Difference between revisions of "Boulder beetle"

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==Tips & Tricks==
 
==Tips & Tricks==
 
*Be cautious around boulder beetles; any moment when they're not adjacent to you is a moment they could suddenly gain a huge burst of speed and power.
 
*Be cautious around boulder beetles; any moment when they're not adjacent to you is a moment they could suddenly gain a huge burst of speed and power.
*Their rolling attack is essentially a double-strength regular attack and follows many of the same rules. Characters with a decent [[sh]]ield or [[ev]]asion stand a chance of avoiding the attack outright, while characters relying on their armor to protect them will have a harder time of it.
+
*Their rolling attack is essentially a double-strength regular attack and follows many of the same rules. Characters with a decent [[sh]]ield or [[ev]]asion stand a chance of avoiding the attack outright, while characters relying on their armor to protect them will have a harder time of it. Placing an ally (such as [[Hepliaklqana]]'s ancestor) in the path of their rolling charge will safely unleash the attack, and stop the roll.
 
*They've got vulnerability to [[poison]], making it easy to bypass their AC and take them out if you have access to [[Poison Magic]] or even poisoned [[dart]]. They've also got weak [[willpower]] and only moderate [[HD]], so [[Hexes]] or disabling [[wand]]s can stop them fairly easily.
 
*They've got vulnerability to [[poison]], making it easy to bypass their AC and take them out if you have access to [[Poison Magic]] or even poisoned [[dart]]. They've also got weak [[willpower]] and only moderate [[HD]], so [[Hexes]] or disabling [[wand]]s can stop them fairly easily.
  

Revision as of 14:32, 26 July 2022

Version 0.28: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

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

boulder beetle BBoulder beetle.png
HP 50-102
HD 12
XP 971
Speed 10
AC 20
EV 2
Will 40
Attack1 27 (bite: plain)


Resistances None
Vulnerabilities Poison
Habitat Land
Intelligence Animal
Uses Uses nothing
Holiness Natural
Size Large
Type boulder beetle, boulder beetle
Flags No skeleton
Web immune
A huge grey beetle with an almost impenetrable rocky carapace. When at some distance from its foe, a boulder beetle is capable of rolling at high speed, attempting to crash into its target for heavy damage.

Useful Info

Boulder beetles are among the most massive bugs in the game, using their brutal melee attacks and decent AC whenever a player lets them get into melee. This is made easier with their rolling ability, which doubles their speed and damage for a short time; they can also leap away from their prey to set up further opportunities to roll.

Boulder beetles can be found in the mid-to-late Dungeon, as well as in all parts of the Lair.

Spells

Spell set I
Slot1 Roll (2d27) Natural flag
Slot2 Blink Away Natural flag

Tips & Tricks

  • Be cautious around boulder beetles; any moment when they're not adjacent to you is a moment they could suddenly gain a huge burst of speed and power.
  • Their rolling attack is essentially a double-strength regular attack and follows many of the same rules. Characters with a decent shield or evasion stand a chance of avoiding the attack outright, while characters relying on their armor to protect them will have a harder time of it. Placing an ally (such as Hepliaklqana's ancestor) in the path of their rolling charge will safely unleash the attack, and stop the roll.
  • They've got vulnerability to poison, making it easy to bypass their AC and take them out if you have access to Poison Magic or even poisoned dart. They've also got weak willpower and only moderate HD, so Hexes or disabling wands can stop them fairly easily.

History

  • Boulder beetles returned in 0.26 with a new rolling mechanic.
  • Boulder beetles were removed in 0.19. They were slower than average, and their rolling was subject to inertia (similar to an orb of destruction, they would keep rolling in a straight line until they hit something).
  • Prior to 0.11, boulder beetles could not roll at you.