Traps are dastardly hazards found in various areas of the game. Some of them deal instant death. Others are harmful but not always lethal. A few are annoyances which can put you at the mercy of other dangers.
The majority of traps can be destroyed by a Wand of Digging or a well-placed bomb.
Spikes[ | ]
Found in the Caves, Catacombs and Factory. Touching this trap from above deals instant death to the player or creature, with some exceptions.
Countermeasures
Simply walking through spikes causes no harm whatsoever.
Spike Protection gear will permanently destroy wooden spikes when the player would otherwise be impaled on them.
The Featherfall status effect will let you fall through spikes harmlessly unless you are pressing Down to fall faster. It can be obtained from drinking a Potion of Featherfall, wearing Featherfall gear, or holding on to a Chicken.
Slowly sliding down walls using the Rogue's Acrobatics skill or Climb Walls gear will let you fall through spikes harmlessly.
Bad ideas
Some things do not offer spike protection, even though it seems like they might:
- The Wildling's Bear Stomp ability.
Special interactions
The Goblin King destroys spikes as if he wore Spike Protection gear. Other bosses except for the Rainbow Slime are entirely immune. Fox Thieves are also immune.
Arrow Traps[ | ]
Pictured: A loaded arrow trap above, and a deactivated arrow trap below.
Found in the Caves and the Forest. When an object moves within an Arrow Traps range (about six blocks right or left of the trap), it launches a single arrow and deactivates. The arrow is not affected by gravity, deals about 12 damage and applies significant knockback.
Countermeasures
It is possible to trigger an arrow trap using nearly any physical entity in the game, including creatures, dropped items, boulders, projectiles, coins, props, etc. Blood, wooden splinters and other cosmetic effects do not count.
Reflects Projectiles gear can protect the player from arrow traps.
Boulder Traps[ | ]
Found in The Caves and The Forest. This trap consists of a grey pressure plate on the ground and a hidden boulder on the ceiling straight above, held by green vines. Touching the pressure plate drops the boulder. A falling boulder deals instant death to any creature underneath, with some exceptions.
Boulders can be pushed off ledges to crush other creatures, or used as platforms. In some rooms, this occasionally necessary to reach a chest.
Countermeasures
Pressure plates can be triggered by creatures, dropped items and props, but not coins or projectiles.
With good reflexes, the player can jump before being hit by the falling boulder. Instead of instant death, the boulder will deal about 33 damage and break.
Boulder Protection gear can protect the player from falling boulders, causing them to only deal 1 damage.
Light Feet gear lets the player walk across pressure plates without triggering them.
Special interactions
Bosses only take 20 damage from falling boulders. A golem will take about 10 damage and break the boulder.
Magic Traps[ | ]
Found in the Ruins, magic traps emit faint blue particles when active. If a creature steps onto the trap, it triggers a random effect and deactivates.
Possible effects:
- Teleports the creature to another location
- Freezes the creature and deals 5 damage
- Vertically shoots a fireball (dealing about 15 damage)
Countermeasures
Corpses can trigger magic traps. Items do not.
Light Feet gear lets the player walk across magic traps without triggering them.
Recharging Arrow Traps[ | ]
Found in the Forest Temple. This variant of the Arrow Trap recharges and reactivates shortly after being triggered. It has a limitless supply of arrows.
Flame Trap[ | ]
Found in the Forest Temple. This trap rotates in a 360° circle, blowing fire in its current direction.
Pendulum[ | ]
Found in the Forest Temple. This trap swings in an 180° radius, dealing 5-10 damage on contact.
Saw blade[ | ]
Found in the Forest Temple. This trap deals around 3-5 damage on impact.
Poison Room[ | ]
Found in the Forest Temple. This traps consists of a sprinkler visible on the ceiling of a room, and two completely hidden wooden doors. When the player enters the room, the wooden doors appear, fall from the ceiling and trap the player inside, while the sprinkler quickly floods the room with poison gas.
Countermeasures
The doors can be destroyed with weapon attacks or other sources of damage. When a door is destroyed, the poison stops.
Phasing through the floor or doors is also a possibility.
Bad ideas
Triggering the trap and attempting to run out of the room before the doors fall is dangerous. The doors can crush the player, dealing 10 damage.
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Knife Traps[ | ]
Found in Catacombs. Also known as spring-loaded spike traps, these gray knives are buried into the ground. They trigger only when a player walks on top of them, as no other creature triggers the trap. The knives surge upwards after a short delay, instantly killing any unlucky creature standing above.
Countermeasures
Light Feet gear lets the player walk across knife traps without triggering them.
Spike Protection gear still causes knife traps to be activated. However, instead of 999, they will deal no damage.
Unstable Platform[ | ]
Found in the Tower. These wooden platforms begin to shake as soon as a player lands on them. After a second, the platform deactivates, sending any creature on it plummeting down. The platform reactivates after a short while. The platform automatically deactivates underwater.
Void[ | ]
In the Rift or the Tower, falling off the level results in instant death. It is also possible to fall off the Forest Temple after phasing through the floor.
Countermeasures
Death Protection gear will bring you back to solid ground after you have died. This is not always foolproof.
Unlimited Jumps gear will make it easy for you to jump back to safety.
Some other methods can help you climb back up, assuming you have good timing, good reflexes, and the right things equipped:
- Double Jump or Triple Jump gear.
- The Dash spell, assuming you have enough uses left.
- The Grappling Hook can stick to walls or ceilings. Especially useful if you've somehow managed to fall off the Tower.
- Grab Walls gear, but only in the Tower.
Featherfall will give you some extra seconds to live, granting a bigger time window for the above options. It can also give you enough time to open your inventory and grab gear you had not equipped. Don't be afraid to pause the game to locate the right item.
This also opens other possibilities:
- If you have a Scroll of Teleport in your backpack, now is the moment to use it.
- If all else fails, remember that Wand of Chaos or Scrolls of Chaos can have the same effect.
Special interactions
Swoopers forced to fall off the level (through the use of Frost Nova, for example) will fly back up.
Acid[ | ]
Found in the Factory. Acid deals a 15 damage every few seconds, which is likely to stun the player, keeping them trapped in the pool and forcing them to take further damage.
The damage dealt in this way is a unique type of elemental damage. No source of acid resistance currently exists, not even from the +1 all resistances stat boost.
Volt Traps[ | ]
Found in the Factory. Volt Traps are harmless until a bolt of electricity (originating from a Mechanical Spider or from the Rust Fiend) comes into contact with them. In those cases, they create a high, powerful and short-lasting pillar of electricity.
