And you though reaching Hell was hard. There’s an even harder-to-reach zone in Spelunky 2, and you’ll have to die for the privilege. The hardest area to reach (that we’ve found so far) is Duat — the land between the living and the dead. You’ll have to acquire secret items, enter multiple hidden areas, and fight your way to the very bottom of the dungeon to reach this incredibly hard area. What’s the purpose? We don’t exactly know yet, but it’s likely this area is important for unlocking the true final boss — or the true final ending.
To reach Duat, you’ll need to visit the Black Market and the City of Gold, two additional hidden area that are a pain-in-the-neck to access. You’ll need a series of artifacts; the Udjat Eye, the Hedjet, the Ankh and the Scepter — all just to reach the City of Gold and sacrifice yourself. Reaching the City of Gold is the real challenge here. Well, completing Duat is the real challenge, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
Here’s the ridiculously convoluted process you need to follow to reach Duat. Beating it? You’re on your own there, bub.
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How To Reach Duat | Secret Location Guide
The Duat secret area is deeply important — and ridiculously hard to reach. You’ll need four artifacts to get there, and you’ll have to start your run from the Dwelling each time.
Duat is a strange world between life-and-death, where you’ll encounter two optional bosses. Instead of starting at the top and working your way down, you’ll start at the bottom and climb up. Ropes don’t work here — and you’ll have to ditch any held-items to access the location. Only upgrade items, bombs and ropes follow you into the new area.
The good news is that ropes can be re-collected after being thrown, so you can use them like weapons and never run out.
Step #1: Get The Udjat Eye & Hedjet
The Eye of Udjat is a special item acquired in 1-2 or 1-3. Look for a door leading to a locked chest. The key is located somewhere in the map. Usually this is pretty easy to acquire.
Next, use the Udjat Eye to find the secret Black Market location. The Black Market door appears in the Jungle — 2-2, 2-3, or 2-4. When you’re near the door, the Udjat Eye will glow and blink. Bomb at that location to reveal the door. You’ll find the Hedjet item in the Black Market.
Step #2: Get The Ankh & Scepter
Next you’ll need to progress deep into the dungeon. Reach Olmec (complete 2-4) and drop down to the bottom of his room. In the lava, there is an optional door leading to caves. Follow the path to retrieve the Ankh. You’ll need this — the Ankh gives you a second chance.
Go even deeper to 4-1. Here you’ll find Anubis in the Temple door, a special boss-type enemy. Defeat him to acquire the Scepter. Now you have everything you need to reach the City of Gold secret area.
Step #3: Reach The City of Gold & Sacrifice Yourself
The City of Gold door will spawn in 4-2. Use the Scepter and Hedjet to access the City of Gold — this golden city is packed with cash, but we’re looking for the sacrificial altar in the center. There’s a large altar that’s pretty suspicious.
Drop from high above to ensure you die on the altar. Dying on the altar sacrifices yourself — and sends you into the Duat.
Sacrificing yourself transforms you into a ghost-version, removing your held items but retaining any upgrades, bombs, or ropes. In this area, you’ll encounter another Anubis boss, and Osiris. Defeating Osiris will reward you with a mysterious Stone Tablet and teleport you to the Ice Caves.
What is the Stone Tablet for? We don’t really know yet, but we’ll update this guide with more information as it’s discovered!
Source: [1]