UNDERTALE route branching: requirements, recoverable conditions and restarting
Route names and exact requirements stay in closed sections. Covers no-kill progression, continuing after an ending, regional kill conditions and when you can return.
Edition: UNDERTALE for PC (Steam), base game and normal mode. Based on Japanese display, with some English command names alongside. Excludes the demo, Hard Mode, console-exclusive content, 10th-anniversary-stream alterations and DELTARUNE
Verification scope: Official and guide sources checked on 2026-10-04. Gameplay and installed build number have not been tested. Historical values are not presented as verified on the latest installed build
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
14 / 14 rows
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Open only the conditions relevant to your goal
Specific route names, event requirements and irreversible outcomes are collected in the closed sections below. For controls alone, use the beginner guide.
Reloading a SAVE, starting over with RESET and choosing True Reset after a particular ending are different operations. You need not reflexively start over without checking your goal's requirements.
Answer 2 (spoilers)
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Open route types and eligibility
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Route | How it qualifies | Common misunderstanding |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral（N） | Progression that meets neither of the other two ending conditions. The ending changes with kills and relationships | Even a first no-kill playthrough passes through this ending |
| True Pacifist（P） | Requires a completed Neutral history, no EXP in the current run, required friendships and completion of the additional area | Choosing Spare on everyone every time is insufficient. Flee is also a nonlethal way to end an encounter |
| Genocide（G） | Maintain each region's required kill count and mandatory opponents | Killing every enemy encountered en route can still leave a region's quota incomplete |
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N/P/G are common guide abbreviations. You do not choose a route from an opening menu.
Answer 3 (spoilers)
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Open requirements for a no-kill ending
First check that your current status shows 0 EXP. Using an attack command is not itself prohibited; the key is not killing enemies and gaining EXP.
- Finish Papyrus's battle without killing him, then complete his date or friendship event at his Snowdin house. Flirt during battle is not required
- Flee from Undyne when your heart turns red and continue toward Hotland. Pour water from the nearby cooler on her when she collapses. Do not leave the room without giving water
- After befriending Papyrus, visit Undyne's home in Waterfall and complete the house event
- Continue through Hotland and the CORE, ending Mettaton EX's battle without killing. See the main walkthrough for the ratings requirement
- On a first playthrough, continue to the Neutral ending. If you maintained 0 EXP and gave water, use Continue from the title to return to the final SAVE
Final choices involving Asgore and Flowey do not grant EXP, and their survival is not required for the Neutral-completion prerequisite. Distinguish these from gaining EXP by killing ordinary enemies en route.
Answer 4 (spoilers)
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Open post-ending revisits and the additional-area entrance
- Check completed Neutral history and the current run's 0 EXP, water, Papyrus and Undyne friendships, and progress after Mettaton EX
- Receive Undyne's call on the bridge from the CORE to MTT Resort, then collect her letter outside Papyrus's Snowdin house
- If friendship events were postponed, complete Undyne's house event first. With this order, she may give the letter there
- Inspect Alphys's lab door in Hotland and slide the letter under it to begin the event
- Follow the subsequent call back to the lab, inspect the note and inner entrance. Descending to the True Lab prevents ordinary backtracking to the normal areas in this progression
If you cannot receive the letter, check inventory space too. With Neutral already completed in a previous run, you can enter the additional area before fighting Asgore again in this run.
Answer 5 (spoilers)
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Open regional quotas and mandatory opponents for another branch
For Genocide, check both quotas and mandatory enemies. This example completes each region's quota before approaching its boss. The Ruins does not show a numerical remainder, so confirm the empty-encounter message.
- Walk in encounter areas, and check save-point remainders from Snowdin onward
- Encounter waits can grow longer as a region progresses. Scarce encounters alone do not confirm completion
- After breaking a condition, such as sparing a required opponent or advancing without the quota, kills in later regions cannot restore G
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Region | Regional counter target | Additional opponents or conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Ruins | 20 | Toriel. Napstablook does not count |
| Snowdin | 16 | Kill Snowdrake before exhausting the counter. Doggo, Dogamy and Dogaressa, Greater Dog and Papyrus are required too. Kill Lesser Dog if encountered |
| Waterfall | 18 | Shyren and Glad Dummy. Choose FIGHT when facing Monster Kid, then continue to the Undyne battle |
| Hotland and CORE | 40 across the two regions | Royal Guards and Muffet. Reach the quota before Mettaton NEO |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Fleeing one ordinary random enemy does not automatically fail the route. The quota and specific opponents matter. Toriel has a Ruins counter exception, but this table consistently recommends completing 20 kills first.
Answer 6 (spoilers)
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Open return points and differences between restarts
Wide tables scroll horizontally.
| Current state | Available response | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Accidental kill, not yet SAVED | Reload the SAVE before the condition was broken | Progress since that record is lost too; this differs from memories mentioned in dialogue |
| SAVED after gaining EXP, or saved after leaving without giving water | For P, RESET and meet the requirements again | Neutral completion history is a separate condition. Missing friendship events alone can be completed by revisiting |
| Finished Neutral with 0 EXP and water given | Continue, then complete friendships and the letter sequence | If conditions are met, restarting from the beginning is unnecessary |
| Entered the True Lab | Continue through the additional area | This progression continues toward P's final section; ordinary backtracking is unavailable |
| Broke a condition during G | Continue toward Neutral, or use a pre-failure SAVE or RESET | Later kills cannot restore G |
| Met Hotland/CORE's quota and required opponents on G | Consider RESET if you do not want to complete G | Returning to a normal route late in the run differs from RESET of the whole game |
| Answered the final question at G's endpoint | Account for the changes after completion | Either answer proceeds to world erasure. Effects on some later endings persist even after an ordinary True Reset |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Even at the final question, you can still stop before answering and RESET. This guide does not recommend deleting or editing OS save files as a workaround. Abandoning G partway and fully completing it are different states.
Frequently asked questions
Can I read without seeing specific route names?
The condition tables and solutions are in closed sections. Use the beginner guide if you only need basic controls.
Must I RESET after every ending?
Not always. Depending on your saved state and intended ending, Continue and revisiting may suffice. Open post-ending revisits for details.
If the game remembers earlier actions, are conditions unfixable?
Do not judge from dialogue alone. Check current EXP, completed events and previous ending history separately.