Tide Pool is a brand new area featured in Spelunky 2. Within the ancient ruins of Tide Pool, a player can clone anything with the power of the Clone Gun, avoid powerful Pangxie, pull the legendary Excalibur from it's stone if worthy, and trigger an incredibly hazardous lava trap to reach the land of Abzu.
It is the parallel to Temple of Anubis, the other fourth world in the game that the player can choose to go through after Olmec's Lair.
A full level of 4-1 Tide Pool
Levels
4-1: Madame Tusk's Die House
Rolling the dice in Madame Tusk's Die House.
The Dice House is normally found in 4-1 of Tide Pool, where the player may gamble under the close eye of Madame Tusk and her Bodyguard, armed with a Shotgun.
It will cost $5000 each time the player plays Tusk's game, where they roll two dice for a result. Getting a 6 or lower will result in a loss. Getting an 8 or higher will result in the player earning $10,000, and rolling a 7 will grant the player whatever is being the energy barrier in her shop. This reward can range from Bomb Bags to Jetpacks. Successfully rolling a 7 five times in her dice game will cause her to allow you access to her Palace of Pleasure in Neo Babylon 6-3, as she will mark you as a VIP.
The Tusk Idol is also found here, only appearing if the player spoke to or killed Sparrow, and only accessible if the player has a silver key or Skeleton Key.
Killing Madame Tusk here will cause her to drop a sliver key, but will cause her Palace of Pleasure, found in Neo Babylon 6-3 to not spawn. This means that the player could miss out on a lot of resources and treasure by killiing her.
If the player stole from a Shopkeeper in either The Jungle or Volcana, Madame Tusk's Dice House will instead spawn in 4-3, as Sparrow's abode will instead spawn in 4-1.
Sparrow's hut, as found in Tide Pool 4-1. Her presence moves Tusk's Dice House to 4-3,
Tips and Tricks
- Whipping the dice at any time while is not on the ground will make it always roll either a 1 or a 6, making it extremely easy to get a 7 on the dice game.
- If the player throws the dice outside of the house, Tusk and the Bodyguard will anger.
- If one throws a dice they already threw while playing the dice game, Tusk will assume that they are cheating, and both her and the Bodyguard will anger.
- If Tusk or the Bodyguard sees the player with The Tusk Idol, they will immediately anger. Going up and around the Dice House to the level exit (potentially via use of bombs) will prevent them from angering while still letting the player collect the Tusk Idol, meaning they would also be able to obtain VIP access to the Palace of Pleasure if they roll enough 7s.
4-2: Stars Challenge,Excalibur, Great Lake
Stars Challenge
The Stars Challenge will always be found on 4-2 of the world, hosted by Tun. The player will have a limited amount of time to light every torch in the challenge room, and given a Four Leaf Clover to compensate for the time the challenge will take. If completed successfully, the player will be given the Clone Gun.
Tips and Tricks
- Any sort of back item that grants mobility, such as the Jetpack, Vlad's Cape, or even the Hoverpack will make the Stars Challenge incredibly easy to complete.
- In the event of Tun being angered or killed, the player cannot do the Stars Challenge and collect the Clone Gun.
- Completing the challenge in Temple of Anubis will instead reward the player an Elixir.
Excalibur
Excalibur, still in it's stone in 4-2. Only those bearing a Crown or Hedjet are worthy enough to pull it from it's stone.
Within 4-2, a stone holding Excalibur in place will appear near the bottom of the level. If the player has a Crown or Hedjet, they are worthy enough to pick it up and pull it from it's stone. Excalibur is a necessity for players wanting to enter Abzu, as it is the most powerful weapon against Kingu, trivializing the battle with her.
Great Lake
Just below Excalibur's resting place, the Great Lake can be found. Inside will be entire schools of Flying Fish, Great Humphead, and the entrance to a shipwreck. Inside of this shipwreck, a player can find a dead caveman with their own ghist, some spikes and treasure, as well as a Golden Idol in a Giant Clam.
4-3: Idol Trap + Lava Pool
Within 4-3, a massive lava lake can be found. Deep within it is the entrance to Abzu. The only way to access the door to Abzu is by entering the door of a chunk guaranteed to spawn, leading into sub-area path down to the bottom of the level. Here, an Idol trap will guarantee the drainage of the lava by ensuring the player's almost certain demise.
There are multiple ways to drain the lava and open the door to Abzu without consuming the Ankh, known as "Ankh Skips". These are elaborated upon in the Skips wiki page.
Tips and Tricks
- The easiest (and intended) way to escape death via the Idol trap is to use the Ankh to return to the upper level of the map, thereby granting you access to Abzu.
- As Excalibur is almost a necessity in Abzu to defeat Kingu, one must leave Excalibur in the upper portion of 4-3 before triggering the Idol Trap, so they may return to it instead of leaving it in the lava below.
