Blink

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Blink
Level	2
School1	Translocation
Source(s)	Book of Minor Magic Book of Spatial Translocations
Casting noise	2
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	50
Flags	Escape, Selfench, Utility

Randomly translocates the caster a short distance. Translocating in this way destabilises the caster temporarily, preventing consecutive blinks for a short period of time depending on spellpower.

Blink is a level 2 Translocations spell which warps you to a randomly selected nearby open tile. It also refers to various effects that do the same thing.

Hedge Wizards and Warpers begin with the spell in their libraries.

Useful Info

Blink sends you to any random tile in line of sight with the following restrictions:

• It can't send you to deep water or lava if those tiles would be impassible to you.
• The tile cannot contain another creature.
• For the purposes of this spell, translucent walls (but not iron grates) block line of sight.

Blink can send you over traps, dangerous clouds, etc. It can also send you to the tile you were originally on ("You feel jittery for a moment").

After casting (or evoking) the Blink spell, you will be given the temporary -Blink status. This shortens with spell power; at maximum power, it wears off instantly. -Blink prevents you from casting or invoking the Blink spell until it wears off; it does not block scrolls of blinking, dispersal, or other sources of blink.

If you have -Tele (Dimension Anchor, Tree Form, Formicid stasis, artefact property), or have the Stuck effect (from miscasting a Translocations spell), you cannot blink by any means.

Sources

Other than the Blink spell, the following cause a blink effect on yourself:

• Blink may come as an evocable artefact property (+Blink). This is identical to the spell, but is activated in the Ability menu, and its power is raised by Evocations.
• Dispersal traps, when you or a monster steps on it, causes a random blink to everything around it. (This sends you to any random location in your current LOS, not the trap's LOS.)
• A scroll of blinking causes a "controlled blink" - you can choose the location.

The following can cause other creatures to blink:

• Dispersal-branded boomerangs causes targets to blink away.
• Distortion weapons can randomly blink enemies, among other effects.
• The spells Dispersal and Disjunction cause monsters around you to blink away.

Strategy

Blink can be a lifesaver, particularly in the earlier game. It's one of the easiest escape spells to learn and find. Since Blink sends you to any random location in LOS, there are a few quirks:

• If you're in melee range of a lone enemy, Blink is likely able to get you out. There's many more tiles away from the enemy than next to the enemy.
• Blink can only send you to tiles within LOS - which, in the right circumstances, can be manipulated. You can use terrain to limit the # of tiles close to the enemy, and increase the # of tiles away from the enemy. A scroll of fog is especially helpful - use fog, step back, and everything behind the clouds will be blocked. This can significantly increase your chance of blinking away.

Tips & Tricks

• Remember that blink can drop you into a cloud, so take care when blinking around miasma, flame, or any other cloud you really don't want to land in.

Monster Version

Many monsters can cast the spell Blink too. Additionally, some monsters are capable of casting the following Blink variations:

• Blink Close - Blinks the caster to a space closer to a target.
• Blink Away - Blinks the caster to a space farther away from a target.
• Blink Range - Blinks the caster to a space as far away from a target as possible while still remaining within range for their ranged attacks.
• Blink Allies Encircling - Blinks nearby allies (excluding the caster) around a target, surrounding them.
• Blink Allies Away - Blinks nearby allies farther away from a target while maintaining their ability to use ranged attacks.
• Blink Other - Randomly blinks a target.
• Blink Other Close - Blinks a target towards the caster.

Some monsters, most notably phantoms and blink frogs, have a chance to blink when they hit you. Most such monsters have the spell as well, meaning they tend to blink around rather a lot. Monsters are not subject to a cooldown.

The following enemies cast Blink:

• H Arachne
• F Blink frog
• g Boggart
• 5 Crimson imp
• e Deep elf annihilator
• e Deep elf pyromancer
• e Deep elf zephyrmancer
• e Dowan
• e Dowan (enraged)
• q Draconian annihilator
• 9 Electric golem
• O Erolcha
• @ Eustachio
• e Fannar
• G Glowing orange brain
• G Golden eye
• 5 Grinder
• p Hell knight
• Y Hellephant
• m Ilsuiw
• @ Jessica
• M Khufu
• p Killer Klown
• @ Louise
• R Mara
• f Maurice
• m Merfolk aquamancer
• Y Nellie
• @ Nikola
• W Phantom
• F Prince Ribbit
• R Rakshasa
• K Sonja
• Q Tengu conjurer
• v Will-o-the-wisp
• p Wizard (monster)

The following enemies may be able to cast Blink, depending on their spell set:

• & Pandemonium lord (7.5% chance)

History

• Prior to 0.28, the Blink spell did not have a cooldown.
• In 0.27, the Blink mutation was removed.
• Prior to 0.17, the cTele status would turn an uncontrolled blink into a semi-controlled blink.
• Prior to 0.15, blinking in the Abyss would sometimes fail. Warp card could be used to blink.
• Prior to 0.8, a random blink would never place you within a dangerous cloud. This allowed you to steer uncontrolled blinks by casting cloud-producing spells in areas you don't want to go first.