Items

Rope

Ropes are a consumable item which can be used to deploy a climable rope in front of the spelunker. If the player holds UP when deploying the rope, they will throw the rope up in the air, and if the player holds DOWN, they will drop the rope down in front of them. Ropes are useful for reaching areas out of reach and safely descending from cliffs when the ground is not visible. They can also be used to anchor the player's y-position when attempting to fight or blow up enemies and shops. If the player is holding on to a rope, they may throw a bomb in a downwards diagonal direction by holding DOWN and pressing the bomb button. This is useful for tossing bombs downwards into shops without risking the shopkeeper jumping high enough to reach you. Be wary if you are hanging on to a rope which is deployed above lava. The lava might catch the rope on fire and cause it to burn up and make it unusable. Ropes come in bundles of three, and can be found throughout the game. They are usually not worth buying in shops, though.

Bomb

Bombs are a consumable item which can be used to fight enemies and blow up terrain. Bombs are one of the most useful items in the game, for both their high efficacy in dealing with foes and for accessing treasure and other items. If the player holds the UP button when throwing the bomb, they will throw it in an upwards arc, and if the player is crouching when they throw it, they will instead drop the bomb at their feet. If the player has the pitcher's mitt, bombs thrown will not be affected by gravity and will continue in a straight line when thrown until they hit something. If the player has the paste, bombs will stick to walls and enemies, making them useful for attacking large dangerous enemies from a distance. Bombs come in bundles of 3, or in bomb boxes, which have 12 bombs in them. Since bombs are very useful and versatile, I strong recommend purchasing/stealing them from shops when given the chance.

Spectacles

The spectacles are a passive item which improve the player's vision. With them, you can see hidden treasure and items inside of walls and improve visibility in dark levels. They are not particularly useful as the Udjat Eye provides the same secret treasure vision.

Climbing Gloves

Climbing gloves are a passive item which allows the spelunker to grip walls. With this item, the player can scale vertical walls by jumping repeatedly. These gloves are extremely useful and I recommend picking them up as soon as possible.

Pitcher's Mitt

The pitcher's mitt is a passive item which allows the player to throw items in a straight line without them being affected by gravity. It is not particularly useful unless you are really trying to throw things at something far away.

Spring Shoes

The spring shoes are a passive item which allows the player to jump higher by one tile. They are very useful and can be found throughout the world and by killing giant frogs. If the player holds down the jump button when jumping on enemies, they will also bounce extra high with this item.

Spike Shoes

Spike shoes are a passive item which increases the damage done by the player when jumping on enemies. They also prevent the player from sliding on icy surfaces. Spike shoes also allow the player to deal stomping damage to enemies which are not normally damaged by jumping, like mammoths.

Paste

The paste is a passive item which makes the player's bombs stick to surfaces and enemies upon contact. Giant spiders drop paste when killed so it's generally not worth it to purchase this in shops.

Compass

The compass is a passive item which points the character to the level exit at all times. It is not very useful, but when the level is dark it can help in finding the exit. Also, when the player does not have much mobility while in the Ice Caves, it can help in finding the exit without having to consume ropes.

Mattock

The mattock is an active item which can be applied to destroy the tile either directly in front of the player or directly in front and down. There is always one generated at the bottom of snake pits. They can be useful for digging up treasure and reaching inaccessible areas without consuming bombs, and usually break after about 50 uses. It can also be used as a weapon, but is not particularly effective as one.

Boomerang

The boomerang is an active item which can be used to damage and stun enemies a short distance away from the player. When thrown, it will travel straight in the direction it was thrown for a little bit, and then return to the player and be automatically caught. Boomerangs are used as weapons in the Jungle by tiki men, who will throw it at you if they see you. It can be a useful weapon for stunning enemies and dealing damage in the early game, but should be dropped for a gun as soon as one becomes available.

Machete

The machete is an active item which can be used to damage enemies or slice through spider webs. It deals twice as much damage as the whip and can damage enemies that the whip cannot. However, since it must be held to be used, it is usually outclassed by other weapons which can inflict damage from a range.

Crysknife

The crysknife is a passive item which replaces the standard whip attack. It allows the player to instantly kill enemies in a single swing. It can only be found at the bottom of the secret Worm level, in a pool of acid near the bottom of the level.

Web Gun

The web gun is a near-useless active item which can be used to shoot balls of spiderweb a short distance. It's not worth holding on to.

Shotgun

The shotgun is an active item which is usually the most effective and practice weapon in the game. When fired, it shoots a spread of pellets which travel in a roughly straight line. The shotgun can be used to kill enemies from afar (including shopkeepers), and firing the gun right when pressing the jump button can allow the player to jumping slightly higher than normal. When using the shotgun to kill a shopkeeper that is off the screen, be sure to listen for the 'angry shopkeeper' music to stop before walking closer to investigate; sometimes it takes several shots for the pellets to do enough damage to kill him. Additionally, if only one pellet hits the shopkeepr, it will not stun him, so be wary of firing the gun when you don't have it lined up properly.

Freeze Ray

The freeze ray is an active item that fires a short-range burst of ice that freezes characters. Once frozen, the player must whip or jump on the frozen character, which will kill it instantly. Freezing a character in midair will cause it to fall out of the air and shatter when it hits the ground. If the character frozen explodes upon death (like a UFO, for instance), it will explode as well when it lands.

Plasma Cannon

The plasma cannon is an active item which fires an explosive projectile forward and launches the player backwards. There is always one in The Mothership level, and it extremely rarely appears in crates as well. Usually lugging it around and firing it without accidentally injuring yourself is more trouble than its worth, so I don't recommend it.

Camera

The camera is an active item that takes a picture a short distance in front of the player when used. All this does is stun certain enemies and aggro others. When used on bats or undead enemies, it will kill them instantly. Using a camera on a shopkeeper will make him angry. Usually the camera is not worth carrying around due to taking up your active item slot and preventing you from dealing damage in most instances.

Teleporter

The teleporter is an active item that can be both very useful and very dangerous. When used, the player will teleport somewhere around 6 tiles in front of them, or, if they are holding UP, about 6 tiles directly upwards. If the player would teleport into a wall, the game will try to teleport to the player upwards as well, up to 2-3 tiles. However, if this is not possible, the player will be killed instantly, from teleporting directly into solid ground. If the player teleports into another character, they will kill that character instantly instead, making it useful for dealing with shopkeepers and other difficult enemies. While useful in niche situations and beating the game very quickly, I usually shy away from it due to the risks involved.

Parachute

The parachute is a passive item which automatically deploys when the player falls quickly enough to cause fall damage. Once deployed, the player can safely parachute to the ground, after which the parachute is discarded. I find that the parachute can sometimes mess up jump trajectories due to its automatic deployment, so I tend to avoid picking them up. The functionality of the parachute is also almost completely superseded by any form of cape or jetpack.

Cape

The cape is a passive item which allows the player to toggle their falling speed in midair. It is immensely useful for avoid fall damage, as the player can simply press the JUMP button to fall very slowly, or press it again to fall quickly. While falling slowly, the player can safely land on spikes without dying instantly, making it useful for grabbing things that have fallen into spike pits. While useful, the cape is still usually worse than having a jetpack, and since you can only have one, I usually opt for the jetpack instead if I can find one.

Jetpack

The jetpack is a passive item and one of the most useful items in the game. It lets the player boost while in the air for a short time, allowing them to reach much higher platforms and areas further away. It can also be used to prevent falling damage, and using it in short bursts conserves its fuel enough to pass all the way from one side of the map to the other. The jetpack can only be used for a couple seconds per jump, but it recharges its fuel instantly upon landing on the ground or from the player grabbing a rope or ledge. Be warned, jetpacks will explode when crushed, so be wary when smushing them. I highly recommend trying to obtain a jetpack whenever possible, as it is the best mobility item in the game.

Shield

TODO: FINISH THIS PAGE!

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