"Skips" are commonly used for completing secret endings for Spelunky 2 if the player wants to save time, keep certain items, or needs a backup plan. They involve bypassing/locating certain locations without using the necessary item or retaining a specific item normally used as part of the quest to the Sunken City.
Udjat Eye Skip
If the player forgot to pick up the Udjat Eye or did not want to spend the resources to obtain it in the Dwelling, there is still a way to continue the run into Vlad's Castle or The Black Market without it.
Volcana
Vlad's Castle, when compared to The Black Market in the Jungle, is much more consistently simple to reach without the Udjat Eye, but demands significantly more of the player's resources.
- Vlad's Castle will always spawn after 2-1, on the same level containing the Big Drill at the top of the level.
- The castle will never spawn on the same level as the Moon Challenge.
- As the Big Drill cannot cut through indestructible block, the player can check if they are on the same level as the castle by checking for indestructible blocks under the level exit. If there are no indestructible blocks below the exit, Vlad's Castle is below.
- Without the help of Powder Boxes in the ground, it can take 10-12 bombs to reach the bottom of the level.
- With the help of multiple Powder Boxes in the ground blocking the way to Vlad's Castle, the player can conserve bombs by destroying them, which will save time and resources, possibly even only having to use as little as 3 bombs.
- Spike Balls can be used to reach the castle without using any resources, but requires some luck and a significant amount of time depending on where in the level they spawn. Lower Spike Balls may take around 1 and a half to 2 minutes to reach the bottom, but higher ones can easily take enough time for The Ghost to spawn, regardless of how soon they are located.
- The Compass will indicate that there are two exits on the level, signaling the player that Vlad's Castle can be found.
The Jungle
Although more difficult to locate than Vlad's Castle in Volcana, it is still entirely possible to find The Black Market without the Udjat Eye. There are multiple ways to deduce its location.
The drum beat heard in sub-areas on the same level as the Black Market.
- The Black Market never spawns on 2-1.
- The Black Market will never spawn on the same level as the Moon Challenge, nor will it ever spawn on any level with a Beehive or Voice Echoes Level Feeling on it.
- If the player is in any sub area on the same level as The Black Market, they will hear tribal drums playing, indicating that The Black Market is on the level.
- If the Black Market's entrance is close enough to a neighboring sub area, they will be able to see the entrance from the other sub area. From there, the player can deduce the location of the entrance or use a Teleporter/Telepack to enter if it is close enough.
- This is most easily done by entering the sub area containing one of The Three Sisters, as one of the sisters are guaranteed to spawn on 2-2, 2-3, or 2-4.
- The entrance will never spawn above or connected to an already existing sub-area.
- As the Black Market will always contain a Pet Shop selling a Pet, being unable to find a Pet in the level may indicate that they are being sold at the Black Market on the same level.
- If the entrance spawned on the edge of a block, it may be visible.
- If the player is on the same level as the main exit door, they can look down. If they see normal blocks past the indestructible ones, then The Black Market is on the level. Note that this is only possible once the player has entered a sub-area once.
- The Compass will indicate that there are two exits on the level, signaling the player that The Black Market can be found.
Olmec Skip
It is possible to use Olmec to enter what is intended to be the exit door from the sub area containing the Ankh, located on the top right of the first floor of Olmec's Lair. Just like as a player would after defeating him, they may use him as a platform to enter the exit door and quickly obtain the Ankh.
An in depth video guide demonstrating this method can be seen here, by Mezian.
There is another method of obtaining the Ankh early, as the player may use some form of Teleportation to get from Waddler's cave to the Ankh. The player can jump on the wooden block and teleport up at the apex of their jump, or use a rope and teleport left to enter the chamber with the Ankh.
Ankh Skip
The Ankh skip is arguably the most well known of all of the skips, as it allows the player to retain the Ankh while still triggering Tide Pool's lava trap in 4-3, allowing access into Abzu. It is a very useful and typically easy to pull off skip, provided the player has the knowledge to perform them and does so properly. There are multiple methods of successfully doing the Ankh Skip, many of which are not given proper justice described through text. Because of this, methods will link to external guides demonstrating their respective skip, or have visual guides for them:
- Using numerous bombs (~10) to allow enough room for the lava to avoid killing the player, and using the structure holding the Golden Idol as shelter, before using pre-placed rope (~5) to escape.
- Properly timing four bombs without paste, placed in a precise location before using rope to avoid a falling powder box and subsequent lava, and fleeing with aforementioned rope.
- Throwing a well timed bomb without Pitcher's Mitt to create a shelter for the player, and using rope to properly align the bomb and help the player escape the lava trap.
Visual Guides
Excalibur Skip
The player does not actually have to kill Kingu in Abzu with the Excalibur, and they can instead damage their shell using explosives and killing Kingu off using any form of attack, including the whip and projectiles.
The easiest way to do this is to have 10 Paste Bombs before advancing to Abzu, sticking all 10 onto Kingu's shell, then finishing her off with 200 whips.
It is also possible to do this with the Plasma Cannon by hitting the enemies that she spawns on her shell until it cracks, then hitting her directly with it.
Doing this skip trades off the need to obtain the Hedjet or Crown, as well as the need to carry Excalibur, which lets the player carry other valuable items such as the Clone Gun or an Eggplant with them. Despite the usefulness of this skip, the player may want to bring Excalibur anyway, as it saves a lot of time and bombs.
Wet Fur Skip
The specific tile used to descend down past the wet fur cave.
It is possible to skip the wet fur cave containing the Yeti King and Queen in the Ice Caves, even without extra mobility.
The entrance to the wet fur cave always has at least one tile just under it. Because of a quirk in the level generation, falling after hanging from this specific tile will always result in the player ending up on a ledge just beside the exit to the wet fur cave, skipping the entire section.
- Note that if the player moves at all during their descent, they will not cling to the next possible ledge and die.
- In extremely rare situations, a UFO may crash onto the specific tiles that the player needs to hang onto as part of their landing, rendering this skip deadly.
- The player can also skip the wet fur cave with almost any type of mobility item, such as Capes, Climbing Gloves, or the Jetpack.
Performing the wet fur skip.
Alien Compass Skip
All three possible spawn locations for the entrance to The Mothership.
It is possible to reach The Mothership without the help of the Alien Compass. This is because the entrance only has three different spawn locations in the abyss:
- On the 6th tile away from the right wall
- On the 5th tile away from the left wall
- In the middle, where it is on the 15th tile from the left wall/16th tile from the right wall.
Because of this, a player can use Climbing Gloves/Rope and either the Jetpack, Vlad's Cape, or the Hoverpack to check all three locations by counting from each wall to find where the possible spawns are going to be located.
Other Strategies
- If a Landmine falls into the abyss, it will eventually explode on its own. This means that if a player successfully lands one on top of the Mothership entrance, it will not explode, which can be used to help the player find the entrance.
- A Falling Platform may be used to enter what is intended to be the exit door to The Mothership, similar to the Olmec Skip.
- If the player simply wants to reach The Mothership, they may use the Shortcut to the Ice Caves and descend into the abyss until the entrance spawns on the 6th tile away from the indestructible wall on the right of the level.
Qilin Skip
The Qilin skip is the largest skip in the game, allowing the player to bypass the entirety of the Qilin chain that they are normally forced to do in order to reach the Sunken City. In this skip, the player ascends up the Forcefield and Spark Trap gauntlet above Tiamat's Throne without the Qilin's assistance.
The Qilin skip is also one of the most difficult skips in the game, demanding that the player has the dexterity and discipline to perform them. This skip can be done without any resources, although the more efficient the player's current mobility items are, the easier it becomes.
- A full, in-depth video guide on every single Qilin skip can be found here, by Gugubo.
- The player may reach the Sunken City with little or no resources, although it is difficult to do so. This skip is known as the "Bubble Skip", where a player leaves a crater in the throne of Tiamat with either bombs or a UFO spawned by Tiamat to prompt bubbles to start spawning in the middle of the level. Taking a bubble up to the top of the level then tossing rope to stall it between Forcefields allows one to reach the top.
- An in-depth guide on the Bubble Skip can be found in this video here, from Gugubo. This is also feasible using only spring shoes instead of rope to stall the bubble, as demonstrated in this clip here, from Hectique.