Stairs - Revision history

Hordes: /* Strategy */

2026-02-07T19:28:26Z

‎Strategy

Hordes: /* Tips & Tricks */

2026-02-02T13:43:18Z

‎Tips & Tricks

Pinkbeast: ce /* Pandemonium */

2025-05-03T12:43:15Z

ce ‎Pandemonium

Hordes: /* Useful Info */ correct stair info

2025-04-22T15:55:58Z

‎Useful Info: correct stair info

Hordes: /* Useful Info */

2025-04-22T15:50:33Z

‎Useful Info

Hordes: /* Tips & Tricks */

2025-02-22T23:39:41Z

‎Tips & Tricks

Hordes: /* Strategy */

2024-03-04T03:03:17Z

‎Strategy

Hordes: /* Strategy */ "being able to go up the stairs" is a more pressing concern than "the destination is safe"

2024-03-04T03:01:33Z

‎Strategy: "being able to go up the stairs" is a more pressing concern than "the destination is safe"

Ge0ff at 19:32, 25 February 2024

2024-02-25T19:32:56Z

Hordes at 21:47, 24 February 2024

2024-02-24T21:47:58Z

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 *Most statuses which prevent you from moving also prevent use of stairs. Being inflicted by [[sleep]], [[paralysis]], -Move, etc. will interrupt all actions, forcing you to go up again. [[Confusion]] gives a 50% chance to fail going upstairs. [[Tree Form]] prevents movement, too.
-Overall, stairs are an extremely powerful tool, but there are some situations where they are dangerous.
+Overall, stairs are an extremely powerful tool, but there are some situations where they cannot be relied upon, or a non-stair solution would be preferred.
 ===Tips & Tricks===

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 *"Triple visitation" is the strategy of visiting all 3 downstairs to know their location. This makes the level safer if you are [[teleport]]ed to an unknown location, and knowing multiple stairs can be useful in a dangerous situation. However, this always poses a risk: every stair you take has a tiny, but non-zero chance of being fatal. For instance, a stair that's next to [[Sigmund]] or [[Grinder]] can kill you with almost no counterplay.
 *Downstairs aren't much different from upstairs - they can be used to the same effect. Since the floor below is unexplored (and often more dangerous), a downstair is naturally risky. But there are situations where going down is relatively safe. For example, if you are [[shaft]]ed, when you go up, you'll know if the stair below has monsters waiting. If the floor below is unexplored, beware of [[noise]], which can attract new monsters.
-**It is ''possible'' to visit the downstairs of a new level "early", in order to see if the stair is safe to use. However, due to the chance of [[sourceless malevolence]], this usually isn't recommended. Being hit by a [[teleport trap]] on the floor below is even more deadly.
+**It is ''possible'' to visit the downstairs of a new level "early", before clearing the current level, in order to see if the stair is safe to use. However, since you could encounter a deadly monster or be inflicted by [[sourceless malevolence]], this usually isn't recommended. Being hit by a [[teleport trap]] on the floor below is even more deadly.
 ==History==

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 ===Pandemonium===
-[[File:Pandemonium transit.png]] [[File:Pandemonium exit.png]] In [[Pandemonium]], each floor can only be visited once. Each floor at least three "gates to another region of Pandemonium" - these one-way stairs will send you to a new floor, at a completely random location.
+[[File:Pandemonium transit.png]] [[File:Pandemonium exit.png]] In [[Pandemonium]], each floor can only be visited once. Each floor has at least three "gates to another region of Pandemonium" - these one-way stairs will send you to a completely random location on a new floor.
-You may find direct exits out of the Pandemonium, but these are rare; each [[rune]] you collect in Pandemonium makes it more likely to spawn. More common are "exits through the horrors of the Abyss", which lead to the Abyss and will return players to the Dungeon after they find an exit from the Abyss.
+You may find direct exits out of Pandemonium, but these are rare; each [[rune]] you collect in Pandemonium makes them more likely to spawn. More common are "exits through the horrors of the Abyss", which lead to the Abyss and will return players to the Dungeon after they find an exit from the Abyss.
 ===The Tomb===

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 The time to travel through stairs depends on if the destination is known:
-* Using a staircase with a known destination takes 2.5 turns; 1.0 turn in the old location, and 1.5 turns in the new location. Monsters that were near the destination will occasionally have enough [[monster speed|energy]] to attack as you descend.
+* Using a staircase with a known destination takes 2.5 turns; 1.0 turn in the old location, and 1.5 turns in the new location.
-* Using a staircase with an unknown destination (stairs that display a yellow * in [[Tiles]]; stairs with a white glyph in Console) takes 1.75 turns; 1.0 turn in the old location, and 0.75 turns in the new location. This means that, when descending an unknown staircase to a floor you haven't visited before, you'll ''always'' get a chance to act before monsters do.
+* Using a staircase with an unknown destination (stairs that display a yellow * in [[Tiles]]; stairs with a white glyph in Console) are "fast", and take 1.75 turns; 1.0 turn in the old location, and 0.75 turns in the new location.
 Traveling through stairs does ''not'' count as movement. Your [[movement speed]] doesn't matter, so a [[Naga]] takes the same time to use stairs as a [[Spriggan]], and [[Cheibriados]] doesn't slow stair travel. Also, stairs don't count towards the [[amulet of the acrobat]] bonus. However, effects that prevent movement ([[constriction]], [[throwing net]]s, etc.) usually prevent stair travel as well.

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 Stairs take you up or down a level. An upstair on a lower floor will usually be connected to a downstair on a higher floor, and vice versa. Travel through stairs by using the '''<''' (up) or '''>''' (down) commands. Some [[branch]]es' stairs work differently (see below for detail).
-Using a staircase normally takes 2.5 turns; 1.0 turn in the old location, and 1.5 turns in the new location. Using a stair with an unknown destination (stairs that display a yellow * in tiles; stairs with a white glyph in Console) is "fast"; you spend 0.75 turn in the new location instead. This means that, when descending an unknown staircase to a floor you haven't visited before, you'll ''always'' get a chance to act before monsters do. On the other hand, if you've been on that floor already, monsters will (rarely) have enough [[monster speed|energy]] to attack immediately.
+The time to travel through stairs depends on if the destination is known:
 Traveling through stairs does ''not'' count as movement. Your [[movement speed]] doesn't matter, so a [[Naga]] takes the same time to use stairs as a [[Spriggan]], and [[Cheibriados]] doesn't slow stair travel. Also, stairs don't count towards the [[amulet of the acrobat]] bonus. However, effects that prevent movement ([[constriction]], [[throwing net]]s, etc.) usually prevent stair travel as well.

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 *Most levels have 3 sets of normal stairs. If you don't think you've fully explored a floor, you can use the minimap (or press '''X''' then '''>''' or '''<''' to cycle through up/down stairs respectively) to count the amount of normal up/down staircases you found. Branch entrances, portals, and escape hatches don't count towards the count of 3 stairs.
 :If you see less than three of each, some hidden area of the floor is walled off from the area you're in. The best way to reach it is to exit the floor and then reenter through an unexplored staircase on the floor above or below.
-*"Triple visitation" is the strategy of visiting all 3 downstairs to know their location. This makes the level safer if you are [[teleport]]ed away, and knowing multiple stairs can be useful in a dangerous situation. However, this always poses a risk. Every stair you take has a tiny, but non-zero chance of being fatal. For instance, a stair that's next to [[Sigmund]] or [[Grinder]] can kill you with almost no counterplay.
+*"Triple visitation" is the strategy of visiting all 3 downstairs to know their location. This makes the level safer if you are [[teleport]]ed to an unknown location, and knowing multiple stairs can be useful in a dangerous situation. However, this always poses a risk: every stair you take has a tiny, but non-zero chance of being fatal. For instance, a stair that's next to [[Sigmund]] or [[Grinder]] can kill you with almost no counterplay.
 *Downstairs aren't much different from upstairs - they can be used to the same effect. Since the floor below is unexplored (and often more dangerous), a downstair is naturally risky. But there are situations where going down is relatively safe. For example, if you are [[shaft]]ed, when you go up, you'll know if the stair below has monsters waiting. If the floor below is unexplored, beware of [[noise]], which can attract new monsters.
-**It is ''possible'' to visit the downstairs of a new level, in order to see if the stair is safe to use. However, due to the chance of [[sourceless malevolence]], this usually isn't recommended. Being hit by a [[teleport trap]] on the floor below is even more deadly.
+**It is ''possible'' to visit the downstairs of a new level "early", in order to see if the stair is safe to use. However, due to the chance of [[sourceless malevolence]], this usually isn't recommended. Being hit by a [[teleport trap]] on the floor below is even more deadly.
 ==History==

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 *Stairs give adjacent enemies 2.5 turns to hit you, and non-adjacent enemies get 1 turn. If you're at low HP, you can die as you go through a stairs. In addition, not all monsters are safe to stairdance. For instance, an [[ogre (monster)|ogre]] or [[hydra]] can outright kill you if you give it 2.5 turns of attacks.
 *Certain effects can move you off the stairs, interrupting travel. For example, [[elephant]]s and [[dragon]]s can [[trample]] on attack, pushing you off. [[Dispersal trap]]s can be activated by enemies, blinking you away.
-*Most statuses which prevent you from moving also prevent use of stairs. Being inflicted by [[sleep]], [[paralysis]], -Move, etc. will interrupt all actions, forcing you to go up again. [[Confusion]] gives a 50% chance to fail going upstairs. [[Tree Form]] prevent movement, too.
+*Most statuses which prevent you from moving also prevent use of stairs. Being inflicted by [[sleep]], [[paralysis]], -Move, etc. will interrupt all actions, forcing you to go up again. [[Confusion]] gives a 50% chance to fail going upstairs. [[Tree Form]] prevents movement, too.
 Overall, stairs are an extremely powerful tool, but there are some situations where they are dangerous.

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 ==Strategy==
-Stairs are one of the most important escape tools in ''Crawl''... so long as the destination is safe. In 1 turn, an upstair lets you escape from (non-adjacent) monsters below, rest, and recover from [[status effect]]s. If you've left a dangerous enemy behind, you can enter from another downstair, which will often be in a new part of the level. The lack of easily accessible stairs is what makes [[shaft]]s and [[teleport trap]]s so dangerous.
+Stairs are one of the most important escape tools in ''Crawl''... so long as you can actually go up the stairs, and so long as the destination is safe. In 1 turn, an upstair lets you escape from (non-adjacent) monsters below, rest, and recover from [[status effect]]s. If you've left a dangerous enemy behind, you can enter from another downstair, which will often be in a new part of the level. [[Shaft]]s and [[teleport trap]]s are so dangerous in part because they prevent you from accessing stairs.
-They also allow for stair dancing. Since only adjacent monsters follow you up, stairs can be used to split groups of monsters. There's a huge difference between "fighting 2 [[orc]]s, resting, and fighting 3 orcs", and "fighting all 5 orcs at once". Also, going up to a cleared level makes it very unlikely for you to encounter new monsters during a fight. Some monsters ([[derived undead]], [[Geryon]], [[the Royal Jelly]]...) won't follow you up stairs, for better and worse.
+They also allow for stair dancing. Since only adjacent monsters follow you up, stairs can be used to split groups of monsters. There's a huge difference between "fighting 2 [[orc]]s, resting, and fighting 3 orcs", and "fighting all 5 orcs at once". Also, going up to a cleared level makes it very unlikely for you to encounter new monsters during a fight. Some monsters ([[summon]]s, [[derived undead]], [[Geryon]], [[the Royal Jelly]]...) won't follow you up stairs, for better and worse.
 However, stairs are not infallible: