Ergonomics of Setting, Part 1

This is a concept I've been wanting to get to for a while. Most recently a nagging finger injury brought it to the front of my mind, as the gym I train at most frequently has a bad habit. I've covered this problem in this blog before: who cares about the V0 climbers when you climb V10? A jug is a jug is a jug, right? Unfortunately, basic physics interferes with this notion:

Force / Area = Pressure

Therefore, more Force (harder moves) or smaller Area (smaller holds / less ergonomic holds) = more pressure on the fingers. Pretty straightforward math.

Injury prevention is a subject often avoided in routesetting. Usually considered the responsibility of the climber, routesetters who consider injury avoidance are an utterly crucial asset to their gym. Ergonomic setting makes for symmetrical, strong, well-rounded climbers. Unergonomic setting makes for muscular imbalance, shared weaknesses, and injuries. Which set of climbers will be happier? Which gym's competitive teams will perform better?

Healthy, happy climbers rely on routesetters to subtly suggest good climbing habits. This is applicable at any and all grade - from the first-timer complaining about how tight climbing shoes are to the mutant warming up on your hard problems to the 55 year old that throws down on his lunch break.

A jug is not always a jug. What do we know about new climbers?

• They move quickly and inaccurately ("thrutching")
• They weight holds before grabbing them properly
• They are not as good at positioning their body to keep their weight on their feet
• They do not optimize their hand/arm positioning
• They are not experienced enough to recognize when a move or sequence may be dangerous

With these factors in mind, let's go back to our math equation.

Let's say a new climber comes into a climbing gym and climbs two VB-rated problems. The problems involve the exact same movement on the same terrain. On one problem, the setters carefully picked each hold to be rounded. On the other, any hold from the "jug" pile is used as the next hold.

Red areas represent surface area of contact with the hold, Area. Assuming the same movement off of each hold, Force remains constant. Note that with the hold on the left, advanced climbers will automatically lean back, straighten their arms, and put more of their hands' contact area on the hold. Beginners will lock the hold in to their chest, endangering their fingers.

"But RC," you say, staring poignantly at your boxes of flat, sharply incut jugs laying in the corner. "If we only set with the comfortable jugs, what do we do with all these things?"

Our job is never easy, and this is one part of it. There are times that unrounded jugs are acceptable. In a steep enough roof, the pressure = force / area argument is largely nullified. Let's rotate the previous example image 90 degrees, as if the holds were in a roof:

More incut holds are a bit friendlier on steep walls.

As you can see from this picture, the goal is to maintain the hold's sharpest point at a 90 degree or more angle away from the climber's plumb line of hand positioning. In other words, when making the move, you want as much surface area of your hand touching the jug as possible. Any time a hold is contacting across one segment/phalange of the fingers is a danger zone for connective tissue. (I am in no way suggesting here that you should intentionally set with sharp holds in a roof - just illustrating the ergonomic difference between profile and incut.)

A good basic rule of thumb is: for vert or gently overhanging, a jug is a hold with a deep profile and a slight incut. For steeper walls, a jug is a hold with a deep incut. It will still be more comfortable if it also has some depth, so that the contact area is a bit more rounded.

Explaining profile vs incut. While it might be slightly harder to make a move from the hold on the right, beginners' fingers will thank you.

If you simply don't have enough comfortable holds, then you get to work extra hard at finding the ideal position for the hold to not be tweaky. This is a fine art.

Some holds, of course, have sufficient incut and profile depth to be usable anywhere with no issue. Most gyms reserve these size of holds for steeper walls anyway, where beginners need the largest possible grip surface and depth possible. These type of "mega jugs" are irreplaceable for a commercial gym - beginners can use them just to hang on, intermediate climbers can make hard moves off of them as they learn how to negotiate large moves on steep terrain without destroying their fingers, and advanced climbers can use them to practice dynos, recovery / power endurance, and campusing. New holds these days are much more comfortable, ergonomic and (in most cases) intelligently designed than they used to be. If your gym has a budget, ergonomic jugs should be a significant part of it.

Let's quickly cover our knowledge of new climbers again:

• They move quickly and inaccurately, so beginner jugs should be mostly grabbable surface, with no extraneous sharp parts
• They weight holds before grabbing them properly, so holds should be fairly uniform
• They are not as good at positioning their body to keep their weight on their feet, so holds should be directly above footholds, especially if they're sharp/incut - never expect beginners to smear.
• They do not optimize hand/arm positioning, so pulling sideways or outwards on holds should be just as safe as pulling down (probably not as functional or "good" of a hold - but safe!)
• They are not experienced enough to recognize when a move or sequence may be dangerous, so don't put them in a dangerous situation.

To summarize: You can't change the amount of force a climber will put on a hold, but you can change the surface area that force will be distributed around. Good routesetting should be fun, but it should also be safe.

In this post I mostly covered the ergonomics of holds, specifically jugs. In the next two parts of this topic, I'll go into a bit more depth on the ergonomics of directionality and movement. Until then, happy setting!

An Easily Avoidable Trap

"Feet outside suck. People need to learn how to smear better."

"Outside, the holds are not always comfortable."

"Well, Problem X at our local crag has this huge move in it that no girl can do. This move is just like that one."

Yep. Sometimes, outdoor climbing is unfair, sharp, and miserable.

It also rains outside, but I don't see anyone trying to patent a climbing gym weather system.

The bonus of indoor climbing is that the variables are controllable. Using outdoor conditions as an excuse for bad routesetting is an easily avoidable trap.

Movement Analysis: Hulk-esque Foot Cuts

One of my favorite boulder problems ever is The Hulk, in the Happies. My first trip to Bishop, I gleefully ran laps on it. Feel free to google it - as you can tell from the results, it's a very popular problem.

What makes the Hulk so classic is its uniqueness. It's rare that a combination of holds creates such an intriguing sequence for human physiology. And, while there are multiple ways to go about climbing the Hulk, the original sequence offers a fantastic lesson in routesetting technique.

The spacing of the moves, directionality of the holds and consistent difficulty through the crux sequence are all part of what make the Hulk such a fantastic example sequence to try to set. More than once on this blog I've spoken abouts these, and here's a boulder problem which incorporates all of them in perfect synchrony.

To me, the most interesting move in the standard sequence is a huge cross-through with a toe hook. Many people find this move committing (and frustrating.) It can also be described as reachy, so the move might not be the best for a wide audience. However, for an Open route or a harder route in the gym, it's reasonably enough sized to be worth learning how to set.



Here's a route I set which involves this move. It opens with a barn door and moves through a directional pocket to set up for the toe hook. After the cut move, I've also demonstrated here an undercling cross-through, another of my favorite moves, and finish with a big foot move and a press before topping out.

Setup:

As usual, the black arrows indicate the general movement direction. Blobs are holds; 2 is directional.

Hold selection:

Hold 1 must be sufficiently large enough to form a good toe hook. Suggestions: Papa Elephant, Pinchtite, Atomik Stalactite.. really, any stalactite hold.

Hold 2 must be directional and unmatchable. Could be anything; a directional pocket is great. A pinch offers the climber some extra compression while positioning their toe hook. Ideally, it's dual tex, and/or placed directionally / around terrain so that it's difficult to use as a foot.

Hold 3 must be a hold that's good enough (and interesting) to cut your feet on. A variety of holds will work for this, although in the example I've used a hold which requires some squeezing with the chest. Suggestions: Pinchtite, QED

Other suggestions: for 1 and 3: De Blocs, the Bubble Wrap wedges/ledges (for moderate difficulty) or just any large, blobby slopers (for extreme difficulty.)

For first timers setting this move, I suggest stalactite-style holds. They make great toe hooks, they can be grabbed from a variety of angles while the climber attempts to understand the move, they're fun to cut feet on, and they give the route some big feet to play with later in the sequence.

Terrain:

This move is generally easier to set in certain types of terrain: some steepness is needed to prevent the foot cut from being grovelly and uncomfortable. Going around an arete helps somewhat with the compression aspect of the toe hook. However, assuming sufficient steepness, the move could be set on everything from a gently overhanging traverse to a fully horizontal (or, for great difficulty, even climbing downwards) roof.

If the terrain doesn't have an arete / convex aspect to it, the majority of climbers will wind up heel hooking hold 1 to make the move. If the wall's not steep enough, the toe hook & release sequence will be scummy, uncomfortable and probably unnecessary. If it's too steep, and especially if hold 3 is placed lower than hold 1, the move can easily become the popular bat hang sequence.

Spacing:

The route is easiest to set if holds 1 and 3 are about even horizontally. They should be too far apart to span between (or at least not without great difficulty.) Hold 2 should be just below hold 3 and within reach of the majority of climbers.

Troubleshooting:

- The toe hook is difficult to maintain: the terrain is improper; the span is not big enough (toe hooking is more difficult the closer to your center of gravity, depending on the positioning of your other foot), or the hold is simply not large enough to fit a solid toe hook.

- The climber can dyno to hold 3: the terrain isn't constricting enough for movement (try using an arete), the span is too small, or (most likely) hold 3 is too positive. Try a hold which requires extremely specific hand placement to stick. Increasing the necessary accuracy of the move will force the climber to use static beta before cutting their feet.

- The move is too easy: Try moving or rotating hold 2 to an undercling position, increasing the span distance, or making hold 3 poorer.

- The move is too hard: Isolate the difficulty and try to troubleshoot one at a time. Is the span too big? Is the swing too hard? Is the movement awkward due to poor terrain choice? etc.

That's all for now - happy setting.

Forerunning, Part I: Guidelines & Basics

One topic crucial to routesetting that hasn't been very well covered in this blog is forerunning. Forerunning is a hard job. Competitors are prepared, well-rested and psyched, dealing with one problem at a time. Forerunners are often tired, stressed, working on multiple problems or routes near their limit at once. Taking the physical and emotional stresses of comp organization into account, it's easy to see why forerunning can easily devolve into egoism and arguments. Last week I touched briefly on understanding movement difficulty and how it can be used to aid effective communication during forerunning, but I thought we might revisit some of the basics before moving into movement critique.

Super quick - what is forerunning? It's simple - running the route beforehand, to help a setter mold the route to perfection. Forerunners are not always required. Basic gym routes that go up every day at most gyms probably get a few test runs at most; world cup problems might get hours of forerunning, tweaking individual moves over and over. However, even for the simplest 5.7, a forerunner can smooth the edges off a decent route and help shape it into something great.

In my experience, the majority of routesetters could benefit from one main skill: Listen. Whether the person climbing your route is a brand new gumby or an experienced routesetter, listening to their feedback and using it to make adjustments is the biggest tool in your arsenal. If you're the only person running your routes, it's easy to get stuck in a cycle of self-back-patting. If others are running it and you simply refuse to value their input, why bother having them run it at all? Drop the ego and listen to what the climbers have to say.

Quick basics

Communicate clearly. Offer descriptions about which moves feel harder and why, and be specific. Don't cloud the topic - be concise, brief and effective.

Movement is the best language. Sometimes it's better to simply let the setter watch you do the moves, and similarly, sometimes it's better to have the setter try the move to see what the forerunner means. It's a movement oriented sport, and even the most eloquent climber can't explain movement. This has another added side benefit: Movement is universal - on the world stage, your forerunners and setters might not always speak the same spoken language.

Leave your ego at the door. Rampant sandbagging, arguing, or going behind someone's back will only detract from the end result quality of the competition.

Don't offer unsolicited advice. In a hectic comp environment, "poaching" someone's route and then offering criticism can be a great way to piss someone off. Let the setters ask for help, or at least be sure that the route is complete and they want your opinion before you open your mouth.

Know your audience. If the route is for Youth D, climb it for Youth D. Even if you're 6'2". Cut your feet when a Youth D climber would. Don't campus moves that female or youth climbers wouldn't campus. If your gym population struggle with a certain style, take that into account when discussing grade and fairness.

Read, run, review. In that order. Don't run the route without reading it, unless the format specifies it. If you aren't sure, run it again. Don't offer feedback before you try (and preferably complete) the route.

Especially for competitions, routesetting is iterative. A route starts rough, and it is never finished. If you're completely 100% satisfied with a route when it's go time, you a) invested too much time in that route compared to others, b) you are missing something or c) you did an incredibly good job with time and resource management. (Or d) you are missing something. After a while, being completely satisfied with a route just tells me someone is going to skip a move or find a new rest..)

Don't offer problems.

This sounds like (and is) a business cliche, but good communication is good communication. A setter working on problem #4 of 15 for the day doesn't need more work. Instead, try to offer solutions:

"That gaston is way too hard" should be "The fifth move would be more consistent with the rest of the route if you turned that hold clockwise a little more."

"The last move is too reachy" should be "Consider adding another foothold for the last move to make it fairer for shorter competitors."

This method avoids confrontation, speeds up the process and makes your opinion more valuable. "Well, I was able to rest a lot and the move at the fifth clip was super hard" is the critique I would expect from any climber in my gym. I have higher expectations of a forerunner - they're an expert, and I want to hear expertise. If you can't think of a solution to an issue with a move, then it's still better to bring it up constructively. Never avoid an issue with a move, just try to have a solution ready before you spray.

Feedback methods

The main two ways I see frequently used in forerunning are to either go in knowing everything, or knowing nothing. I think personally it's important the forerunner know the category of the climb (men's or women's, youth or open, etc) because it should affect the way they choose to climb the route. However, some setters prefer the forerunner to not know the grade or beta, and let them offer their opinion on grade after climbing the route. Others prefer the forerunner to know the intended grade, and provide feedback on its accuracy. Both methods can be used with success.

Work with the format

A forerunner's job is to experience the route from the competitor's perspective beforehand, and offer that opinion to the setter. The format will have some effect on this - for instance, for a flash format, where competitors are given beta, the forerunner simply needs to be someone strong enough to execute the moves as instructed. Redpoint format forerunning may require more time to allow the forerunner to adjust and learn moves the way they would in a competition. If the route is just for general gym climbing, forerunning is still worthwhile! Equitability and consistency can be just as important to your gym population as they are to competitors.

If you're the forerunner, know the format and how it will affect the way a competitor reads the route. For onsight format, remember that the climbers only have a set amount of time to preview the route, and do not have the benefit of being able to ask the setter about beta. Forerunners have to compromise when working redpoint routes, because they have limited energy to run a lot of routes, some of which are expected to require the best climbers to work for a long time. Obviously a climber who only has to work on the 5 hardest open problems is going to have a lot more energy at their disposal than a forerunner who goes into the hardest problem having already climbed 59 others. Work the moves individually and try to get as clear a picture as possible.

If you're the setter, view the forerunner's performance through the lens of the format. How did they do on their first attempt? The first 5 minutes? Did they struggle several times on a single move? Don't expect your climber to work moves in onsight - it's no fun for the crowd to watch a climber not even get close to a move, and even less fun to see a climber give up with 2 minutes left on the clock. Similarly, remember that the climbers will sometimes be stronger, weaker, or have different strengths than the forerunner. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Respect the forerunner's time and energy

As a setter, it's easy to have someone climb your route, then dismiss their efforts with an excuse. "I doubt the climbers will do it that way", "That's not how I intended it", etc. It can be frustrating to put time into a route, then have someone reveal a flaw in your plan. However, try to remain constructive and work with the forerunner to find a solution. Being unbiased about your own routes is a huge challenge, especially during the stresses of competition setting. Just remember that the forerunner isn't trying to fight you - they're trying to help you create a good experience for the climber.

Respect the setter's vision

As the forerunner, your job is similar to that of a translator. Take the climber's intended movement, and help them communicate that to the climber. This is done by offering a physical example, then following up with constructive advice and specific physiological reasoning.

When running skeletons or the base of routes, take moves with a grain of salt, and simply try to understand the moves the setter plans on forcing. The early stages of a route would often be unrecognizable next to the finished product. Expediting that transition is your job as a forerunner. Later on, as the route is more polished, it becomes more important not to compromise the style of the route or alter the fundamental movement. As a route approaches completion, try to maintain the integrity of the setter's route, while making subtle tweaks in directionality and placement to make things more fair and consistent (if possible.)

Respect the climber

Most importantly, setter and forerunner must work together to create an end product that is fair and fun for the climber. Without teamwork and effective communication, this becomes vastly more difficult. The forerunner's performance and communication catalyze this process, and I'll revisit this topic to go into more detail. For now, happy setting!

One other quick note - if you haven't been watching the live streams of the World Cup at ifsc.tv, you've been missing out on a ton of great routesetting! The WC guys obviously bust their ass and I've seen all kinds of exciting movement being set. Climbing might not be ready for the global stage, but we as routesetters are the ones who create the spectacle that gets the crowd involved. Tune in and learn something. The next broadcast is June 17/18, from Eindhoven.

Difficulty Analysis: The Ingredients of Movement

"That hold is tweaky."
"That foot is too high."
"That move is huge."

Is it so simple? What makes movement hard? It's easy to try a move, "feel" how hard it is, and simply end your analysis there. However, climbing is a technical activity, and the levels of complexity are almost endless. Many of the best routesetters simply intuitively know what's hard about a move, and over time that skill can be developed. But it will help to have some of the basics down to make off-the-cuff setting, tweaking and offering forerunning advice easier. Here's a few of the basics of understanding what makes a move feel hard.

Mechanical Advantage

Mechanical advantage is the term used to describe a move that can be altered in difficulty, significantly or subtly, by a subtle tweak in body position. Here are the major points of mechanical advantage, and the type of moves for which they might apply.

Straight arms - The quintessential example can be found in every coaches' rallying cry to "straighten your arms!" Straight arms use the musculoskeletal structure as a support system, rather relying on the inferior lactic-acid-vulnerable forearm muscles. Any method that allows the climber to achieve straight arms can provide considerable rest opportunities. Three of the easiest contributors to a rest position are: Holds facing straight up and down with feet directly below them; holds facing inward in a dihedral; and holds facing outward on an arete. These rest spots can be quickly tweaked or eliminated by changing the directionality of the restable hold to something less mechanically preferable.

Hold factors - the "incutness" or depth of a hold can allow for significant mechanical advantage, by giving the climber more breathing room in their body position. Larger holds, even slopier ones, provide some mechanical advantage by letting the climber's larger hand and arm muscles do the work without having to redirect their energy and tension through the smaller muscles of the fingers.

Plumb line potential via body position - a mouthful, but the best way of describing what is essentially "ideal body positioning." The best way to understand is simply to look at two angles when considering a move. Angle 1 is the angle of the climber's arm when holding the hold, or more accurately, the angle of a line drawn from the climber's center of gravity to the center of the hold. Angle 2 is the plumb line of the hold. The smaller the difference between these two angles, the more mechanical advantage exists in the route. Often moves with massive discrepancies between these two angles end up feeling "tweaky" or just plain difficult. Plumb line is without question the fastest way to make a route more difficult. A tiny twist in the directionality of a hold takes only a few seconds (compared to at least a minute to change out a hold or foothold) and can change a move from comfortable to desperate instantly.

Ankles - One sometimes overlooked mechanical advantage is the ankle. The larger the foothold, the easier it is for a climber to use the big muscles of their leg, rather than redirect tension through the complicated and smaller muscles of the foot. Huge feet with bad handholds is a great way to test or train finger strength, but simply won't force the climber to engage their core as much as vice versa. In dihedrals, this mechanical advantage can be a nightmare, as feet usually considered completely awful can be enough for the climber to relax their ankle.

Traveling

Travel is my catchall word for the physical movement factors of a move. A frequent complaint among shorter climbers is that moves are too big. Being able to watch a climber try a move and understand specifically which part of the move is giving them difficulty can be a powerful asset for a routesetter. Working efficiently with forerunners for competitions and being able to communicate with and appease a gym community will both require cultivating the ability to understand why a move is "big."

Travel time - the duration of time that the climber must maintain or create body tension or momentum to execute a move. Some moves are better done quickly, and some slowly. Generally speaking, more vertical or slabby routes will be forgiving and allow longer duration movement; simply because of the imposed demand on the body to maintain tension, steeper walls require more alacrity. In some cases, such as unwinding from a deep cross through on a steep wall, the movement must be executed in a manner many climbers refer to as being simultaneously slow and fast. In many cases, a move will have a tipping point, where the move can be executed in a static manner up to that point, and the climber must alter their position to create momentum and complete the move.

Travel distance - simply the physical size of the move - but notably, not as it appears to many climbers. For instance, if the left hand is low on an undercling at waist height, and the right hand on a crimp above head height, moving to the next hold a few feet above the climber can be a body-height-sized move. However, if the crimp allows for a match, the size of the move is cut in half. This principle is why matchable holds are a huge no-no for forcing sequences (unless the match is the intended sequence) - and, due to the size of kid-fingers, why it is more difficult to set problems that are equitable for children and adults.

Body Position - the effects of body position on travel can't be easily summarized, but the most prominent effects are:

• Twisting during travel - some moves will require the climber to twist in or out while making momentum in another direction. This allows the climber to maintain hip-wall proximity, maximize reach, and prepare to create tension in the body position that the next hold necessitates.
• Traveling with the lower body - ankle, knee, and hip extension are all different factors in creating more distance in a reach during travel. Some moves will necessitate or favor different methods of reach - for instance, with big footholds, many climbers neglect to fully extend their ankle, because it is comfortable in the relaxed position. Climbers who are unused to slab climbing often don't have the trust and tension necessary to extend their ankles all the way. And, contrarily, many climbers on a steep wall will lack the body tension to extend through the knees and hips fully while moving upward.
• Traveling with the upper body - reaching by extending the shoulders and elbows is a given, but for some moves, proper posture can affect a climbers reach. Often the trunk can be rotated one way at the hips, and another at the shoulders, to provide a bit more reach. This occurs frequently during heel hook moves on aretes and during the opening movement of a big barn door move. Other times, the two work in tandem.

Momentum

Momentum is a crucial part of any move, no matter how static. Even an extremely secure, slow move requires generating force on a vector. Being a successful climber requires having a robust knowledge of generating, controlling and canceling momentum. Being a good routesetter depends upon being able to force the climber to call on that knowledge.

Generation through the elbows - necessary for some moves, but far fewer than the average climber thinks. There's a good chance if a climber thinks a move feels hard, they're starting with their elbows and following with their legs. Getting climbers out of this habit is an age-old problem for routesetters. For hard undercling moves, elbow generation becomes a necessity, as the legs will often be fully extended just to be in position.

Generation through the shoulders and back - for gym rats with chronic burl-itis, #2 after elbows. On the steepest walls, creating swing before a move, performing come-in moves and many forms of foot cutting movement necessitate shoulder momentum. Often flexing at the elbows first is not possible, as the holds are poor and it will result in a loss of body tension.

Generation through the hips - hip extension is a popular way to start moves, especially moves that trend sideways. Pulling in with the hips to rock over a foot before pushing off of it is also a common use of hip momentum.

Generation through the knees - generally speaking the most powerful momentum generation tool in a climber's toolbox. Many moves start at the knees. Placing feet to the side, angling them obtusely, or otherwise hindering vertical footwork can help to cancel out knee momentum.

Other methods - the "nod" move, notably, is used by some strong climbers with great success. The pogo or "moon kick" would also be a great example of an unorthodox method of momentum generation.

Setting a problem that requires multiple types of momentum is a good challenge for a setter, and can provide a well-rounded power testpiece for climbers.

Accuracy and Precision

How "accurate" a move must be can be a huge factor in discerning why the move is difficult. Major players in the precision requirements of a move can be:

• Speed and momentum - the more momentum a climber has during a move, the harder it is to hit a hold perfectly, without over- or undershooting.
• Body positioning - coming out of or in to very specific body positions can be stressful on the accuracy of a move. Hitting gastons can be notoriously picky on body position, and getting the shoulder and hip positioning right can be mentally complex enough that hitting the fingers right on the hold becomes difficult.
• Hold size, obviously, is a factor in precision. Slapping enormous feature-slopers doesn't usually require a ton of precision, except in cases where overshooting will bring the climber off of their launch hold. Outdoors, slopers can require precision down to the individual grains in the rock. Indoors, requiring that level of precision on slopers is difficult (but possible.) When setting for precision, many setters will automatically retreat to pockets, and the benefits for that tactic speak for themselves.

Other factors

Obviously there are myriad other elements that come into play for movement difficulty - to name a few, I've ignored balance, breath control, endurance factors, and only glossed over the basics like hold size and distribution, countless aspects of foothold placement, etc. But this should be a good start to being able to analyze what makes a move 'hard.'

Summary

Morphology in combination with the factors in this article makes the entire topic exponentially more complicated than can be covered in a blog post. Climb with a morphologically diverse group of climbers and you will quickly recognize patterns to which moves each body type struggles on. Developing that intuition is the only way to learn how to do some of the most basic tasks required of a routesetter:

1. To set movement that is equitable for different body types, and still performed the same (or similarly)
2. To understand, without having to ask or watch someone try it, what makes a move feel difficult
3. To be able to accurately and quickly look at, analyze and constructively criticize a boulder problem (an extension to #2 in that it requires actual communication)
4. To be able to change a move to add or remove difficulty in the most efficient possible manner.

I will probably return to this overwhelmingly complex topic some time in the future. For now, happy setting!