Damages
| Whip swing | 16 |
| Blue whip | 10 |
| Axe | 1-10 |
| Axe crash | 1-8 |
| Blue snake | 8 |
| Green spear | 8 |
| Green explosion | 8 |
| High jump | 4 |
| Spear twirl | 3 |
The swing sometimes only does 4 damage. It is unknown why.
The axe's damage varies. It generally seems to do less damage if the axe is already inside the enemy when it becomes vulnerable. It also happens if the axe has already hit something, like a stray candle, or another enemy.
Getting the highest level weapon
You can get the strongest weapon (blue whip/green spear) and special subweapon (blue snake/green explosion) either by picking up a book which gives it to you regardless of what level weapon you have, or by picking up 30 crystals / bags when you have the second strongest weapon.
While you have the strongest weapon, picking up the subweapon you already have will give you the special subweapon.
Bosses
Generally, all bosses have a minimum of 31 frames between hits. Both characters can attack faster than this.
The boss must have less than 0 health to die. In other words, a boss with 100 HP takes 11 hits to kill with the 10-damage blue whip.
Bosses, with the exception of Armor battler and Elizabeth 2nd form, take half damage from subweapons.
Hellhound
The scream attack causes lots of lag and should be avoided.
Armor battler
The time between hits is 41 frames when the boss loses a bodypart. This can be avoided if the boss is in the air when this occurs.
When the boss dies, he needs to straighten his legs before he can kneel down and explode. It is important to kill him in a state where his legs are already close to straight, such as when he lands from a jump.
Magician
The magician is designed to appear at the other edge of the screen when you hit him, to make you run back and forth. However, he actually appears on the side which your back is turned to. Because of this, you can either use the back-attack (described below) or throw a subweapon and turn around before it hits to keep him on the same side.
First armor
For some reason the AI goes haywire when you use the axe subweapon on this boss. He starts to back off and never stops, unless you do another attack. Once he is far enough off the screen, the game removes him and sends in the next boss.
Second armor
As long as the boss has opportunity to hit you, he will not jump away.
Golem
The green explosion can be used to kill the boss before the fight has even started.
The boss rubs its eye every time it is hit. This makes it unable to do any other action, such as attacking.
When the boss dies, it sinks into the ground. This goes quicker if the boss is shorter, that is, all the stone sections have been destroyed. This can be done while the boss dies.
Stone snake
N/A
Gargoyle
The boss has 24 HP every "round", when it zooms up on the screen. Surplus damage from one round is not recorded to the next one.
Frankenstein's monster
This subboss doesn't twirl his weapon until you attack or get close enough. Attacking with a subweapon is the fastest way to get him to start, the sooner he does that the sooner you can close in and finish him.
Gear steamer
The boss has 192 HP. The boss decides what to do mainly on his current HP. It goes from: throwing gears -> "swim" -> spin horizontally -> sprint -> go large -> jump and impale head in ground.
This is one of the few bosses where the whip swing can be used.
Third armor
This boss, like his cousin earlier, can be killed by making him back off the end of the world with the axe attack. Unfortunately the exit does not open this way and you are then trapped in this room forever.
If you kill him while he has his arm outstreched, the area it occupied will continue to be dangerous until the boss completely explodes. For this reason it is better to slightly delay killing the boss, so he has time to retract his arm.
Faces statue
This boss is unique in that
- Every attack does the same amount of damage.
- The pause between hits is 32 instead of 31.
The time between rounds is fixed, so only the speed in the last round matters.
Moth boss
In both the phases, it is important to kill it above one of the floating platforms, so that it lands sooner to start its death animation.
Death
N/A
Elizabeth 1
This boss has 256 HP, which is the most in the game.
Elizabeth 2
Only the last attack of every round actually does damage. You can use whichever attack is fastest for the other hits.
Unlike the magician before, Elizabeth actually appears at the side which is furthest from you.
Dracula 1
The time between appearances is fixed, 332 frames. 42 HP.
Dracula 2
The boss does not enter the third phase until his attack is finished and the projectiles are offscreen. 42 HP.
Dracula 3
The dragon has three forms, which in order shoot sickles, fire, and bones. Amount of HP is 144.
Travel speed
Basically:
- Whip guy walks 1.5 pixels (1 pixel 128 subpixels) per frame.
- Both characters jump ~1.5323 pixels per frame, assuming flat ground.
- Spear dude walks 1.625 pixels (1 pixel 160 subpixels) per frame.
- Swinging is 1.7353 pixels per frame under optimal conditions.
Indepth explanation
Jumping is equally fast for both characters, and starts out at 1.5 pixels per frame. After the peak of the jump, the character starts to accelerate (in violation of all laws of motion), 2 subpixels per frame^2. At the end of the jump the speed is actually higher than Spear dude's walking speed.
The mean speed of a jump on a flat surface, which lasts 37 frames, is ~1.5323. Whip guy gains 1.195 pixels (0-1 frames) every jump, but Spear dude loses 3.430 pixels (2-3) frames.
This leads to Whip guy jumping around like a moron, while Spear dude is more or less glued to the ground. Whip guy can pick up crystals without losing time, and use them liberally. Spear guy, who needs axes the most to increase his low damage, cannot get them easily.
Swinging is faster than jumping in most cases, by several frames. Since it is faster in the end and basically stands still in the beginning, swinging is only useful when you can perform the majority of a swing. How many frames a swing should be "held" for optimal speed varies depending on ceiling height. Under optimal conditions, the speed is about 1.7353 pixels per frame.
Lag
Spear dude is more likely to create lag than Whip guy. One guess is that this is because he always has the flaming extra sprite on the screen. The green explosion is almost guaranteed to create lag, while the snake is not.
Besides the obvious stuff, high-jumping can help reduce lag, as can ducking. Swinging increases lag, especially when your hitbox overlaps with a boss, even if the boss is not vulnerable at the moment. Turning around rapidly with Spear dude does not display the flame sprite, which sometimes helps.
Subweapon-propelled jump
You jump slightly higher if you use a subweapon on your way up. This is why you sometimes see us throwing axes at nothing.
Instant high-jump
There is one frame when you land from a high-jump where you can perform another high-jump without charging. You can also "save up" a charge by ducking for a while and then later land from a regular jump to perform an instant high-jump.
Invulnerability
You are invulnerable to almost everything (enemies and getting squashed, but not falling into holes) during a swing or a high jump.
Backwards attack
Both Whip guy and Spear dude can hit things behind them when attacking. This attack comes out slightly before the attack in front of you, which can be useful.
Avoid fall pause
When you land from a high fall, you normally duck for a while to take a break. This can be avoided by using an attack which ends at the same time you hit the ground.
Walk through enemies
You cannot get hit by enemies after they have been hit, until they are vulnerable again. You can not, however, stand inside them and hit them again on this frame to continue passing through.
Staircase shifting
You can only land exactly on the steps on the staircases. You can use this to shift forward instantly by landing between two steps, even if you are not planning on going up the stairs.
If you are going up long staircases, by walking 1-2 frames in the stair before you jump, you can land one step further up.
It is possible to land on the very last step of a staircase (the one on the same height as the floor it's leading to) and walk one step up into thin air.
Zipping
It is possible to zip up, left or right if you manage to get stuck under a platform or in a wall. Under platforms is doable with a simple jump or a swing.
Removed air attack
If you attack up/down during a jump, and the animation does not finish before you land, and you jump on the first possible frame, you cannot attack with your weapon during jumps. This condition persists until you do not jump on the first possible frame. (This is of course more annoying than useful.) You can use your subweapon, if you do so with Whip guy, he will use both his subweapon and and upwards whip at the same time. This attack comes out slightly faster than a normal attack.