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Choose the trophy route first if you are new to Stray speedrunning. The I am Speed trophy asks you to finish the game in less than two hours on PS4 or PS5, while an Any% run is a rules-defined leaderboard attempt. A trophy clear is a personal achievement and does not automatically count as a submission to an Any% board.
If you want ranked competition, select the exact Speedrun.com board before practicing: Stray separates Current Gen, Last Gen, and PC, and each has Glitchless and Unrestricted rulesets. Those distinctions determine which times can fairly be compared.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Stray | $68.25 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Terminator: Resistance Enhanced (PS5) | $28.79 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Port Royale Extended Edition (PS5) | $29.96 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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The Last of Us Part I – PlayStation 5 | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Any% and the trophy are different goals
The word “speedrun” describes both a competitive category and an informal timed challenge, but Stray’s leaderboard categories and its PlayStation trophy measure different things. Understanding the finish condition first prevents you from practicing for one target and assuming you achieved the other.
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| Aspect | Any% leaderboard run | I am Speed trophy run |
|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | Complete the game as quickly as the selected leaderboard permits. | Complete the game in less than two hours to unlock the trophy. |
| Rules source | The rules for the specific Speedrun.com category. | The in-game trophy condition, with route advice supplied by speedrunning guides. |
| Collection requirement | No 100% collection requirement in Any%. | No requirement to earn every trophy or collect every item; the stated condition is finishing under two hours. |
| Platform treatment | Current Gen, Last Gen, and PC have separate boards. | The trophy listing covers PS4 and PS5; your platform still affects controls, timing and practice. |
| Glitch policy | Glitchless and Unrestricted are separate categories. | You may use the route that works for your personal attempt, but it should not be called a Glitchless leaderboard run unless it follows that board’s rules. |
| Best fit | Players seeking rankings, comparison and route optimization. | Players seeking a structured personal challenge without submitting a ranked run. |
How Stray’s Any% categories work
Full-game Any%
Any% means finishing the game without an all-collectibles requirement. The relevant board determines what counts as a valid completion, how time is measured and which techniques are allowed. Two players can both say they finished Any%, yet their times may belong to different boards if they used different platforms or glitch policies.
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Before you practice, open the current Stray category page on Speedrun.com and record the exact board name. Treat the category rules as the authority, not a video title, an old route note or a comment that describes a previous ruleset.
100% is a separate objective
Stray also has a full-game 100% category. It is not a longer version of Any% with an optional checklist; it has a different completion objective and therefore a different route. Collecting everything for a 100% attempt is unnecessary for both an Any% run and the I am Speed trophy. If your goal is simply to finish quickly, do not add collection detours unless a rule or your own practice plan requires them.
Platform boards are intentionally separated
The category listing separates Current Gen, Last Gen and PC. Keep the platform fixed when comparing splits, personal bests or tutorial advice. Loading behavior, frame rate, input feel and available hardware can change how a route performs, so a time from one board should not be presented as directly equivalent to a time from another.
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Glitchless and Unrestricted
Glitchless and Unrestricted are not two names for the same board. A Glitchless run follows the techniques permitted by that category and excludes the glitches defined by its rules. Unrestricted allows a broader set of techniques under its own rules. If you learn an exploit from an unrestricted video, you cannot use that run as a Glitchless benchmark without checking that the technique is legal there.
What the I am Speed trophy actually requires
The finish condition is strict
The trophy description is: “Complete the game in less than 2 hours.” “Less than” matters: a completion at exactly two hours does not satisfy a condition written that way. Aim well below the boundary rather than planning to finish with only a few seconds in hand.
It is available on PS4 and PS5
The trophy listing covers both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. The requirement is the same two-hour condition, but you should practice on the console on which you intend to earn it. Do not assume that a route or timing demonstration made on another platform will behave identically.
A trophy unlock is not a leaderboard submission
PlayStation records the trophy when the game meets its condition. A leaderboard submission is a separate process: you must choose a category, follow its rules and provide whatever evidence that board currently requires. You can earn I am Speed without uploading a run, without having a Speedrun.com account and without appearing on an Any% ranking.
Rank #2
- Run and gun or sneak and hack through Skynet's defences!
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Why platform and ruleset make times incomparable
When someone quotes a Stray time, ask four questions before deciding whether it is a useful benchmark:
- Was it run on PC, Current Gen or Last Gen?
- Was the category Glitchless or Unrestricted?
- Was it full-game Any% rather than 100%?
- Was it recorded under the current rules and timing procedure?
A “faster” number from a different board may reflect a different rule set rather than a better execution of the same challenge. Keep separate personal bests if you play more than one platform or category, and label every split file with the board it belongs to.
What to choose for a first attempt
For a first timed clear, the trophy route is usually the better starting point. It gives you a clear finish line without requiring you to understand submission standards or optimize for a particular leaderboard. You can later convert the experience into a formal Any% project once you know the game’s sequence and movement.
| Choose this | When it fits | What you must decide first |
|---|---|---|
| I am Speed trophy | You want a personal challenge, a trophy or a low-pressure introduction to timed play. | Your PS4/PS5 starting platform, a safe route and a margin under two hours. |
| Any% Glitchless | You want a rules-constrained challenge and comparisons with runners using the same technique limits. | Exact platform board, Glitchless rules and current timing requirements. |
| Any% Unrestricted | You want the broadest legal toolkit and are comfortable learning advanced techniques. | Exact platform board, Unrestricted rules and whether each technique remains legal. |
| 100% | You enjoy routing collectibles and want completion rather than the shortest possible finish. | The current 100% definition and its item checklist. |
Prepare for the trophy without wasting attempts
Play once to learn the game
A published guide recommends learning the game before making the timed attempt. Use an untimed playthrough to learn the chapter order, puzzle solutions, movement lines and the two hub-like areas. The objective is not to memorize every animation; it is to remove decisions that would otherwise consume time while the clock is running.
Write short route notes for places where you commonly stop: a puzzle sequence, a door or interaction you must find, and the direction to take when leaving a hub. Notes should answer “what do I do next?” rather than describe the whole story. Keep them beside the screen, or use a practice save where you can repeat the section without replaying the entire game.
Practice the high-risk sections separately
Not every minute deserves equal rehearsal. Identify sections where a missed jump, wrong turn or delayed interaction forces a long recovery. Repeat those sections until the next action is automatic. For low-risk walking or dialogue, one clean rehearsal is generally more useful than dozens of perfect repetitions.
Use consistent controls and camera habits. Changing sensitivity, button layout or display setup between practice and the attempt can create avoidable mistakes. This is a preparation principle, not a claim that any particular setting is required by the trophy.
Rank #3
- Choose from four colonial powerhouses: England, France, Spain and the Netherlands, each providing different benefits.
- Take on four extensive single player campaigns following each nation on their path to supremacy.
- Appoint a leader for your adventure from four different character classes.
- The explorer, the merchant, buccaneer and the pirates - each providing their own advantages and disadvantages.
- Establish and manage trade with 60 Caribbean cities in a huge 3D game world..Steer clear of cliffs, shallow waters and stormy weather regions to optimize your trade routes..Select from 50 buildings, including 25 production sites, to produce goods like rum or luxurious..Construct buildings with neighbourhood Effect to optimize productivity and manage the overall happiness of citizens..Eight historically authentic ship types from the late 16th and 17th centuries.
Set a realistic target
The guide cited for this challenge recommends aiming for about 1:30. That leaves roughly 30 minutes of buffer beneath the two-hour limit for mistakes, hesitation and recovery. Treat 1:30 as a practical safety target, not an official cutoff or guaranteed route time. If your practice runs are much slower, continue learning before you spend attempts on the trophy.
Step-by-step trophy attempt
- Confirm the target. You are pursuing a completion under two hours on PS4 or PS5, not a ranked submission. If you later decide to submit, stop and read the current board rules before changing your route.
- Use the route you have rehearsed. Do not improvise a new puzzle solution, collectible detour or shortcut during the attempt unless the alternative is clearly safer.
- Track elapsed time conservatively. Keep a simple external stopwatch or split sheet if it helps you identify where time is being lost. The trophy wording gives a strict overall condition, so do not rely on a last-second finish.
- Protect the buffer. If a mistake occurs, recover calmly and return to the next known landmark. Restarting immediately can waste more time than a controlled recovery, while repeating a section after every small error can prevent you from learning how the run behaves.
- Finish the game. The trophy is awarded for completing the game under the stated limit. It does not ask you to collect every trophy or item.
- Record what happened. Note the sections that consumed your buffer and the points where you hesitated. This turns a failed attempt into a specific practice plan rather than another blind restart.
Turning a trophy clear into an Any% project
Once you can finish comfortably under the trophy limit, decide whether you want a leaderboard objective. Start by choosing one board, not “Any% in general.” Select PC, Current Gen or Last Gen, then select Glitchless or Unrestricted. Download or copy only route information that matches that combination.
Your trophy route may still be useful, but it is not automatically valid for submission. A trophy attempt can include a technique that a Glitchless board disallows, use a platform-specific setup or omit evidence required by the leaderboard. Treat it as a baseline for learning the game, then rebuild the route around the chosen category’s rules.
When Glitchless is the better choice
Glitchless is a good fit if you want a stable, explainable route and prefer improving execution over discovering exploits. It can also make tutorial material easier to follow because the technique set is narrower. The trade-off is that the route may be slower than an unrestricted strategy, and “looks harmless” is not enough to establish legality; read the written rules.
When Unrestricted is the better choice
Unrestricted suits players who want the fastest route permitted on their selected board and are willing to learn more technical setups. The category still has rules, so unrestricted does not mean “anything whatsoever.” Verify the current wording and practice the technique in the same platform environment used for the board.
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The Stray leaderboard page reviewed for this article displayed 2,127 runs, 714 players and 1,490 followers at that time. Those totals are a snapshot, not a promise about the current size of the board. More importantly, the page includes a rule-change notice stating that individual-level runs now end at the first checkpoint of a future chapter. Because timing and endpoint policies can change, read the live rules immediately before submitting.
- Board identity: write down the platform generation and the Glitchless or Unrestricted category.
- Completion category: confirm that you are submitting full-game Any%, not 100%.
- Endpoint: verify the current finish point, including the checkpoint policy mentioned on the category page.
- Timing: follow the board’s current timing method rather than copying a timer format from an older video.
- Evidence: check the submission page for any recording or proof requirements in force when you upload.
- Terminology: describe a trophy clear as a trophy clear unless it was made and submitted under the selected leaderboard’s rules.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Calling every sub-two-hour finish “Any%”
A sub-two-hour PlayStation finish satisfies the trophy condition, but the label does not identify a platform board or glitch policy. Fix the description by stating “I am Speed trophy run” unless you have selected and followed a specific Any% category.
Rank #4
- Enhanced visuals: Completely rebuilt from the ground up using Naughty Dog’s latest PS5 engine technology to improve every visual detail, The Last of Us experience has been faithfully enhanced with more realistic lighting and atmosphere, more intricate environments and creative reimaginings of familiar spaces.
- Fast loading: Initial loading times are near instant, and seamless after the first instance thanks to the PS5 console’s SSD – so you can pick up where you left off in the story and load specific encounters and chapters more quickly.
- Haptic feedback: DualSense wireless controller haptic feedback support for every weapon elevates combat encounters, and environments are brought to life through DualSense wireless controller haptic sensations of subtle falling rain, the crunch of stepping on snow and more.
- Adaptive triggers: All The Last of Us iconic weapons, including Joel’s revolver and Ellie’s bow, now deliver dynamic DualSense wireless controller trigger resistance and kickback on firing for deeper combat immersion.
- 3D Audio: Designed to make use of the PS5 console’s Tempest 3D AudioTech, Naughty Dog’s newly upgraded audio engine delivers richer soundscapes, bigger explosive moments and more visceral gameplay through compatible stereo headphones (analogue or USB) or TV speakers.
Comparing PC, Current Gen and Last Gen times
Separate boards exist because platform generation is a material part of the competition. Fix your comparison sheet by putting the platform in the title of every run and never ranking numbers from different boards in one list.
Using an unrestricted trick in a Glitchless practice plan
A shortcut learned from an Unrestricted video can invalidate a Glitchless attempt. Fix this by checking the written rules before adopting the trick, then keep separate route notes for each ruleset.
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The trophy says “less than 2 hours,” not “two hours or less.” Fix the problem by building a substantial buffer; the commonly suggested 1:30 target leaves about 30 minutes for errors.
Submitting under outdated instructions
Category pages can change their endpoint or timing guidance. The noted checkpoint rule is a concrete example. Fix this by rereading the live rules on the day you submit and checking whether your recording reaches the currently required endpoint.
Learning during the final attempt
Trying to solve a puzzle, remember a hub exit and test a new movement line while the timer runs compounds small delays. Fix it with an untimed learning pass and targeted practice before attempting the two-hour clear.
A practical decision framework
- Want only the trophy? Choose the PS4 or PS5 trophy route, learn the game first and aim for a finish comfortably below two hours.
- Want a ranking but prefer a controlled technique set? Choose the matching platform’s Glitchless Any% board and practice only legal methods.
- Want the fastest category available to you? Choose the matching platform’s Unrestricted Any% board and accept the additional technical learning.
- Want every collectible and a completion-focused route? Study the separate 100% category rather than modifying an Any% plan.
After making the choice, keep the goal visible in your route notes. A trophy attempt measures whether you crossed a personal two-hour threshold; an Any% attempt measures performance inside a particular competitive ruleset. Neither goal is more legitimate, but they reward different preparation.
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Start with the I am Speed trophy if this is your first Stray speedrun. Complete an untimed learning playthrough, rehearse the difficult sections and use a target around 1:30 so mistakes do not consume the full margin. Move to Any% only when you want ranking and are ready to commit to one platform board and one glitch policy. For every leaderboard comparison or submission, use the current category rules and identify the exact board; a trophy clear by itself is not a ranked Any% run.
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