Olmec (HD)

Spawns:	Level 4-4: Olmec's Lair
Health:	Invulnerable to the Spelunker's attacks
Damage:	Instant Kill (Crushing)
Stunnable:	No
Corpse:	No
Size:	Huge (4x4)
Notes:	• Generates lesser enemies when it attacks. • Can only be defeated by letting it drop into lava. • The Giant Idol is received for defeating it.

Olmec is the main boss of Spelunky. He is located in Olmec's Lair, on the fourth stage of the Temple. After defeating Olmec and leaving through the standard level exit, you win the game and are rewarded with the Giant Idol.
You also receive the Achievement 'Made it', and unlock the Jungle Warrior character.

Mechanics

Olmec will follow the Spelunker by jumping towards your direction, assuming you are close enough. During "regular" jumps, Olmec does not spawn enemies or damage tiles.

If Olmec's jump brought him directly above the player, he will freeze in the air for a fraction of a second, and then violently pound the ground under him. This "pounding" jump destroys up to 5 tiles directly below him upon landing, crushing anything in the way (including the player). While crushing tiles in this way, Olmec may also spawn lesser enemies such as Hawkmen and Frogs. These spawns appear as flying sparks which fly away in an arc from the crushed tiles, and will turn to enemies when reaching the ground again.

It is possible to "ride" Olmec by climbing on top of the head while it is on the ground, and standing close to one of the edges. Doing this allows you drive Olmec to a convenient location, and also makes it easier to reach the upper platforms of the level, filled with treasure and crates (you will still need a rope or a jetpack to reach the upper levels, however).

Strategy

The only way to defeat Olmec is to drop him into the lava below the level. There are two main ways to do this:

• The safest way is to possess 5 or more bombs in your inventory. In this case, simply drive Olmec to one corner of the map, and then use the bombs to dig a 4-tile wide vertical hole leading all the way to lava. You will need a rope or jetpack to get back out, unless you use more bombs. Then, lure Olmec to the hole, standing very close to the edge opposite of Olmec (so close you are teetering over it). Doing so will make Olmec do a "pounding" attack that will land him directly into the hole.
  • When normally placed, a bomb will only dig a 3-tile wide hole, not wide enough for Olmec to fall through. To make a wider hole, either place the bombs at an edge between two tiles, or, after placing a bomb, quickly pick it up and place it again.
• The more dangerous way requires no resources (although having a few ropes is highly recommended). Run under Olmec during his jump, which will cause Olmec to crush the tiles under him. Repeat this crushing maneuver until Olmec crushes his own way into the Lava, making sure to dodge both Olmec and his spawns (use a rope to kill spawns falling on top of you).
  • There are multiple variations of this that require less time at the cost of a few resources, while bombs are not needed, the use of them makes the fight faster, which also reduces the chances of random monster spawns by Olmec.

Hell Strategy

• If you have the Necronomicon from the City of Gold and are planning to enter Hell, you will (in addition to killing Olmec) need to open a path to the Hell Entrance. Unlike regular exits, the Hell Entrance does not have a platform for you to stand on, so you must use Olmec as he drowns in lava as the platform. Therefore, whichever strategy you pick to kill Olmec, you must ensure he drowns in the correct location (the Necronomicon will lead you to the correct horizontal location by ticking as you get closer to it). You will have a narrow margin of time to stand on him as you enter Hell before he drowns too deep, so you must stand on him at exactly the right time, while also taking care to avoid the Magma Men which spawn from the lava and can jump high enough to hurt you.
• When using the 5-bomb-method to enter hell, it may be a good idea to let Olmec pound the ground above the hell entrance once. Then lure Olmec far enough away to allow yourself to dig a hole with 5 bombs. If you do this, you will not take the chance of Olmec spawning monsters when pounding down into the lava.

Trivia

• It is possible to drain the lava under Olmec's Lair. To do so, you must carry a spare jetpack (which you can only do while wearing another jetpack) to the level, dig a hole to the lava, and sink the jetpack into the lava, giving it enough time to reach the bottom. Then, have Olmec do a "pounding" jump into the lava, sinking directly above the jetpack. When Olmec reaches the bottom, he will crush the jetpack, resulting in an explosion which drains the lava, exposing a secondary empty chamber. The only advantage is the ability to get the gems at the very bottom of the floor, but that's it. See this performed by Baertaffy for an example. This, notably, 'reactivates' Olmec's AI, and he will jump around should the player enter range.
• The name of the Boss may draw inspiration from the ancient Olmecs, who created colossal stone heads

Achievements

• "Made it" (40) - Complete the game.
• "Ironman" (30) - Complete the game without using shortcuts.
• "Speedlunky" (10) - Complete the game in under 8 minutes. No shortcuts.
• "Low Scorer" (10) - Complete the game without collecting any treasure. No shortcuts.
• "Good Teamwork" (10) - Complete the game with at least two players alive. No shortcuts.

Bugs

• Sometimes the Spelunker might get hit and stunned when too close to Olmec when he stomps or rises; this does not happen all the time and seems to happen more often on the right side than the left one. It's unknown what causes it, other than being close to Olmec.