The whip is always the main starting weapon of your Spelunker. It is one of Spelunky's three melee weapons, the other being the machete and the mattock. It is used by pressing the Attack Button (default X) without carrying anything else (for instance a Damsel, Golden Idol, or any other Weapons)
Functionality
The whip extends slightly more than one block, and you can actually kill monsters by whipping them through a 1-block wall. The player's sprite briefly brings his whip arm behind him, allowing the player to deal a blow to an enemy behind him. The whip, when behind the back, is a little "taller" (or at least higher) within that tile than the whip is when extended forward, making it notably easier to damage ceiling creatures.
Common uses of the whip include:
- Killing a ceiling hanging enemy before it is aware of you (Spiders and Bats)
- Destroying Pots from a distance, ensuring the death of any hidden Enemies that may lurk within them. Normally, pots can drop 1 piece of gold, a gem, or a snake or spider. When whipped, pots can drop up to 2 gems, 2 spiders, etc.
- Stunning Man-eating plants long enough for you to pass by them safely
- Numerous unspeakable acts with the Damsel (she is immune to its damage)
With many monsters, it's actually safer to jump on them than it is to whip them. Examples include the Yeti, which takes no damage from whip attacks. The machete, however, will still do damage to them.