Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Thumbnail by Rat Smacker - youtube.com/channel/UCbtjqg3pj6Pdh1TCu1V-aZA

So recently while I was playing Nhelv I came to the realization that I had not beaten a Nine Circles Extreme yet, and that my hardest NC demon at that point was Poltergeist, and had been ever since 2020. So, as a break from Nhelv, and as a way to improve my wave skill since it is by far my worst gamemode, I decided to change that. Balengu Vortex was the level that I set my sights on, since it was always the NC Extreme that I thought was the coolest (with the exception of The Hallucination but that's way too hard for me lmao). So, even though it was WAY harder of a level than Poltergeist was, I went for it.

And, to my surprise, I actually ended up really enjoying this level, even though it was MILES out of my comfort zone.

The predrop of the level is what I would call a perfect predrop. Short, kinda difficult but super consistent, and builds up to a satisfying and difficult drop. I never really understood why people found the maze to be so bad, as it never gave me any problems throughout the entirety of me playing the level. Temp's wave was probably my favorite wave, as it stayed extremely consistent from the beginning to the end of my experience with Balengu. The spams and tight corriders were SUPER satisfying to pull off every time, making it by far one of the best parts of the level. My only complaint is the random ass spike that juts out at the end of the wave dual at 31% and makes the transition out of the dual a complete nightmare, but it got super consistent towards the end.

Hybrid's wave was most likely my least favorite wave. It never really got consistent for me until the 2nd to last day I was playing from 0. 42-46% was incredibly awkward and was by far the worst offender of inconsistency in the entire level, with me mindblocking it for a little while when I had just started playing the level. The last 5 clicks of Hybrid were incredibly inconsistent as well for a super long time, which really sucks considering they're all right before HjFod's wave. But, during the last 2 play sessions that I had with Balengu, Hybrid's wave became super consistent literally out of nowhere, and as a result, became incredibly satisfying and fun to pull off from 0. So at the end of the day, it's pretty good, and I don't have too many complaints

HjFod's wave is widely considered to be by far the hardest wave of the entire level, but honestly I never struggled too much with it. The 63% gap, 69% structures, and 72% random ass spike were all kinda dumb, but they all got incredibly consistent with only a day or two of practice. HjFod was honestly super fun and incredibly satisfying to pull off all throughout the process of playing Balengu. Even though I died to his past 15 times, I never hated it for a second. Super fun wave as well. The ending never gave me any problems, and I somehow managed to fluke the last ball, so no complaints about that part either.

All in all, a fantastic nine circles extreme that I would recommend to literally anyone trying to get into harder wave levels. It's a pretty tough first NC extreme, so I'd recommend doing something a bit easier first, but still this level is incredibly consistent and incredibly fun, and you should totally play it if you're considering it!

And I promise, next up is Nhelv. I finally developed the mindset that I needed to finish it. I'll be grinding it every day until I beat it, so expect pretty low activity from me until then. And please wish me luck lmao

Worst Deaths:

62%x4
63%x1
64%x3
69%x2
72%x2
75%x3

Attempts: 8129
My Difficulty Rank: Slightly easier than Ethereal Artifice
Enjoyment: 91/100

Raw Footage - youtube.com/watch?v=OuzLEsA84YY

Want to see my biggest achievements or future plans? Click here -
docs.google.com/document/d/1pKk1ARw0mxwwL1NvVEFGu-GsToM0XhBXygbBthJH3HU/edit