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. # Nearest-enemy hits 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 28 October 2026. Nearest-enemy hits are a quirk of Spelunky Classic in which a thrown item hurts, and a crouching player picks up, the enemy nearest, not the one touched. | Quirk | | | --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Status | GML + Oracle (thrown items, picking up); GML (arrows, spears) | | Where | `objects/oItem/step.gml:256-263` | | Pinned by | `fidelity/replays/action-throw-rock-nearest-enemy.txt` | | Rows | [docs/quirks.md §1, Bugs and leftovers in the 1.1 source](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/blob/main/docs/quirks.md#1-bugs-and-leftovers-in-the-11-source): “A fast thrown item hurts the nearest enemy, not the one it hit.” “Picking up a stunned enemy takes the nearest enemy, not the one under the player.” “The arrow and spear checks take the nearest one, not the one touching.” | The same two lines go wrong in both places: a test for a monster touching the thing, then a pick of the monster nearest it. They usually agree, and disagree when two monsters are close together, so a [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock) thrown at one can kill its neighbour, and a crouching player can lift a stunned enemy he isn't standing over. ## What happens The player throws a Rock up at a [Spider](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider) and a [Bat](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bat) hanging side by side. It hits the Spider, but the Bat dies[^1]. **Clip: A thrown rock hurts the nearest enemy, not the one it hits.** The player throws a rock up at a spider and a bat hanging side by side. It hits the spider, but the bat dies: a fast thrown item hurts the enemy nearest to it, not the one it touched. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/015c74cb8645abba/clips/quirks/thrown-item-nearest-enemy/clip.mp4)) The player stuns a [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman) and a [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti), then crouches over the Yeti to pick it up, and lifts the Caveman beside it[^2]. **Clip: Picking up a stunned enemy takes the nearest one.** The player stuns a caveman and a yeti, then crouches over the yeti to pick it up, but lifts the caveman beside it: picking up a stunned enemy takes the enemy nearest to the player, not the one under him. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/015c74cb8645abba/clips/quirks/pickup-nearest-enemy/clip.mp4)) ## Why While an item moves faster than 2 pixels a step, the code most items share looks for an enemy inside a small box around it, then hurts the enemy nearest it, of any kind[^3]: ```gml objects/oItem/step.gml:256-263 else if (abs(xVel) > 2 or abs(yVel) > 2) { if (collision_rectangle(x-2, y-2, x+2, y+2, oEnemy, 0, 0)) { obj = instance_nearest(x, y, oEnemy); if (not obj.invincible and obj.type != "Magma Man") { obj.xVel = xVel; ``` `objects/oItem/step.gml:256-263`, from `spelunky.gmk`, Spelunky Classic 1.1's source, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC ([Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt)). `collision_rectangle` tests the monsters' collision boxes, but `instance_nearest` measures to their positions, and most monsters' position is their sprite's top left corner. An item touching one monster's right side can be nearer the next one's corner, and that one is hurt. The test for invincibility is the nearest one's too, so an invincible monster beside the one hit spares it[^4]. The [Jar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar), the [Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skull) and the dice have their own copies of the code, with the same pick[^5][^6]. Picking an enemy up has it too: crouched with empty hands, the attack key looks for an enemy at the player's feet, then takes the nearest one, and lifts it only if that one is stunned[^7]: ```gml objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1300-1306 else if (collision_rectangle(x-8, y, x+8, y+8, oEnemy, 0, 0)) { obj = instance_nearest(x, y, oEnemy); if (obj.status >= 98 and obj.canPickUp) { holdItem = obj; holdItem.held = true; ``` `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1300-1306`, from `spelunky.gmk`, Spelunky Classic 1.1's source, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC ([Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt)). So a live enemy beside a stunned one can keep the stunned one on the ground. Items come first, with the same pick, and collecting treasure does it as well[^8][^4]. The pick works the other way too. The player's check for an [arrow](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/arrow) hitting him finds one touching him, then tests the nearest arrow's speed, so a fast arrow does nothing while a slow one lies nearer[^9], and the shared monster code's check for a [Spear Trap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spear-trap)'s spears reads the nearest spears' frame[^10][^4]. ## Reproducing it Throw a Rock at one of two monsters close together, or stun two monsters side by side and crouch over the right side of the one on the left. The replays of the clips' staged scenes pin both: the Rock touching the hanging Spider's box and the Bat dying[^11], and the player crouched over the stunned Yeti's right side lifting the stunned Caveman[^12]. In the same scenes without the Bat, the Rock kills the Spider, and without the Caveman, the player lifts the Yeti. ## In the port The spelunky.ai port reproduces it exactly: the three rows are in docs/quirks.md's list of the 1.1 source's bugs[^4], and `instance_nearest` measures as GameMaker 8 does, to positions[^13]. The arrows' and spears' version is read in the code and not yet in a replay, as it needs two at once. No option turns it off. ## FAQ ### Why did my thrown rock kill the wrong monster in Spelunky Classic? A fast thrown item checks that it touches a monster, then hurts the monster nearest it, which can be another one beside it. Monsters are measured from their top left corners, so the one touched isn't always the nearest. ### Why does the player pick up the wrong stunned enemy? Crouching to pick one up takes the enemy nearest the player, not the one at his feet. If that one isn't stunned, he picks up nothing at all. ### Is hitting the nearest enemy a bug? It's in the 1.1 source: the code finds a monster touching the item or the player, then uses the nearest one instead of the one it found. The spelunky.ai port keeps it. ## See also - **Related:** [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock), [Jar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar), [Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skull), [Throwing](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/throwing), [Spider](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider), [Bat](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bat), [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman), [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti), [Arrow](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/arrow), [Spear Trap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spear-trap) ## References [^1]: Clip quirks/thrown-item-nearest-enemy [^2]: Clip quirks/pickup-nearest-enemy [^3]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:256-263` [^4]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^5]: `objects/oJar/step.gml:106-108` [^6]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:104-106` [^7]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1300-1309` [^8]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1206-1209` [^9]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1513-1516` [^10]: `objects/oEnemy/step.gml:76-79` [^11]: Replay `fidelity/replays/action-throw-rock-nearest-enemy.txt` [^12]: Replay `fidelity/replays/action-pickup-nearest-enemy.txt` [^13]: Quirk 5 (docs/quirks.md) ### Source code - `objects/oItem/step.gml` - `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml`