Orb of Zot

Version 0.19: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Once you have escaped to the surface with this invaluable artefact, your quest is complete.

The Orb of Zot is located in a vault on the deepest floor of the Realm of Zot, guarded by terrible monsters (ancient liches, Orb Guardians, orbs of fire, all kinds of dragons and draconians) and surrounded by indestructible walls. Acquiring the Orb and escaping back to the surface is the final step to win the game. Doing so without fighting your way past its guardians is nearly impossible, as the floor slows down teleportation and renders Controlled Blink random, and the Orb actively resists Apportation attempts (1 out of every 3 attempts will fail, and each attempt will create a loud noise).

Ascension

Once the Orb is in your possession, you will have to make it out of the dungeon to win the game. This is part of the game is often referred to as the orb run. During the orb run, numerous terrible things happen. Controlled Blink becomes random, and almost all teleports will take 5 to 9 turns longer to kick in (teleport traps still function immediately, however, and can almost always be found near the Orb). All floors of the Dungeon will now begin spawning a wide variety of Hell- and Pandemonium-type monsters, Orb Guardians, and Pandemonium lords, all at a greatly increased rate (see monster generation). Most of these will generate just beyond your line of sight. On top of all that, the Orb itself emits strange energy, reducing your stealth and causing magic contamination to last longer.

Strategy

• You don't need to pick up the Orb of Zot as soon as you reach it. If you want a higher score, you should clear out the extended end-game and collect all 15 runes before beginning the ascent.
• The only enemies that matter once you have the Orb are the ones that get in your way. Ignore any enemies that aren't able to kill you or that you can simply run away from. For this reason, boots of running or other sources of fast movement speed are extremely useful at this point.
• Your goal after picking up the Orb is to get out of the Dungeon as quickly as possible. Use auto-travel (Shift + G) to make the game calculate the fastest route out possible.
• Don't be afraid to use up your consumable items at this point. Potions of haste, scrolls of holy word, and all manner of restoratives should be used as needed to clear a path to the exit as quickly as possible. Also, if you've got a wand of digging, feel free to create impromptu tunnels if it'll get you away from nasty opponents or up a floor even faster. If you're feeling paranoid (and why shouldn't you be?), consider creating those pathways before you grab the Orb.
• Even with the delay on teleportation, it's worth considering as an escape option. If you find yourself cornered by enemies or a long way away from the next stair case up, activate a teleport and hold out until it kicks in. Teleport traps still function instantly, by the way.
• The Abyss is unique in that its monster generation rate and makeup is unaffected once you pick up the Orb. If you're cornered and could use a chance to heal up in (relative) safety, zipping off to the Abyss will give you the time you need. Of course, unless you're a Lugonu follower, convenient access to the Abyss is rarely available...
• If you've already cleared the entirety of Zot:5, you can reduce the distance you have to run with the Orb by apporting to you, preferably near a staircase or escape hatch. This will take a while, but as Zot:5 is one of the largest, most wide-open areas you'll need to haul it through, it may be worth the effort. Bear in mind that this process is extremely loud; if you've left anything alive, it will almost certainly find you.
• Find Dungeon Crawl too easy? For an added challenge, try avoiding the Tomb, Pandemonium, or the branches of Hell until you're already on your Orb run.

Zot Defence

In the Zot Defence mini-game, you are instead charged with guarding the Orb from wave after wave of random enemies. Only after you've fought off enough enemies to earn 15 runes are you allowed to grab the Orb and escape.

History

The Orb of Zot has undergone many adjustments over the course of Crawl's updates:

• Pre-0.8 - The Orb's traits were initially as follows:
  • Took up an inventory slot, weighing 30 aum. You could drop it at will.
  • Did not resist Apportation attempts at all.
  • Delayed 50% of the teleport attempts by 5-9 turns.
  • When picked up, it would remove the -cTele effect from Zot:5, and would seal all portals to the Abyss, Pandemonium, and the four branches of Hell.
• 0.8 - The Orb began resisting attempts at Apportation. 1 out of every 6 attempts at Apportation would fail.
• 0.9 - Picking up the Orb no longer removed -cTele from Zot:5, and added -cTele as long as it was in your possession. Also, the Orb's weight was increased to 60 aum.
• 0.10 - The Orb's penalties to stealth and magic contamination loss were introduced.
• 0.12 - The player could no longer drop the Orb once it was in their possession. Also, the Apportation failure rate rose to every 1 in 3 attempts.
• 0.13 - Possession of the Orb now increased the delay before a teleport 100% of the time. Also, the monsters you face while ascending were made more deadly (fewer weak demons, plus the addition of Orb Guardians).
• 0.14 - Grabbing the Orb no longer sealed the portals to Abyss/Pan/Hell, and no longer counted as an inventory item.
• 0.17 - Possessing the Orb now rendered Controlled Blink random.

The Orb's origin.