If you are brave, you can pick it back up and throw it into the air right in time for it to explode. This is good for putting the bomb in a precise location.

Crouching while pressing the bomb button sets the bomb gently in front of you.

This is useful on ledges that you want to be able to access again later.

Crouching while pressing the rope button drops the rope out in front of you rather than tossing it above you.

Be aware that mounts cannot be taken through to the back layer of levels. Every animal mount provides double jump, and if you press up and jump on a Cave Turkey or Rock Dog for a third time, you will be able to jump off the back of the mount, functionally providing a triple jump. If you stay on long enough, the mount is tamed and you are able to control it. This can throw you into traps, lava, and etc if you aren't careful. Wild mounts are dangerous, but you can tame them by jumping directly onto their backs and waiting for them to run side to side for a few moments. They offer an array of benefits, including taking damage for you.

Mounts are a new addition to Spelunky 2.

You can only hold one carried item at a time, meaning you have to juggle weapons, torches, pets, and idols to get multiple to the end of the level.

Bringing your pet (Monty the Pug is default, but can be changed to a hamster or a cat) to the exit of the level restores 1 HP upon completion of the level, and also cures poison.The safest way to check what's inside each vase without taking is to pick them up and throw them. The vases can have gold pieces and gems so they are worth destroying, however, they can also have enemies (snakes, bats, scorpions, cobras) inside. You will come across many vases and pots in each level.An alive pet gets you to the next item immediately.

Continuing to sacrifice gets you Royal Jelly, an item that gives you 6 HP! The best thing to sacrifice on the altar is an alive pet, so if at all possible at least bring Monty to any altars you find. The second is the Kapala, one of the strongest items in the game that allows you to collect health. The first item is a random article of clothing. At certain points of reputation, you get an item. Sacrificing stuff on the altar gives you what is essentially reputation with Kali.

The bloody altars to Kali that appear randomly throughout your journey are very important.

Try to limit running to only when vital when you're starting out the game or a new area.

Change your default movement speed to walk and use R to run.

If you are rushing through, you also probably aren't getting everything that's easily accessible on the level. If you start to go too fast, you'll get arrows to the face or get enemies jumping in your face. Push up against the 3:00 mark if you have to in order to make the most of your time and make sure you aren't speeding through levels.

Go slowly and analyze your surroundings, at least in the beginning worlds.

You can strategically use this to make a lot of money, but it's much harder in this game due to the buffed ghost.

If the ghost passes over a gem, red, blue, or green, it will turn into a diamond.

The ghost in Spelunky 2 is faster than in Spelunky HD, and he can split into smaller ghosts and attack you from either direction!.

If you are playing co-op, you have 30 seconds less per member of your team that is dead. The clover increases the time before the ghost comes by 2:00.

There's no time limit on levels, but at the 3:00 mark, a spooky ghost appears and begins to chase you.Many of the secret areas in the game (the Black Market, Vlad's Castle, etc.) are on this back layer in normal stages and aren't stages of their own as they are in Spelunky HD.You can use this knowledge to map out secret chambers. If you look at where they are on the back layer, the doors are in the same location on the front. This is important because though the back layer is many times made up of several non-contiguous rooms, you can often see other rooms and doors to those rooms. If we were to map the levels block by block, the front and back layers would share a distinct blocks on the grid. Each stage in Spelunky 2 has what is essentially two 'layers', a front layer which holds the entrance and exit to the next level, and a back layer which is entered through various doors and tunnels, some of which are hidden behind terrain.

Tiamat spelunky 2