Editing Tartarus

{{IB-Level
 |image      = Tartarus.png
 |id         = 59075347
 |creator    = [[Riot]] (host); Aurorus (co-host)
;Contributors
[[EndLevel]], [[Cyclic]], Hinds, Aquatias, Salaxium, Komp, Azuler, and Vermillion
 |verifier   = Dolphy
 |created    = [[Update 1.9]]
 |updated    = [[Update 2.1]]
 |difficulty = {{ExtremeDemon}}
 |stars      = 10
 |length     = 1m 27s (Long)
 |objects    = 43,364
 |copytype   = Password (61742)
 |downloads  = 15.82M
 |likes      = 343.7K
 |rating     = Featured
 |artist     = [https://dj-nate.newgrounds.com/ dj-Nate]
 |music      = [[Clubstep]]
}}
'''Tartarus''' (formerly known as '''Silent Akbar''') is a [[Update 1.9|1.9]]-[[Update 2.1|2.1]] Extreme Demon mega-collaboration level hosted by [[Riot]], verified by Dolphy on 6 January 2020 after 61,742 attempts.<ref name="Verification">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YYQBbrsV5Y</ref> It is the first instalment of a trilogy of hell-themed Top 1 levels hosted by Riot, succeeded by [[Acheron]], which was released later in Update 2.1, and [[Aeternus]], which was released in [[Update 2.2]].

Tartarus was designed to be almost humanly impossible and was therefore openly hack-verified by Riot to challenge the player community. Anyone who could verify it legitimately would receive a shoutout (and other unspecified prizes) from Riot. During the open verification, three players made significant progress on the level: Mullsy, Dolphy, and MetaManRB. 

Dolphy ultimately verified and published Tartarus on 6 January 2020, and it was placed at #1 on the [[Demonlist (Pointercrate)|Demonlist]], surpassing [[Zodiac]].

==History==
===Origin and leaking scandals===
While little is known about when exactly Tartarus began, it was initially a secret project known as 'Silent Akbar', an impossible level created by Riot and more. It was said to be in the works before [[Bloodbath]] and during the time that [[ICE Carbon Diablo X]] was the hardest level in-game. The level would soon die down, likely contributing to its impossible difficulty at the time and leading to it being forgotten for a long time.<ref name="History">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q3jdV_9jyM</ref> 

Soon after, leaks involving Aurorus, one of Silent Akbar's co-hosts, surfaced, giving the community its first glimpse of the level. One of the first players to upload a full preview was DollarC, who showed numerous unfinished parts.<ref name="History"/><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggMY3eJ1JJw</ref> Cypher, when asked to showcase the unfinished version that leaked, chose to instead rework it into a fully decorated version, with extra gameplay added by him to fill the empty slots.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/geometrydash/comments/5s0svr/silent_akbar_by_riot_and_more_fully_decorated_ver/</ref> His version can be found on Compendium's account as 'Tartarus'.

===Silent Akbar to Tartarus===
A few years later, Riot began revamping Silent Akbar through a creator contest hosted by Aurorus, as several parts of the gameplay and design had changed significantly. Numerous creators, including Hinds, [[EndLevel]], and Komp, had also joined in refurbishing the level.<ref name="History"/>

Now renamed 'Tartarus', Riot began uploading the first preview on 1 November 2017.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDHlFatgdhk&</ref> Riot uploaded the second preview on 1 December 2017.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrBfvBCO54g</ref> Out of thin air, on 27 January 2018, Riot released a video announcing that Tartarus was complete. The level was openly verified with hacks and uploaded for open verification. He stated that he wanted to 'challenge the community', explaining that whoever could verify this level would receive a shoutout and other numerous prizes from him.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezvUXnLW14</ref>

===Verification race===
After a long period with no one seriously attempting to verify the level, Canadian player Mullsy started practising Tartarus on 3 January 2019, when he uploaded his first progress video showing he had reached 32%. It was already close to surpassing the former world record of 39%, set by GD Lapis earlier. Three days later, Mullsy completed a 52-100% run, his first world record. On 9 January, Mullsy broke the world record from 0%. He achieved a 40% and a 22-57% run, which included some of the hardest parts.

On 16 January, Mullsy completed a 41-100% run. On 26 January, he set a new record of 45%, setting both world records. He would beat his records many times. He then achieved runs of 22-84%, 61%, 64%, 73%, and, on 29 March, a breathtaking 91%.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1IrMm2EAM&t=82s</ref> After this, progress videos slowed as Mullsy took a break from the level. When he returned, he completed a 35-100% run, and six days later, a 21-100% run. On 26 July, Mullsy failed at 97%, crashing at Salaxium's final wave, a death which, at the time, was arguably the worst fail in [[Geometry Dash]] history.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNoPN-CwjKg&t=86s</ref>

Mullsy's progression inspired multiple people to start a race for verification, most notably Dolphy and MetaManRB, who quickly made progress on the level. MetaManRB set records of 20-97% and 53%, while Dolphy quickly reached 55%, placing him second behind Mullsy, who already had 97%. Dolphy would take a break from the level before returning more than four months later, with a new best of 78%. After returning, he started making fast progress, dying at 91% five days later. He also completed a 23-100% run two days after this new record. On 30 December, Dolphy failed the penultimate ball timing at 98% before verifying the level a week later, on 6 January 2020, after 61,746 attempts.<ref name="Verification"/>

===Dolphy's verification drama===
After Dolphy's verification video, many were suspicious of Dolphy's legitimacy. Riot and EndLevel teamed up to question Dolphy himself. They said he could not answer their questions accurately, and on 10 February, EndLevel released a video exposing Dolphy. Many people lashed back, disproving most of EndLevel's evidence. Dolphy eventually had his name cleared after Pablohh (a player who uploaded a video refuting the points EndLevel raised).

Mullsy, on the other hand, became the second person to complete the level, beating it on 9 February after 211,267 attempts.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx2IHj6YpRw&t=96s</ref> On 10 February, Mullsy's version of Tartarus was rated and placed almost immediately at #1 on the Demonlist. However, after Dolphy's completion was deemed legitimate, Mullsy requested that his version be unrated and Dolphy's be rated instead. It happened on 18 February, and thus Dolphy's version replaced Mullsy's at the new #1 spot on the Demonlist.

===Legacy===
After the verification drama, Tartarus was placed at #1, dethroning Zodiac's 11-month reign, and held the spot until [[The Golden]] temporarily dethroned it on 31 May 2020. However, The Golden was moved down to #2 on 12 September 2020. Thus, Tartarus reigned as a Top 1 Demon for more than 17 months (527 days, 418 consecutively), surpassing both [[Bloodlust]] and Bloodbath's 1-year reign as a Top 1. Tartarus's reign officially ended on 4 November 2021, with [[Slaughterhouse]] and [[Firework]].

The level spawned a standalone successor, Acheron, inspired by Tartarus's 1.9-themed design, though with a dark grey and red theme. Initially, [[Wolvez]] was set to verify the level until he dropped it on 7 April 2022. An open-verification race began shortly after, with [[Zoink]] becoming the official verifier on 23 August 2022 after 72,808 attempts. It eventually placed as a Top 1 on 7 October 2022, dethroning Slaughterhouse after a drama surrounding its initial placement, and continued the legacy left by Tartarus. Another level in the trilogy, known as Aeternus, was also released on 18 March 2024 and is set to be the hardest level ever verified in the game.

==Description==
*'''0-24% (Vermillion):''' Tartarus begins with a quadruple-spike jump. After that, the player encounters an inconsistent orb spam that requires hitting the orbs at the last second, and another orb they must hit at the end of its hitbox. Following that is a tight, normal-speed ship sequence with a gravity portal that can disorient the player. Then the player enters a minor mini-cube orb-spam that requires some timing. After that comes one of the hardest parts of the level. The spikes are nearly touching, with little space between them. Next, the player enters a difficult mini-ship sequence that features gravity changes, and the spikes are tighter than in the similar mini-ship part in Bloodbath. The player later switches to a normal-sized ship, but it still requires tricky straight-flying. The UFO segment that follows is more troublesome than it appears. Many spikes appear at a buggy position, requiring precise timing. Then, the player enters a cube section that is purely memorisation, with no timing required and easy to remember. The drop has a short break, but the player must remember which orb in which portal to hit, or they will crash if they miss.
*'''24-36% (Aquatias + Riot):''' Then, the player transitions into a challenging triple-speed mini-ship sequence that is very tight with orb timings and gravity switches that would throw off the player. After that, a small, tight wave section and a UFO timing follow; they are not as difficult as the first one, but they still require decent timing.
*'''36-41% (Komp):''' A chill ball segment begins Komp's part, followed by another ship sequence that is highly tricky with more orb timings and gravity switches.
*'''41-48% (EndLevel + [[Cyclic]]):''' After that, the player enters a normal-sized cube section that features some late timings. The straight-fly after that is more remarkably tight because of a gravity portal in the middle of the straight-fly.
*'''48-54% (Salaxium):''' After a considerably horrendous ship transition, there is short cube spam. It would usually be inside an impossible level. Then the player enters a challenging half-speed swing-copter section that many consider impossible at 60FPS. The cube timings after that are similar to those before the swing-copter.
*'''54-64% (Azuler):''' A UFO part that is very tight after that starts Azuler's part, which also needs practice and spamming skills. The mini-ball segment that follows is not better, but it is similar to the UFO. After that, there is another swing-copter part, but it is not as hard as the first swing-copter. After a buggy transition, a mini-ship straight-fly part is tighter and more challenging than a normal-sized ship's because it is harder to control. A small, normal-sized, tight wave section ends Azuler's part.
*'''64-82% (Hinds):''' Hinds's part starts with some minor mini-cube jump and orb timings. The mini-UFO that follows has difficult spam that requires clicking three times in just half a second. After a small orb timing as a mini-cube, it enters a mini-ship straight-fly, four blocks long, which is easier since it is at triple speed. A mini-ball changes size from mini to normal. Then a tight mini-wave segment follows, another mini-cube orb timing, and the player enters a near-impossible triple-speed straight-fly with spikes at the end of its hitboxes. After that, there is a memorisation cube and orb timings and a small mini-UFO pink orb spam, followed by a weird ball timing and some orbs. A small mini-ship section is less difficult than before and goes into a mini-UFO section, where the player needs to hit the orbs as they go through. A tight, straight fly follows. Some awkward mini-cube timings and orbs end Hinds's part.
*'''82-84% (Aurorus):''' Aurorus's part starts with a hard mini-ball segment that features tricky timings and orb spam.
*'''84-88% (Salaxium):''' After that is Salaxium's second part, consisting of a mini-UFO segment with pink orb timings, tight spaces and jumps that all require good timing. A mini-ship sequence that requires perfect control follows.
*'''88-93% (Komp):''' Komp's second part starts with a triple-speed cube timing and a singular blue orb the player must hit. His part finishes after a very tight wave segment.
*'''93-100% (Salaxium):''' Salaxium's third part starts with a cube containing a single triple spike. A ship follows this with a straight-fly part. The next part, a cube, also requires a single click with no timing. The wave after that is as tight as the one in Komp's part. A small cube orb click follows, and finally, a ball section containing two timings appears (first, a precise timing and then an easy yellow orb timing), after which the level finishes.

==Gameplay==
{{VC|s7Nr8CiEoDs}}

==First 10 victors==
{|class="wikitable"
 !Victor #
 !Player
 !Date Completed
 !Total Attempts
 !Furthest Fail
 !Video
 |-
 |'''Verifier'''
 |'''Dolphy'''
 |6 January 2020
 |61,742
 |98%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YYQBbrsV5Y YouTube]
 |-
 |1
 |Mullsy
 |9 February 2020
 |211,267
 |97%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx2IHj6YpRw YouTube]
 |-
 |2
 |[[Mycrafted]]
 |13 February 2020
 |42,599
 |92%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48yoJxtxm3c YouTube]
 |-
 |3
 |[[nSwish]]
 |30 March 2020
 |?
 |97%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_olw0FgnN_E YouTube]
 |-
 |4
 |[[rori]]
 |1 April 2020
 |27,749
 |97%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyfj_eQTrpI YouTube]
 |-
 |5
 |[[Technical]]
 |18 April 2020
 |47,334
 |97%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMNNBBOjYg8 YouTube]
 |-
 |6
 |Sid125
 |24 April 2020
 |45,000+
 |98%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u_xkE4BR9E YouTube]
 |-
 |7
 |Timo
 |16 January 2021
 |51,000+
 |98%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yclCXLKn2Q YouTube]
 |-
 |8
 |Wolvez
 |6 February 2021
 |29,466
 |82%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObejxVpPJ4U YouTube]
 |-
 |9
 |SkyJax
 |10 March 2021
 |88,053
 |97%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDjMPbnk-w YouTube]
 |-
 |10
 |Donei GD
 |10 April 2021
 |73,481
 |91%
 |[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwdfroJOEWw YouTube]
|}

==Trivia==
===General===
*The versions of Tartarus by Riot and Mullsy are free to copy. The password for Dolphy's version is 61742, representing the total number of attempts he made on the level.
*Tartarus was ranked #66 in Geometry Dash Today's list of 'The Top 100 Greatest Geometry Dash Levels Of All Time'.<ref>https://x.com/today_gd/status/1729644192786223291</ref>
*Tartarus was the first Extreme Demon released in 2020.
*Tartarus remained the hardest level verified on 240Hz or a refresh rate below 360FPS for over two years and ten months.
**Before the release of Update 2.2, when physics were locked to a maximum of 240Hz, it was surpassed only by BGram's 240Hz verification of [[LIMBO]] on 26 November 2022.
*[[Sea]] thought that Tartarus is not rate-worthy.
*In Greek mythology, [[Wikipedia:Tartarus|Tartarus]] is the deep abyss under the earth used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked. The prison for the Titans contributes to its hellish theme.
*Riot had stated that Tartarus was in the works before Bloodbath, saying that it started in [[Update 1.6]] (when it was known as Silent Akbar).
*As an April Fools' Day joke, Tartarus was Weekly Demon on 1 April 2021, and if anyone commented on the level, their account name would have a random word before or after the real account name. 
**rori coincidentally beat Tartarus on April Fools' Day in 2020.
*There is a Tartarus remake called 'INFERNUM', verified by Hulunn on 28 September 2025.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm_Ox6wvK_Q</ref> The level was estimated to be around Top 200 in difficulty at the time of its verification, but Hulunn said he would most likely buff it later.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLoLHpT0kdU</ref>
*Tartarus is a part of the player-made 'New RGB trilogy', along with [[Sonic Wave Infinity]] and The Golden.
*Tartarus caused some controversy, as some thought it was wrong that Riot used noclip to verify it, like Cinci, who verified INNARDS (formerly a level said to be harder than Tartarus before Cinci verified the nerfed version).
*Riot announced an upcoming buff-date for Tartarus on 2 November 2021 as a joke.<ref>https://x.com/xriott/status/1455345170661191680?cxt=HHwWgMC5rZqutrIoAAAA</ref>
*While attempting to beat Tartarus, [[Denni]] received an Amber alert, which caused him to crash, leading to him jokingly saying, 'I hope that kid f**king dies.'<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy6sccJWAVk</ref> This clip became infamous in the community and was referenced in their completion video.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFX6HDHMzk0</ref>
*Information about Dolphy hacking Tartarus, as well as his inappropriate behaviour and sexual misconduct, had been a large topic of debate within the community. Many people urged the Pointercrate Demonlist staff to ban Dolphy from the site. Pointercrate acknowledged and, on their site, replaced his verification video with a showcase.
**However, the ban did not come from the alleged hacking of Tartarus, but rather due to his earlier-mentioned inappropriate behaviour, because it is still unclear whether Dolphy hacked the level or not.
***Since then, most of the community sees Mullsy as the 'verifier' of Tartarus.
*In the level Troll Madness by zyphur, if the player enters the ''[[Wikipedia:Minecraft|Minecraft]]'' Nether portal, it brings them to a replica of Tartarus, albeit with half of its decoration being removed for optimisation. Completing this version awards the player all three user coins, regardless of whether they have collected them beforehand. It also features an Easter egg containing an Amber alert sound effect that plays at the same location where Denni encountered it.

===Demonlist===
*Tartarus was rated on 10 February 2020 and placed at #1 on the Demonlist the same day, above Zodiac.
**This addition pushed [[Renevant]] out of the Top 5, [[The Hell Zone]] into the Extended List for the second time, and Insaction into the Legacy List.
**Tartarus is regarded as the 35th instance of the hardest-rated level in the game's history.
**Tartarus was the #1 level for 110 days before being overtaken by The Golden on 30 May 2020. However, on 12 September 2020, Tartarus moved back to #1.
**On 4 November 2021, Tartarus was finally dethroned by Firework after moving to the #1 spot after accidentally placing at #2.
*On 24 May 2021, Tartarus became the third level after Bloodbath and Bloodlust to be at #1 on the Demonlist for over one year.  
**On 11 June 2021, Tartarus surpassed Bloodlust's longest-reigning #1 Demon record at 383 days.
**On 1 October 2021, Tartarus surpassed Bloodlust's longest consecutive reign at #1.
**On 4 November 2021, Tartarus was dethroned, ending its streak at #1 with a total of 527 days (418 consecutive days).
*Tartarus is the first 1.9-decorated Demon since [[Sonic Wave]] that has been at the #1 spot on the Demon List. It is also the second #1 Demon hosted by Riot after Bloodbath. 
**Tartarus is also the second level, a remake of a 1.9 level to place at #1, succeeding [[Stalemate Redux]].
*Tartarus is the first legitimately verified Top 1 Extreme Demon with a main-level song since ICE Carbon Diablo X.
**Tartarus is also the third level since [[Silent Club]] and ICE Carbon Diablo X to be a former Top 1 Extreme Demon with a main-level song.
*Tartarus is the second most beaten level located in the Main List of the Demonlist with over 450 victors, behind The Golden with over 510 victors.
*Tartarus is the only Top 1 level to surpass the difficulty of three levels meant to be harder: The Golden, Sonic Wave Infinity, and [[arcturus]].
**Sonic Wave Infinity and arcturus were later moved above Tartarus, but it was too late for either to become Top 1.
**Ironically, Trueffet surpassed Tartarus in difficulty on 13 November 2021; it was intended to be a Top 15, not a Top 1. Since this change occurred after Slaughterhouse and Firework were placed, Trueffet never reached the top spot.
***Tartarus was later moved back above Trueffet on 17 January 2022.
**On 4 June 2022, [[Hard Machine]] also surpassed Tartarus, making it the second time a level not intended to be a Top 1 surpassed it in difficulty.
***However, Hard Machine was moved down from #30 to #36 on 19 February 2024, three spots below Tartarus.
*The placement of [[ORBIT]] on 10 March 2026 pushed Tartarus into the Extended List of the Demonlist after over six years.
**Mullsy gave a reaction to this announcement on the Pointercrate Discord Server.<ref>https://x.com/DashwordGD/status/2031461565640163669</ref>
**Tartarus was the second level of the New RGB Trilogy that fell into the Extended List of the Demonlist.
**The placement of Sacrifice on 10 August 2026 pushed Tartarus out of the Top 100 of the Demonlist after six years.
*Tartarus might become the new longest-lasting level on the Demonlist after Zodiac.
{{Togglebox
 |header = Notable fails
 |body   = <nowiki />
*Sid125 failed at 98%. It was considered the worst fail in [[Geometry Dash]] history until Dils thik's two 98% fails on [[Abyss of Darkness]].
*Squishyman67 failed at 91% three times, 93% twice, 97% twice, and 98% before beating Tartarus with a backflip at 90%.
}}
{{Togglebox
 |header = Notable completions
 |body   = <nowiki />
*dice88 had to re-beat Tartarus due to his clicks not recording during the first completion. As such, he became the first and only person to beat Tartarus twice.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrxNp827xyY</ref>
*In August 2021, a record of ten victors completed Tartarus within a month. These victors include [[RG]], [[Luqualizer]], Beastular, TGM05, Baeru, takmaster, Citrus, Swooker, SpirteX, and H4rryS.<ref>https://youtu.be/srH6fLFStnk</ref>
**H4rryS is the first in-game moderator to beat a Top 1 Extreme Demon, the second being [[Doggie]] with [[Slaughterhouse]].
*Tartarus was once the hardest level completed as one's first Demonlist level, beaten by polterghast on 27 June 2021.
**The record was later beaten by Artify8, who beat Firework, jumping from [[Nine Circles]] on 11 January 2022.
*The biggest fluke on Tartarus belongs to ultrakawaHD, who fluked it from 57%.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lxpFTtjihc</ref>
*On 9 July 2023, 5shine became the first and current only player to have beaten Tartarus on 144FPS or a framerate below 240FPS.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcoLCDQsJpg</ref>
*[[wPopoff]] has the attempt world record on Tartarus, with about 8,900.
*On 13 March 2026, serpentical fluked Tartarus from 60%, completing the level in around 6,000 attempts.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYTiNlkAT0c</ref>
*On 14 March 2026, BoldStep, the verifier of [[Erebus]], completed Tartarus as a jump from Keres after 44,087 attempts.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCB-ffRTcvg</ref>
}}

==Videos==
{{VC|9YYQBbrsV5Y|GbKcl6W86b8|-ezvUXnLW14|2TAe5jJoWqQ
 |cpt1 = Verification
 |cpt2 = Old version (Silent Akbar)
 |cpt3 = Announcement
 |cpt4 = Documentary
}}

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Demon List levels]]