Hou Yi's Bow (2)

Function:	Used to reach the Cosmic Ocean with the Arrow of Light
Source:	Moon Challenge (Tun)

Hou Yi's Bow is a unique Weapon in Spelunky 2.

It is one of the two items needed to reach the secret final area of the game, the other being the Arrow of Light.

Function

Hou Yi's Bow is found within the Moon Challenge residing in either Jungle or Volcana. It always spawns in encased in stone brick, three tiles from the bottom of the challenge area. It comes with a Metal Arrow.

Despite its more primitive appearance, Hou Yi's Bow functions identically to Crossbows when used with Stone or Metal Arrows, able to stick the latter to walls.

The true function of Hou Yi's Bow is to be used in tandem with the Arrow of Light. Unlike a Crossbow, it can fire the Arrow of Light without breaking. As such, this allows the user to fire it into the opened eye of Hundun, opening the way to the Cosmic Ocean.

When the player fires the Arrow of Light into Hundun's eye, the game checks if the Arrow was fired from Hou Yi's Bow. If not, the Spelunker is denied access into the Cosmic Ocean. This effectively makes it impossible to enter the Cosmic Ocean without Hou Yi's Bow.

Strategy

• Though bringing the bow all the way to the Sunken City from either Jungle or Volcana appears to be an incredibly difficult task, the Spelunker can leave the bow behind with Waddler in Olmec's Lair, retrieving it from him in 7-1. With Waddler's help, the Spelunker simply needs to carry the Bow through Jungle/Volcana, and later the Sunken City when it is retrieved.
  • Players should be cautious as they carry the bow through levels, as hazards may destroy it or render it irretrievable. In Volcana it may end up in lava, in the Jungle it may be crushed by an open Bear Trap, and in the Sunken City it may get destroyed within Regenerating Blocks.
• If the player obtains Hou Yi's Bow before reaching Vlad's Castle, they may use the included Metal Arrow to instantly kill Vlad and other Vampires.

Trivia

• Hou Yi's Bow is a direct reference to a story in Chinese mythology. In this story, it is said that there used to exist ten suns. One day, all ten came out and began scorching the earth, and Hou Yi was tasked by King Yao to shoot them down with his bow. The tenth and final sun was spared as it was needed for the prosperity of man. The journal entry for Hou Yi's Bow tells this story, heavily abridged.^[source]