Dig

Version 0.12: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Dig
Level	4
School1	Earth
Source(s)	Book of the Earth
Casting noise	3
Spell noise	3

This spell forms tunnels through unworked rock by liquefying it.

Dig is a level 4 Earth Magic spell which digs a multi-tile tunnel through rock walls, slimy walls, or iron grates (but not through stone or anything harder). It is useful for connecting disconnected parts of a floor (especially in the Orcish Mines or the Slime Pits), making new chokepoint tunnels, or accessing treasure vaults surrounded by transparent rock walls.

Strategy

• Casting Dig when adjacent to your target will create a longer tunnel than casting it at a distance, as those empty spaces are counted toward its effect.
• Zapping a wand of digging produces an effect identical to casting the spell at maximum spell power. If you happen to find a few of them, you might not ever need to spend the spell levels learning this.
• If you're standing with your back to a wall and multiple enemies are about to surround you, use Dig to create a narrow tunnel to fight in. You can take them on one at a time this way. Just watch out for accidentally cutting your way into a room with even more enemies!
• Digging is useful to create direct routes between stairs, especially during the orb run.

History

Prior to 0.12, Dig was an Earth Magic/Transmutations spell, and monsters would cast it under fewer circumstances.