Overview
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 9/10
- Offline: 20/20 (400)
- Online: 0 (0)
- Approximate amount of time to 400: 50 hours  (Depends on Skill Level)
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2+ (Many Partial)
- Number of missable achievements: Many (See Introduction)
- Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats
- Does difficulty affect achievements?: No
- Glitchy achievements: None
- Unobtainable achievements: None
- Extra equipment needed?: 1 Extra Controller

Introduction
Welcome to Spelunky, a 2D platforming game with randomly generated levels and achievements that require tons of skill and patience. Be warned, you will die hundreds of times while attempting to get every achievement. It is extremely difficult, but it is also one of the most addictive Xbox Live Arcade games on the market.

Many of the achievements will require full playthroughs of the game and you will most likely want to attempt them on individual playthroughs, resulting in much more than the minimum of 2, so these achievements are technically missable. Getting all of the achievements in just 2 playthroughs would require an extreme amount of skill and is almost impossible. It's in your best interest to follow the rest of the roadmap and be patient when it comes to Spelunky's achievements. It is possible to get everything in less than a few hours, but it will reasonably take you 50 to 100 hours, possibly more.

Step I: Unlock All Shortcuts & Practice
It is recommended that you unlock the shortcuts to each level and practise them extensively before attempting a full playthrough. To unlock the shortcut for to the Jungle, see Mines Shafted; for the shortcut to the Ice Caves, see Jungle Jammed; and for the shortcut to the Temple, see Ice Creamed. Once you unlock the shortcuts, you can access them by heading to the room on your left in the starting area of the game. If you begin in a level by using a shortcut and die you will start at the beginning of that level. You can also unlock the achievements for reaching each level and completing the game by using shortcuts.

As soon as you unlock the Jungle shortcut, you should start from the Jungle and attempt to clear it until you unlock the Ice Caves shortcut. Now work at that until you unlock the Temple shortcut and play until you complete the game from there. After completing the game once you can decide if you want to start attempting full playthroughs, or if you want more practice.

By the end of this step you should have at least:

  • So It Begins for beating the tutorial
  • Mines Shafted for beating the Mines
  • Jungle Jammed for beating the Jungle
  • Ice Creamed for beating the Ice Caves
  • Made It for beating the Temple / game
  • Seen A Lot for completing 50% of the journal

Step II: Complete the Full Game Multiple Times
When you've practiced enough to fully understand each level, what items you'll want in them, how to kill the enemies and avoid the traps, you can begin the full playthrough phase. There are quite a few ways you need to complete the game or things you need to do within playthroughs and you can complete them in any order you want, but I recommend this order:

  • Ironman unlocked with all completion achievements
  • Her Favorite for receiving the Kapala
  • Casanova for rescuing 10 damsels
  • Eternal Life for obtaining the Ankh
  • Public Enemy for killing 12 shopkeepers
  • Big Money for earning 500,000 score
  • City of Gold unlocked with To Hell and Back and possibly Big Money
  • To Hell and Back for reaching and beating Hell also possible unlocked with Big Money
  • Good Teamwork for completing the game in co-op with 2 survivors
  • Speedlunky for completing the game in under 8 minutes
  • Low Scorer for completing the game without earning score

Step III: Rescue Remaining Characters & Mop Up
By this point you can consider yourself a master of this game and a pretty fine gamer at that. It takes some serious skill to get where you've gotten, so let me help you finish up Spelunky. This is what you will probably have left at this point, but if there's still something you don't have, go back and get it first:

  • The Entire Gang for rescuing all characters
  • Seen It All for completing 100% of the journal
  • Addicted for starting 1,000 adventures

Check out this thread for locations of the remaining characters and work your way to finishing that off. See this thread for a list of all the journal entries and tips on where to find them and complete them. Now if you haven't died 1,000 times by the time you've gotten here, bravo. It's likely you will already have this achievement, but if you don't, start up an adventure and get dying.

Conclusion
Spelunky is quite a hard game, but after lots of practice it should get easier for you. Follow the guide for tips on the more challenging parts of levels and you shouldn't have too many problems. If you're still missing an achievement see a video guide to understand exactly how to do something. Good luck!

[x360a would like to thank Spock for this roadmap]

Spelunky Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
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There are 20 achievements with a total of 400 points

  • Rescued all 8 hidden characters.

      

    For this achievement you will need to rescue all of the 8 hidden characters in the game, which can be found in coffins in various locations. This achievement will require multiple playthroughs of stages to find certain coffins because they are randomly generated and sometimes will not appear. You will also have to complete the difficult task of reaching Hell to find one of the characters.

    For a guide on character locations, click here.

  • Won the kapala from Kali.

    For this achievement, you will need to earn 16 favor from Kali to receive the Kapala. To earn favor, you need to sacrifice stunned or dead bodies by placing them on Kali's altar, which has the possibility to be generated on any level. The altar is found at the bottom of the statues of Kali, which are the 8-armed women. Favor carries over to each stage, but if you anger Kali by destroying her altar, you will be unable to earn any more favor and you will have to start a new game.

    For a chart with favor values, click here.

    Perhaps the quickest and easiest way to obtain this, is to start a co-op game. You can sacrifice the second player to earn favor and then one damsel will be enough to receive the Kapala. You could also sacrifice the second player, then kill yourself and have your dead body land on the altar.

    Once you have earned 16 favor and the Kapala has appeared on the altar, the achievement will unlock.

  • Completed the game with at least two players alive. No shortcuts.

     

    This can be achieved solo with 2 controllers and is actually not as hard as it sounds. Know that you can pick up your teammate, and you can do this while they are holding something else. So if you are playing alone you can easily save damsels and pick up items. You can sacrifice your teammate to gain lots of favour from Kali as well. Use the same tips for each individual level and just keep in mind you have to constantly be carrying someone. 

    If one of you dies, you can use the other player to bring the other back to life via a coffin on the next stage. This can actually be used as an advantage over playing the game solo, making the co-op run fairly easy. See the video guide for more tips.

  • Completed the game without collecting any treasure. No shortcuts.

    You'll need to start at the Mines and make it through the entire game without picking up a single piece of treasure. Your score must not go above 0. You can accidentally pick up treasure on so many occasions. Avoid blowing up terrain as much as possible, and when you do make sure you stay away from the area because gold or gems within the terrain can fly at you. You'll have to check the ground constantly to make sure you aren't accidentally stepping over any, especially on the Jungle level. See the following video guide for more tips.

  • Killed 12 or more shopkeepers in one game.

     

    To find enough shopkeepers, you will want to start from the Mines. The shopkeepers are in shops that randomly spawn and will only be in some stages. They can also be found in rooms within the terrain that contain chests. If something else kills them it will count towards the achievement. You will want to grab the Udjat Eye from the locked chest in the Mines to make finding the Black Market in the Jungle easy for you. You want to do this because in the Black Market you can find 8 shopkeepers.

    Shopkeepers are very dangerous as they all carry shotguns and can get angry easily. If you steal something from a shop, drop a bomb in a shop, blow up terrain close to the shop, attack a shopkeeper, or even if something else injures one, they will come after you. You have to be quick and you'll want more than just your whip and bombs. If you're lucky, the first shop you come across will have a weapon you can steal and quickly kill the shopkeeper with. Once a shopkeeper is dead, you will probably want his shotgun and all the loot you can get from his shop.

    After you've killed your first shopkeeper, the exits of each stage will be guarded by a shopkeeper and every shopkeeper will instantly become an enemy. Carry on until you reach a stage in the Jungle where you can access the Black Market. Here you can let a lot of the shopkeepers kill each other or die from traps, but remember there are 8 of these guys jumping around. You can use a rope and climb to the top of it to an area where they can't reach you to give them time to kill each other. When you think there are only a few left, carefully take them out with any weapons you have or can find here. Continue through the stages if you still need the achievement, killing them as you go. See below for a video guide.

  • Rescued 10 or more damsels in one game.

     

    To rescue 10 damsel in one game you will want to begin in the Mines as the later levels make it harder to rescure them. You can only rescue 1 damsel per stage, so the soonest you will be able to obtain this is at stage 3-2 in the Ice Caves level. Sometimes damsels will spawn in ridiculous places, buried in the terrain or up high where they seem almost unreachable. Make sure you have bombs and ropes; paste for sticky bombs is always useful. The achievement will unlock when the 10th damsel walks through the exit.

  • Completed 100% of the journal.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have found all 124 of the journal entries in the game. For a guide on journal entries, click here.

  • Completed 50% of the journal.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have found 62 of the 124 journal entries in the game. For a guide on journal entries, click here.

  • Completed the game the hard way.

    To reach hell you must first reach the City of Gold. Follow the guide in City of Gold to reach it. When you're there, look for a book known as the Necronomicon. Pick that up and proceed to the fight against Olmec. One you get here find the door under the terrain and choose that as the location to kill Olmec. Have him drop over it and use his head before he dies to enter the door. There are a lot of new enemies and traps in Hell, plus a whole new boss. It is a very difficult level to get through and will require some knowledge that I'd rather not try to sum up in words. Watch the video for help.

  • Played Adventure Mode 1000 times.

    It is quite possible for this achievement to come naturally while attempting to get all of Spelunky's achievements. Don't think you're a bad player if you get this without trying because a lot of people will. To speed up the process, if you lose a heart within the first couple seconds of starting a new adventure, or you're finding yourself in a tough situation in the first couple stages, just press , go to End Adventure, then try again. Otherwise, enjoy pressing , ending your adventure, and restarting over and over until you reach 1,000 deaths. You could also just kill yourself in various ways.

  • Completed the game in under 8 minutes. No shortcuts.

    To complete the game in under 8 minutes starting from the Mines, you will need to learn a balance between rushing and patience. You'll have to be smart about this speed run, making sure not to go out of your way for treasure, a damsel, or certain items. If you can manage to get a jetpack, cape, or compass, you will have a much easier time going for this. If you don't get a compass you might want to just start over. 

    You should be able to clear the mines fairly quickly. You'll want to have less than 2 minutes used up by the end of the Mines. The Jungle will most likely take you the longest time. Your limit for the end of the Jungle should be 4. The Ice Caves should take the least time if you have a cape or jetpack. Try to finish the Ice Caves with only 5 minutes used up. The Temples can take a while as they are possibly the most difficult stages. Reaching Olmec with 7 minutes is a good goal to give you enough time to defeat Olmec. See the video guide for my details.

  • Completed the game without using shortcuts.

    For this achievement you need to start the game from the Mines and defeat Olmec at the end of the Temples. If you play in co-op you can still unlock the achievement and if only one of you dies, you will come back in the next stage if the living player can make it to the coffin on that stage and open it.

    For tips on how to complete each of the 4 levels, see the Mines Shafted, Jungle Jammed, Ice Creamed, and Made It guides.

  • Obtained the Ankh.

    To obtain the Ankh, you will first need to get the Udjat Eye which is located in a chest in the Mines. It is possible to do this without the Udjat Eye, but you'll have lots of trouble without it. Sometimes you won't get a stage with a gold key and chest, so you'll have to start from the beginning of the Mines again. If a stage spawns a chest, there will definitely be a gold key to open it. When you find the key, pick it up and carry it to the chest. The chest will give you the Udjat Eye.

    Now you need to clear the Mines level. When you arrive in the Jungle, you'll need to find the Black Market. The Udjat Eye will blink blue and make a beeping noise when you are near the Black Market. Search every area of the Jungle stages until it starts beeping. You'll know you're getting closer to the Black Market when the Udjat Eye begins blinking and beeping faster. When it starts going very fast, place bombs around the terrain to reveal the door to the Black market. Sometimes you will have to dig deep into the ground, and sometimes it will be above you, so if you can, bring paste with you to the Jungle.

    Once inside the Black Market, you will see many shops with most of the items in the game available to purchase. Be careful in here, because there are still traps and enemies. Look around until you find a shop dedicated to an object that looks like the one in the achievement tile. The Ankh costs $50,000, but you can just steal it and get the achievement even though the shopkeepers will kill you immediately. To reach the City of Gold you will need the Ankh, so if you're attempting to get there during this playthrough, you will most likely want to purchase it.

    The Ankh will revive you upon death, but it will break and not be usable for the rest of that playthrough. You will need it for City of Gold. Once you pick up the Ankh, the achievement will unlock.

  • Reached the City of Gold.

     

    For this achievement you will have to access the secret area in the Temples by doing some tasks in each level of the game. This means you'll have to start in the Mines and make your way to just about the end of the game.

    Mines (Udjat Eye)
    Here you need to collect the Udjat Eye, which is located in the locked chest on one of the stages. Find the gold key and carry it to the chest to receive the Udjat Eye. If you find a chest, or you find a gold key, its counterpart will always be on that stage.

    Jungle (Ankh)
    Here you need to collect the Ankh, which is located in the Black Market. To find the Black Market, follow the rapid blinking of the eye on your HUD and beeping noise coming from it. When the beeping and blinking has become very rapid, you'll be close. Sometimes the Black Market spawns deep in the terrain, and sometimes even in hard to reach areas above you. Bring lots of bombs, and if possible, paste for sticky bombs.

    Once inside the Black Market, find the shop on the right side of the stage dedicated to the strange gold object. You will need to either purchase the Ankh for $50,000 or steal it. Stealing it will cause the shopkeepers to go insane, and you will have a hard time staying alive. Your best option is to purchase it. The Ankh gives you the ability to be resurrected upon death, but you cannot die until the next step!

    Ice Caves (Hedjet Helmet)
    Here you need to collect the Hedjet Helmet, so while you're in the Ice Caves, look for the giant statue of a face with an Ankh engraved on its forehead. Once you have found it, die anywhere on that stage and you will resurrected near the head and teleported inside it. You will receive the Hedjet Helmet immediately and you can exit to the next level from there.

    Temple (Sceptre)
    Here you need to collect the Sceptre, which is the final piece to unlocking the City of Gold. To get this, you have to kill an Anubis, which is the Egyptian looking enemy shooting purple orbs at you. It can be very difficult, so use a weapon like a shotgun, freeze ray, plasma cannon, or sticky bombs. He'll take three hits from each. One you pick up his Sceptre, look around the Temple for a golden door. It will open if you have all the required items and the achievement will unlock.

    Spock wishes to CreditDROGTURIST for this solution.

  • Obtained 500000 gold.

    For this achievement you are not required to obtain the 500,000 gold in a full playthrough, but it is nearly impossible to collect that much without entering the City of Gold , which a start from the beginning is required to access (see City of Gold for info on how to access). There are multiple ways to approach this achievement, so I will explain the two best methods.

    Ghost Running:
    A ghost will appear if you wait for 2 minutes in a level. It is an immortal enemy who passes through terrain and can kill you instantaneously with one touch. You want a ghost to spawn, because it has a unique ability where when passing over gems, it turns them into valuable diamonds. Ghost running is very dangerous, but can result in a lot of money earned. A ghost will not spawn if you posses the Hedjet, so if you plan on doing ghost runs, do them before you pick it up in the Black Market. 

    Having the Udjat Eye or Spectacles can show you where gems are inside the terrain so you can bomb them out. You'll want lots of ropes and bombs to manoeuvre around the ghost. One way to turn lots of gems into diamonds is to find one of those areas with chests and a shopkeeper running back and forth and work your way in there, killing the shopkeeper. The chests will drops lots of gems. Make sure to have an easy escape from the area.

    Follow the steps to the City of Gold, along the way make sure you collect as many bombs as you can. If you earn 32 favor with Kali, you will receive 99 bombs, which is useful for the City of Gold. Paste for sticky bombs will also make getting money from the City of Gold easier. You can rob shops and the black market if you're up to it, but it is dangerous. In the City of Gold, find large bits of terrain and blow them up. Gold chunks will fly out and give you lots of money. Beware, a ghost can spawn in here.

    Visiting Hell:
    Play through from the Mines to reach the City of Gold. Collect as much treasure as you can along the way, but don't bother wasting bombs on collecting gems. You'll want paste and ideally a jetpack before moving on to the City. A good goal to have is 100k by the time you reach the city. Now destroy as many large bits of terrain as you can to get gold, but be quick because a ghost will spawn after 2 and a half minutes, also keep 10 bombs for later. Collect the Book of the Dead so you can access Hell and make sure you kill the Anubis II that spawns. 

    Now you'll have to defeat Olmec. But first, use a rope or tool to reach the top of Olmec's stage where you will find a bunch of gold to help. You'll want about 250k by the time you enter Hell. Find the door below the terrain in Olmec's Lair and make sure you have Olmec die over it so you can enter.

    Be extremely careful in Hell, move slowly, and choose your paths wisely. Collect gold and gems as you can, but don't risk putting yourself in danger for it. You'll want close to 300k when you reach Yama's Throne, which is the boss stage of Hell. See To Hell and Back for tips on this level. Once Yama is dead, carefully use your bombs to destroy his throne to collect the many gems inside of it. Place bombs in the centre and make your way down to through the top. Be careful because there can be traps around it. If you blow up one of the tiki traps, the rest will collapse. 

    After you have collected all these gems, you definitely need at least 400k. Exit through the door at the top of the room where you will receive a reward putting you over 500,000 gold and unlocking the achievement. Watch the video for more help.

  • Completed the game.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have completed the 3 stages of the 'Temples' level and defeated the boss Olmec. You can use the shortcut to start at the Temples and this achievement will still unlock.

    If you are having trouble clearing the Temple, read these tips:

    Monsters:

    • Mummies: If one is coming towards you and you have no other way around it, you can place a bomb in front of it so it falls through. You can use its head as a platform.
    • Anubis: Their attacks can go through terrain and will kill you in one hit. Avoiding them entirely is smart, but it is possible to kill them with weapons. That will take some effort though. You can try to get them in front of a tiki trap, which will kill them.
    • Olmec: For the fight against Olmec you will want some ropes and/or climbing gloves. A jetpack will help too This is because you need to get him to fall into the lava below the stage and you'll have to get down low for him to die. He will smash the ground when you are underneath him, so one popular strategy is to go underneath him, then quickly run just a block out of his way. Then run back under and out 1 block each time he comes up. You repeat this process until he's got one block between him and lava. Get ropes sent up or be ready to jump to the wall if you have climbing gloves. Now carefully make your way to the exit on the right side of the stage, avoiding the few enemies as you go.

    Traps:

    • Crush Trap: If you dodge it, don't think you're in the clear quite yet. You are most likely in a position where it will still come after you, so make sure you aren't straight across from any side of it.

    See Ice Creamed for information on the Temple shortcut.

  • Reached the Temple.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have completed the 4 stages of the 'Ice Caves' level. You can use the shortcut to start at the Ice Caves and this achievement will still unlock.

    If you are having trouble clearing the Ice Caves, read these tips:

    Basics:

    • Picking up a cape or jetpack in a previous level will make the Ice Caves a breeze.
    • Always make sure you know what is below you before you drop down.

    Monsters:

    • Yetis: Do not attempt to whip them, just try to jump on their head or avoid them completely.
    • Mammoths: Use their back as a platform. Make sure you don't stand in front of them. If you want to go through the area they're facing, just wait for them to turn around.

    Traps:

    • Mines: You can run over these and get away quickly to avoid damage. Try to avoid them as much as possible.

    To unlock the shortcut to the Temple you will have to complete the Ice Caves level 3 times. See Jungle Jammed for information on the Ice Caves shortcut. The first time you get there you will have to donate 3 bombs. When you get there a second time you will have to donate 3 ropes. Finally, on your third arrival you will have to donate a gold key, which can only be found in the Mines. You'll have to start the game from the mines, pick up the gold key and without using it or dropping it, make it to the end of the Ice Caves. Make sure you're holding the key when you exit each stage.

  • Reached the Ice Caves.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have completed the 4 stages of the 'Jungle' level. You can use the shortcut to start at the Jungle and the achievement will still unlock.

    If you are having trouble clearing the Jungle, read these tips:

    Basics:

    • If a bomb explodes at the base of a tree, the whole tree will be destroyed.
    • There are bigger drops here than in the Mines, so remember to throw ropes down often.
    • Use the sticky red balls on the walls for negating fall damage or reaching further distances.

    Monsters:

    • Tiki Men: Standing directly across from them is dangerous. Try finding a way to drop on their heads or whip them from behind to stun them.
    • Giant Frogs: They will puke regular frogs at you and aren't harmed by you jumping on their head. Take them out with a bomb or wait for them to stop throwing up frogs at you (should be after about 3 - 5 frogs), then whip them to death.
    • Mantrap: These will kill you instantly if you get too close. Either attempt to go over them, bomb them, or run in for a quick whip to stun them.
    • Piranhas: You can drain all the water from a pond, effectively killing all piranhas in it by destroying the terrain near the bottom of it.
    • Queen Bees: These can't fit through one block holes, so if you can find one, stay in there and hit them as they attempt to get to you. You most likely won't find a spot like this, so use a weapon of you can, bombs, or try your luck with your whip. If you kill one, she will drop Royal Jelly, which gives you four hearts.

    Traps:

    • Tiki Traps: Tease them by jumping in front of their top set of spikes so you can jump at them and climb up while the spikes go back inside, causing no harm to you.

    To unlock the shortcut to the Ice Caves you will have to complete the Jungle level 3 times. You can use the Jungle shortcut to make this easier on you. See Mines Shafted for information on the Jungle shortcut. The first time you get there you will have to donate 2 bombs. When you get there a second time you will have to donate 2 ropes. Finally, on your third arrival you will have to donate a shotgun, which sometimes won't even be available in your randomly generated Jungle. You can find shotguns in weapon shops, the black market, or if you spawn in a stage where the dead have arisen one can be found if you destroy a grave marked 'Ash'. Make sure you have these in your inventory upon your arrivals if you want quick access to the Ice Caves.

  • Reached the Jungle.

     

    This achievement will unlock once you have completed the 4 stages of the 'Mines' level. 

    If you are having trouble clearing the Mines, read these tips:

    Basics:

    • Hold  at a ledge and press  to drop a rope downwards.
    • Land on an enemy's head from a high height to negate fall damage.
    • Grab a ledge while falling from a high height to negate fall damage.

    Monsters:

    • Giant Spiders: Throw a bomb into their web underneath them to kill them easily. Make sure you wait so they don't jump out of their web.
    • Scorpions: They spawn rarely and will go crazy if they spot you. Your best chance of survival is to whip them to stun them or jump on their head, then run away or throw them in a dangerous area.
    • Cavemen: These are also rare to find in the Mines. Use the same tactics as the scorpions on these.

    Traps:

    • Arrow Traps: You can throw any object in their path to set them off. If you're desperate you can use a bomb, or a damsel will work, but if a damsel is hit by two arrow traps it will die. Sometimes they have already shot an arrow before you've gotten to them. Look around the ground for broken arrows to see if they have.
    • Spikes: If you land on these they will kill you instantly. You can run through them if you are on ground level with them.

    To unlock the shortcut to the Jungle, you will have to complete the Mines level 3 times, each time bringing something new to the end. The first time you get there you will have to donate 1 bomb. When you get there a second time you will have to donate 1 rope. Finally, on your third arrival you will have to donate $10,000. Make sure you have what is required in your inventory upon each arrival if you want quick access to the Jungle.

  • Beat the Tutorial.

     

    When you start your adventure for the first time, you will immediately begin the tutorial. Finishing the tutorial is required to continue with the game. Follow the directions to learn the basics of Spelunky's gameplay. Unlike the rest of the game, if you die on one of the tutorial stages you will respawn at the beginning of that stage. Once you have completed the 3 tutorial stages and watched the wall with the lock break apart to reveal a path, the achievement will unlock.

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