Orb of Destruction

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

Orb of Destruction
Level	7
School1	Conjuration
Source(s)	Book of Dangerous Friends Book of the Spheres
Casting noise	7
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	200
Range	LOS
Flags	Dir or target, Needs tracer, Not self

Conjures an orb made of pure destructive magic. Compared to most other projectiles, these orbs travel at a relatively slow pace. The orbs home onto their targets, yet because of their huge inertia, especially agile opponents may be able to outmanoeuvre them. The orbs need some time to stabilize, and a nascent orb will deal reduced damage. Residents of the dungeon are able to maintain the orb until it impacts a target, but when cast by you the orb will dissipate upon leaving your line of sight.

Spell Details
Damage Formula	9d([60 + Power]/12)
Max Damage	9d21
Max Power	200
Range	full
Targeting	Special
To-hit	infinite
Special	Creates physical orb. Power multiplied by distance*0.3, if dist<4.

Orb of Destruction (OoD or IOOD, the I standing for "Iskenderun's") is a level 7 Conjurations spell which launches a tangible orb of energy to attack your enemies.

Useful Info

A conjured globe of pure magic that homes onto a designated target, albeit with massive inertia. A smart and agile person may move out of its path, causing it to miss its target. It cannot be avoided by Dodging skill, and is able to make sharp turns to hit adjacent targets.

Creates an Orb of Destruction in a specified direction. It occupies a tile on the dungeon, is speed 30, but you or monsters are unable to interact with it. Only another OOD can destroy an orb, which will disintegrate both of them. If both orbs have traveled 2 or more tiles, it will create a massive and loud 1-tile explosion. This is especially likely to happen when hasted; make sure you back up (or at least make sure an orb has moved a space away) before casting again.

Orbs have a specified "angle" and "position", and are not limited to the 8 dungeon directions. When casting the spell, the angle will randomly be offset by an amount inversely related to spellpower. Orbs will softly home enemies but will not turn sharply, except for a special rule. If you are adjacent to an OOD and move to another adjacent square, you'll trigger an "en passant" and the orb will trigger anyway. The orb may hit dungeon walls and dissapate harmlesly, making the spell not entirely accurate in a hallway.

The orb itself is extremely powerful, dealing 9d21 at maximum power at full range. It completely ignores EV but can be blocked and even reflected with high SH. It damage output is reduced by being too close:

• Range 1: 30% damage
• Range 2: 60%
• Range 3: 90%
• Range 4+: 100%

Creatures killed by this spell are typically blown apart into gory chunks, although any dragon capable of leaving a hide will not explode when it dies.

Monster Version

There are a few notable differences with your and monster OODs. Your orb also will dissipate the turn after it leaves your line of sight, but an enemy's orb will continue to move around until it hits something. In addition, monster OODs are subject to random energy.

The following enemies cast Orb of Destruction:

• L Boris (9d18 damage)
• L Lich (9d17 damage)
• s Orb spider (9d11 damage)

The following enemies may be able to cast Orb of Destruction, depending on their spell set:

• & Pandemonium lord (5.2% chance)

Tips & Tricks

• Due to the orb's predilection for swerving into walls, when in narrow hallways, launch at short range, since the orb will often fail at distances greater than 3-4 tiles (or use another spell better suited to the task). When launching an orb in wider hallways, situate yourself on the wall opposite from the one your target is nearest:

   Example 1:                  Example 2:                         
        ###########                 ###########
        .@....M....                 ......M....
        ...........                 .@.........
        ###########                 ###########
   Bad: Risks hitting wall.    Better: Much less risk.

• Orbs of Destruction are very effective against statues and other foes which have high resistance to elemental damage.

• When stair-dancing, orbs can be used as a fire-and-forget missile. Stand on the stairs, fire off an orb at the most dangerous target four or five squares away (for full power), then use the stairs. Since you still count as being on the current level while climbing the stairs, the orb doesn't dissipate immediately and has two turns of travel time -- enough to hopefully strike its target.
  • This tactic is most effective while stair-dancing against a single powerful enemy; once the stairs have been surrounded by multiple foes, Orb of Destruction loses much of its effectiveness.

• Since orbs explode the corpses of enemies when they kill them, don't use an orb if you would like to harvest troll leather armour. Scale-bearing dragons do not explode and will still leave corpses, however.

• You can make an orb vs. orb situation work for you if you also have Blink or can retreat quickly: you can blink away safely while the enemy takes damage when the orbs collide.
  • If you need to blink after firing, you may wish to do so with a scroll of blinking. If you blink into the path of your own orb, you'll take the damage instead of your target.

• The spell is not too loud, except for when two orbs collide. Should this occur, be prepared for a swarm of curious enemies making a bee-line for you. This is an excellent technique for attracting half a dungeon level or dangerous uniques to one area of the dungeon, while you then start exploring from a different stairway.

• Be very careful when using this spell against monsters wearing shields (eg, Louise, Donald, Mennas). They will frequently block it, which can easily make the spell an expensive waste. Occasionally, monsters may even reflect the orb back at you!

• If you can see through a wall, the orb won't dissipate if you hide behind it. Ashenzari worshipers can have transparent walls whenever they want.

• Each casting of OoD creates a trail of short-lived purple clouds behind it. These are harmless, but can get in the way of any cloud spells you may wish to cast.

Defending Against IOODs

• Moving out of the way is the simplest way to avoid orbs of destruction, though the orbs' ability to home in on you makes this more difficult than it sounds. In particular, orbs can swerve to hit you any time you're adjacent to them, even if they're currently traveling past you. Walk perpendicular to the orb's path and start moving early, as you'll need some space to pull this off. In tight quarters without much empty space to maneuver in, ducking behind cover, such as around a corner or behind another monster, can also be effective.

• You can summon a Fulminant Prism right in front of an incoming orb. This will usually result in the orb and the prism destroying each other, making this an effective defense so long as you're not adjacent to the prism.

• Summoned creatures, undead thralls, or temporary allies can take the hit for you. Switch positions with your minion before the orb hits.

• Blinking at the last possible moment has a decent chance of putting you out of the orb's current trajectory, and if there's a wall behind you, the orb will be destroyed. Controlled blinking with a scroll of blinking is significantly safer, but teleporting usually takes too long (unless it's via a teleport trap).

• Firing your own orb at the caster will usually result in the orbs colliding and exploding violently. A bit expensive and dangerous in close quarters, but effective.

• Characters with high SH will occasionally block orbs, negating them entirely. This isn't something to rely upon, but it's nice when it happens.

• Being adjacent to the caster reduces the orb's damage tremendously.

• Note that you can never run faster than the orb. It has move delay of 3.33; even a hasted spriggan has a move delay of 4. Your only options are to block it or get out of the way.

History

• in 0.28, Orbs of Destruction were penalized more for short range. The power formula was also changed, making the spell a bit weaker.
• Prior to 0.20, Orb of Destruction could destroy dungeon features like doors, statues, or rock walls.
• Prior to 0.14, Orb of Destruction was available in the Book of Annihilations.