Potion of mutation

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A potion which mutates the drinker, removing several mutations then granting a few random mutations, which are likely (but not guaranteed) to be beneficial.

Type	Potion
Name	Potion of Mutation
Icon

A surprise in every bottle! When drunk, a potion of mutation first removes 2-3 mutations, then adds 1-3 random mutations (each with a 60% chance of being "good"), then has a 50% chance to add one good mutation (100% chance for Oni). This potion is affected by mutation resistance. In addition, characters who are already mutated are less likely to gain further mutations.

Followers of Zin incur penance if they knowingly drink this potion at less than ****** (160) piety. Once that piety threshold has been reached, however, Zin suppresses the mutation-adding effects of the potion, so followers can drink it to only remove mutations.

Ghouls cannot use this potion, but drinking an unidentified potion of mutation will cause them to suffer stat drain.

Strategy

Potions of mutation should generally be saved for removing bad mutations, not getting good ones. In Crawl, the worst mutations are much more harmful than good mutations are helpful. Certain bad mutations, such as teleportitis and No Unsafe Scrolls, can easily end your run. And other than the god Jiyva, these potions are the only way to remove mutations. Plus, there is no guarantee that a potion of mutation actually removes a desired mutation. It can take many, many potions just to get an "alright" mutation set.

Prevention is better than the cure, since potions of mutation are reliant on RNG. You might quaff all your potions, just to end up back where you started. See the Malmutate article for ways to avoid getting mutated in the first place. However, there are some cases where malmutation is practically unavoidable, so these potions are obviously helpful.

History

• In 0.32, Oni will no longer gain an extra benefit from potions of mutation.
• Prior to 0.27, potions of mutation removed 2-4 mutations and provided a guaranteed good mutation.
• Prior to 0.21, potions of mutation removed 2-6 random mutations instead of 2-4.
• Prior to 0.20, potions of mutation just attempted to give 1-3 random mutations, with separate potions of beneficial mutation and potions of cure mutation.