I'm Hurricane, and I've been playing Phantom Abyss since the launch of Early Access in the summer of 2021. In this guide, I'll be telling you about every whip in the game and my thoughts on each.


I'll be using a star system for this guide. Note that all ratings are chosen independently of each other.

1 star: Very bad, avoid using unless absolutely necessary
2 stars: Bad, try something else
3 stars: Servicable, not good but not bad
4 stars: Good, a solid choice
5 stars: Excellent, an essential pick

I hope you find this guide useful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!

A unique type of shrine is randomly available throughout the temples. This lets you spend your hard-earned keys to use the blessings of OTHER whips in conjunction with your own! You get three to choose from: one green, one blue, and one red, all at random, and they each require a certain amount of their specific key.

Additionally, all whips now have their blessings AND curses. Blessing a whip now grants you a unique skin for the whip, but otherwise has no more functionality. There is currently no way to permanently remove curses, although they can be temporarily removed with the Remove Curses blessing. This blessing is randomly available from the blessing shrine like all other blessings.

ADVENTURER WHIP
An ordinary whip.
BLESSINGS: None
CURSES: None
RATING: 3 stars

The default whip in the game. No pros, but no cons either. I'd suggest using this if you have no other whips available or want a simpler gameplay experience.


BONE WHIP
Whittled from salvaged whalebone.
BLESSINGS: Drop coins in water to heal.
CURSES: Drop coins when damaged.
RATING: 2 stars

By standing in and looking at still water on the ground, you can spend 50 coins in exchange for one heart. This is a whip which progressively becomes more valuable before dropping off a cliff once you reach the Inferno section of the Abyss, as there is no water to be found. If you are going for a green or blue relic, this whip is quite useful, but only just so.


OBSIDIAN WHIP
The handle is dark, smooth, and cold to the touch.
BLESSINGS: Chests contain 50% more coins.
CURSES: Phantoms steal coins.
RATING: 3 stars

A self-explanatory whip. Good before getting higher tier whips like the Feather Whip (100% more coins), but once you get better whips this becomes an objectively worse choice. Phantoms "stealing coins" means that if a phantom gets to a chest before you, they will take the coins and leave you with nothing. This will happen often as many people will take the Lightning Whip or the Ice Whip, both of this make the user move much faster. But if you can beat them to the more well known chests, or go out of your way to find more hidden chests, you'll be well rewarded!


ABSTRACT WHIP
Carved by a long lost traveller.
BLESSINGS: Blessings are 30% cheaper.
CURSES: Lose 1 heart container.
RATING: 5 stars

A very valuable whip that is very easy to obtain given it's a green whip. Blessings being only 70% their default value is a godsend which cannot be ignored. This effectively allows you to get the first two blessings for free as both are below the default first blessing in the game (150 coins) Very worthwhile if you find yourself struggling to find coins. The curse can be offset by a Heart Container blessing, making it negligible in some cases.


DELUXE WHIP
Ooh, fancy!
BLESSINGS: Immune to fall damage.
CURSES: Guardians are stronger.
RATING: 1 star

Immunity to fall damage is incredible in this game, but the Wings and Double Jump blessings both effectively give this in the first place, and they are both very solid blessings which are must-haves in-game. In addition, learning to roll to avoid fall damage is essential, making this whip even less useful. "Guardians are stronger" refers to the angering of Guardians between floors. Instead of increasing by one level per floor, they increase by two levels per floor, reaching high levels in a much shorter time. This can make the game much more chaotic much more quickly for virtually no return. All things considered, this whip is something to overlook.


BAMBOO WHIP
Surprisingly strong.
BLESSINGS: Briefly BANISH Guardians by whipping them.
CURSES: Take 0.5 (half a heart) damage when receiving a new blessing.
RATING: 3 stars

A power turned whip blessing, whipping a Guardian will deactivate a Guardian for about 30 - 45 seconds. However, this will NOT remove The Masked Defiler's already existing bombs and gas clouds. This is a good way to remove some pressure and slow down on a more difficult room. The curse will ultimately make the game more tricky as this whip discourages the purchasing of blessings. Not a bad choice, in my opinion!


CABLE WHIP
A durable and stylish whip.
BLESSINGS: Gain 1 heart container.
CURSES: Blessings are 30% more expensive.
RATING: 4 stars

More health is always good. You never know when you'll need it. However, it does get overshadowed by some whips later in the game, like the Knight Whip and most red whips. It being a green whip makes it very accessible, however. The more expensive blessings will make stacking them much harder and you'll find yourself with a slightly more difficult experience, but the additional heart container does add a level of forgiveness to offset the cost. I frequently took this whip early on.


CRIKEY WHIP
A cracker from down under.
BLESSINGS: Briefly become INVULNERABLE.
CURSES: Standing in water hurts you.
RATING: 4 stars

Another power turned blessing! Pressing a hotkey will make you completely invulnerable to all damage for about four seconds. Perfect if you need to quickly rush through a trap or use it as a panic button in case things go wrong. In this, water must also be treated like lava, but water is somewhat uncommon so this shouldn't be a huge issue.

WOODEN WHIP
Simple but effective.
BLESSINGS: Dart statues turn their back and ignore you!
CURSES: Blessings are 30% more expensive.
RATING: 2 stars

Dart statues are quite common in temples, so this effectively removes a common trap from the game. However, dart statue attacks are easy to dodge - just keep moving. Whipping a dart statue will also temporarily disable it without the need of this whip. The increased blessing price will also create some extra difficulty - it seems that difficulty wasn't necessarily removed, just shifted around. While this may overall make your run a little easier, I think it's just not that worth it in total.


SCALES WHIP
Painstakingly crafted to look like real fish scales.
BLESSINGS: Heal half a heart at the start of each floor.
CURSES: Dart statues shoot much faster!
RATING: 4 stars

Free healing is a rarity in Phantom Abyss. This whip can heal a maximum of 6 hearts throughout the game, making it a solid choice if you consistently take minor damage. If you find yourself taking more damage than you're healing, however, perhaps opt for a whip that increases your maximum health like the Knight Whip or the Feather Whip. Dart statues can be whipped so they won't fire, plus if you move constantly in perpendicular to the statues, they will have a hard time tracking you and you are less likely to be hit. Overall a very good blessing for a mostly forgettable curse!


KNIGHT WHIP
For adventurers in shining armor.
BLESSINGS: Gain 3 heart containers.
CURSES: Guardians are stronger.
RATING: 4 stars

This whip gives the most bonus heart containers of any whip in the game. If you find yourself taking lots of damage, this is a must-have. "Guardians are stronger" means that for every room, they get TWO levels of anger instead of one, so you'll reach their higher levels of anger significantly more quickly. Having the health buffer is a significant help for this if you falter, however! Overall a very solid choice.


DIY WHIP
Functional and effective.
BLESSINGS: See chests through walls.
CURSES: Phantoms steal coins.
RATING: 1 star

Seeing chests through walls sounds nice, and it is, but over time you'll naturally remember the locations of chests throughout the game, making this whip consistently less useful the more you play. Given that this is a blue whip, you likely will have remembered or be beginning to remember all the positions of all the chests anyway. To add to the cons of this whip, Those with whips which increase your mobility (Lightning, Ice, and Vine whips) will likely get to many of the chests before DIY Whip users, so you can't really even utilize the benefits since phantoms will take the coins from you long before you get there. I could only see this whip being useful for beginners, but many blue whip users aren't true beginners and are likely beginning to remember or have already remembered a good number of chest locations. I just can't recommend this whip to anybody.


HOBBIEST WHIP
Lovingly crafted.
BLESSINGS: Heal 1 heart each time you buy a blessing!
CURSES: Lost 2 heart containers.
RATING: 1 star

A poorly designed whip. Many players avoid damage for the first sections of the game, making this a useless whip when you haven't taken damage. If you have a couple blessings already, proccing this whip's blessing is much more difficult due to increasing costs. In addition, starting with only one heart means there's only a max of half a heart to heal at the beginning of the game, requiring you to use a blessing to purchase a new heart container to even make full use of its blessing. Don't use this.


FEATHER WHIP
Great for whipping and tickling.
BLESSINGS: Gain 2 heart containers.
CURSES: Take double damage.
RATING: 2 stars

This whip is sort of pointless - you have extra health but take double damage. Take a single hit from a one health damage trap and the blessing is effectively gone, leaving you with only the curse. It just feels like these blessings and curses are opposites of each other, but the difference is that heart containers don't persist and double damage is a constant threat. Not a great choice.

VOID WHIP
It's unclear who or what could have crafted this.
BLESSINGS: Guardians are banished from the temple.
CURSES: You can never have more than 1 heart container.
RATING: 3 stars

Guardians are annoying, right? Not anymore! This whip completely removes them from the game, allowing you to take your time getting through obstacles without feeling rushed. However, never having more than one heart container creates very little room for error. Tread lightly! If you find yourself frequently being overwhelmed and taking damage as you run from the guardian, this is the whip for you.


VINE WHIP
Feels smooth.
BLESSINGS: Jump much higher.
CURSES: Darts are lethal.
RATING: 3 stars

Jumping very high is very nice as it allows you to get those pesky ceiling chests with ease, as well as complete some rooms much more quickly, however its uses can be limited as many rooms don't require jumping. Do note taking fall damage is more of a risk, so take some time to perfect your rolling or invest in Double Jump or Wings as soon as possible. Ceiling spikes have also become a trap in higher level temples, so the higher jump can actually be a penalty in these rooms. Be very careful with this! Darts are a more common trap in the earlier rooms and less common in the later rooms, plus darts are very telegraphed and can be whipped, so the curse isn't so bad. This whip, in my opinion, is just okay.


FORSAKEN WHIP
You feel light headed!
BLESSINGS: Take half damage.
CURSES: Regularly go blind for a short time.
RATING: 4 stars

Immediately as you equip this whip, you effectively double your health. If you take fall damage, the punishment is significantly reduced (as it's the only way in the game you can take more than one heart of damage) and gaining extra heart containers is doubly valued as you're giving yourself two more hits instead of just one. The blindness can be anywhere from a minor inconvenience to a fatal consequence depending on the guardian and nearby traps. It helps to look at where you're going and memorize the path ahead when the screen starts to go dark.


ICE WHIP
Stay frosty.
BLESSINGS: Slide much faster.
CURSES: Your feet are turned to ice.
RATING: 5 stars

Sliding is something you'll be doing often, whether it's to slide down ramps or get into tight spaces. Sliding all the time makes this whip effectively have the same buff as the Lightning Whip (which we will discuss later), making it infinitely more useful. This whip's curse is basically nullified by its blessing since you can just slide in the direction you want to turn quickly and slide the other way to quickly cancel your momentum if need be. I don't find myself struggling much with the curse much; it's something that you quickly adapt to. This is an incredible whip which I can't recommend enough.


FIRE WHIP
You can feel the heat under your grasp.
BLESSINGS: Drop coins into lava to heal.
CURSES: Take 0.5 (half a heart) damage when receiving a new blessing.
RATING: 2 stars

This whip is functionally identical to the Bone Whip: looking at lava on the ground will heal yourself 1 heart at the cost of 50 coins. Lava only shows up in the Inferno at this time, however, making it completely useless until you reach that point. However, it does have the hidden buff of making you immune to lava damage, making some obstacles in the Inferno a little easier. The game encourages you to save your coins due to the curse, so you may end up with no buffs (or some, if you're brave) but plenty of coins to heal yourself with. This doesn't excuse the harsh limitations of the whip though, in my opinion.


LIGHTNING WHIP
Electrifying!
BLESSINGS: Move much faster.
CURSES: Long falls and crushing effects are lethal.
RATING: 5 stars

My whip of choice. Enormously increases your movement speed, allowing you to zip through obstacles with ease. You move so fast, in fact, you can run right over some obstacles (such as the thin spike traps and disc traps), making these obstacles completely obsolete. The bonus heart container allow for compensation for the mistakes you might make with your new blazing fast speed. This also has the added benefit of making The Devouring Rage a trivial guardian to deal with. However, with the addition of invisible floor rooms, the rapid speed can lead to falling off of the map very easily if you aren't careful, making speed a hindrance. In addition, the new dark rooms force you to slow down as to not accidentally throw yourself into spikes or a pit. These mistakes can be fatal since falling off the map is still considered fall damage. Boulders are also considered to deal crushing damage, and a number of traps will require you to run away from them. This can create some very risky situations. Despite these flaws, it is still a very good whip to use, especially for those who like to complete runs quickly.

Thanks for reading. I'll do my best to keep this guide updated as new whips are released and/or existing whips are updated. If you have any questions or if you notice any issues with my guide from a content perspective (such as incorrect information), leave them below and I'll try to answer/correct them. Make sure to also check out my Blessings guide, which will be linked here (once it's done)!

Good luck!