Health is ridiculously rare in Spelunky 2. You won’t find HP refills like Dead Cells and other combat-focused rogue-likes. This game is all about playing careful and avoiding certain death around every procedurally generated corner. But if you’re looking for an edge, there’s a special weapon you can acquire that can actually heal you.
The Kapala is a returning weapon from Spelunky 1. This unique sword can only be found by sacrificing enemies to the Shrine of Kali — a bloody altar that randomly spawns throughout the entire game. If you’re not sure what this shrine is for, this is what it’s all about. Here’s the fastest way to earn the Kapala and keep your health ridiculously high.
Just don’t fall into lava. Or a bottomless pit. Or step on a spike trap. Or fall for any of the endless instant-death traps that litter basically every corner of this game.
More Spelunky 2 guides:
20 Tips & Tricks For The First Biome | Beginner’s Guide | Safe & Easy Method For Stealing From The Shopkeeper | 30 Second Tutorial Speedrun Guide | Track Star Trophy | How To Get The 1-Hit KO Excalibur Sword | How To Access Duat | Secret Area Guide | How To Access The City Of Gold & More Secret Money Methods | How To Unlock Every Bonus Character
The Kapala is one of the most valuable weapons in the game. You’ll earn it by sacrificing animals / enemies to the Shrine of Kali — they’re the spooky blood-covered altars you’ll find in certain levels. These spawn in all the stages, and always in relatively large rooms.
The Kapala is a unique knife that causes killed enemies to drop blood items. Picking these items up will heal you — yes, seriously! Get enough kills and you’ll be rolling in bonus HP. This is one of the best ways to consistently heal yourself, and getting it isn’t that difficult.
- To earn the Kapala, you need to make sacrifices to the Kali Altar.
- Living animals / enemies are worth more. They must be in a stunned (yellow stars) state to sacrifice.
- A stunned animal buddy (the animals you rescue for +1 HP) is worth the most. Two sacrificed living animals will get the Kapala.
Remember, you can sacrifice NPC Helpers, Shopkeepers, or enemies. Any enemy that leaves a body behind can be sacrificed. Just dump the body on the altar! Your animal buddies — the replacement for damsels — can also be sacrificed. It’s a cruel fate, but sometimes that’s the only way.
Animals are the best sacrifices. You can earn the Kapala early if you’re lucky by sacrificing two. The Kapala gives you the power to heal yourself by collecting the blood of enemies, and it’s incredibly useful for long runs.
