Disintegration resistance
Disintegration resistance is a resistance property that occurs in NetHack, and protects against the effects of disintegration.
Description
A hero or monster that possesses disintegration resistance is completely immune to the breath weapon of a black dragon and the wide-angle disintegration beam of an angry god, and the property also protects the target's worn shield, cloak, body armor, and shirt from the effects of disintegration rays.[1][2]
Disintegration resistance for the hero can only be obtained through the following methods:
- Eating the corpse or tin of a black dragon (guaranteed) or the Chromatic Dragon (1⁄6 chance or ~16.67%) to gain the intrinsic
- Wearing black dragon scales or black dragon scale mail for the extrinsic
- Polymorphing into a monster with intrinsic disintegration resistance
List of monsters
The following monsters have disintegration resistance:
- v energy vortex
- both y lights
- both ghosts
- D baby black dragon
- D black dragon
- D Chromatic Dragon
The Riders are not formally immune to disintegration, but attempting to disintegrate any of them will cause them to immediately re-form with full HP.[3]
Strategy
The most obvious reason to obtain disintegration resistance is to prevent instadeaths from disintegration. In practice, though, this can be achieved by obtaining reflection (which also completely protects against disintegration breath) and being careful not to anger the gods. However, it is sometimes still a good idea to seek the intrinsic if possible, in case a black dragon attacks you while you are nurse dancing or polymorphing yourself. Genocide of black dragons can also possibly circumvent the need for disintegration resistance entirely.
History
Disintegration resistance first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Messages
- You feel very firm.
- You gained disintegration resistance from eating an appropriate corpse.
- You feel totally together, man.
- As above, while hallucinating.
- You are not disintegrated.
- You were hit by a blast of disintegration, but remained unaffected due to disintegration resistance.
- You bask in its <black> glow for a minute...
- You were hit by a wide-angle disintegration beam that did not kill you, possibly due to disintegration resistance.
- A wide-angle disintegration beam aimed at you hits <the monster>!
- <The monster> seems unaffected.
- A monster engulfing you was hit by a god's wide-angle disintegration beam, and survived due to disintegration resistance.
- You <are/were> protected from disintegration.
- You have disintegration as viewed via enlightenment or end-of-game reporting.
Variants
Some variants of NetHack introduce additional sources of disintegration resistance and additional monsters that possess the property.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the following monsters are given disintegration resistance:
UnNetHack
In UnNetHack, the following monsters are given disintegration resistance:
- A weeping angel
- A weeping archangel
- D chromatic dragon
- R disintegrator
- ' crystal ice golem
- h Cthulhu
- ` Punisher
dNetHack
In dNetHack, Monks obtain disintegration resistance by reaching experience level 25.
The following monsters are given disintegration resistance:
- e pursuer
- e vexing orb
- e flaming orb
- e aphanactonan audient
- e aphanactonan assessor
- q deep dweller
- z ammit
- 7 Poro Aulon
- 7 Astaphaios
- 9 Monadic Deva
- 9 dancing blade
- 9 Mahadeva
- A weeping angel
- A Keto
- 7 god
- w wide-clubbed tentacle
- H blasphemous lurker
- H blasphemous hand
- K binah sephirah
- U Grue
- Z dread seraph
- " Adamach
- . garo
- . being of Ib
- . priest of Ib
- . garo master
- broken shadow
- v hateful whispers
- & Pale Night
- & Asmodeus
- & Obox-ob
- & Lamashtu
- & Demogorgon
- @ Eclavdra
- @ Hippocrates
- h Shuushar the Enlightened
- @ Grand Master
- C parasitized embraced alider
- h clairvoyant changed
- D Platinum Dragon
- @ Seyll Auzkovyn
- @ Daruth Xaxox
- @ Blibdoolpoolp, graven-into-flesh
- @ Master Kaen
- ; Watcher in the Water
- W Vechernyaya the Sun's Grave-keeper
- . Blackbeard's Ghost
- & Chaos
- U Aspect of the Silence
- q blessed
- v thunder storm
- voice in the dark
- & Great Cthulhu
- e Axus
- AAA Oona
- C alider
- @ Sister T'eirastra
notdNetHack
In notdNetHack, in addition to dNetHack details, the etherealoid race starts with disintegration resistance.
The following monsters are given disintegration resistance:
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the following monsters are given disintegration resistance:
- e Tal'Gath
- v Antimatter vortex
- J snark
- J boojum
Disintegration resistance can be obtained from the following:
- Monks obtain disintegration resistance by reaching experience level 27.
- The Sword of Annihilation grants disintegration resistance while wielded.
- As a partial intrinsic from the corpse or tin of the following monsters:
- snarks and boojums (+5%)
- Tal'gath (+50%)
Disintegration is not an instadeath for a hero with at least 50% (1⁄2) partial disintegration resistance—while worn armor will be protected, the hero still takes significant damage unless they are fully resistant. Similarly, reflection will protect a hero or monster from disintegration rays, but without disintegration resistance they will also take significant damage. Extrinsic disintegration resistance offers complete protection.