Phase 1 consists of three cycles of attacking Stallord's spine with the Spinner.
On the first cycle, run just past the lip of the arena and then get on the Spinner to head straight to Stallord without latching onto the spinner rail, which is slower. Head straight to the spine and press A to attack. No staltroops will spawn to defend the spine.
On the second cycle, hesitate after the cutscene ends until the camera pans behind Link, then launch off of the spinner rail slightly right to avoid Stallord's arm. Dodge staltroops and attack the spine. With bad staltroop spawn RNG, it can be impossible to make it to the spine immediately; in this case, return to the spinner rail and try again.
On the third cycle, repeat the launch from cycle 2. This time, five staltroops are nearly guaranteed (see notes below) to spawn between Link and the spine as he approaches, so curve to the right of the spine, bounce off of a staltroop, and attack the spine from the opposite side. A staltroop regularly spawns very close to and behind the spine, and bouncing off of this staltroop is fastest.
Note that it is possible to launch off of the spinner rail immediately to start cycles 2 and 3, but the camera being turned makes it very difficult to dodge staltroops that spawn in random locations. It is also possible to start cycles 2 and 3 in the sand if Link gets stuck on Stallord's arms during the cutscene of the spine breaking; if this happens, roll to the spinner rail after the cutscene ends. Finally, it is also possible for the wall of five staltroops to simply not spawn on cycle 3 and allow immediate access to the spine, but it is not known what causes this to happen, and it is rare.
During Phase 2, it is possible to time getting onto the rail to allow Link to catch up to Stallord and knock it down without going all the way to the top of the rail.
To do this from the beginning of Phase 2, roll 5 times hugging the wall, adjusting the camera towards the center of the room to allow Stallord to enter the view. After the 5th roll, continue running for a short time, then get on the Spinner. If timed correctly, Link will be side by side with Stallord. Press A to jump and knock Stallord down.
It is possible to time getting on the Spinner with an audio cue or a visual cue.
This is the easiest way to retry the fast knockdown on Stallord.
Align Link's face with the first black dot on the wall where his head is above the spinner rail.
Turn left and wait until just after Stallord has shot a fireball.
Get on the Spinner and knock the boss down. Assuming your position was correct, if you get hit by the fireball, you were probably too early; if you don't reach Stallord once mounting the spinner rail, you were probably too late.
Alternate setup by SnipinG1337
Doing an extended brakeslide towards the spinner track won't cause Stallord to move forwards, allowing the player to get on the spinner rail directly next to the boss, hitting it immediately. This is the fastest backup method, though it is not commonly seen due to its difficulty.
It is possible to 1-cycle Stallord during Phase 2 by chaining spin attacks together. The spin attacks must all fit within a moderately tight time window, but it is possible to accidentally slash multiple times and still successfully 1-cycle.
It is possible to 1-cycle Stallord during Phase 2 by doing a precise combination of attacks. After knocking it down, jump attack and quick spin, then do 3 slashes: left, right, forward (stab). Repeat twice more.
Original video by Temchee: here
This is more lenient than the 3-stab strat which did this.
Easier / slower strat: Using Midna calls, you can effectively chain spins, making the one cycle easier. It's not recommended however, as it's 10.9 seconds slower than the fastest one cycle, meaning it's about the same speed as attempting the regular 1 cycle, failing it, and backing it up with the fast knockdown backup: here
There are several ways to perform the 1-cycle on GCN and occasionally the question of which method is the fastest or "best" pops up. Sva made a comparison video to help answer this question.
When done fast, this method of skipping Stallord can save around 2 minutes over a fast Stallord fight, not including potential category-specific timesaves such as not needing to zoom in and out on the map to map warp without raising the mirror. This method is recommended over the bomb boost method because it's a few seconds faster, doesn't use a bomb, is faster to retry as it doesn't risk killing the staltroop, and doesn't use any diagonal notches. There are multiple approaches for each of the three steps in the trick, and the examples below demonstrate different combinations of them.
For all setups, it's important to know that the amount Stallord turns between attacks is random, and with bad RNG or by taking too long doing the setups, it's possible for Stallord's attack to reach Link before the trick is done. The best way to back this and any other fail cases up depends on the setups used. While it can be helpful to practice the trick without Stallord interfering, using tpgz to freeze or delete Stallord changes how far 1-frame c-up cancels move Link and thus make some setups not work. To avoid this, use the actor list to lower Stallord below the arena instead.
This example uses the sidehop and jump attack setup for the CAD and the backflip slash setup for the displacement clip.
This example uses the wall align setup for the CAD and the backflip slash setup for the displacement clip.
This example uses the wall align setup without abridged slash for the CAD and the iron boots slashes setup for the displacement clip.
This Clawshot Actor Displacement (CAD) brings a specific staltroop to the left corner of the gate. There are multiple ways to set this up that differ only slightly in speed. Each setup is listed in order of speed and difficulty (first is fastest & most difficult). Common to all setups is riding the spinner through the right area to spawn the staltroop that's used for the CAD. ESS sidehops and backflips are recommended to avoid accidental movements.
This is the fastest of the setups listed here, but it's more reliant on visual cues than the setups below. Position values are approximate.🠋 Sidehop and jump attack setup (click to expand)
1. Sidehop left, then target walk forward and get on the spinner beyond the rail to preserve Link's angle and get 60 speed (angle 32768); Link's x position will vary here based on how far you walk
2. Ride the spinner straight forward and get off by pressing B shortly before reaching the rail when Link's head is lined up with the spinner track (see end of video below)
3. Sidehop right ASAP (to avoid sinking into the sand) and jump attack onto the ledge, then mash two targeted slashes ASAP without waiting for the jump attack animation to end (roughly x = 56.7732, z = -4033.3723)
4. Turn 180
5. Buffered angle change to angle 59392
6. Target slash (x = 50.7469, z = -4024.3538)
7. Aim all the way up and c-up cancel x3 (y-angle -5585)
8. Buffered angle change to y-angle 4655
9. Pull out the clawshot; the setup won't work if you release the clawshot button within 9 frames of initially pressing it
10. Release clawshot and begin a leftward L-slide (left notch + L) on either the first or second frame after releasing clawshot; continue holding L until the CAD fully ends
11. At any point between starting the L-slide and Link landing after falling from the ledge, switch to holding right notch (continue holding L)
12. The CAD will bring the staltroop to the left corner of the gate
🠋 Wall align setup (click to expand)
1. Move forward and get on the spinner beyond the rail to preserve Link's angle and get 60 speed (angle 32768)
2. Get off near the opposite rail, hesitating slightly to avoid hitting the blade trap
3. Target walk and roll forwards until the wall is to Link's right
4. Sidehop into the wall and then sidehop away from the wall (x = -8.2245; this is lenient); keep holding target until the sidehop is completely over to avoid failing to turn around on the next step
5. Release a charge slash while holding down to turn around (x = 50 or so; anything between 48.5 and 51.3 works, so abridging this slash slightly isn't a problem)
6. Back and backflip into the wall (z = -4990.9863); don't start holding down until the camera has fully centered behind Link after targeting, or else the x-position might change significantly
7. Dry roll (z = -4475.9863)
8. Abridged target slash (z = -4414.7656); let the roll animation finish before pressing B, or else the roll will be abridged (a good cue for pressing B is when the item wheel is no longer faded out)
9. Jump attack (z = -4024.0388)
10. Buffered angle change to angle 59392
11. Aim all the way up and c-up cancel x3 (y-angle -5585)
12. Buffered angle change to y-angle 4655
13. Pull out the clawshot; the setup won't work if you release the clawshot button within 9 frames of initially pressing it
14. Release clawshot and begin a leftward L-slide (left notch + L) on either the first or second frame after releasing clawshot; continue holding L until the CAD fully ends
15. At any point between starting the L-slide and Link landing after falling from the ledge, switch to holding right notch (continue holding L)
16. The CAD will bring the staltroop to the left corner of the gate
This is similar to the other wall align setup above. It's slightly slower, but it removes the abridged slash.🠋 Wall align setup without abridged slash (click to expand)
1. Move forward and get on the spinner beyond the rail to preserve Link's angle and get 60 speed (angle 32768)
2. Get off near the opposite rail, hesitating slightly to avoid hitting the blade trap
3. Target walk and roll forwards until the wall is to Link's right
4. Sidehop into the wall and then sidehop away from the wall (x = -8.2245; this is lenient); keep holding target until the sidehop is completely over to avoid failing to turn around on the next step
5. Release a charge slash while holding down to turn around (x = 50 or so; anything between 48.5 and 51.3 works, so abridging this slash slightly isn't a problem)
6. Back and backflip into the wall (z = -4990.9863)
7. Turn around and aim the clawshot all the way down into the wall (z = -4942.2412)
8. Turn around and dry roll (z = -4427.2412)
9. Diagonal slash x2 (z = -4414.7490)
10. Jump attack (z = -4024.0222)
11. Buffered angle change to angle 59392
12. Aim all the way up and c-up cancel x3 (y-angle -5585)
13. Buffered angle change to y-angle 4655
14. Pull out the clawshot; the setup won't work if you release the clawshot button within 9 frames of initially pressing it
15. Release clawshot and begin a leftward L-slide (left notch + L) on either the first or second frame after releasing clawshot; continue holding L until the CAD fully ends
16. At any point between starting the L-slide and Link landing after falling from the ledge, switch to holding right notch (continue holding L)
17. The CAD will bring the staltroop to the left corner of the gate
There are many ways to fail the setups above, but these are some common fail cases to recognize:
See notes on displacement clip setups. These setups put Link a multiple of 60 units away from the seam in the gate so that riding the spinner towards the door and then getting off of it on the correct frame will put Link on the seam. You can get off the spinner equally quickly by pressing the spinner button again, pulling the sword, or pulling the item wheel and force unequipping the spinner. It's safer to err on the side of getting off the spinner early because you can immediately get back on the spinner and retry if you do, whereas getting off the spinner late and clanking against the gate means the position setup needs to be redone.
Important: if Stallord turns enough that boomeranging it to stun it is necessary, it's important to know that doing a clawshot 1-frame c-up cancel while the boomerang is hitting Stallord will move Link the wrong amount for some reason, so that part of setting up the displacement clip needs to be done before or after the boomerang stuns Stallord. Also, doing a clawshot 1-frame c-up cancel while Link is up against the gate and aimed low enough can change his facing angle away from 0, so it's best to do the cancel without aiming downward too much.
This can be done from any starting position, but starting with a dry roll and backflip right after the CAD is fast and gives a consistent lineup for clawshotting through the gate after the displacement clip.
🠋 Backflip slash setup (click to expand)
This setup does NOT work on critical health (1 heart or less).
1. Align cardinally (angle 0); even if the angle isn't perfect, being pretty close to angle 0 usually works (see visual cue)
2. Backflip into gate (z = -4990.9863) (if you start with a roll + backflip after the CAD, this step is already done and leaves z = -4990.9893, which also works)
3. Clawshot 1-frame c-up cancel (z = -4990.1489 or -4990.1519)
4. Turn 180
5. Backflip (z = -4654.1489258 or -4654.1519)
6. Vertical slash (target) (z = -4664.9960938 or -4664.99902)
If Stallord's attack is going to interrupt the setup, then getting out of the way, doing the setup, and then coming back can be helpful as shown here.
This can be done from any starting position, but starting with a dry roll and backflip right after the CAD is fast and gives a consistent lineup for clawshotting through the gate after the displacement clip.🠋 Iron boots slashes setup (click to expand)
1. Align cardinally (angle 0)
2. Backflip into gate (z = -4990.9863) (unlike in the setup above, this backflip is needed in this setup even after starting with a roll + backflip)
3. Iron boots vertical slash (target) x2 (z = -4982.0918)
4. Force unequip iron boots with spinner
5. Vertical slash (target) (z = -4971.2446)
6. Diagonal slash (charge) (z = -4964.9985)
If Stallord's attack is going to interrupt the setup, getting out of the way, doing the setup, and then coming back can be helpful as shown here.
This can be done from any starting position.🠋 Rollstab setup (click to expand)
1. Align cardinally (angle 0)
2. Bonk the gate (z = -4920.9893)
3. Rollstab away from the gate (z = -4245.4902)
4. Backflip x2 (z = -4917.4902)
5. Diagonal slash x2 (-4904.998)
6. Turn around
This setup begins from Link's position immediately after the CAD, so it can't be retried; if you fail it, switch to one of the other setups above. It's slower than the setups above optimally, but if Stallord turns enough for its attack to reach the gate (bad RNG), this setup automatically avoids it.🠋 Initial position setup (click to expand)
1. After the CAD, dry roll x2 (x = -418.6557, z = -4378.2295)
2. Align cardinally (angle 0)
3. Target slash (z = -4367.3829)
4. Diagonal slash (z = -4361.1392)
5. Turn 180
6. Backflip (z = -4025.1362)
7. Charge spin attack (z = -4146.5571)
8. Stab (z = -4124.9985)
9. Sidehop right; if Stallord's attack is in the way, wait for it to end before sidehopping
This video demonstrates this setup starting at 0:22.
With the staltroop in the corner and Link on the gate seam, clawshotting near the right side of the staltroop will pull Link through the gate enough that he can get out on the other side. To avoid being pushed out of the gate while aiming the clawshot, either aim slightly upward (even one angle unit is enough) in first person before pulling the clawshot out, or turn around to face away from the gate before entering first person. The exact working angle range for this step depends on the staltroop's and Link's exact positions, but for displacement clip setups that begin by rolling and backflipping after the CAD, this visual cue works:

With any setup or backup that involves aligning Link manually along the gate, aligning with the pole shown here will make the visual cue above still work:

This method is not recommended over the displacement clip method above for the reasons outlined there. This was the original setup for the trick and is preserved here just for documentation.
The first step in skipping Stallord is using Clawshot Actor Displacement (CAD) to move a staltroop from the sand to the corner of the exit gate and the wall. This is extremely precise.
(Skip this step if using the clawshot angle setup in step 3) Perform a buffered angle setup.
Ride the spinner just to the left of Stallord's spine and then towards the right side of the exit gate. This will spawn the staltroop needed for the trick and cause Stallord to turn counterclockwise so that he doesn't crush the staltroop.
(Skip this step if using the buffered angle setup in step 1) Walk into the corner of the exit gate and the wall. Enter first person with the clawshot and set up an initial angle using the right tip of the clawshot as a visual cue (see video). This initial angle is precise but not unit-precise, as the remainder of the setup will snap to the correct angle from a range of initial angles.
Turn Link around 4 times by tapping slightly up and down on the control stick. Target, then turn him around once more. His horizontal angle should now be 60562. Unfortunately, it is not easy to tell whether he has the correct angle without practice tools.
Press L to target and continue holding L through this entire step. Backflip into the corner, pressing B to pull out the sword during the backflip. Jump attack twice, waiting for Link to fully finish his jump attack animations before proceeding. Finally, press B repeatedly for a full, 4-part sword combo. During the combo, the control stick should be neutral during the first 3 slashes and down for the final slash. During the final slash, the control stick must reach the down notch at some point. ESS-Down will make the slash look like a down-slash, but it will not yield the correct position. Wait for the sword combo animation to fully finish before proceeding.
Enter first person and aim the clawshot down to the very bottom of the targetable range of the staltroop. Do not aim the clawshot left or right at all. There is a range of about 14 vertical angle units (5103-5090) starting from the very bottom of the targetable range that will allow the CAD to work consistently.
If needed, wait until a spinner passes on the rail so that the CAD will not be interrupted.
Release the clawshot button and begin an up-left notch L-slide 6-9 frames after releasing the button. The L-slide begins when the L button has a full analog press, so the order of operations is to release the clawshot button, move the control stick to the up-left notch anytime before pressing L (or on the same frame), and then press L within the window of 6-9 frames after having released the clawshot. Since the item wheel cannot be pulled and the game cannot be paused while aiming an item in first person, it is not possible to buffer these inputs in any useful way.
The L-slide will move Link towards the ledge of the spinner track, where he will then fall. At any point between initiating the L-slide and Link beginning to fall, move the control stick to the down-left notch while continuing to hold L. It is possible to use the item wheel to buffer this control stick shift to make it easier to find the notch in time.
If everything has been done as described above, then Link will fall off of the ledge as the staltroop arrives, and they will slide together into the corner in which the angle setup in steps 2 & 3 was performed. Roll to escape being pinned in the corner by the staltroop and continue to the next step of Stallord Skip.
Because the setup for the CAD is so precise and it's often not possible to tell whether it has been performed correctly until after attempting the CAD, debugging issues can be difficult. These are some generalizations for troubleshooting common issues:
If the clawshot does not reach the staltroop before Link falls, then the L-slide began on frames 1-4 after shooting the clawshot (frames 6-9 work).
If the clawshot clanks on the staltroop but does not pull it before Link falls, then the L-slide began on frame 5 after shooting the clawshot (frames 6-9 work).
If the clawshot pulls the staltroop when Link falls but stops when it reaches the ledge, then the L-slide began on frame 10-12 (frames 6-9 work).
If the clawshot pulls Link to the staltroop, then either the L slide began on frame 13+ (frames 6-9 work), or the control stick notch values for the first L-slide were off (notch values close to +/-40 work best)
If the CAD pulls the staltroop around the room wildly, then the some combination of the position setup, horizontal angle, and/or vertical angle was wrong. This is the hardest fail case to troubleshoot, so it is recommended to check for the correct angles and position using the tpgz data viewer when beginning to practice the CAD.
If the CAD pulls the staltroop slightly too far left or right instead of into the corner, then the issue may be the control stick notch values used for the first L-slide and CAD. Generally speaking, notch values close to +/-40 work best, while values ~3+ units off can cause this issue. If the controller notches are far from +/-40, then steps 7 & 8 may need to be performed with the control stick slightly out of the notch, with a different controller, or with notch calibration.
Now that the staltroop is in the desired spot, it is possible to use it to clip into the wall.
If needed, throw the boomerang at Stallord's head to stop its flame attack or prevent it from starting.
Position Link as shown in the video. When Link's right foot is forward while targeting, look for the back of the right foot barely hanging off of the small ledge on the black line.
Enter first person with the clawshot. Aim such that the left side of the screen aligns with the left side of the left bar in the gate that only extends halfway down the gate (see video). If the yellow aiming triangles are not present with this angle, then Link's position is incorrect, though this does not necessarily mean that the next step will fail.
Release the clawshot and begin a rightward L-slide as soon as possible. If done correctly, Link will be inside the wall to the right of the staltroop once he reaches it with the clawshot.
The final step of Stallord skip requires bomb boosting within a 3-frame window while Link is clawshotting towards the staltroop. The 3-frame window to press the clawshot button is 152-154 frames after pressing the bomb button to pull the bomb if there is no pause screen, item wheel, or map buffering in between the inputs.
If needed, throw the boomerang at Stallord's head to stop its flame attack or prevent it from starting. See step 1 of the Wall Clip for more information on Stallord's attack.
Position Link against the exterior wall and as far right as shown in the video. This positioning is somewhat precise, with X positions 620-628 being ideal. For the remainder of the trick, do not aim up or down while in first person, as this will cause the camera to push Link away from the exterior wall.
If needed, turn around and throw the boomerang at Stallord's head. Be careful - if the boomerang returns to Link while in first person and the boomerang is no longer equipped to X or Y, the camera will return to third person.
Enter first person and aim the camera as shown in the video, aligning the center of the first heart on the HUD with the line on the wall.
Hold L and press the bomb button to throw a bomb in place. See notes below regarding timing.
Enter first person and aim the camera as shown in the video, aligning the right side of the first heart on the HUD with the line between the dark and light areas on the wall.
If everything has been done correctly, then there is a 3-frame window to input the clawshot button, latch onto the staltroop, and cause the bomb to boost Link out of bounds beyond the exit gate. Press the clawshot button within this window, boost out of bounds, and roll to the load zone to finish Stallord Skip.
This 3-frame window is around the peak of the bomb's 7th red flash. It is possible to buffer with the item wheel to help find these frames, but some may find it easier to time the clawshot input without buffering, even with a visual cue.
Since the clawshot frame window depends only on the bomb timer, it is possible to use a metronome to time the clawshot input. With a tempo of 152bpm, pressing the bomb button on beat 1 and the clawshot button on beat 14 will time the boost correctly. Note that pausing the game in any way (start, d-pad, or Z) between the two inputs will pause the bomb timer and render the metronome useless, so do not buffer or equip at this point if using this method.
Rather than looking at the bomb itself, it is also possible to use a different metronome timing (159bpm on the 15th beat) to time releasing the clawshot rather than pressing it as shown in the video below:
If you're practicing on TPGZ or with cheats active, check that the Invincibility cheat is off, as it will prevent the bomb from hitting Link
If the clawshot doesn't connect with the staltroop, then the camera was aimed too far right.
If the bomb kills the staltroop and knocks Link backwards in bounds, then the clawshot input was too early.
If the bomb kills the staltroop but does not hit Link, then the clawshot input was too late by 1 or 7+ frames.
If the bomb neither kills the staltroop nor knocks Link back when it explodes, then the clawshot input was late by 2-6 frames.