Zot:5

Version 0.31: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

Zot:5 is the final floor of the Realm of Zot. Part of the floor is similar to Zot:1-4, but the rest is taken over by the massive Orb chamber, one of several pre-designed vaults containing the Orb of Zot. Picking up the Orb allows you to ascend the Dungeon, escape, and win the game.

The Orb chamber is one of the most dangerous places you'll have to trudge through. It is almost entirely constructed of indestructible walls and has a layout that makes monsters likely to come at you in groups. These monsters include:

• L Ancient lich - Very powerful spellcasters that can cast brutal Conjurations (Lehudib's Crystal Spear, Corrosive Bolt)
• L Dread lich - The summoning counterpart to ancient liches, Dread liches can paralyse you and summon dangerous Tier-1 and -2 demons.
• * Orb of fire - Fast, extremely durable opponents which inflict brutal fire damage and bad mutations.
• 9 Electric golem - Extremely fast constructs that blink constantly and deal heavy electricity damage.
• X Orb guardian - Although fairly bland compared to everything else on Zot:5, these melee monsters are powerful, move quickly, and come in great numbers.
• p Killer Klown - Unpredictable blinking pests whose thrown pies can inflict a variety of unpleasant effects.
• D Golden dragon - And all manner of dragons and draconians.

Charging in is almost certain suicide. To succeed, consider your build and plan your approach around that. The rest of the page provides helpful information and outlines common strategies.

Preparations

The following items, abilities, and intrinsics are recommended for surviving the Orb chamber. They are ordered in rough terms of importance. A more experienced player can clear the chamber with fewer, while a player who just reached Zot:5 for the first time will probably want to have as many of them as possible.

• High stats relevant to your character: HP (Fighting skill), MP (Spellcasting or Invocations), experience level, AC, EV, SH, Piety, etc.
• Fire resistance for orbs of fire (as much as you can muster -- three ranks is best, but two ranks are adequate if you can kill them quickly).
• High willpower for liches (Will+++ or better to reliably avoid paralysis).
• Ways to increase your damage output and mobility: potions of haste, might, god abilities (such as Okawaru's Finesse), you name it.
• Potions of cancellation to get rid of the Sentinel's Mark status, should you or an enemy trigger an alarm trap far away from the nearest stairs.
• Electricity resistance for electric golems.
• Potions of mutation for when Orbs of Fire inevitably malmutate you.
• See invisible for ancient liches and dread liches.

Preliminaries

• Clear Zot:1-4. This is optional, but it gives a large amount of experience and makes the orb run safer.
• If you have one, use a scroll of revelation once you reach Zot:5 to see the layout of the chamber. Consider excluding the entrance to the orb chamber so you don't autoexplore into it (shift-x, select the entrance, press e twice to block the spot).
• Clear everything outside the chamber first, which makes escaping from Zot:5 much safer; this section will be similar to the upper floors of Zot. Do note that as you explore the orb chamber, monsters may stumble into the permanent teleport traps within and be scattered across the level, including areas you have already cleared.
• If you have spare wand of digging charges, consider making a kill hole near the entrance to the Orb chamber; this can help pare down the number of dangerous monsters you'll be fighting at once. Be sure to leave an exit for yourself, as teleporting away will be slow and potentially dangerous, as you might end up teleporting into the Orb chamber itself.

Monster Strategies

Orbs of Fire

The * Orb of fire is one of the scariest monsters in Zot:5. If you lack at least rF++, they can deal incredible damage very quickly, and they will almost certainly mutate you several times if you don't resist them. Orbs of fire are incredibly deadly when by themselves; if you've attracted other threatening monsters, it's a good time to make an escape.

• There's no safe way to deal with them, since they have very high HP and defenses, resist almost all elements, and have enough damage output to chew through most summons almost as fast as you can create them. Melee fighters should use strong antimagic weapons to negate their attacks. If you haven't found one, freezing or vorpal weapons are your best alternatives. Conjurers should cast their most powerful irresistible Conjurations, such as Bombard / Lehudib's Crystal Spear, Orb of Destruction, Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling, or any manner of Level 9 spells.
• For summoners, Malign Gateway and spellforged servitors shine. Malign Gateway is entirely immune to orbs of fire and deals heavy damage back. Spellforged servitors fire spells nearly as potent as your own, and their elemental resistances allows them to soak a few fire spells before dying. Haunt and Dragon's Call (of course) can also be used to strong effect.
• There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to orbs of fire. Pull out all the stops -- potions of might, brilliance, haste, or resistance, a wand of acid, god-given abilities like Okawaru's Finesse or Sif Muna's Divine Exegesis... Do everything in your power to kill them as quickly as possible.
• OOFs are weak to silver. Silver javelins can be brutally effective tools for those who've trained enough (16+) Throwing.

Liches

The L ancient lich and L dread lich are also very threatening monsters. Similar advice applies to both of them; buff yourself up and abuse their weaknesses. Ancient liches can cast Corrosive Bolt or Crystal Spear at any point for massive damage, while dread liches summon brutal demons with torment and damnation.

• Ideally you'll be able to kill (or neuter) any dread liches before they summon too many demonic reinforcements. If they do get anything frightening out, remember that killing the summoner is the fastest method for destroying their summons. Attempting to flee by foot or random blink often results in death by torment and damnation. Don't let the liches last long enough to make this a problem!
• Silenced liches have no means of defense other than a weak melee attack; while fatal at low health, its rather pathetic otherwise. Just make sure that there's nothing else around you: orbs of fire are immune to silence, and you aren't.
• Make sure you have high willpower, to resist their Petrify and Paralyse spells. Being paralysed next to an orb of fire is very likely to be fatal. See the Paralysis Spell Table for the will thresholds required to reach 0% paralysis.
• Other methods of killing them are: good weapons of antimagic or holy wrath (a short sword of antimagic is not a good weapon), Dispel Undead, Orb of Destruction, Shatter, Iron Shot, Fire Storm, and/or Spellforged Servitor.

Killer Klowns

A p Killer Klown isn't especially dangerous on its own, but Klowns' Throw Klown Pie can inflict a number of nasty statuses. They can silence you or inflict -Potion; these two statuses will severely limit your escape options. They can also increase the damage you'll take by +50%.

Other

Whenever you come across a monster, try to grab its attention and retreat to a safe place to kill it. Keep in mind that creatures with ranged attacks (Killer Klowns, dragons/draconians, electric golems) will shoot at you as they chase you, so you may have to hide behind a corner to force them to follow you.

• X Orb Guardians are fast and strong, but their main strategy is swarming you alongside other denizens of Zot:5. Avoid this as much as possible.
• A y moth of wrath may berserk monsters or you. Try not to be there when this happens to a pack of Orb Guardians.
• q Draconian shifters can blink you to a disadvantageous position. And, as purple draconians, they can dispel most of your buffs.

Remember that enemies won't cast anything if they can't see a target; try not to spend too long with them in your line of sight without attending to them. Melee characters will want to retreat around corners to force them into melee range, as rushing towards them gives them several turns to hit you with a crystal spear or summon fiends, not to mention the fact that you'll likely encounter even more enemies as you enter unexplored areas.

Trap Strategies

Stationary Traps

Monsters can activate traps when they step on them, which usually harms you. The best way to prevent being trapped is not to be in line of sight of it. The next best way is to prevent monsters from stepping on it. Generally, monsters won't intentionally step on traps. (If and only if a monster would move into a normal tile, they'll move into a tile with traps)

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Alarm traps emit an extremely loud noise and marks you. Due to the layout of the orb chamber, you might not wake everything up, but you'll get many creatures to your location.

You can set off alarm traps to your advantage, though doing this can be risky. Activate the alarm trap, optionally cancel the mark effect, get haste (so that you can outrun Orb Guardians and the like), then run away to a desired location.

• If your character is strong enough, you can dig a killhole and fight a huge group of enemies in relative safety.
• You can retreat back upstairs, rest up on Zot:4, then go down a different stair. Monsters from inside the lungs will be wandering outside of it, allowing you to lure and kill them in small chunks (instead of fighting them all at once inside the lung). If all 3 stairs are close to each other, don't do this.

If you've cleared out the entirety of Zot:5, it's optimal to step on alarm traps before picking up the Orb, which prevents them from triggering during the orb run.

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If you aren't paying astute attention, dispersal traps can be extremely deadly:

• You can be dispersed into the lungs, straight into multiple orbs of fire (or any number of other threats).
• You can use a scroll of blinking, and dispersal can send you back to your original location.
• You can be retreating, and dispersal sends you closer to your enemies.

Be very careful when walking around dispersal traps. If it's in line of sight, it can make a situation that much more dangerous.

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Net traps cause you to be ensnared by a throwing net (halves EV; prevents movement & weapon attacks). Monsters that step on it have a 33% chance to drop a net on you. You can escape nets by blinking (spell or scroll), teleporting, or struggling out over a few turns.

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Stationary teleport traps aren't nearly as deadly as the others, but are still worth noting. You may want to keep note of any monster that happens to teleport away; worst case scenario, there'll be an orb of fire that appears behind you as you're trying to escape.

Unlike a scroll of teleport, teleport traps take effect instantly. In a pinch, you can use teleport traps to try to escape a bad situation. (You can also read a teleport scroll, then step on the teleport trap. If the trap sends you to a good location, read another teleport scroll to cancel the ongoing teleport. Otherwise, you'll get a second teleport in quick succession.).

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Zot traps are the deadliest type of trap. It can paralyse you, and being paralysed for 4 turns next to an orb of fire or ancient lich, or multiple orbs of fire or liches, is likely to kill you. There are a lot of other nasty effects, documented in the Zot trap page. Like dispersal traps, try your hardest to prevent monsters from stepping on them.

Malevolence

While you can't be shafted into Zot:5, sourceless malevolence can cause the alarm or teleport effect. Teleporting into orb chamber is the single most dangerous thing that can happen in Zot:5 (beyond being paralysed). Like with malevolence at any other stage in the game, there's little you can do to stop it.

An artefact with -Tele will prevent the teleport effect, but it also prevents you from using scrolls of blinking / teleport, and it only generates on armour (which takes 5 turns to remove). Plus, finding an artefact with -Tele is by no means guaranteed, let alone an artefact you can use. If you do find one, a possible strategy is to clear the outside with -Tele, then enter the lungs without it.

"Trapped Lungs"

It's possible for traps to spawn on the one-tile wide entrance of each lung, creating a trapped lung. It's also possible for both lungs to be trapped in this way, making it very difficult to get in or out. Alarm traps are single use, so you can step on the trap, end mark (using a potion of cancellation), apply haste, and run away. Most other traps are difficult to deal with.

You can use Blink, Passage of Golubria, or a scroll of blinking to get past the traps. Getting out is more difficult, since Blink and PoG are unreliable. -Tele can let you get past dispersal/teleport traps, but that's only if you have -Tele (see above for details).

Strategies

WARNING: The strategies below call for specific abilities and tactics, and may not apply to your character!

Clear the Chamber Gradually

The most straightforward strategy is to simply walk into the chamber, wake up as few monsters as possible, retreat and kill them one by one; rinse and repeat. When exploring the two areas adjacent to the Orb's chamber, stick to the dividing wall, peek around the corner, and lure back anything you find. Approaching too aggressively will likely pull down more threats than you can handle at once.

This strategy can also be accomplished with careful use of noise (shouting and spells are the most reliable means of attracting attention). Make some noise to attract some monsters, get them chasing you, and run away. Note that due to the chamber layout and the patrolling Orb Guardians, this may be hard to do without getting swamped.

Go In With an Army

If you can, summon as many creatures as possible. You can then hang back as they fight the enemies. This may be accomplished in many ways:

• Divine companions: Angels and daevas of The Shining One, Trog's Brothers in Arms, Makhleb's Greater demons, Kikubaaqudgha's undead army... The permanent orcs of Beogh won't be of much use after you ascend, so why bother preserving them? Go in with a truly massive army; though, one that'll get shredded fairly quickly.
• Summonings spells: Why compromise? Dragon's Call: There is no substitute.
  • A scroll of summoning is very powerful (albeit short-lived) in Zot. Note that there is a chance of creating moths of wrath, which can instead make your situation worse.
• Followers of Gozag can bribe the denizens of Zot. With friendly orbs of fire on your side, the entire floor turns into a joke.

Blast Your Way Through

A Conjurations specialist with a reliable means of recharging MP (potions of magic, Sif Muna's channeling, Sublimation of Blood, etc.) can often simply blast their way through with high-end spells like Lehudib's Crystal Spear, Orb of Destruction, Fire Storm, or Shatter. This is especially true when you're accompanied by a spellforged servitor. Mind the noise, don't attract more monsters than your MP can handle, and don't be afraid to fall back and recover if need be.

Shattering a Lung

The entrance to each chamber is surrounded by stone walls. While unbreakable for most characters, some are able to; fighting Zot:5 on their own terms. Breaking the lungs means you won't have to deal with enemies coming in both directions, avoid inconveniently placed traps, and/or create a shorter path to rush the Orb.

• Lugonu can make the Orb chamber much less daunting. Using Corrupt through the stone walls lets you break a path to the Orb room, and you'll create a huge mass of demons (who can take out many enemies). Frisky adventurers can haste up and use scrolls of blinking, teleport, etc. to get the Orb.
  • If need be, banishing yourself to the Abyss can save your life and give you a chance to heal, but don't forget that you will return to the exact same spot you left from.
• Worshippers of Fedhas have a similar wallbreaking ability - Overgrow. While not as overtly powerful as Corruption, you can lure enemies into relative safety. Oklob plants are quite useful.
• If you can cast Shatter, it can break stone walls, though you'll make a ton of noise in the process. Unfortunately, Shatter does little against orbs of fire, electric golems, or dragons (but does work against liches, klowns, etc.). Sif Muna's Divine Exegesis can be used to call Shatter.

Stealth/Stabbing

Walk into the Orb chamber and try to stab any sleeping monsters (Orb Guardians, ancient liches, orbs of fire, etc.). If possible, use a scarf of shadows to limit the number of opponents you have to deal with. Be sure to have a means of escape and stack as much stealth as possible if you want to try this approach. If an orb guardian wakes up, lure it outside the chamber before fighting it to avoid waking up any other monsters. When you're in sight of the Orb, grab it and teleport away.

Map

Note that the monsters (except Orb Guardians) and traps are randomized, and that the Orb chamber can face one of two vertical directions. The Orb always appears in the same location relative to the chamber. Monsters are not truly random; each half of the chamber will favor one of the following monsters: orbs of fire, liches, or klowns.

For the full vault code, see dat/des/branches/zot.des:2719 (0.30.1).

History

• Prior to 0.31, Killer Klowns could polymorph the player with Throw Klown Pie. This was a particularly dangerous threat, as this meant losing most/all of your equipment slots (thus losing resistances, willpower, and AC).
• Prior to 0.27, ancient liches had 5 possible spellbooks; with the possibility of summoning, various hexes, and a variety of powerful conjurations. In 0.27, their spellbook list was consolidated, and dread liches were introduced as dedicated summoners.
• Prior to 0.26, the translocations restrictions caused by the Orb of Zot were stricter; it prevented you from controlling scrolls of blinking / Controlled Blink, and fully disabled Passage of Golubria.
• Prior to 0.23, the trap composition of Zot:5 was significantly different. In general, traps were hidden on the ground. Dispersal traps did not exist.

Previously, monsters could activate the teleport traps when out of LOS. If you woke up a monster inside the lungs, they could activate a teleport trap and be sent outside the lungs. Therefore, you could stay outside and deal with a slow stream of teleported mobs (rather than the whole lung at a time).

Also, Killer Klowns did not have Throw Klown Pie, having a special (much less threatening) melee attack instead.

• Prior to 0.19, the translocations restrictions of the Orb of Zot did not apply to the entire Realm of Zot.
• Before the removal of teleport control in 0.17, it was disabled on Zot:5
• Prior to 0.12, digging out everything outside the Orb chamber would increase the chances of landing somewhere safe after a random teleport.