Yay more tweaks! I've been tracking my Nix runs in a spreadsheet and I think the new changes definitely helped! With good restore cell RNG in Umbra and Void, I managed to get Nix to Deepwater after two tries (my second ever Nix DW run!!).
I've changed to using Snow Boots instead of Ironhide Greaves for the +35 stamina since I realised I was overhealing early on and the increased stamina bar in the latter biomes didn't help because I was always scrambling for restore cells. (I've tried the skates but I don't think it works as well.) Pendant the whole way except Verdant Radiance in Shimmera (reduces hardness + stock up on stamina and stacks for Umbra). Choose regen sigil, I think it's still the most viable one.
Some notes from my tracked runs:
- It's never over until it's over. Blightvein is a swingy biome, but it can be easily made up for in latter biomes (especially with higher visibility in Shimmera)
- Your shield stack after you've collected all quartz from the top two biomes doesn't matter as much. I've ended Gravel with 95 shield stacks and reached 408 (80% of Umbra), while I reached Deepwater with 60 shield stacks after Gravel
- I usually end Shimmera with no stacks but decent stamina (usually at least 120-130 for deep runs) so it'll be heavily dependent on restore cells in Umbra (Alexandrite definitely helps but it's rare) and Void
- I think for both of my two successful DW runs, I found accessible Alexandrite in Umbra and maybe Void (since you need three stacks to get through the last three core layers)
-Spam Mageflare Runes, don't be conservative with them. I do maybe 10 per serious run and aim to bring ~25 every time to feel safe