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. # Shotgun 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 Shotgun is a weapon in Spelunky Classic that fires 6 pellets at once, each taking 4 hit points from a monster; shops sell it from $15,000. ![A shotgun with a brown wooden stock and a grey barrel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/66c8732d531340f4/sprites/sShotgunRight/frames/0%404x.png) | Shotgun | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Kind | Weapon | | Effect | Fires a spread of six pellets[^1] | | Damage | 4 hit points[^2] | | Price | $15,000[^3] | | Object | `oShotgun` | | Sold in | Weapon Shop, Dice House | | Found in | The Mines, The Jungle, The Ice Caves, The Temple, Olmec's Lair, Graveyard level | | Dropped by | [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate), [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap) | Each pellet takes 4 hit points from any monster it hits, whatever that monster's own code, so a shot that lands whole takes 24. It waits 40 steps between shots and knocks the player back. Angry Shopkeepers carry one and fire it at the player. Weapon Shops and the Dice House sell it; a Shopkeeper drops his, and [Crates](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate), buried blocks and Ash graves give it away. ## Usage **Clip: Shotgun blast.** The player picks up a shop's shotgun and fires it once to the left, at the wall, and once to the right into the shopkeeper. All six pellets hit him: he loses 24 hit points at once, drops his own shotgun and dies, and each shot pushes the player back. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/66c8732d531340f4/clips/shotgun/shopkeeper/clip.mp4)) The Shotgun is picked up like any item, crouching over it and pressing the attack key. While it's held, the attack key fires it, on the ground, in the air, hanging or climbing; crouching, the key puts it down in front of the player instead[^1]. It isn't thrown. A shot: - fires 6 pellets from the barrel, each at 6–8 pixels per step, plus the player's, never slower than 6 forward, with an up or down drift of less than 1 pixel a step, so they spread; - shows a blast at the barrel and plays the shot's sound; - knocks the player 3 pixels a step back and 1 up, unless he's hanging or climbing; - starts the wait of 40 steps before the next[^4]. A pellet flies in a straight line, without falling, until it hits a block (a puff of smoke), a monster, a damsel or a player[^5][^6]. In the clip, the player fires one shot into a wall and one into a Shopkeeper beside him: all six pellets hit, and he goes from 20 hit points to -4 in a step, drops his own shotgun and dies[^7]. The Shotgun goes with the player through a level's exit if he's holding it, and is in his hands on the next level[^8][^9]. He drops it when he's stunned, or when he teeters too long at a ledge's edge[^10][^11]. ## Damage The pellets' code is the pellet's own, not the monster's, so every monster takes the same: 4 hit points for each pellet, with no wait and whatever it's doing, stunned or not[^12]. Each pellet that hits is used up. | Monster | Each pellet | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ----- | | Every monster | 4 hit points, and knocks it up and along | [^13] | | [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman), [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti), [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman), Shopkeeper | 4, and stuns it for 20 steps if it's alive | [^14] | | [Yeti King](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti-king), [Tomb Lord](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/tomb-lord) | 4, with half the knock | [^15] | | The player | 4 hearts, and stuns him | [^16] | | Damsels | 4, and stuns her | [^17] | The [Ghost](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ghost) isn't a monster to the game's code, and pellets go through it. Spreading, the pellets of one shot can hit two monsters: in the second clip, one shot kills two of Kali's [Spiders](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider) at once[^18]. **Clip: Shotgun spread.** Kali's spiders drop around the player, who shoots them with a shotgun. The spread of pellets kills two at once, and the rest fall to later shots without the player losing a heart. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/66c8732d531340f4/clips/shotgun/spiders/clip.mp4)) ## Obtaining | Source | Chance | | | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | Weapon Shop | 1 in 10 for each ware, once the roll for a [Web Cannon](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/web-cannon) fails | [^19] | | The Dice House's prize | 1 in 20, once the rolls for a [Jetpack](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jetpack) and a [Cape](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/cape) fail | [^20] | | A [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) | 1 in 100, once the rolls for a Jetpack and a Cape fail | [^21] | | Buried in a block | 1 in 19 of the items buried in blocks | [^22] | | An Ash grave in the Restless Dead | 1 in 40 for each grave, in the block under it | [^23] | | A Shopkeeper | His gun, when he's killed or stunned carrying it | [^24][^25] | A Weapon Shop stocks one only if the level hasn't got one already[^26], and it adds 10% of the base price for each level past the second[^27]. Shops are made from level 2 on[^28], and level 16, Olmec's Lair, has none: | Area | 1st level | 2nd level | 3rd level | 4th level | | ------------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | | The Mines | — | $15,000 | $16,500 | $18,000 | | The Jungle | $19,500 | $21,000 | $22,500 | $24,000 | | The Ice Caves | $25,500 | $27,000 | $28,500 | $30,000 | | The Temple | $31,500 | $33,000 | $34,500 | — | The Dice House puts its prize up from the same set of rare items, and a roll of seven gives it away[^29][^30]. 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[^31][^22]. The Restless Dead's graves can make several Ash graves in one level, each with a Shotgun, some of them out of reach above the level's top[^32][^33]. A [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap) that eats an armed Shopkeeper spits out his gun[^34]. The Stars bonus room's challenge is played with one[^35]. In custom levels, it's the level editor's tile `=`[^36]. Paying for one, or carrying one out of a shop without paying, which angers the Shopkeeper, shows "YOU GOT A SHOTGUN!", and it stays in the player's hands[^37][^32]. ## Interactions - **Shopkeepers.** An angry Shopkeeper with no gun picks up any Shotgun he touches, even one in the player's hands[^38]. Shot, he's stunned for 20 steps and drops his gun if he's carrying one[^25]. - **[Jars](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar) and [Skulls](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skull).** A pellet breaks either, as a throw does[^39][^40]. ## Tips - From beside a Shopkeeper, as in the clip, all six pellets hit and take his 20 hit points in one shot. - Each shot pushes the player back 3 pixels a step, which can carry him off the edge he fires from. ## Trivia - The Shotgun, the Pistol and the Shopkeepers' guns all fire the same pellet, whose code never asks who fired it[^41]. - The pellet's 5-step grace from hurting, `alarm[0] = 5`, is commented out, so it can hurt from its first step[^42][^32]. ## FAQ ### How much damage does the Shotgun do in Spelunky Classic? 4 hit points for each of its 6 pellets that hits, so up to 24 a shot, more than any monster's health but the Yeti King's, the Megamouth's and the Magma Man's. ### How often can the Shotgun fire in Spelunky Classic? Once every 40 steps (1.33 seconds), twice as long as the [Pistol](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pistol) waits. ### How do you get a free Shotgun in Spelunky Classic? Kill or stun an angry Shopkeeper, who drops his. Free ones also come out of [Crates](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) (a 1 in 100 roll, once the rolls for a Jetpack and a Cape fail), out of blocks that hide them, and from under an Ash grave in the Restless Dead. ### How much does the Shotgun cost in Spelunky Classic? $15,000 on level 2, the first with shops, and 10% of that more on each level after it, up to $34,500 on level 15. ## See also - **Related:** [Pistol](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pistol), Shopkeeper - **Damages:** [Alien](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/alien)[^2], [Alien Boss](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/alien-boss)[^2], [Bat](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bat)[^2], [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman)[^43], [Dead Fish](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/dead-fish)[^2], [Fire Frog](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/fire-frog)[^2], [Frog](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/frog)[^2], [Giant Spider](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/giant-spider)[^2], [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman)[^43], [Magma Man](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/magma-man)[^2], [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap)[^2], [Megamouth](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/megamouth)[^2], [Monkey](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/monkey)[^2], [Piranha](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/piranha)[^2], [Scarab](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/scarab)[^2], [Skeleton](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton)[^2], [Snake](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/snake)[^2], [Spider](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider)[^2], [Tomb Lord](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/tomb-lord)[^44], [UFO](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ufo)[^2], [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire)[^2], [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti)[^45], [Yeti King](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti-king)[^44], [Zombie](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/zombie)[^2] ## References [^1]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:529-594` [^2]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:16` [^3]: `objects/oShotgun/create.gml:6` [^4]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:175` [^5]: `objects/oBullet/step.gml:1-2` [^6]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oSolid.gml:1-3` [^7]: Clip shotgun/shopkeeper [^8]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:842-850` [^9]: `objects/oLevel/create.gml:25-30` [^10]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:329-345` [^11]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:150-171` [^12]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:1-36` [^13]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:10-16` [^14]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:17-25` [^15]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:3-7` [^16]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oCharacter.gml:1-21` [^17]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oDamsel.gml:1-23` [^18]: Clip shotgun/spiders [^19]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:36-67` [^20]: `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml:47-51` [^21]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:617-619` [^22]: `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml:63-89` [^23]: `scripts/scrEntityGen.gml:175-195` [^24]: `objects/oShopkeeper/step.gml:48-60` [^25]: `objects/oShopkeeper/step.gml:510-521` [^26]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:47-50` [^27]: `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml:179-191` [^28]: `scripts/scrLevelGen.gml:240` [^29]: `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:392-397` [^30]: `objects/oShopkeeper/step.gml:173-200` [^31]: `objects/oBrick/create.gml:7-16` [^32]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^33]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-420-ash-graves.txt` [^34]: `objects/oManTrap/collision_oShopkeeper.gml:9-20` [^35]: Replay `fidelity/replays/bonus-stars-shotgun.txt` [^36]: `scripts/scrCreateTileObj.gml:363-368` [^37]: `scripts/scrStealItem.gml:293-302` [^38]: `objects/oShopkeeper/collision_oShotgun.gml:1-14` [^39]: `objects/oJar/collision_oBullet.gml:1` [^40]: `objects/oSkull/collision_oBullet.gml:1` [^41]: `objects/oBullet/create.gml:1-4` [^42]: `objects/oBullet/create.gml:4` [^43]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:16-25` [^44]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:1-16` [^45]: `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml:14-32` ### Source code - `objects/oShotgun/create.gml` - `objects/oBullet/step.gml` - `objects/oBullet/collision_oEnemy.gml` - `objects/oBullet/collision_oSolid.gml` - `objects/oBullet/collision_oCharacter.gml` - `scripts/scrUseItem.gml` - `scripts/scrShopItemsGen.gml` - `scripts/scrGenerateItem.gml`