Dispersal trap
| Anyone stepping on this trap will translocate themself and anyone else in view to a new location nearby. Hostile monsters may trigger this trap, but your allies will avoid stepping on it. |
A dispersal trap is a magical trap. When any creature steps on the trap, everything that has line of sight of the trap will blink. This sends each victim to a random location inside their current LOS (not the trap's LOS).
Strategy
Dispersal traps can be very dangerous in certain situations: they can force you off stairs, get you surrounded by enemies, bring in enemies you didn't know about, or send you into the unknown (where anything could be waiting). No matter what, your position will likely be worse then where you started; you may have to defeat a few enemies in order to have a usable escape route.
It doesn't matter if you or a monster steps on the trap, if you can see the trap, you can get blinked. Try to prevent monsters from stepping on them, or at least, break LOS with the trap.
Tips & Tricks
- If a staircase has a dispersal trap within LOS range, it's generally not a safe stair to use.
- They are a special threat in Zot:5 and the Tomb, which both have a high density of traps. In Zot:5, you don't want to be blinked straight into the lungs, which could contain multiple orbs of fire (or other nasty threats). A poorly placed dispersal trap can also make it difficult to retreat from the lungs. In Tomb, dispersal traps can prevent you from escaping through stairs.
- In the right scenario, dispersal traps can be a positive. When there's only 1 monster around, and that monster is at the same speed as you, you can use the dispersal trap in order to gain some distance, similar to the Blink spell. Watch out, since you can be trapped between the monster and a wall.
- A potion of lignification will make you immune to this trap, but also prevents you from moving normally.
History
- Dispersal traps were added in 0.23, as part of the trap rework.
