Explosion attack - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2026-05-19T03:21:32Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ detail

2026-04-23T23:33:25Z

‎Strategy: detail

Umbire the Phantom: hatnote

2026-04-15T00:39:15Z

hatnote

Umbire the Phantom: lede

2026-04-15T00:38:31Z

lede

Umbire the Phantom: /* Description */ detail

2026-03-02T19:38:32Z

‎Description: detail

Umbire the Phantom: word choice

2025-12-25T02:43:38Z

word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ typos

2025-12-25T01:07:48Z

‎Strategy: typos

Umbire the Phantom: upcoming

2025-12-25T01:07:36Z

upcoming

Umbire the Phantom: strategy

2025-12-25T00:57:06Z

strategy

Umbire the Phantom: history

2025-12-25T00:52:50Z

history

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 A monster that has an explosion attack will attempt to self-destruct and direct the [[explosion]] at the square of a [[hero]] or monster, which will automatically hit if the target (or any other monster) is present at that square.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7|comment=calls <tt>explmu()</tt> function}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2038-L2139|nethack=3.6.7|comment=<tt>explmu()</tt> function}} This naturally kills or destroys the attacker in the process and creates [[noise]] that can awaken [[sleeping]] monsters in a 7-square radius{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2119|nethack=3.6.7|comment=black light is removed from the map while resolving attack effects}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2135-L2137|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;it is a distinct form of attack from the [[passive attack]]-style [[on-death explosion]] used by [[gas spore]]s that die of [[HP]] loss, which uses a 3x3 explosion centered on its square instead of a directed one.
-Since the attack uses a targeted explosion, it can be affected by [[invisibility]], [[confusion]] or [[displacement]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2048-L2052|nethack=3.6.7}} If a hero is hit by a targeted explosion that deals HP damage, they have a [[dexterity]]-based chance of taking only halved damage (rounded up) from the blast.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2081-L2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="duckblast"}} A [[cancelled]] monster will be unable to use this attack.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero or monster that resists the explosion's damage type will be completely unaffected by it.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2130|nethack=3.6.7}}
+Since the attack uses a targeted explosion, it can be affected by [[invisibility]], [[confusion]] or [[Displacement (property)|displacement]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2048-L2052|nethack=3.6.7}} If a hero is hit by a targeted explosion that deals HP damage, they have a [[dexterity]]-based chance of taking only halved damage (rounded up) from the blast.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2081-L2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="duckblast"}} A [[cancelled]] monster will be unable to use this attack.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero or monster that resists the explosion's damage type will be completely unaffected by it.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2130|nethack=3.6.7}}
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|6b60618e0e662b35b8e9c31dc9c4baee5ae70932}}, the explosion attacks of spheres use "real" 3x3 explosions of their respective elements, damaging heroes and monsters caught within the explosion range and affecting their open inventory as well as the squares themselves and any items on them (e.g. freezing spheres cooling lava and turning moats to ice, or flaming spheres melting ice and burning scrolls and books).}}

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 Directed explosion attacks can be fairly annoying to deal with, but are also rare and easy to account for&mdash;spheres can be deterred with the proper elemental resistances and do not threaten your inventory in any way, while lights can be handled by preemptively blinding yourself (e.g. with a [[blindfold]] or [[towel]]), since their attacks have no effect on a blind hero. Spheres and lights can also be confused or else fooled by displacement and invisibility, causing them to target the wrong square and usually self-destruct harmlessly.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|The changes to spheres' explosion attacks makes them much harder to deal with, to the point that their [[monster difficulty]] is raised and shocking spheres in particular are often considered worthy of [[genocide]].}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|The changes to spheres' explosion attacks makes them much harder to deal with, to the point that their [[monster difficulty]] is raised and shocking spheres in particular are often considered worthy of [[genocide]]. Their explosion attacks will also still inflict damage to adjacent monsters and heroes, even if they are fooled by invisibility or displacement.}}
 ==History==

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:39, 15 April 2026
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	{{tocright}}		{{tocright}}
		+	{{otheruses\|the attack type\|the portion of the [[source code]] that handles explosions\|explode.c}}
	An '''explosion attack''' (or simply '''explosion''') is an [[attack type]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is primarily used by [[monster]]s. The attack type is defined by the '''<tt>AT_EXPL</tt>''' flag within <tt>[[monattk.h]]</tt> in the [[source code]].{{refsrc\|include/monattk.h\|23\|nethack=3.6.7}}		An '''explosion attack''' (or simply '''explosion''') is an [[attack type]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is primarily used by [[monster]]s. The attack type is defined by the '''<tt>AT_EXPL</tt>''' flag within <tt>[[monattk.h]]</tt> in the [[source code]].{{refsrc\|include/monattk.h\|23\|nethack=3.6.7}}

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 {{tocright}}
-An '''explosion attack''' is an [[attack type]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is primarily used by [[monster]]s. The attack type is defined by the '''<tt>AT_EXPL</tt>''' flag within <tt>[[monattk.h]]</tt> in the [[source code]].{{refsrc|include/monattk.h|23|nethack=3.6.7}}
+An '''explosion attack''' (or simply '''explosion''') is an [[attack type]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]'', and is primarily used by [[monster]]s. The attack type is defined by the '''<tt>AT_EXPL</tt>''' flag within <tt>[[monattk.h]]</tt> in the [[source code]].{{refsrc|include/monattk.h|23|nethack=3.6.7}}
 ==Description==

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 A monster that has an explosion attack will attempt to self-destruct and direct the [[explosion]] at the square of a [[hero]] or monster, which will automatically hit if the target (or any other monster) is present at that square.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7|comment=calls <tt>explmu()</tt> function}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2038-L2139|nethack=3.6.7|comment=<tt>explmu()</tt> function}} This naturally kills or destroys the attacker in the process and creates [[noise]] that can awaken [[sleeping]] monsters in a 7-square radius{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2119|nethack=3.6.7|comment=black light is removed from the map while resolving attack effects}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2135-L2137|nethack=3.6.7}}&mdash;it is a distinct form of attack from the [[passive attack]]-style [[on-death explosion]] used by [[gas spore]]s that die of [[HP]] loss, which uses a 3x3 explosion centered on its square instead of a directed one.
-Since the attack uses a targeted explosion, it can be affected by [[invisibility]], [[confusion]] or [[displacement]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2048-L2052|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero hit by the attack has a [[dexterity]]-based chance of taking halved damage (rounded up) from the blast.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2081-L2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="duckblast"}} A [[cancelled]] monster will be unable to use this attack.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero or monster that resists the explosion's damage type will be completely unaffected by it.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2130|nethack=3.6.7}}
+Since the attack uses a targeted explosion, it can be affected by [[invisibility]], [[confusion]] or [[displacement]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2048-L2052|nethack=3.6.7}} If a hero is hit by a targeted explosion that deals HP damage, they have a [[dexterity]]-based chance of taking only halved damage (rounded up) from the blast.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2081-L2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="duckblast"}} A [[cancelled]] monster will be unable to use this attack.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero or monster that resists the explosion's damage type will be completely unaffected by it.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2130|nethack=3.6.7}}
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|6b60618e0e662b35b8e9c31dc9c4baee5ae70932}}, the explosion attacks of spheres use "real" 3x3 explosions of their respective elements, damaging heroes and monsters caught within the explosion range and affecting their open inventory as well as the squares themselves and any items on them (e.g. freezing spheres cooling lava and turning moats to ice, or flaming spheres melting ice and burning scrolls and books).}}

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 Since the attack uses a targeted explosion, it can be affected by [[invisibility]], [[confusion]] or [[displacement]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2048-L2052|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero hit by the attack has a [[dexterity]]-based chance of taking halved damage (rounded up) from the blast.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2081-L2083|nethack=3.6.7|name="duckblast"}} A [[cancelled]] monster will be unable to use this attack.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2045|nethack=3.6.7}} A hero or monster that resists the damage type used by the explosion will be completely unaffected.{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2130|nethack=3.6.7}}
 ===List of monsters===
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 ==Strategy==
 Directed explosion attacks can be fairly annoying to deal with, but are also rare and easy to account for&mdash;spheres can be deterred with the proper elemental resistances and do not threaten your inventory in any way, while lights can be handled by preemptively blinding yourself (e.g. with a [[blindfold]] or [[towel]]), since their attacks have no effect on a blind hero. Spheres and lights can also be confused or else fooled by displacement and invisibility, causing them to target the wrong square and usually self-destruct harmlessly.
 ==History==

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 * {{monsymlink|yellow light}} ([[blind]]){{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2096-L2108|nethack=3.6.7}}
 * {{monsymlink|black light}} ([[hallucination]]){{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2120-L2125|nethack=3.6.7}}
 ==History==