: Actually, if you leap across the pool of blood (which you can do if you keep
: as far to the left as possible when you leap), there is a switch on the
: other side. Hitting this switch will lower the pool of blood, so you do
: not have to swim in it at all. You can jump down into the pit and continue
: without damage. Of course, this is only necessary if you decide to venture
: through the first part of the level.
Now that's really interesting, and undoes most of what I hated about that puzzle. In my defense, it's not obviously a switch (I had trouble finding it even after reading your post and staring directly at it in Forge)- it's not the standard switch shape, it doesn't have the traditional recessed design that makes it easier to spot on the map view, and I believe it's the only place that switch texture is used in the entire game.
I've always had to venture through the level, since I had never gotten the Omega or fusion mace before and couldn't use the bridge jumping trick :)
