Epoch Fail

When the ef flag is enabled, you will begin the seed with two characters and access to the Epoch, but the Epoch will not have its wings. Instead, there's a new Key Item hidden somewhere: The Wings of Time. When you find the Wings, bring them to the Snail Stop in Porre in 1000 AD. Dalton will be waiting there to receive them, and the Winged Epoch will be waiting outside. At this point, you can continue the seed as normal.

It is possible for the Wings of Time to be the Key Item at Snail Stop, which negates the flag almost immediately. While so far we have manually vetted seeds to make sure the item isn't there, in the future it will be prevented from ever showing up at Snail Stop.

Without the wings, the Epoch is accessible and usable, but it can't move around on the world map. Access to time periods is the same as usual; you will need the Gate Key to unlock Prehistory, the Pendant to unlock the Future, and either one of them to unlock the Dark Ages. The Epoch's location in each time period:

• Prehistory: In Ioka village
• Dark Ages: Near Mt. Woe on the same continent
• Middle Ages: East of the Magic Cave
• Present: Same as Middle Ages
• Future: Keeper's Dome

Remember that in most cases, the Epoch will remain exactly where you left it, but there do exist triggers that will move it automatically:

• Taking the fight vs the spinning Kilwalas in Mystic Mountains will bring the Epoch to Prehistory
• Giving the Wings of Time to Dalton will park the Epoch outside of Snail Stop

Locations inaccessible without the Wings of Time include: Sun Keep (all eras), Choras/Northern Ruins (both 600/1000), Giant's Claw, Ozzie's Fort, Sun Palace, Geno Dome, Death Peak, Black Omen (you can finish the game in Magus or Tyrano Go Mode without the Wings, but they are required for Black Omen).

Rarely used in standard flags, Gates and other walking routes are very important in this mode.

• There will be a character waiting at the top of Dactyl Nest as usual. In Epoch Fail, this will also unlock the Dactyls, granting the player access to the Tyrano Lair and the Sun Keep of that era.
• There are two Gates in this era: One must be unlocked from the cupboard in Medina in the present and requires the Gate Key. The other requires completing the Tyrano Lair (with either Dactyls or Wings of Time), which will make the gate to the Dark Ages accessible.

• The Skyways will remain closed until you have completed either Magus's Castle or Tyrano Lair, as normal.
• There is an alternate flag in beta which requires the Wings of Time to instead be turned in at the Blackbird. When this flag is enabled, the Skyways will be open from the beginning.
• There is a single Gate in this era, in the Cave. It is likely players first gain access to this Era via the Gate Key or Pendant, but if you came through Magus's Castle, going back through this Gate will take you to End of Time.

• Zenan Bridge will be broken. Initially you can access the northern continent using the Gate at the Millennial Fair, or you can walk to the cape in 1000 AD and take the Epoch to 600 to access the southern continent.
• There is one Time Gate in this era, in Truce Canyon. It is connected to the Gate at the Millennial Fair.

• The Vortex by Lucca's house will be open from the beginning. Look for the twin trees just northeast of her house and the label will pop up. This will take you into Heckran's Cave, which you can complete to return to Truce, or find your way out of to visit Medina.
• There are two Gates in this era: one is between the telepods at the Millennial Fair (it goes to Truce Canyon in AD 600), and the other is at the dead end in Guardia Forest and opens after turning in the Pendant and completing the prison sequence. This leads to Bangor Dome in the Future. Once you have completed the prison sequence, the dead end in the forest can only be accessed via the Bangor Dome Gate.

• If you arrive in Bangor Dome without the Wings of Time, you must either cross Lab 16 on foot, or make your way back to the Epoch, bring it to the Future, and exit through Keeper's Dome and get to the main continent via Sewer Access.
• To cross Lab 32, you must walk or race Johnny.
• Completing the Factory will, as usual, open the Gate in Proto Dome which leads to the End of Time. It will also open the Gate to the Dark Ages from the End of Time.
• There are two Gates in this era: the arrival gate in Bangor Dome (which takes you back to a dead end and a sealed treasure chest), and the exit gate in Proto Dome. The former requires completing the Guardia prison sequence, and the latter requires you to complete the Factory.