Floating eye

Version 0.25: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

For a list of all eyeballs, see list of eyeballs.

floating eye G
HP	10-22
HD	9
XP	142
Speed	10
AC	0
EV	1
Will	10
Resistances	rDrown
Vulnerabilities	None
Habitat	Land
Intelligence	Brainless
Uses	Uses nothing
Holiness	Natural
Size	Medium
Type	floating eye, floating eye
Flags	See invisible Flying Unbreathing

A floating eyeball, said to be one of the servitors of Jiyva. It possesses a gaze that can eventually paralyze even the most strong-willed of adventurers. “El ojo que ves no es ojo porque tú lo veas, es ojo porque te ve.” -Antonio Machado, Campos de Castilla. 1912-1917.

Useful Info

Floating eyes are harmless on their own, but in certain situations are considered one of the deadliest monsters in the game. Although they have no means of dealing damage themselves, they are capable of paralysing you with their irresistible smite-targeted gaze attack, rendering you easy prey for all other monsters in the area for 2 to 7 turns. They can be found in the Dungeon, the Vaults, the Depths, and the Slime Pits; they can also be summoned by monsters with the Summon Eyeballs spell.

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1	Paralysis Gaze	Magical flag

Tips & Tricks

• Unlike some other gaze attacks, they don't require line of sight to gaze at you; if you can see them, you are at risk (although their gaze doesn't work through translucent walls). Magic resistance provides no protection against them, and they can still gaze at you even if confused. The only surefire ways to protect yourself from their gaze are to be a follower of Jiyva or a formicid. You are also rendered immune to further paralysis for 1-3 turns after a state of paralysis ends, but that is in no way a reliable defense (after all, you might not live long enough to make use of it).
• Although paranoia regarding floating eyes is always warranted, evasion-based fighters are at significantly more risk around them than heavily-armoured AC tanks. A frozen minotaur in crystal plate armour is much better able to shrug off attacks than a robe-clad spriggan.
• Floating eyes are thankfully fragile, easily one-shotted by most mid-level characters. Unfortunately, they can be extremely dangerous if you have monsters blocking you from attacking them. Airstrike is almost guaranteed to take them out in one shot, making it ideal for picking them off. The various Bolt spells or any other form of smite-targeted attack (Portal Projectile, Beogh's Smite, Qazlal's Upheaval) are also very effective.
• If you don't have a means of killing one quickly, try using a scroll of fear; it has terrible magic resistance, and chasing it off temporarily will give you time to deal with its allies without risk of sudden paralysis. A scroll of fog will also help by breaking line of sight, giving you time to take out closer enemies or escape.

History

Floating eyes used to be called giant eyeballs until 0.18, where they saw several other changes. They used to be slow, but now move at normal speed. Their gaze used to work immediately, but now must charge over several turns. And finally, they now show up sometimes in the Depths.