method is by far the fastest way to get into the Sky in BiT, it saves 21 seconds compared to BiTSaving at the Bazaar.
Faron Back in Time is slow to access, meaning that the only tricks that employ it are ones that skip a significant portion of the game. These tricks are possible via Faron BiT, among many others:
Both the Lanayru Light pillar and the Thunderhead are very far from within the boundaries you have access to during Back in Time, and as such you cannot simply dive to them. However, using the Groosenator in Back in Time, it is possible to launch yourself to both Lanayru and the Thunderhead. This requires a file that can use the Groosenator, called the Groosenator enabled file. The requirements for it are the following:
The file must have beaten Ancient Cistern (for the racetracks), Fire Sanctuary, and one of two things:
If you reach the Sealed Grounds Spiral in BiT in the post-Skykeep state, the requirements for the Groosenator are different. On this map, the racetracks exist even if you did not beat Ancient Cistern. Thus the requirements are the following:
And just like on the other map, you need one of two things:
If you meet the requirements for using the Groosenator in BiT, there are two ways to trigger the Groosenator:
Room 1 Zone flag 1x01 | Launch to Flooded Faron Woods (Crash in BiT) |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x02 | Launch to Fun Fun Island |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x04 | Launch to Bug Heaven |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x08 | Launch to Bamboo Island |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x10 | Launch to Skyloft (Crash in BiT) |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x20 | Launch to Lanayru Gorge (Crash in BiT) |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x40 | Launch to Thrill Digger (Crash in BiT) |
Room 1 Zone flag 1x80 | Launch to Shipyard |
Zone flags are room dependant and the room number must match.
Using the zone flag BiTMagic technique, it is possible to skip having to BiTMagic "scene flag 9x80", but ONLY if your Groosenator works via 3 Song of the Hero parts (Lanayru and Thunderhead Groosenator). If it works via the Imprisoned 3 (Flooded Faron Groosenator), you will still need that scene flag. That scene flag corresponds to the Impa Text after beating the Imprisoned 3 and is needed to have been committed upon loading the Sealed Grounds Spiral area. Due to this, a Sealed Grounds file is highly recommended. If you do not have a Sealed Grounds file, then you have to perform a death reload (see Death in Faron BiT in the Miscellaneous section at the bottom of this page).
Note: "scene flag 9x80" could be on a different file than the Groosenator enabled File, thanks to the death reload possibility. However, for simplicity, we will consider it to always be on the Groosenator enabled File.
Both the Lanayru Light pillar and the Thunderhead are very far from within the boundaries you have access to during Back in Time, and as such you cannot simply dive to them. However, using the Groosenator in Back in Time, it is possible to launch yourself to both Lanayru and the Thunderhead. The file setup is the following:
Once the setup is ready, follow the next steps:
This allows for entering many new areas within BiT: The Thunderhead and the Isle of Songs, the entirety of the Sand Sea (except for the Sandship and the Pirate Stronghold Interior), the Lanayru Caves and the Lanayru Mines. Since this requires all 3 song of the hero parts, this is generally not considered very useful.
Note: Attempting to go to the Thrill Digger Cave in Eldin will crash your game. Attempting to go to Fun Fun Island or to Bamboo Island without selecting the Faron BiT enabled file will crash your game. With a slightly different file setup it is possible to get launched to Flooded Faron Woods as well in Back in Time. This however also crashes the game
Using zone flag properties about where the Groosenator launches you, it is possible to reach the Thunderhead in BiT right after unlocking the Groosenator for the Flooded Faron Woods. The file setup is the following:
Once the setup is ready, follow the next steps:
Despite the fact that you only have the Flooded Faron Groosenator, you will be launched to the Thunderhead in BiT.
The Groosenator checks zone flags to know what area to load. These zone flags are normally set during the Groose text. However, in Skyview Temple it is possible to save a zone flag that corresponds to the one that is for going to Bug Heaven in the Sealed Grounds Spiral. By selecting that file and using BiTMagic, we can hijack that value and get launched to the wrong place. Note that this similar idea can theoretically be performed for every launch as long as it is possible to save the zone flag needed anywhere in the game. So far, this is the most useful zone flag launch.
When activating BiT, the stage files are loaded first and then the keyboard arc is. When loading a new area into BiT, the stage arcs are unloaded successfully, but the keyboard arc is not. This causes the heap to be fragmented. If the arcs for the area you are trying to load don't fit into the heap then the game will crash.
When Skyloft first loads when activating BiT, layer 0 is loaded first (since it contains the stage data), then the info from layer 28 is loaded (the title screen layer). Skyloft layer 0 is 6,983,520 bytes big (decompressed), while layer 28 is size 728,256 bytes. The keyboard arc is loaded afterwards. Thus, when you try to change area in BiT, the heap is fragmented into 2 free slots: one that is size 6,983,520+728,256=7,711,776 bytes, and an another that we know is of size about 2,400,000 bytes. For exemple, the knight academy on layer 4 will crash in BiT because while the knight academy layer 0 arc will fit into the first free slot, the layer 4 arc will not fit into any of the 2 remaining slots.
The decompressed arc size for each stage and layer can be found here.
The following section lists all the places that should be accessible in BiT but instead will crash:
Other than that, every other area reachable knowing these limitations shouldn't crash Back in Time.
Anywhere but on Skyloft (where dying always respawns you on layer 28 anyway), death can be used as a reload of the area, and can be useful combined with BiTMagic.
When you die, the story flags committed when the death cutscene starts will be frozen and used to decide the layer of the area when you respawn. Furthermore, if you select a file which already had its scene flags committed during that death cutscene, the game will load the scene flags from that file on reload. This desync of information is not exclusive to dying, but because dying reloads the area, it can be used to cause some environmental changes in Back in Time, that normally require a reload, using a file that is not saved in the same area.
The main use for this is to load the Water Scale Trial Gate in Back in Time without having a file that has opened the Water Scale Trial gate legitimately. The Faron Trial Gate only appears if its scene flags is set when entering the area, and entering Faron Woods will always make the game read the Faron Woods section of its scene flag array by default, which will be empty if you don't have a file saved in Faron Woods. To open the trial using a death reload, make sure one of your files has the flag for the trial gate to be opened (3x02), and commit it, then go to Faron in Back in Time. Now commit the story flags from a file that has Faron Woods layer 3 (required for the trial gate to appear, commit by saving for exemple) and then die. Before pressing continue, select the file with scene flag 3x02, then press continue. You will respawn in Faron Woods layer 3, but with the scene flags from the file selected before you pressed continue active. Because death acts like a reload of the area, the Water Scale Trial Gate will be opened.
The death reload has various other uses as well, a notable one being to bring the vine to Deep Woods down during the Skyview Reverse BiTWarp.
There exists a teleport trick with the Kikwi Elder in Faron BiT. If you enter Faron Woods with a file that has talked to the Kikwi Elder after finding every Kikwi (to make the slingshot appear), and if you load the slingshot item while in the Faron BiT area, then a cutscene with the Kikwi Elder will be triggered. This cutscene will softlock if the layer is layer 2 or higher (after beating Skyview Temple), making you lose control of Link and forcing you to restart. This usually happens when entering Faron Woods with a file that has the slingshot item when the file that entered Behind the Temple did not have the slingshot, because the loading zone will load the slingshot and this will count as "obtaining the slingshot in Faron Woods".
However, if you do the same things but enter Faron Woods in layer 1 (after watching the Sealed Grounds introductory cutscene and before beating Skyview Temple), the cutscene will work correctly and can be used as a fast teleport. This same teleport on layer 1 however has one more requirement: you also need to have located Machi (either by talking to him at the end of his chase or by beating Skyview Temple) to make the Kikwi Elder appear. That story flag for having located Machi can be updated after entering Faron Woods, but not the one for talking to the Kikwi Elder after finding every Kikwi.