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. # Rope 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. *For the shop's bundle of three, see Rope Pile.* The Rope is a carryable item in Spelunky Classic that the player throws up, or drops down a ledge, to hang a rope he can climb; he starts with 4. ![A coil of brown rope](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/sprites/sRopeEnd/frames/0%404x.png) | Rope | | | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | Kind | Carryable | | Effect | Thrown up, unrolls into a rope to climb[^1] | | Objects | `oRopeThrow`, `oRope`, `oRopeTop`, `oRopeBurn` | | Dropped by | [Monkey](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/monkey) | The player carries ropes as a count, shown at the top of the screen beside his bombs, rather than in his hands, and the rope key uses one[^2]. Thrown up, a rope catches where it stops rising and unrolls down to the ground; dropped at a ledge, it hangs over the edge. Either way he climbs it as he would a ladder. More come in Rope Piles, three at a time. ## Usage ### Throwing it up **Clip: Rope thrown up and climbed.** In the Tutorial, the player throws a rope straight up. It catches near the ceiling and unrolls down to the floor, and he jumps onto it and climbs. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/clips/rope/climb/clip.mp4)) The rope key throws a rope straight up from the player at 12 pixels per step (360 per second), unless there's a ceiling right above him, when nothing happens and no rope is spent[^3][^4]. It rises as any thrown item does, slowing by 0.6 pixels a step, so in the open it climbs about 126 pixels, nearly eight blocks (12 + 11.4 + … + 0.6)[^5]; on the way up, a ceiling it hits turns it back[^6]. On the step it stops rising, it catches: it moves to the middle of the block-wide column it's in, away from a wall, puts a hook at the top, and unrolls down 8 pixels a step, a segment each step, until it reaches the ground or has 16 segments, 128 pixels[^1]. In the clip, the player throws a rope up from the floor, jumps onto it and climbs[^7]. A rope flying up faster than 2 pixels a step that touches a monster hurts it, as any thrown item does[^8]. ### Dropping it down a ledge **Clip: Rope dropped down a ledge.** In the Tutorial, the player presses the rope key under a low ceiling, which does nothing, then crouches at the edge of a ledge and drops a rope down over it. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/clips/rope/ledge/clip.mp4)) Holding down, the rope key hangs a rope a block ahead of the player instead, moved half a block to the side where it finds open air below; it catches at once and unrolls down. With no open air to hang it in, as on flat floor or against a wall, nothing happens and no rope is spent[^9]. In the clip, the player first presses the rope key under a low ceiling, which does nothing, then holds down at the edge of a ledge and drops a rope down it[^10][^11]. ### Climbing To the code a rope is a kind of ladder: pressing up at one, standing or in the air, grabs it, and the player climbs up and down it as he would a ladder[^12]. ### In the hands The item key takes a [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb) into the player's hands, and pressing it again swaps the bomb for a rope; a third press puts the rope back and returns what he held before[^13]. Holding one, the attack key throws it up or, with down, drops it down a ledge, as the rope key does; dropped where there's no room, it's tossed a little way along the floor instead, a loose rope to pick up again. Either way, what he held before comes back to his hands[^14]. A rope in his hands when he takes an exit goes back into his count[^15]. ## Locations - **The player's own.** A new game starts him with 4, the Tunnel Man with none[^16], and the Tutorial with 2[^17]. He can carry 99 at most[^18]. - **Rope Piles**, three ropes each, picked up by touch: in shops, in [Crates](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate), and left by the [Yeti King](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti-king)[^19]. - **[Monkeys](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/monkey)**: one clinging to the player sometimes takes a rope and throws it out, loose, where he can pick it up again[^20]. - **The title screen** has one hanging[^21]. - **Custom levels** start the player with the rope count the level editor gives them, 99 at most[^22]. ## Interactions **Clip: Rope burning in lava.** In the Temple, the player drops a rope over a lava pool and climbs onto it. Its foot catches fire in the lava, and the fire climbs the rope, burning it away, until the player's segment goes and he drops. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/60545f62383bb75b/clips/rope/burn/clip.mp4)) - **Lava.** A segment hanging in lava catches fire. The fire climbs the rope a pixel a step, and each segment it reaches burns away; a player climbing the rope falls when his segment goes[^23][^24]. In the clip, a rope dropped over a Temple lava pool catches fire at its foot, and the player hanging from it drops off as the fire reaches him[^25]. - **[Bombs](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb).** An explosion knocks away a rope that's in flight or lying loose, as it does any item, but not one that's unrolling, and it leaves a hung rope alone, even when the blocks it hangs from are blown away[^26]. - **Webs** don't catch a rope, where they stop other items[^27]. - **Leaving the screen.** Unlike other items, a thrown rope doesn't freeze just past the edge of the screen[^28][^29]. ## Tips - A rope thrown up in the open climbs about 126 pixels and unrolls 128 at most, so it hangs down to about where it was thrown from. - The rope key wastes nothing when it can't be used: under a low ceiling, on flat floor or against a wall, the rope stays in the count. ## Trivia - The code that drops a rope down a ledge has a commented-out line that would toss the rope out along the floor when there's no room[^30]; a rope dropped from the hands still does that[^31]. - The game has a "rope bag" object whose `type` says "Bomb Bag", which nothing makes[^32][^29]. ## FAQ ### How many ropes do you start with in Spelunky Classic? 4, as many as bombs; the Tunnel Man starts with none, and the Tutorial gives the player 2. He can carry 99 at most, and a Rope Pile gives him 3 more. ### How long is a rope in Spelunky Classic? 16 segments of 8 pixels at most, 128 pixels or eight blocks, hanging down from where it caught. It stops short where it reaches the ground. ### How do you throw a rope down a ledge in Spelunky Classic? Stand at the ledge's edge facing out, hold down and press the rope key. The rope is hung a block ahead, over the drop. On flat floor or against a wall, nothing happens and no rope is spent. ### Can a rope burn in Spelunky Classic? Yes. A segment that hangs in lava catches fire, and the fire climbs the rope a pixel a step, burning away each segment it reaches; a player climbing it drops when his segment goes. ## See also - **Related:** Rope Pile, [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb) ## References [^1]: `objects/oRopeThrow/step.gml:1-36` [^2]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:40` [^3]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1045-1050` [^4]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1119-1129` [^5]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:71-85` [^6]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:153-158` [^7]: Clip rope/climb [^8]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:256-350` [^9]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1053-1118` [^10]: Clip rope/ledge [^11]: Replay `fidelity/replays/action-rope-tunnel.txt` [^12]: `scripts/characterStepEvent.gml:606-630` [^13]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:954-1043` [^14]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:36-119` [^15]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:835-841` [^16]: `scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml:103-114` [^17]: `objects/oPlayer1/other_animation_end.gml:87-94` [^18]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:11` [^19]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:2052-2066` [^20]: `objects/oMonkey/step.gml:244-255` [^21]: `rTitle`, as the room editor placed it [^22]: `scripts/scrLoadLevel.gml:146-148` [^23]: `objects/oRope/step.gml:1-17` [^24]: `objects/oRopeBurn/step.gml:1-15` [^25]: Clip rope/burn [^26]: `objects/oExplosion/collision_oItem.gml:20-29` [^27]: `objects/oWeb/collision_oItem.gml:1-5` [^28]: `objects/oItem/step.gml:1-3` [^29]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^30]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1090-1106` [^31]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:89-97` [^32]: `objects/oRopeBag/create.gml:3` ### Source code - `objects/oRopeThrow/create.gml` - `objects/oRopeThrow/step.gml` - `objects/oRope/step.gml` - `objects/oRopeBurn/step.gml` - `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml` - `scripts/scrUseItem.gml` - `scripts/characterStepEvent.gml` - `scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml`