Contents

Olmec Tunnel Man Strategies

Olmec Tunnel Man Strategies

This is a guide to the various Olmec strategies as Tunnel Man.

Beginner Tunnel Man Low% strategy (around 1 minute)

  • If you're new to Tunnel Man Low%, or if you'd prefer not to do the 39 second strategy, this is probably the easiest way to complete the fight. This version starts digging much further away from Olmec than the fastest strategy, but no difficult jumps are required after Olmec falls into the lava. If you're concerned about dodging enemies that Olmec spawns, you can also do this strategy on the right hand side (allowing you to immediately enter the exit after jumping back up), but bear in mind that loses more time.

Standard Tunnel Man Low% strategy (around 38.9 seconds)

First discovered by zutklown.

  • There are two main ways to complete this strategy: you can either start mattocking 5 tiles away from Olmec, or 4 tiles away from Olmec.

5 tiles away variant.

4 tiles away variant.

  • Both strategies are pretty much the same; the main difference is that you bait Olmec's final stomp on the bottom layer if you do the 5 tile away variant, whereas you bait Olmec's stomp on the second-from-bottom layer if you do the 4 tile away variant. It can be worth trying both versions to see which works best for you.

  • Also, when learning this strategy, it can be helpful to memorise how many times you need to mattock before you begin digging the hole, to ensure that you don't accidentally dig the hole in the wrong place. The videos above can be useful for this.

Standard Tunnel Man Any% strategy (around 38.9 seconds)

  • This is the same as the Tunnel Man Low% strategy, but you don't have to dig the extra gaps in the wall (which you use to jump back up in Tunnel Man Low%). This doesn't save any extra time, but it gives you more time to align Olmec for the final stomp, which makes it slightly easier. If you get enough gaps on the way down, it may be possible to save an Olmec stomp, but this isn't confirmed at the moment.

Advanced Tunnel Man Any% strategy (37 seconds)

First discovered by SoulAro.

  • As you can tell by the video, this strategy isn't Tunnel Man specific -- it can be performed both as Spelunky Guy and Tunnel Man. Bear in mind, you'll need to pick up at least 4 bombs along the way on your Tunnel Man Any% run if you want to do this strategy. This is the fastest consistent strategy, though faster times can be achieved with bombspam or cutscene skip.

More Advanced Tunnel Man Any% strategy (33.3 seconds)

First discovered by Eduboy25.

  • This is currently the fastest consistent strategy to use with Tunnel Man. It requires 3 bombs, so you only need to find one bomb bag during the run to be able to use this. You have to be really accurate with your mattock swings and there's little to no room for error for the fastest outcome, but if you mess it up, you can still get a 36 second fight pretty easily. The key points to focus on with this strategy is tucking the 2nd bomb right against the wall, so that it breaks all the required tiles, and positioning yourself at the end, so that you can break the last tiles in time while also getting Olmec into the right spot.

  • This strategy can also be used with paste bombs, and it's actually even easier that way, because the explosion radius is lower and it always breaks the correct tiles underneath:

  • There's also a different way to do this strategy, which seems to make the 2nd bomb tuck more consistent, but doesn't work with paste bombs. It's also slightly slower on average, ranging from the optimal 33.3s to about 33.6s:

Tunnel Man Pacifist Low% strategy (around 50 seconds)

First discovered by tvrobot, further developed by Flick.

  • You have time to dig out a hole for Olmec to fall into on the left hand side of Olmec's arena before he moves all the way over to the left. Like the standard Tunnel Man Low% strategy, you alternate between digging 5 tiles deep and 4 tiles deep to give yourself a ladder to jump back up to the top. Be careful of any pushblocks that might softlock you!

  • If you don't have time for this strategy, the standard 39 second strategy can often be completed without any accidental kills. That is risky, however -- it's best to stick to this strategy if you want a consistent pacifist fight.

Tunnel Man Low% No Gold strategy (very variable duration)

First discovered by zutklown.

  • This strategy is very inconsistent, and requires a lot of improvisation. The difficulty of this strategy heavily depends on how many crust gold & gems there are in Olmec's arena.

  • Unless playing for speed, it is best to take your time. Try to dig a staircase to the second lowest layer of Olmec's arena. Delay each mattock swing to ensure that you have enough time to react to any gems in the crust. Once you reach the bottom layer, try to dig a 5 tile wide gap for Olmec to fall into, like this:

Gap for Olmec to fall into.

  • If you're unable to do this, an alternative strategy is to dig a hole for crust gold to fall into, and then trigger Olmec's stomp whilst he's resting on the bottom layer, like in this run by zutklown:

Gap for gold to fall into.

  • Overall, this Olmec fight is very difficult due to how different it is each time. Just be sure to take your time - so long as you don't pick up gold, the fight is still winnable.