Kali’s altars are a crucial feature in Spelunky 2, offering powerful rewards and unique challenges that can dramatically shape your run. This guide explains everything you need to know—from how favor works to maximizing your sacrifices and earning rare items like the Kapala and True Crown.

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Understanding Kali’s Altars

• Spawn Locations: Altars can appear on most levels except 1-1, 1-4, and most secret areas. They have roughly a 36% chance to spawn per level.
• How They Work: You gain favor points by sacrificing creatures, pets, and enemies. The better the sacrifice, the more favor you earn.

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Favor Points: What’s Worth What

Here’s a breakdown of favor values:

• 8 Points: Live pets (Monty, Percy, etc.)
• 4 Points: Human NPCs (shopkeepers, Hired Hands, co-op players)
• 2 Points: Basic enemies (cavemen, yetis, etc.)
• 0 Points: Special characters like the eggplant child

⚠️ Important: Sacrificing dead creatures halves their favor value.

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Favor Rewards by Threshold

8 Points – Basic Items

• One of nine basic items (e.g., bombs, ropes, compass)
• If you already own all nine, you receive a bomb bag instead

16 Points – Kapala

• Kali’s most iconic reward: The Kapala collects blood from enemies, converting it into health.
• With practice, this can lead to near-infinite healing.

24+ Points – Royal Jelly

• For every 8 additional points after the Kapala, you receive Royal Jelly, which grants +6 health.
• With the Kapala, this combo becomes extremely powerful.

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Angering Kali: Penalties and True Crown

Destroying or damaging an altar (e.g., with the drill) results in -16 favor and additional punishments:

• First Offense: Enemies spawn
• Second Offense: Possible curses and more ghosts
• Repeated Offenses: Dimmed levels, aggressive ghost spawns

True Crown

• If you anger Kali multiple times, she may give you the True Crown, a chaotic relic that:
  • Teleports you every 22 seconds in the direction you’re facing
  • Grants 22 bombs
• Extremely high-risk, high-reward item. Skilled players have used it to earn millions in gold during extended runs.

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How to Maximize Favor

1. Prioritize Pets and Hired Hands

• Pets = easy 8 points per level
• Use Turkeys (Yang’s level) and Hired Hands from coffins to stack favor quickly

2. Use the Clone Gun

• Clone pets or Hired Hands to multiply favor gains
• One cloned pet = up to 32 favor points

3. Use Dice and Idols

• Dice: Can be sacrificed—dice showing 1 or 6 may yield rare outcomes
• Idols: Sacrificing them summons a Golden Monkey that poops gold, a slow but steady income source

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Special Altar Locations

1. City of Gold Altar

• Works like a normal altar
• Sacrificing yourself with the Ankh here grants access to Duat, progressing toward the True Ending

2. Duat Altar

• Located in Duat (after Anubis)
• Offers cooked turkeys or bomb bundles based on favor level—great for the Osiris fight

3. Madame Tusk’s Palace Altar

• Ideal spot to gain favor thanks to the abundance of guards
• Easy way to secure the Kapala or Royal Jelly if missed earlier

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Advanced Strategies

• Hired Hand Stacking: Bring multiple Hired Hands into favor-heavy levels (like Vlad’s Castle) for easy sacrifices
• Eggplant Quest: Requires sacrificing an eggplant at the correct altar to progress
• Favor Overflow: Carefully managed sacrifices allow you to exceed standard limits and stack multiple Royal Jellies

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Conclusion

Kali’s altars are more than just a novelty—they’re a gateway to some of Spelunky 2’s most potent tools. Mastering the favor system can drastically improve your chances of survival and success. Whether you’re aiming for healing, bombs, or the chaotic power of the True Crown, proper use of altars can define your run.

May Kali bless your next adventure with blood and bounty!