Deep water

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

A pool of deep water. Only giant creatures can wade through this, and only those well-adapted to water can swim through it; for the rest, the only way through is to fly over.

Deep water is a type of terrain found in the main Dungeon, as well as in many branches. Most species cannot cross it without special means, except for amphibious species such as Merfolk, Octopodes, and Grey Draconians.

Monsters can cross deep water if they are amphibious. Aquatic creatures must remain in either deep or shallow water.

Strategy

• Deep water poses a danger to anything that manages to find a way to fall into it. If your means of flight expires while over deep water, you will enter a temporary flight mode that causes draining each turn you spend in deep water. Fortunately, you will receive a warning if your flight source is expiring while over water or if you attempt to cross deep water.
• You can use confusion to your advantage (e.g. Confusion, Mephitic Cloud) by targeting monsters near deep water. They may attempt to cross it and fall in, killing them instantly. Keep in mind that this will also render their equipment inaccessible, unless you are an amphibious species.
• You can reduce deep water to shallow water through Fedhas Madash's Sunshine ability.

History

Prior to 0.19, falling in deep water resulted in instant death rather than draining.

Prior to 0.17, you risked drowning if you moved next to deep water while confused. Also, enemies with high intelligence would refuse to move while confused and adjacent to deep water.

Prior to 0.15, it was sometimes possible to scramble out of deep water if your flight expired over it.