Editing Cataclysm (section)

==History==
On 30 December 2014, Ggb0y uploaded a fourth preview on YouTube showcasing his upcoming Extreme Demon named Cataclysm, set to be the hardest level in the game up to that point.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rtY0AAMWXo</ref> Some noted design cues reminiscent of the Rek3dge level Nitronic Freedom, as well as several cuts in the preview videos.

Ggb0y allegedly invested around 80,088 attempts to verify the level but was unable to beat it, resorting to hacking verification. Sometime later, players like ZorroZ Zet and Lyra Bandicoot claimed to have beaten it legitimately with video footage. However, they later confessed to hacking the level after suspicion arose from various game effects bugs visible in the replays, now known to be characteristic of speed-hacking.

Cataclysm was widely considered humanly impossible for a time. South Korean player Cyclic was thought to have completed it legitimately with his stream on 28 April 2015 and was initially considered the level's first victor or verifier. The completion propelled Cyclic's channel and popularity.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7G0eTLOks</ref> However, he admitted to having completed the level and achieved all his significant milestones through hacking. Whether or not Cyclic's confession was the truth is debated, as there were no signs of illegitimacy in his completion of Cataclysm, unlike his two primary hacked completions, [[The Hell Zone]] and [[Sonic Wave]], with more easily detectable cheats.

After Cyclic's confession, Colombian player Giron became known and considered the first person to have legitimately beaten Cataclysm on 14 May 2015. He called the achievement his 'best work'.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B68E2wqkFiY</ref> Soon after, two other players named [[Sandstorm]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlwFaepyH64</ref> and Riot<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q0CYSDFpKk</ref> beat Cataclysm within the same day: 20 May 2015. Riot also received a significant popularity boost after completing the level, and it became considered one of his signature achievements. Powerbomb became the fourth victor on 10 July,<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCNFS01BSJo</ref> and Creepy Dash became the fifth on 25 July.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz609zVS4SQ</ref> Completions of Cataclysm began to snowball, and with the release of Bloodbath on 12 August 2015, Cataclysm was officially displaced from the position of the hardest verified Demon.

A year after its initial release, in Update 2.0, Ggb0y updated Cataclysm, with buffs to the ship sequences, the addition of an 'extra death', changes in gameplay throughout the level, and three user coins in the level. Riot legitimately verified the update on stream on 15 January 2016.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYt5fp5VGVs</ref> This version became known as New Cataclysm and is considered somewhat harder than Old Cataclysm.

Cataclysm went on to become one of the most influential and popular levels in Geometry Dash, revolutionising the difficulty precedent for what would become known as Extreme Demon levels after previously challenging yet illegitimately verified levels like [[Silent Club]] and the Hell Series. Cataclysm inspired other future levels such as Bloodbath, aftermath, and many more.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzAdJBAaQqY?t=1377</ref> As of [[Update 2.2]], Cataclysm is now considered one of the easiest Extreme Demon levels in the game, often said to be the ideal beginner Extreme Demon alongside [[Acu]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yr-n-62QI4</ref>