Becoming a master of the portal gun involves much more than figuring out how to get from point A to point B—it’s all about getting from point to point while violating as many physical laws as possible! These advanced techniques will make your compulsory test period just a bit more manageable.
Fling
2. A 180-degree turn reveals a suitable surface right across the large chasm separating you from your destination. Place a portal here.
3. Next, find the deepest pit you can safely jump into from your position. Place your second portal here.
4. Now jump in! Notice how you continue to fly quickly after exiting the second portal, despite the change in trajectory.
5. Success! You’ve cleared the chasm and arrived at the far ledge. You are now a master of flinging.
When the laws of physics refuse to cooperate, sometimes you just have to force them. “Flinging” is an advanced technique whereby you transform downward momentum into forward momentum by means of cleverly placed portals. This is mainly used to clear large gaps or obstacles when more orthodox means, such as stairs or lifts, aren’t available. The concept is simple: You place portal A on a high wall across from the area that you wish to fly over. Meanwhile, portal B is placed deep in a pit. When you jump into portal B, you’ll emerge from portal A with all the momentum you gained from falling into the pit intact. This should be more than enough to propel you across the gap or obstacle.
A second variant is the “Wedge Fling,” which is identical to the regular Fling, except portal A is placed on an upward-slanted, elevated surface. Since your point of exit is a few degrees steeper, you’ll fly much farther. As a result, Wedge Flings are highly recommended if you like flying.
DOUBLE FLING
Do not despair if you lack a deep enough pit from which to fling, however—in such cases, you can employ a “Double Fling.” The concept is identical, though the execution is a little bit trickier. Instead of placing portal B in a pit, just deploy it anywhere you can easily reach by walking. Entering into it will eject you from portal A, up on the high wall. As you’re falling through (with all that wonderful momentum intact), guesstimate where you’ll land, and place portal B on that spot. This will send you through portal A again, this time with enough to momentum to clear that pesky obstacle.
1. This is the ledge you want to reach. Problem is, you aren’t high enough to place a portal on its surface. You can work around that, though—deploy a portal on the one closer to you.
2. Now, find a deep pit, place a portal in it, and jump through.
3. Wheee! Now you can reach that elevated surface with vertical momentum to spare!
Floor-to-Floor
In the absence of a portal-friendly high wall from which to fling, there is another way to exploit momentum for the purposes of reaching remote ledges: a technique called “Floor-to-Floor.” The concept is similar: Place portal A on the ground near the ledge you need to reach, and place portal B in the deepest pit as you can find. Jump into pit containing portal B, watch in wonder as your gravitational momentum is reoriented as you emerge through portal, and master the distance that had previously confounded you.
Portal Ledge
1. This first portal provides the needed vantage point to cross this zigzagging passageway.
2. The second portal goes on the wall, where it can be reached easily.
3. Upon entering the second portal, you emerge where you placed the first, facing your next vantage point. Replace your first portal here.You have just arrived at the exact point where you replaced your first portal. That surface ahead is your ultimate destination.
4. Fire a portal there...
5. ...and you can back out into the distant room. That is a perfectly executed Portal Ledge.
While you’re unlikely to employ this advanced technique often unless you feel like showing off, mastering the Portal Ledge is crucial if you want to tackle some of the mind-bending Challenge Mode levels. The Portal Ledge involves standing partway through a portal you’ve already deployed, and using it as a ledge to reach surfaces beyond the range of your actual location. You can literally use it as a ledge to jump through, or deploy another portal from inside it and edge your way toward a distant destination. The latter technique requires you to exit out of your original portal immediately after placing the second portal, to prevent you from exiting through it (quite possibly to your demise). Creatively utilized in this way, the Portal Ledge enables you to skip large parts of rooms. Why bother? Well, in some of the Challenge Mode stages, every little step you take can come between you and a gold medal. Intelligent use of the Portal Ledge will make those milestones all the more attainable.