Cocytus
| A grim and frost-bitten wasteland.
Cocytus is seven levels deep and contains the icy rune. It can be accessed via the Vestibule of Hell. |
| A gateway to the freezing wastes of Cocytus. From the frost-bitten lands, a cold chill touches your soul. |
Cocytus is the cold-themed branch of Hell, accessible from the Vestibule of Hell.
Useful Info
Cocytus is 7 levels deep and populated by several kinds of "ice"-themed monsters, of which ice fiends and ice devils are the most dangerous if you lack proper cold resistance. You'll also meet several undead dragons and draconians, zombies, and water elementals. All the while a mystical Hellish force will assault you as is usual for all Hell branches, causing multiple nasty effects.
As far as layout goes, Cocytus is fairly open with several streams and lakes of deep water.
The last level of Cocytus contains the icy rune of Zot, which is guarded by Antaeus. Teleport control will not work here until you pick up the rune.
Recommendations
Cocytus is one of the harder Hell branches, and you should not venture here until you've cleared almost everything else in the game, aside possibly from Zot:5, the Tomb, Pandemonium, and Ziggurats. rC+++ is strongly recommended, with rC++ being a strict minimum. Some means of restoring or sustaining abilities are quite welcome too, since the effects of Hell can cause severe stat draining, and it's wise to carry some potions of healing to prevent your body from rotting away, which may happen occasionally by the effects of Hell.
Levitation or Flight are required on the final level to navigate the vast expanses of deep water and reach Antaeus.
Having access to fire-based attacks (either from a flaming weapon, a wand of fire, or powerful Fire conjurations such as Fire Storm) will make your journey much smoother, as the vast majority of monsters in Cocytus are not resistant to fire, and in some cases, are even vulnerable to it.
Hell effects
- Necromancy miscast: 16.66%
- Summoning miscast: 8.33%
- Conjurations miscast: 4.16%
- Charms miscast: 2.08%
- Hexes miscast: 2.08%
- Ice magic miscast: 22.22%
- Ice fiend: 14.15%
- Summon 1-5 Cocytus monsters: 9.88%
- Nothing happens: 19.75%
Trivia
In ancient mythology, Cocytus was one of the rivers in Hades, with the most famous one being the Styx. In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Cocytus is the ninth and final circle of Hell, where traitors are imprisoned in its frozen waters along with Satan.
