Monkeys are commonly found in the Jungle, clinging to vines. Unlike most other enemies in Spelunky, Monkeys have no way of directly dealing damage to the player, but they still have the potential to be massively troublesome.
Behavior
When passive, Monkeys will usually be seen clinging to vines or on the ground.
If a Spelunker comes near, they will leap towards them, attempting to cling to their back. If they achieve this, the victim is unable to kill them without either deploying a rope to do so or getting the monkey attacked by an external force, such as a Hired Hand.
When a monkey manages to get onto one's back, they will rustle around their inventory and after a short period will either throw a bomb, a single rope (drops a rope pile worth 1 rope), remove a gold bar worth of treasure or stun the victim. If a Monkey manages to steal a bomb, its fuse will trigger and the bomb will detonate after a short delay.
If the Spelunker has no bombs or ropes, the monkey will only be able to steal treasure or stun the spelunker. Note that the monkey can only steal ropes if the player has at least three ropes.
Hired Hands that are attacked by monkeys may also drop treasure, taking away from the player's inventory.
Monkeys can also cling to other entities, such as Cavemen, Tiki Men, Witch Doctors, or even Pets. As they have no inventory, it only leaves the victim stunned for about a second, and causes them to drop whatever item they were holding.
Strategy
- Despite being "harmless", it's always a good idea to kill any Monkeys you find quickly, as they can become very problematic if ignored.
- Monkeys that appear above spike pits will often foolishly fall into the spikes if they miss when jumping for the player. However, if they get a grip on the spelunker, getting away from the spikes as soon as possible is recommended, as being stunned by the monkey can potentially throw the spelunker into them, killing them instantly.
- If the player does not want to risk dropping a Bomb or being stunned into a dangerous situation, they can expend a Rope, as deploying it will kill the monkey on their back.
- It is not recommended to jump on idle monkeys from high places, because just after detecting the player they jump sideways, which may lead to missing them and hitting the ground.
| Dwelling | Snake | Spider | Bat | Caveman | Skeleton | Horned Lizard | Cave Mole | Quillback |
|---|---|
| The Jungle | Mantrap | Tiki Man | Witch Doctor | Mosquito | Monkey | Hang Spider | Giant Spider |
| Volcana | Magmar | Robot | Fire Bug | Imp | Lavamander | Vampire | Vlad |
| Olmec's Lair | Olmec |
| Tide Pool | Jiang Shi | Jiangshi Assassin | Flying Fish | Octopy | Hermit Crab | Pangxie | Great Humphead |
| Abzu | Kingu |
| Temple of Anubis | Croc Man | Cobra | Mummy | Sorceress | Cat Mummy | Necromancer | Anubis |
| Duat | Ammit | Apep | Anubis II | Osiris |
| The Ice Caves | UFO | Alien | Yeti | Yeti King | Yeti Queen | Lahamu | Proto Shopkeeper |
| Neo Babylon | Olmite | Lamassu | Tiamat |
| Sunken City | Tadpole | Frog | Fire Frog | Goliath Frog | Grub | Giant Fly | Hundun |
| Eggplant World | Eggplant Minister | Eggplup |
| Cosmic Ocean | Celestial Jelly |
| Miscellaneous | Scorpion | Bee | Queen Bee | Leprechaun | The Ghost | Mech Rider |
Monkeys are commonly found in the Jungle, clinging to vines.
Unlike most other enemies in Spelunky, Monkeys have no way of directly dealing damage to the player, but they still have the potential to be massively troublesome.
They can easily interfere with the Spelunker, stealing precious bombs, ropes, treasure and leaving them stunned for very long periods of time, possibly knocking them into traps or allowing a chance for other enemies to attack.
Behavior
When passive, Monkeys will usually be seen clinging to vines or on the ground. They do not appear in sections of the Jungle where no vines generate.
If a Spelunker comes near, they will leap towards them, attempting to cling to their back. If this happens, they will rustle around their inventory and after a short period will either throw a bomb, a pile of three ropes, remove some treasure or stun the Spelunker. If the Monkey manages to steal a bomb, its fuse will trigger and the bomb will detonate after a short delay.
If the Spelunker has no bombs or ropes, the monkey will only be able to steal treasure or stun the spelunker. Note that the monkey can only steal ropes if the player has at least three ropes.
Strategy
- Despite being 'harmless', it's always a good idea to kill any Monkeys you find quickly, as they can become very problematic if ignored.
- Monkeys that appear above spike pits will often stupidly fall into the spikes if they miss when jumping for the player. However, if they get a grip on the spelunker, getting away from the spikes as soon as possible is recommended, as being stunned by the monkey can potentially throw the spelunker into spikes.
- A Monkey on your back can be killed by throwing an item (like a rock or a pot) or using a bomb or rope (it does not work if the rope does not travel at least one block). This is usually a waste of resources, but may be your only option in an emergency.
Bugs
If the player tries to grab an item at the same time a Monkey steals ropes from them,the player will be able to grab the rope pile.
Monkeys are an enemy found only in the Jungle. They're unique among the game's enemies in that they have no way of directly dealing damage to or killing The Spelunker; instead, they steal your items and can stun you, leaving you vulnerable.
Strategy
I've got a monkey on my back... And for once, I'm not talking about my crippling heroin addiction.
When the Spelunker gets close enough, they will leap from the vines and try to hop onto his back. If they manage to cling to him, after a few seconds he will be stunned and a random item will be removed from his inventory and thrown on the ground. This includes equipment, accessories and treasure. Any held item will also be dropped.
They may also throw objects they find on the ground which can cause damage if they hit you. The player may be put into harms way if he is stunned above a spike pit, or near other hazards such as Tiki Traps or enemies.
If a Monkey does manage to grab a hold of you, it can usually be displaced by jumping repeatedly or performing a flip-hang off a ledge.
Since they only have 1 HP, they aren't too troublesome to deal with, but always try to kill them before they get a hold of you. Long ranged weapons and thrown items are the most effective method of killing them safely.
They can frequently be found on the vines above spike pits, so they usually manage to get themselves killed in the attempt of jumping for you, only to miss and skewer themselves.
