After many, many runs through the abandoned Owlite Academy in pursuit of dark-colored felines, I felt the need to share some simple tips and discoveries with fellow hunters.

I do realize that you, dear reader, may already know about some of these, but others may not. I myself will not claim to know every secret in this level.

So here we go~

The vast majority of my experience is on the first depth of mission 8-1, Weight of Darkness. 9-2 Alone in the Dark is the other popular kat farming location. However AitD has shock, while WoD has poison and I’d rather be poisoned than have seizures.

A key part of finding Black Kats is remembering that they only spawn in place of a normal kat. If a normal kat wouldn’t spawn in a certain place, there is no chance of a Black Kat spawning there either. Finding Black Kats boils down to having as many normal Kats spawn as quickly as possible as less time wasted twiddling your thumbs=more time used finding Kats. There is no need to explore the box rooms, as they only rarely provide valuables and cannot spawn Kats.

Equipment
Defense overall takes a backseat on these runs, as primarily you will be running past enemies. (Remember, killing enemies needlessly almost always does nothing to help Black Kats spawn.) If you have MSI(movement speed increase) bonuses, now might be a good time to use it. Shadow defense is ideal, but really the runs can be completed with anything.

For weapons, once again take whatever you are comfortable with. However I would recommend bringing a fast-firing gun. Anything that doesn’t stop you from moving (Blitz) works just fine, but something like the Antigua line that fires 6 shots helps break through blocks quickly.

Minimap
The minimap is probably the most important part of fast runs. You can use it to see ahead into the level and plan out where you need to go. “B” is the default button to project and expand the minimap, allowing you to see much farther, and even ahead. It isn’t always good to have it covering the screen, so actively toggling it is a good idea.
Minimap example
This picture is a typical 4-way intersection in Candlestick Keep. In this case, I came from the bottom. Judging by the black box and characteristic shape, it is clear that the top path leads to the elevator. The left and right paths both lead off to what look like dead ends, and so they are likely box rooms.

If you realize the elevator is right past a locked gate with a puzzle or arena, you may not even need to solve it at all! Again, if no more Kats can spawn, there is no reason to stick around.

Missing Kitty Rooms
Many rooms have Kats that spawn under certain conditions that I have seen many players overlook.

Case 1
Probably the most missed one, this room spawns four kats if you destroy one of the howlitzers. It doesn’t matter which, and destroying more doesn’t spawn more.

Case 2
This room (differentiated from a similar one by the lack of many howlitzers) spawns two extra kats if you walk farther along the opposite side. Walk all the way around it to see exactly where the trigger is.

Case 3
This counter-clockwise room spawns 2 Kats each time a player approaches one of the blue blocks.

Case 4
The exception to the “avoid loot rooms” room. This one spawns four kats if you loot the treasure.

Not extra Kats
You can actually simply throw the fireballs at the gates blocking the candles here, and the splash will still light them

Black Kat Slaying
The Black Kats spawn Carnavons (curse zombies) and have more health, but otherwise behave exactly as any other kat. They can be easily taken down by drawing them away from their zombie horde by simply walking away while it is still focused on you. Both of its attacks as well as the zombies can cause curse on hits.

Grimalkins
Grimalkins are the ghost kats that mercilessly hunt you down. They spawn if you are outside candlelight for a few seconds, and generally one appears per party member. They can be pushed around through conventional methods (shield bumping, pulsar spam), and can be avoided easily by walking in tight circles or dashing through them. They will bite your knight’s head off through any shield, including seraphynx’s 3rd ability.

Random tips, comments
-You can quickly restart the mission by clicking on the tabs to the right of the screen, instead of stepping on the elevator to haven each time
-Fireballs splash around where they hit, so you can light candles even if enemies or gates are in front of them.
-Getting hit while holding a fireball actually can light candles if you are next to them.
-Howlitzer heads that run into Trojans explode.
-Antigua shots at point blank don't always damage blocks o.o

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this! I hope it helped! Comments, advice, and corrections are all appreciated.