Shocking sphere - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: variant stuff

2026-06-17T15:40:53Z

variant stuff

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ header

2026-06-17T15:21:44Z

‎Strategy: header

Umbire the Phantom: missed a few bits

2026-06-17T15:17:57Z

missed a few bits

Umbire the Phantom: knock out nh5 here too

2026-06-17T15:13:15Z

knock out nh5 here too

Umbire the Phantom: pothole, etc.

2026-05-18T21:40:29Z

pothole, etc.

Ray Chason: Update difficulty

2026-05-14T03:05:17Z

Update difficulty

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ vegepyg

2026-02-01T20:15:33Z

‎dNetHack: vegepyg

Umbire the Phantom: /* SlashTHEM */ word choice

2025-12-27T14:18:44Z

‎SlashTHEM: word choice

Umbire the Phantom: /* dNetHack */ elder eye

2025-12-26T23:07:36Z

‎dNetHack: elder eye

Umbire the Phantom: upcoming

2025-12-26T22:51:06Z

upcoming

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 ==Variants==
 ===dNetHack===
 In [[dNetHack]], [[notdNetHack]] and [[notnotdNetHack]], shocking spheres have an [[on-death explosion]] similar to [[gas spore]]s, covering a 3x3 area centered on it that can destroy rings and sap wand charges from the open inventories of anyone caught in the blast&mdash;shock resistance blocks HP damage from the explosion, and extrinsic shock resistance also prevents item damage.
@@ Line 55: / Line 60: @@
 Shocking spheres may be generated in [[Law quest (dNetHack)|the Lawful Quest]], where they will appear on the Paths of Law and within the Arcadian Tower if [[Oona]]'s elemental affinity is lightning. The [[summon sphere]] [[dNetHack monster spells|monster spell]] can summon shocking spheres, and will always do so when cast by a [[vegepygmy shaman]].
 ===SpliceHack===
-In [[SpliceHack]], [[reading]] a [[scroll of elementalism]] while [[confused]] has a {{frac|4}} chance of summoning flaming sphere, which are tame if the scroll was blessed and read by a hero and will otherwise be hostile.
+In [[SpliceHack]], [[reading]] a [[scroll of elementalism]] while [[confused]] has a {{frac|4}} chance of summoning flaming sphere, which are tame if the scroll was blessed and read by a hero and will otherwise be hostile. This also applies to [[Hack'EM]].
 ===EvilHack===

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:21, 17 June 2026
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	==Strategy==		==Strategy==
		+	{{recent\|NetHack 5.0.0\|Explosion attack changes and item destruction refactoring have significant ramifications.}}
	Shocking spheres are the most annoying of the elemental spheres to deal with, with the destruction of rings and wands making them priority targets for disposal. They also have the same movement [[speed]] of 13 that makes them faster than an unhasted hero, and pets that attack shocking spheres will likely trigger the explosion themselves and catch you or other pets and monsters in the crossfire. While [[invisibility]] and [[Displacement (property)\|displacement]] can fool a shocking sphere into exploding prematurely, there is a chance the hero may still be caught in the explosion.		Shocking spheres are the most annoying of the elemental spheres to deal with, with the destruction of rings and wands making them priority targets for disposal. They also have the same movement [[speed]] of 13 that makes them faster than an unhasted hero, and pets that attack shocking spheres will likely trigger the explosion themselves and catch you or other pets and monsters in the crossfire. While [[invisibility]] and [[Displacement (property)\|displacement]] can fool a shocking sphere into exploding prematurely, there is a chance the hero may still be caught in the explosion.

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 A shocking sphere has a shocking [[explosion attack]] that causes them to self-destruct and cover a 3x3 square radius centered on their position, which deals 4-24 base damage to a [[hero]] or any other monsters caught in the explosion:{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|1618-L1622|nethack=5.0.0}} this has a chance of destroying [[ring]]s and [[wand]]s in the inventory of anyone caught in the blast, with the amount of items affected being equal to {{frac|5}} of the shock damage that was dealt&mdash;rings that are [[chargeable]] have a {{frac|2|3}} chance of being charged rather than destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5868-L5871|nethack=5.0.0|comment=rings charging from shock damage}} A hero or monster with a source of extrinsic [[shock resistance]] has a {{frac|99|100}} chance per item of preventing their rings and wands from being destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5685-L5689|nethack=5.0.0|name="prot_item"|comment=protection via extrinsic resistances}} Shocking spheres possess shock resistance.
 ==Generation==
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 Dropping and/or stashing rings and wands may not be as ideal for preparing to handle approaching shocking spheres, compared to doing so with vulnerable items for their other elemental counterparts. Sources of extrinsic shock resistance are also somewhat rarer compared to [[fire resistance]] and [[cold resistance]]: the [[ring of shock resistance]] and particularly [[blue dragon scale mail]] are the best items for mitigating the shocking sphere's destructive abilities, with the ring itself being immune to shock damage, and [[worn]] [[gloves]] that are not [[metallic]] (i.e. any gloves other than [[gauntlets of power]]) will protect the rings worn underneath them.<ref name="prot_item"/>{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5863-L5867|nethack=5.0.0|comment=ring protection from shock damage}}
-As with other spheres, shocking spheres have [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and are vulnerable to both [[poisoned weapon]] damage as well as most forms of magic, e.g. a [[wand of sleep]] to immobilize them. [[Cancellation]] that hits through their mediocre 4 [[AC]] will reliably disable their explosive abilities and render them harmless, and it may well be worth spending a [[genocide]] on them as a preventative measure or if all else fails. Similarly, try to keep shocking spheres away from [[leprechaun hall]]s, [[treasure zoo]]s and similar rooms of monsters that you do not want awakened, and if a zoo contains a shocking sphere, try to save it for last if possible&mdash;[[stealth]] can be a useful aid for both purposes, though it will not always prevent sleeping monsters from awakening.
+As with other spheres, shocking spheres have [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and are vulnerable to both [[poisoned weapon]] damage as well as most forms of magic, such as a [[zapped]] [[wand of sleep]] to immobilize them. [[Cancellation]] that hits through their mediocre 4 [[AC]] will reliably disable their explosive abilities and render them harmless, and it may well be worth spending a [[genocide]] on them as a preventative measure or if all else fails. Similarly, try to keep shocking spheres away from [[leprechaun hall]]s, [[treasure zoo]]s and similar rooms of monsters that you do not want awakened, and if a zoo contains a shocking sphere, try to save it for last if possible&mdash;[[stealth]] can be a useful aid for both purposes, though it will not always prevent sleeping monsters from awakening.
 ==History==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
   |resistances conveyed=[[shock resistance]]
   |attributes={{attributes|A shocking sphere|nocorpse=1|fly=1|breathless=1|nolimbs=1|nohead=1|mindless=1|hostile=1|neuter=1|infravisible=1|light=1}}
-  |reference=[https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/blob/NetHack-3.6.7_Released/src/monst.c#L329 NetHack 3.6.7 - src/monst.c, line 329]
+  |reference=[https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/blob/NetHack-5.0.0_Released/include/monsters.h#L358 NetHack 5.0.0 - include/monsters.h, line 358]
 }}
 A '''shocking sphere''', {{monsym|shocking sphere}}, is a type of [[monster]] that appears in ''[[NetHack]]''. The shocking sphere is a [[sphere]] monster that has an affinity to [[electricity]], and [[Light source|emits light]] in a 1-square radius around itself.
-Shocking spheres have a shocking [[explosion attack]] that causes them to self-destruct and blast a single target for 4-24 base damage, which has a [[dexterity]]-based chance of dealing reduced damage and is completely blocked by [[shock resistance]].{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2068-L2071|nethack=3.6.7}}{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|2080-L2089|nethack=3.6.7}} Shocking spheres possess shock resistance.
+A shocking sphere has a shocking [[explosion attack]] that causes them to self-destruct and cover a 3x3 square radius centered on their position, which deals 4-24 base damage to a [[hero]] or any other monsters caught in the explosion:{{refsrc|src/mhitu.c|1618-L1622|nethack=5.0.0}} this has a chance of destroying [[ring]]s and [[wand]]s in the inventory of anyone caught in the blast, with the amount of items affected being equal to {{frac|5}} of the shock damage that was dealt&mdash;rings that are [[chargeable]] have a {{frac|2|3}} chance of being charged rather than destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5868-L5871|nethack=5.0.0|comment=rings charging from shock damage}} A hero or monster with a source of extrinsic [[shock resistance]] has a {{frac|99|100}} chance per item of preventing their rings and wands from being destroyed.{{refsrc|src/zap.c|5685-L5689|nethack=5.0.0|name="prot_item"|comment=protection via extrinsic resistances}} Shocking spheres possess shock resistance.
 ==Generation==
@@ Line 35: / Line 29: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Shocking spheres are fairly annoying to deal with, though thankfully their explosion attack cannot destroy any of the hero's inventory. Additionally, pets that attack shocking spheres will likely take the explosion in your stead, and shock resistance completely trivializes them (though it is slightly more rare. Shocking spheres can also be made to miss if you are [[invisible]] or have [[Displacement (property)|displacement]], and their nonexistent [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] means they can easily be dropped by [[poison]]&mdash;they can also be put to sleep or otherwise immobilized, allowing a hero or pet to kill them before they explode.
+Shocking spheres are the most annoying of the elemental spheres to deal with, with the destruction of rings and wands making them priority targets for disposal. They also have the same movement [[speed]] of 13 that makes them faster than an unhasted hero, and pets that attack shocking spheres will likely trigger the explosion themselves and catch you or other pets and monsters in the crossfire. While [[invisibility]] and [[Displacement (property)|displacement]] can fool a shocking sphere into exploding prematurely, there is a chance the hero may still be caught in the explosion.
-Be sure to keep shocking spheres away from [[leprechaun hall]]s, [[treasure zoo]]s and similar rooms that you do not want awakened if possible, and if a zoo contains a shocking sphere, try to save it for last&mdash;[[stealth]] is valuable for both purposes.
+As with other spheres, shocking spheres have [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] and are vulnerable to both [[poisoned weapon]] damage as well as most forms of magic, e.g. a [[wand of sleep]] to immobilize them. [[Cancellation]] that hits through their mediocre 4 [[AC]] will reliably disable their explosive abilities and render them harmless, and it may well be worth spending a [[genocide]] on them as a preventative measure or if all else fails. Similarly, try to keep shocking spheres away from [[leprechaun hall]]s, [[treasure zoo]]s and similar rooms of monsters that you do not want awakened, and if a zoo contains a shocking sphere, try to save it for last if possible&mdash;[[stealth]] can be a useful aid for both purposes, though it will not always prevent sleeping monsters from awakening.
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Shocking spheres are a tempting and often valuable target for [[genocide]], due to the increased danger they pose to a hero's inventory.
+==History==
-Per {{commit|67295bc706525934c461a0d940ca0da39fc302d2}}, wearing non-[[metallic]] [[gloves]] will always protect worn [[ring]]s from shock damage. Per {{commit|9942b65df78dd55a7806ec6ea2821693a7131c97}}, extrinsic shock resistance protects the target's open inventory from damage {{frac|99|100}} of the time, making sources such as the [[ring of shock resistance]] and [[blue dragon scale mail]] much more valuable.}}
+The shocking sphere's current behavior is introduced in [[NetHack 5.0.0]] via {{commit|6b60618e0e662b35b8e9c31dc9c4baee5ae70932}} and {{commit|eb22a81088c220ba18c26a872d9087035c5c444d}}, with the explosion behavior adapted from [[xNetHack]], while its monster difficulty rating is increased to 9&mdash;NetHack 5.0.0 fixes discrepancies related to the difficulty ratings for spheres via {{commit|c38023432581178b3dabf1f492ec04e3dd427b18}}.
-==History==
+Shocking spheres are also the subject of other [[software bug]] fixes and adjustments over several versions:
-From NetHack 3.3.0 to NetHack 3.4.3, including some variants based on those versions, [[flaming sphere]]s and shocking spheres are capable of picking up items where a freezing sphere cannot, though due to their weight they will only attempt to pick up very light ones such as singular [[gold pieces]] (usually only while tame). This is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] via {{commit|cbab68a4bb0abfa23e695d48bd17806c85e5974f}} so that spheres will properly not attempt to pick up items.
+* In versions up to [[NetHack 3.4.3]], [[flaming sphere]]s and shocking spheres are capable of picking up items where a [[freezing sphere]] cannot, though due to their weight they will only attempt to pick up very light ones (such as singular [[gold pieces]]) and will usually only do so while tame. This is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] via {{commit|cbab68a4bb0abfa23e695d48bd17806c85e5974f}} so that all three spheres will properly avoid picking up items.
 ==Variants==
@@ Line 75: / Line 72: @@
 ==References==
 <references/>
-{{nethack-367}}
+{{nethack-500}}
 [[Category:Monsters]]

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Shocking spheres are fairly annoying to deal with, though thankfully their explosion attack cannot destroy any of the hero's inventory. Additionally, pets that attack shocking spheres will likely take the explosion in your stead, and shock resistance completely trivializes them (though it is slightly more rare. Shocking spheres can also be made to miss if you are [[invisible]] or [[displaced]], and their nonexistent [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] means they can easily be dropped by [[poison]]&mdash;they can also be put to sleep or otherwise immobilized, allowing a hero or pet to kill them before they explode.
+Shocking spheres are fairly annoying to deal with, though thankfully their explosion attack cannot destroy any of the hero's inventory. Additionally, pets that attack shocking spheres will likely take the explosion in your stead, and shock resistance completely trivializes them (though it is slightly more rare. Shocking spheres can also be made to miss if you are [[invisible]] or have [[Displacement (property)|displacement]], and their nonexistent [[Magic resistance (monster)|MR score]] means they can easily be dropped by [[poison]]&mdash;they can also be put to sleep or otherwise immobilized, allowing a hero or pet to kill them before they explode.
 Be sure to keep shocking spheres away from [[leprechaun hall]]s, [[treasure zoo]]s and similar rooms that you do not want awakened if possible, and if a zoo contains a shocking sphere, try to save it for last&mdash;[[stealth]] is valuable for both purposes.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{monster
   |name=shocking sphere
-  |difficulty=8
+  |difficulty=10
   |level=6
   |experience=91

@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 Shocking spheres can be [[Ward (dNetHack)|warded]] by the [[User:Chris/dNetHack/Elder Elemental Eye|Elder Elemental Eye]] at any level of reinforcement.
-Shocking spheres may be generated in [[Law quest (dNetHack)|the Lawful Quest]], where they will appear on the Paths of Law and within the Arcadian Tower if [[Oona]]'s elemental affinity is lightning. The [[summon sphere]] [[dNetHack monster spells|monster spell]] can summon shocking spheres.
+Shocking spheres may be generated in [[Law quest (dNetHack)|the Lawful Quest]], where they will appear on the Paths of Law and within the Arcadian Tower if [[Oona]]'s elemental affinity is lightning. The [[summon sphere]] [[dNetHack monster spells|monster spell]] can summon shocking spheres, and will always do so when cast by a [[vegepygmy shaman]].
 ===xNetHack===

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 ===SlashTHEM===
-In [[SlashTHEM]], eight shocking spheres are generated on the goal level of the [[Acid Mage quest]], where they are placed adjacent to the [[Lightningrod]] at level creation.
+In [[SlashTHEM]], eight shocking spheres are generated on the goal level of the [[Acid Mage quest]], where they are placed adjacent to the [[Lightningrod]] during level creation.
 ==Encyclopedia entry==

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 Per {{commit|eb22a81088c220ba18c26a872d9087035c5c444d}}, item destruction caused by shock damage is dependent on the amount of damage dealt, with the amount of items in open inventory that are affected being equal to {{frac|5}} of the shock damage inflicted. Per {{commit|ef6a88e1e10287c7e09fb8f7f5cf97bc877103d2}}, chargeable rings affected by a shocking sphere explosion may be [[charged]] rather than destroyed.
-Per {{commit|0eadf8dfe1dac951a94225831f099de395e56b27}}, pets and other monsters can gain intrinsics from killing monsters using [[digestion attack]]s, allowing a monster to gain shock resistance by digesting a shocking sphere. Per {{commit|c78e7af01378d5a54a080c5e5a9ef9f454f6b83f}}, this also applies to a hero polymorphed into a monster with a digesting attack.}}
+Per {{commit|0eadf8dfe1dac951a94225831f099de395e56b27}} and {{commit|b25961fb131944353070be27a92accbd662673a0}}, pets and other monsters can gain intrinsics from killing monsters using [[digestion attack]]s, allowing a monster to gain shock resistance by digesting a shocking sphere. Per {{commit|c78e7af01378d5a54a080c5e5a9ef9f454f6b83f}}, this also applies to a hero polymorphed into a monster with a digesting attack.}}
 ==Generation==