Note The teleporter stuck in the middle of the block.
Teleporters produce instantaneous, discontinuous transmission of particularized matter via instrumentality of the spacial continuum.
In other words, they make you stop being in one place and start being in another place.
They are one of the most useful items in Spelunky - but also the riskiest to use. They can be bought in Rare Item shops, found rarely in crates, or buried.
Functionality
Teleporters are held items with infinite usage. Hitting the whip button while carrying one will cause you to teleport between 4 and 8 tiles in the direction that you are looking or pressing (priority goes to pressing). If the selected tile is solid ground, the game tries to find an empty space up to 3 tiles above the selected location - If the tile is still solid, the teleporter will instantly kill you. You will also die if you attempt to teleport into the indestructable walls that make up the level border. Buying a teleporter is generally not recommended for the unprepared, as they are a quick path to death if you don't understand and accept the risks and limitations they have.
On another note, the Rare Item shops that stock Teleporters may also sell jetpacks which are far more effective for a slightly higher cost.
Several other important things to know about Teleporters:
- Ability to telefrag enemies: Old vets of the Quake series rejoice! If you teleport into a space occupied by an enemy, they will be warped into bloody bits; even Shopkeepers and minor bosses die to a single telefrag. A minor setback however, telefragging enemies does not count towards your kills. Though, a major plus, is that killing a shopkeeper in this method does not register the death, and hence saves later shopkeeps from hounding you on sight in later levels.
- Ability to teleport upwards: Hold up and press the teleport, making certain you can see where you're going. You'll be able to teleport into those completely sealed rooms that normally drain your bomb and rope resources.
Vertical teleportation follows the same tile distance pattern as horizontal travel, meaning if you miss the teleport and fall the maximum teleported distance, you will take damage and be stunned. - Inability to prevent fall damage: If you fall from the minimum distance required to take it. The game does not recalculate your point of descent based on teleports, except if you teleport directly onto ground level. You go from falling to standing without landing, bypassing the damage.