When I read complaints about Spelunky being too difficult, the conversation always seems to turn to the first area, Dwelling. There are tons of traps and hazards that stick out for players in this level and this can sometimes make or break a player wanting to continue with the game, but I think the two enemies people seem to have the most problem with are Cave Moles and Horned Lizards. I can certainly see why. Lizards can shred your entire health down to 0 with their roll ability and Moles basically chip away at you one by one until there’s nothing left. This was so bad for players, the devs actually had to nerf the number of Moles that were being spawned in this area!

As I’ve noticed a lot of people, specifically newcomers struggle with these enemies I decided to make a quick video to hopefully prove they aren’t as tough as they look.

Moles only have a couple of states, burrow, and charge. When borrowing in the ground the Moles cannot be attacked directly unless you use a carefully placed bomb which I would never recommend wasting on one enemy of this type.





They will gravitate towards your character and eventually burrow out to attack. Once out of this burrowing state they will charge towards your character or the opposite direction of where they’ve been burrowing. Then eventually they will hop back down into the ground or claw directly into a wall to continue burrowing. They have three hit points.

I think the reason people find Moles so irritating is because they can basically rush you from any angle. They can drop from the ceiling directly at you or if you are running, can surprise you off screen and run right into you.

This is where situational awareness and reflexes come in handy. You can look down before dropping to a new level so you should use this ability as much as you can. If you spot a Mole borrowing around, you know there will have to be one roaming at that location when you drop down.



Listen out for the burrowing noise they make and keep your eye fixated on where one is burrowing. The noise will change when they are exiting the dirt so when you hear this you should be aware one might be coming for you and get ready to dodge.

Moles cannot burrow through areas that are not dirt, this includes arrow trap blocks, wood and skull piles. You can use this to your advantage by attacking a mole, picking it up and placing it in an area you know you are unlikely to be exploring next, or into an area in which they’ll be sealed off from burrowing out of.





Derek Yu mentioned on his Twitter that you should try to use Moles to trigger traps and this is what they come in useful for the most. They will often burrow out and run into traps such as the Arrow Trap.





Alternatively, if you can stun one you can pick it up and throw it at an Arrow Trap to finish it off and render the trap harmless to you.





Stunned Moles can also be picked up and thrown into spike pits or dropped next to Push Traps to end them quickly.

Although it may seem like a good strategy to avoid Moles at all cost, I tend to find engaging them when they are un-burrowed is the safest option. Once you have one stunned by either jumping on its head or getting the timing right with your whip you can throw rocks, skulls, or bodies at them repeatedly to get rid of them for good. This means that once they are dead they will not come back to haunt you later on in the level and you’ll have a body ready for sacrifice at an Altar, should you be able to find one.

Rather than throwing objects straight at a Mole and it arching over them, a good strategy with any enemy is to jump up and throw the object directly down at the floor so that it bounces and hits your target.









If you have the Pitchers Mitt, you don’t need to worry about this move as much as the object will be thrown straight forward but be aware of your surroundings. You don’t want to accidently throw something at a Shopkeeper offscreen!



Pick up objects before going through an exit so that if something takes you by surprise at the next level you can quickly throw it at the enemy. Holding onto objects will also mean you don’t have to waste a bomb or rope to set off an Arrow Trap if you arrive at the next level without an object spawning that can be thrown to activate it (as you can see from the following screenshots, I didn't have an item to throw down on the next level so I had to use a rope that could have been saved if I had just taken any other object through the exit).





Even better than rocks and skulls are arrows which will take two damage from any enemy they hit. Once they hit something though, they will break, and the end of the arrow is all that will remain.





Ends of Arrows will do no damage to a target but will stun them for a very short amount of time. Be careful when using any thrown object that you do not hit yourself but especially try not to hit yourself with an Arrow!



Even better than Arrows are bodies as they cannot directly damage you when thrown. The best strategy of them all against any standard enemy with multiple hit points is chucking the body at the enemy, picking up the body and throwing it again whilst its stunned and repeating until it is dead.





If you pick up the stunned enemy by accident, do not worry, just move them away from the body you’ve been using to attack, drop the enemy and rinse the attack again.







Do not spam your whip against stunned enemies, this will waste time and can risk you still getting hit if you get the timing wrong.

Pets are one of the best weapons in the game if you do not have a standard weapon at hand. This may sound ridiculous, but they will remain invulnerable when being thrown. This means that any enemy hit by a Pet will take damage, but your Pet will remain unharmed and stunned for a brief period, which gives you time to pick them back up before they run away.

Although Moles are best dealt with quickly, patience is also a virtue with these creatures. If you see one running directly towards you, instead of continuing to run, stop, plan your jump or whip and strike when the timing is right.





You can also run back and pull yourself up to a ledge, wait for them to burrow and then continue or wait for them to be positioned directly under where your hanging to drop on them.





You can lure Moles out when you see them burrowing close by. Wait close to where they are burrowing, but not so close you’ll get hit.





Moles have invisibility frames when they have un-burrowed so do not attack them as soon as they emerge. Instead stand at a distance and plan your attack before engaging.

Finally, as with all bodies you really want to get Moles onto the Altar when they are stunned if you can as they’ll be worth more influence towards getting items.





Whipping and jumping on enemies will actually stun them for longer than throwing objects at them so if you have far to carry a body to an Altar it is possible to use these attacks to allow for more time before they wake up.

Be sure to put an enemy down before it becomes un-stunned by listening out to the wobbly noise they make as well as a shaking effect.

Always carry dead bodies over other items if you don’t have anything important, as mentioned before they are an excellent way to deal with other enemies but you’ll also be thankful you bought it with you over say a rock if you happen upon an Altar later in the level.

Lizards have a few states to consider. The first is an idol state in which the Lizard will phase very slowly along the ground until it hits a wall or edge and will then turn back around, it will stop interminably between these walk cycles which gives you a good chance to engage.





If it is standing on a single block it will wait and do absolutely nothing until triggered by the player.

As soon as a Lizard sees the player it will jump, roll into a ball, and keep rolling along the floor until it reaches the end.





If you are hit by this attack, it can be devastating as you will often be knocked into other hazards or back into the Lizard that can mess you up with another attack.

Any other enemy such as the Mole or Cave Man will be affected by the role attack, and if any of these bodies hit you, they will knock you out and take damage.



This renders throwing bodies at rolling Lizards useless, which goes against what I mentioned in the Cave Mole section. This is the only instance I would not recommend using bodies to tackle an enemy.





Instead, throwing rocks and other hard object at a rolling Lizard will cancel the attack and stun lock them.





The whip and jump ability will also remain useless when a Lizard is rolling.

Once a Lizard has taken two hits it will no longer be able to roll. This is when they are at their most vulnerable and will still try to make your life difficult by running slowly from side to side and occasionally jumping. At this point they shouldn’t be too hard to finish off if they are in the way, otherwise you can just avoid them.

As soon as you see a lizard jumps up its time to run back and find somewhere safe to wait for them to finish rolling.



Do not attempt to hang to a ledge when jumping away from a rolling Lizard as once it hits the side of a wall it will bounce upwards and can still hit you in this state.





Patience is absolutely the most vital tool in defeating Lizards. You can use their slow idol state to your advantage by waiting patiently to strike.







If you are coming down from a top level and there is a Lizard below you, wait until it is directly below you and drop on its head. Not only will this stun the Lizard, but it will also render any fall damage you would have taken meaningless as any enemy below will break your fall from any fall distance.





When coming at a Lizard from the side only engage it if its back is turned or if you are certain you’ll be able to jump on its head or whip it without it spotting you. Make sure if a Lizard is close to a wall and is about to turn round you don’t just run for an attack in a hurry as you could risk it turning around and spotting you.





Instead, wait for it to turn around and complete its cycle and attack once it is facing the opposite direction again.









If a Lizard is in your way above you and is not able to move you’ll need to throw something at it or lure it away before continuing.





A quick whip can stun the Lizard before it has time to role into a ball.







Sometimes a safer approach can be to lure the Lizard by doing a small jump and letting it roll in the air over you.









Sometimes, due to the geometry of the level this is not possible as the Lizard will jump, hit a wall above and land directly back into position.

When Lizards are picked up whilst stunned and thrown, they will always roll into a ball. This can be a useful attack when you need to clear out enemies but remember bodies that hit you from the roll attack can also damage you.





You can throw Lizards into traps same as any other enemy but the throwing physics will handle a bit differently to standard objects. Sometimes, you can bounce Lizards off walls and get them to fall into traps.

I’ll say it again, you should try and get those Lizards onto the Altar but there’s more of a risk here if you mess it up.







They also don’t leave a body behind so they can only be sacrificed if stunned. As with most stronger enemies they have 3 hit points so you know if you’ve attacked them twice already there will be no way to get them onto the Altar unless you fancy using a Broken Arrow.

Remember that the Spike Shoes will finish off any standard enemy in one hit so use this to your advantage when dealing with Moles and Lizards. Try to remember to use your whip to stun enemies when you have the Spike Shoes and want to get a stunned body on the Altar.

Shotguns and Freeze Rays are useful but be sure to check your surroundings. You don’t want to hit an offscreen Shopkeeper or Pet by accident. And make sure you’ll hit your target, if you miss and have to wait for the reload, you’ll be vulnerable to attacks.

Another quick tip I’ll throw in here is off-screen arrow traps. I see this complaint thrown around a lot where an Arrow Trap has hit the player from off screen as you run forward but it really is avoidable 95% of the time.

You need to be checking the level below you as much as possible before dropping down by exploring the entire top layer you are on and then checking down for hazards.



You should memorise the hazards that you will be coming in contact with and have bodies held if you are worried there might be one ahead of you.

I hope this helps anyone who finds these two enemies intolerable or game breaking. As with most aspects of Spelunky, it really is a case of practice makes perfect. I understand that some people feel they don’t have the reflexes to deal with these kinds of hazards, but it really is more about patience and timing your dodge or attack than physical skill. Let me know in the comments if you need any help with anything and check out my much longer Spelunky 2 Survival Guide/ Video if you want some even more advanced techniques. Thanks for reading!