Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold. Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC. # Compass From the spelunky.ai wiki: . Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 27 October 2026. The Compass is an equipment item in Spelunky Classic that shows an arrow at the edge of the screen pointing to the level's exit; shops sell it from $3,000. ![A round green compass with a red needle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/66c8732d531340f4/sprites/sCompass/frames/0%404x.png) | Compass | | | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | Kind | Equipment | | Effect | An arrow on screen points to the exit[^1] | | Price | $3,000[^2] | | Object | `oCompass` | | Sold in | General Store, Rare Shop, Dice House | | Found in | The Mines, The Jungle, The Ice Caves, The Temple, Olmec's Lair | | Dropped by | [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) | Wearing it, the player sees which way the exit is: while the exit is off the screen, below it or to one side, a red arrow at that edge of the screen points toward it. General Stores, Rare Shops and the Dice House offer it, and [Crates](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate), blocks and Kali give it away. It's worn from the moment it's picked up or paid for until the game ends. ## Effect **Clip: Compass arrow.** The player steals a compass out of a shop by jumping out with it, which puts it on. An arrow appears at the edge of the screen, pointing the way to the level's exit, as the angry shopkeeper fires after him. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/66c8732d531340f4/clips/compass/arrow/clip.mp4)) Picking up a free compass, paying for one or carrying one out of a shop puts it on: the message "YOU GOT A COMPASS!" shows, the compass disappears, and an icon of it joins the row under the hearts[^3][^4]. It stays on until a new game starts, which clears it[^5][^6]. Level generation notes where it puts the exit[^7], and with the Compass, the screen's overlay compares that with the view each frame[^1]: | Where the exit is | The arrow | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Below the screen and left of it | In the bottom left corner, pointing down and left | | Below the screen and right of it (or under its rightmost 16 pixels) | In the bottom right corner, pointing down and right | | Below the screen, within its width | On the bottom edge, under the exit, pointing down | | Left of the screen | On the left edge, level with the exit, pointing left | | Right of the screen, or in its rightmost 16 pixels | On the right edge, level with the exit, pointing right | | Above the screen | None; to one side, the arrow is drawn level with the exit, off the top of the screen | | On the screen, but for its rightmost 16 pixels | None | While a message shows at the bottom of the screen, the arrow is drawn smaller[^8]. In Olmec's Lair, the overlay sets the exit's place itself, 640 pixels across and 544 down[^9]. The lair goes deeper than that, so near its bottom left the exit is above the screen and to its right, and the arrow is drawn off the top of the screen[^10]. The clip shows a compass carried out of a General Store without paying: as it goes on, an arrow appears on the bottom edge of the screen, pointing down to the exit, and stays as the player runs[^11]. ## Obtaining | Source | Chance | | | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----- | | General Store | 1 in 10 for each ware, once a 1 in 20 roll for a [Mattock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mattock) and a 1 in 10 roll for [Climbing Gloves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/climbing-gloves) fail | [^12] | | Rare Shop | Each of its wares is one of its eleven items or a Bomb Box | [^13] | | The Dice House's prize | 1 in 8, once the rolls before it, from a [Jetpack](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jetpack)'s 1 in 40 to the [Spike Shoes](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spike-shoes)' 1 in 8, fail | [^14] | | A [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) | 1 in 20, once the rolls before it, from a Jetpack's 1 in 500 to a [Bow](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bow)'s 1 in 40, fail | [^15] | | Buried in a block | 1 in 19 of the items buried in blocks | [^16] | | Kali's first gift | 1 in 8, or the next of the eight the player hasn't got | [^17] | A shop stocks a compass only if the level hasn't got one already[^18][^19], even for a player who has one[^10][^20], and it adds 10% of the base price for each level past the second[^21]. Shops are made from level 2 on[^22], and level 16, Olmec's Lair, has none: | Area | 1st level | 2nd level | 3rd level | 4th level | | ------------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | | The Mines | — | $3,000 | $3,300 | $3,600 | | The Jungle | $3,900 | $4,200 | $4,500 | $4,800 | | The Ice Caves | $5,100 | $5,400 | $5,700 | $6,000 | | The Temple | $6,300 | $6,600 | $6,900 | — | The Dice House puts its prize up from the same set of rare items, and a roll of seven gives it away and puts up another[^23][^24]. Every block of rock away from the level's edges that isn't gold and holds no gem has a 1 in 1200 chance of hiding an item, one of nineteen at random[^25][^16]. Kali's first gift, when the player's favour with her reaches 8 at one of her altars, is one of eight pieces of equipment the player hasn't got, the Compass among them[^26]. In custom levels, it's the level editor's tile `o`[^27]. Carrying one out of a shop without paying puts it on and angers the Shopkeeper, as with any ware; whether it goes on at once depends on whether the player or the compass leaves the shop first[^10][^28]. ## Tips - An arrow in a bottom corner means the exit is both lower and farther across; one on the bottom edge, that it's straight below. - No arrow means the exit is on the screen, or above it. - The arrow shows the way, not a path: it points to the exit whatever lies between. ## FAQ ### What does the Compass do in Spelunky Classic? While the level's exit is off the screen below or to either side, it shows a red arrow at that edge of the screen, pointing the way to it. It changes nothing else. ### Does the Compass point up in Spelunky Classic? No. It has arrows for an exit below the screen, to its left and to its right, and none for one above it. ### How much does the Compass cost in Spelunky Classic? $3,000 on level 2, the first with shops, and 10% of that more on each level after it, up to $6,900 on level 15. ### Where do you find the Compass in Spelunky Classic? In General Stores and Rare Shops, and as the Dice House's prize. Free ones come out of [Crates](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) (a 1 in 20 roll, once the rolls before it fail), out of blocks that hide them, and as Kali's first gift. ## References [^1]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:46-76` [^2]: `objects/oCompass/create.gml:7` [^3]: `scripts/scrStealItem.gml:160-170` [^4]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:160-164` [^5]: `scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml:90` [^6]: `objects/oTransition/create.gml:20-24` [^7]: `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:353-354` [^8]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:52-53` [^9]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:44` [^10]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^11]: Clip compass/arrow [^12]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:156-177` [^13]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:102-155` [^14]: `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml:47-58` [^15]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:617-633` [^16]: `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml:63-89` [^17]: `scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:85-98` [^18]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:113-116` [^19]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:169-172` [^20]: Replay `fidelity/replays/shop-seed-11-compass-restocked.txt` [^21]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:179-191` [^22]: `scripts/scrLevelGen.gml:240` [^23]: `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:392-397` [^24]: `objects/oShopkeeper/step.gml:173-200` [^25]: `objects/oBrick/create.gml:7-16` [^26]: `scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:67-108` [^27]: `scripts/scrCreateTileObj.gml:327-332` [^28]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-3-compass.txt` ### Source code - `objects/oCompass/create.gml` - `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml` - `scripts/scrStealItem.gml` - `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml` - `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml`