Olmec is back in Spelunky 2, and his fight basically goes the same way as before. This giant floating head smashes the ground under you, and your goal is to make him drop down into the lava below. It’s trickier than it sounds, but once you get the rhythm down, this big bad guy isn’t as hard as he seems.
It’s possible to beat Olmec without any bombs and lots of careful movement, but if you’re not an experienced spelunker, bombs can really help speed up the boss process. This time around, Olmec appears early in biome 3-1. Both Jungle and Volcana lead you to Olmec, and there’s a few simple strategies you can use to make this fight way, way easier. There’s also some help to find, and NPCs that’ll make re-fighting this guy way easier.
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 Get The Healing Kapala Knife | How To Access The City Of Gold & More Secret Money Methods | How To Unlock Every Bonus Character | All Shortcut Locations & Requirements | How To Fight The Secret Final Boss | Sunken City & Hundun Location Guide
#1: Unlock The Shortcut
First thing’s first — the Dwelling is actually one of the harder areas of the game! To reach Olmec, you’ll need to complete the Dwelling and the Jungle / Volcana — you can cut your travel time in half with a shortcut.
The shortcut lady appears in the tunnel after completing the Dwelling. Whether you go to Jungle or Volcana, it’s the same exact shortcut tunnel. The shortcut tunnel requires three donations to unlock — 2,000 gold, a bomb, and 10,000 gold.
You need to make a minimum of three visits to the lower dwelling, then you can start from the shortcut. Olmec doesn’t require bombs, rope, or anything — and there is no boss fight at the end of Jungle. Basically, it’s a good way to make practicing against Olmec way easier.
#2: Kill The Giant Spider For Sticky Bombs
I recommend taking the Jungle Route (left door) so you can find the giant spiders. These huge enemies can be dangerous, but they offer one of the most useful upgrades in the game. Killing them drops sticky goop that turns your bombs into sticky bombs — they’ll stick to anything they touch.
That’s absurdly useful for breaking exact blocks or defeating the boss enemies in later stages. And you can use bombs to blast the blocks underneath Olmec during the battle, speeding up his drop-down demise. Just remember that you can’t throw bombs directly down. It’s at a steep angle.
#3: Find The Sisters For Bonus Rewards
For bonus rewards, you can discover lost sisters. These NPCs are located in special cave rooms in the Jungle. Each one will give you a random rope or bomb reward for saving them — but not at first. Saving a sister causes them to thank you, then they disappear.
To collect your reward, reach Olmec’s Lair and climb the rope to the right. It leads to a small alcove where the sisters will be waiting. For each of them that you save, you’ll get a pack of ropes or bombs. There are three of them total, so check every side-room as you explore the Jungle.
These NPCs might also appear in Volcana, but they’ve spawned much more consistently for me in the Jungle.
#4: Get The Udjat Eye To Reach Useful Optional Areas
If you’re looking bombs and ropes to make the battle easier, you’ll want to visit the Black Market or Vlad’s Castle. The Black Market gives you access to basically as many bombs or ropes as your heart desires if you’re willing to fight — or if you have lots of money.
Vlad’s Castle is a little different. Here you can get the Cape — a special item that lets you fall slowly. It’s very useful, but the Jetpack from the Black Market can be even more useful if you’ve got enough cash to buy it.
Both the Black Market and Vlad’s Castle can only be accessed with the Eye of Udjat. This item is found in 1-2 or 1-3 — look for a golden key in the level, then use the golden key in the same level it spawns. There’s a cave room with a locked chest. The Udjat Eye doesn’t just unlock both locations, it also shows you all the gems in the walls. If you have extra bombs or see a bomb vendor, go ahead and start blasting the walls.
#5: Learn The Pattern — Left / Right
The trickiest part of Olmec is just learning his pattern. He stomps down pretty fast, and it can be very easy to get caught on him if you have to jump. Don’t stand in a pit that’s too deep. Instead, force him to stomp in two sections by baiting him — a left and a right stomp.
Make sure these areas are next to each other, but not overlapping too much. Try to always run from the upper level to the lower level when Olmec is about to crash down. Jumping can be dangerous!
Olmec can smash up to five blocks at a time. Make sure you bait him left / right with 8-10 blocks so you have plenty of room. You don’t want to accidentally crush yourself!
There are two phases to this fight. If you reach the mid-point, you don’t have to keep fighting! Quickly run to the side of the room and push the block out of the way to access the Tide Pool. If you continue to fight Olmec and reach the bottom of the area, you can access the Ankh cave and the Temple of Anubis.
