Z is for Zootomist
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Z is for Zootomist is the Spring 2025 special challenge path, introduced on February 15th, 2025. This path adds variant rules and restrictions to an ascension run. Its description in The Bureau of Reincarnation reads "You are experimenting on familiars and choosing some to graft on to your own body."
Restrictions
- You cannot adventure in The Sea. Attempting to talk to An Old Man gives the following message:
- That shack you saw on the main map was just a picture of a shack drawn on the ground.
Class and skills
- See Zootomist.
- None of your permed skills are available.
- You do not level up from substats and cannot gain substats at all from any source.
- You also don't have a main stat, and your highest stat isn't used to calculate your level.
- You cannot join a Guild.
- You can only level up from grafting familiars to yourself, gaining one level per familiar.
- Your maximum level in this path is level 13.
- You have access to some path-specific skills after grafting familiars to certain body parts.
- You can still learn some generic skills such as those from trainers and skillbooks.
Divergences
- Your adventure begins with Zoonopeia.
- Your Campsite includes a link to Your Zootomy Laboratory alongside your usual stuff.
- After freeing the king choose a class in We'll Return to Our Home, Bathed in Rays of Gold.
- After dropping the path choose a class in ???.
Grafting
In your lab, you can graft familiars to your body parts if they have enough experience.
- The first time you graft something to your head, shoulders, or buttocks, you unlock an intrinsic that holds your passive buffs. Further grafts to these sections add to the intrinsic.
- The nipples hold two separate but similar sets of potentially powerful buffs that also might make you level up your familiars faster
- The right nipple gets combat+ in its buffs, while the left nipple gets combat- in its pool of buffs
- The feet give useful skills including pseudo-olfaction, banishing, "item loosening" (pickpocket), free fights, and instant kill yellow rays. Some of these skills can incur varying turns of Everything Looks Yellow / Blue.
- The hands give a combat skill that might deal elemental damage and might delevel.
The first familiar you graft must be a least level 3, then for the next level the familar needs to be at least level 4, and so on. Think of it as the familiars leveling up on your behalf.
When the 11th and final familiar is grafted, you jump from level 11 to level 13. You therefore need at least 814 total familiar experience to beat the path.
Once grafted, familiars cannot be ungrafted and are unavailable for the rest of the path.
Trying to use the hatchling of a familiar already grafted to you produces the following message:
- You already grafted one of those familiars! You can get it back when the council is done with you.
If you graft an active familiar that's holding familiar equipment, it should unequip automatically. If you graft a non-active familiar that's holding familiar equipment, it might be grafted while holding the equipment - in that case, you can go to the bottom of your Terrarium and unequip their item from there if you need it.
Specimen Preparation Bench
Your lab contains a device that gives 20 experience to your active familiar. The amount of times you can use the bench per ascension starts at 1 and increases by 1 per normal run and by 2 per Hardcore run. The usage amount caps at 11 times, or 220 experience.
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Strategy
General
- Leveling up in this path is dependent solely on how much familiar experience gained, and so progress and strategies will revolve around your ability to gain familiar experience.
- The nipple skills in low progression runs should probably be used for more familiar experience. As you gain more starting famxp from progression, you might consider choosing other options, particularly with the right nipple.
- Before entering the path, it's worth it to collect some familiars beforehand instead of having to obtain them in-run.
- In addition to the 11 familiars used for grafting, be sure to have some extra familiars for non-grafted normal use.
- Don't worry too much about the base stats from grafting; if you graft a lot then you should have more than enough to equip whatever you need.
Grafting Strategy
You can see a list of familiar graft effects at loathers.net. Here are some suggestions:
Head / Shoulders / Buttocks:
- Mechanical Songbird : the largest passive increase to item drops available to players (so far), with a 35% item drop bonus, along with +150% combat initiative and 30% meat drop bonus. The familiar is a bit expensive, though.
- Autonomous Disco Ball / Scary Death Orb : the second largest item drop boost at 25%.
- Smiling Rat / Jumpsuited Hound Dog / Baby Z-Rex : the biggest passive meat drop bonus available at 65%, along with 15% item drop and 50% initiative.
- Exotic Parrot : +10 Prismatic Damage (might help for some quests), +45% meat, +15% item drop, and +100% combat initiative.
Left Nipple:
- Stab Bat : It gives +5 familiar weight, +1 fam experience per combat, +30% item drops, -combat, and +50% combat initiative. It's quite a lot of useful buffs in one.
- Scary Death Orb : if you want double -combat instead
Right Nipple:
- Killer Bee / Oily Woim : A source of +1 famxp / combat from the left nipple slot that doesn't affect combat rate.
- Killer Bee has better other enchantments, +150% combat init (Oily Woim has +50% potion drop, which is niche).
- Mosquito : +1 famxp / combat, +combat, and +150% combat init
- Helix Fossil : +10 familiar weight, +50% muscle, and +4 Stench resist
- Baby Gravy Fairy : +10 familiar weight, +combat and +50% init, +50% mysticality, +45% moxie.
- Elemental gravy fairies have extra buffs over this.
- Stinky Gravy Fairy has double +combat.
- Sleazy Gravy Fairy has +30% meat drop, +50% potion drop.
- Flaming Gravy Fairy and Frozen Gravy Fairy add elemental resistance.
- Spooky Gravy Fairy is +50% damage vs ghosts. You can't win them all.
- Cocoabo is very similar to the fairies, with extra specific drops (weapons, gear, food, booze).
Left / Right Foot:
- Kicks have 6 main categories (sniff, yellow ray, banish, pickpocket, heal, stun) with 3 levels each. A familiar can provide a mixture of these (although sniff and banish are exclusive) or just the level 3 version of one.
- For each category, at least one path reward familiar provides the level 3 version.
- Level 3 YR is ridiculously powerful. A free kill yellow ray with a 31 turn cooldown.
- Provided by Quantum Entangler or path rewards Foul Ball and Defective Childrens' Stapler.
- You should probably prioritise a banish on your other foot.
- Level 3 banish has 31 turn blue cooldown, and the combat you cast it in is free, from path rewards Dire Cassava and Phantom Limb.
- MagiMechTech MicroMechaMech is a lower level banish that also pickpockets and stuns, but has a long cooldown.
- Level 3 pickpocket was nerfed shortly after release, and is not currently a good choice (from Shame Spiral or Glover).
- Level 3 sniff is given by path reward familiars Heat Wave and Observer. It's the game's most powerful sniff so far, and has no cooldown, which is quite powerful for players without other sniffs available such as Patriotic Eagle, McHugeLarge left pole or Nosy Nose. Its utility drops off rapidly the more other sniffs you have available.
- You could use a Gelatinous Cubeling for a sniff/pickpocket after getting its drops, or a Fuzzy Dice.
- Level 3 heal is given by path reward Cold Cut, and level 3 stun is given by Zapper Bug but seriously, just take the free banish (or sniff, depending on your circumstances).
Left / Right Hand:
- Consider using familiars you'll have levelled for other reasons (Gelatinous Cubeling, Reassembled Blackbird or the Burly Bodyguard which gets free XP after one combat from Avant Guard path progression.
- The elemental path familiars (Cold Cut, Heat Wave, Foul Ball, Phantom Limb, Shame Spiral give a punch that is entirely damage of their one type. This might be useful, for example using Cold Cut to reach Blech House.
Don't Graft That / Think Twice
There are some familiars you probably don't want to graft to yourself (or at least not immediately), since they might be more useful functioning as normal familiars.
Don't Graft:
- Chest Mimic : even though it (initially) has less experience to work with in this path, you should still keep it around and try to lay some eggs with it.
- Patriotic Eagle : the zone buffs are powerful and flexible (with SGEEAs), and the other two skills help you find monsters to fight, which is very needed with the lack of permed skills.
- Peace Turkey : this is likely one of your better sources of -combat, and the handful of split pea soup is always welcome.
- Any familiar you rely on for item drops, meat drops, or whatever else.
Think Twice:
- Gelatinous Cubeling : At the very least get the items from the Cubeling first.
- Nosy Nose : It might be a source of pseudo-olfaction that you need.
- Reassembled Blackbird / Reconstituted Crow : Wait until you reach the Black Market.
- Purse Rat : a precious source of ML+ in-path, don't graft it if you still need it for quests
- Exotic Parrot : if you need the Elemental resistance more than the graft effect, then hold on to it.
Astral gear and consumables
- The astral belt is noteworthy due to less options for ML+ in this path - while the extra stats mean nothing, ML+ will still help on a few quests where more ML speeds things up.
- Don't take the astral shirt for the extra stats, since you won't benefit from it. Also, you won't start with a torso slot in this path anyway.
- The astral mask is useful as usual for the item drop bonus.
- You can use whatever astral consumable you want. If you can't level up quickly yet, the energy drinks can get you consumables earlier, while the pilsners are likely to be better for those with progression.
Moon Sign
The stat gain boost is irrelevant, so choose your sign for other reasons.
Areas:
- Degrassi Knoll - cheap desert access and cooking options.
- Little Canadia - the logging hatchet may be more appealing due to a lack of Cold damage to reach Blech House.
- The Gnomish Gnomad Camp - you can learn the gnome skills and use the Gno-Mart's items for extra buffs.
Signs:
- The Blender and The Opossum are good for their extra adventures as usual, and can help with picking up more familiar experience from fights.
- The Platypus helps some of your familiars be a bit more effective when you're still distributing fam xp and lacking in familiar levels for your normal-use familiars.
- The Marmot is a niche pick for a handful of quests that need elemental resist, which you might not have available.
IotM / IotY
- Toy Cupid bow : more familiar experience, plus an extra chance pick up item drops.
- Leprecondo : it provides a buff that gives 5 familiar experience per combat, some strong spleen items including a free run / banish item and a chained copy item (you're not using your spleen for much else, anyway), and some food and booze that you might need (since you lack the normal crafting skills)
- Apriling band helmet : the Apriling band piccolo is especially useful for leveling.
- Mayam Calendar : amongst other things, an easy source of fam xp and bridge parts.
- Sept-Ember Censer : In this path you should take a structural ember each day, since the Mmm-brr! brand mouthwash can't give stats in this path.
- Closed-circuit pay phone : Free fights to gain famxp and maybe a few free kills with every shadow brick you get.
- You could get extra bricks from the FLUDA douse or pulling Pocket Guide to Mild Evil (used).
- Bat wings : 5 free fights plus 1 extra shadow brick per shadow slab fought if you have the pay phone.
- Everfull Dart Holster : Free kills for more famxp, and some more item drop, meat drop, etc.
- Cursed monkey's paw : In addition to the usual uses, you might have to wish for effects that the grafted intrinsic doesn't cover (DA or ML+, for example), or use it to get more famxp per fight.
- Clan Photo Booth : the Sherriff set is nice for even more famxp via 3 free kills, while the fake arrow-through-the-head might save adventures via -combat. Don't forget to get your photo taken!
- A Guide to Burning Leaves : Free fights. And would you look at what that Autumnal aegis can do to Megalo-City.
- S.I.T. Course Voucher : No crafting skills, so the consumables from S.I.T. might well be the best you have.
- Black and White Apron : Once in a while, it might give a recipe involving bunny liver or centipede eggs for a fam xp boost. (The dry noodles are available from the Knob Goblin Master Chef). You also might be offered Ode to Booze (ballroom blintz).
- book of facts : Just the Facts isn't permed. In normal you may pull book of facts (dog-eared) to relearn it.
- server room key : The free fights aren't available from the permed skill. In normal you could pull an OVERCLOCK(10) rom chip to relearn it, but this is an expensive pull as the item is consumed on use. Synapse Blaster helps with elemental checks.
Rewards
- Finishing a run while it is the current special challenge path -- between February 15th, 2025 and May 14th, 2025 -- gives players 50 (in Normal) or 100 (in Hardcore) extra karma points the next time they visit Valhalla.
- Players will receive a Thwaitgold cordyceps ant statuette upon defeating the final boss.
- 11 familiar hatchlings; only one type is rewarded per player, the other 10 must be traded for from other players.
| Player ID modulus 11 | hatchling | familiar | equip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |  heat arc |
 Heat Wave Deals Hot Damage and increases your Initiative in combat |
 heat particle +10 Hot Damage, +10 Hot Spells Damage |
| 1 |  cold scrape |
 Cold Cut Deals Cold Damage and sometimes prevents enemies from attacking. |
 cold sore +10 Cold Damage, +10 Cold Spells Damage |
| 2 |  phantom digit |
 Phantom Limb Deals Spooky Damage and restores HP after combat |
 phantom brace +10 Spooky Damage, +10 Spooky Spells Damage |
| 3 |  foul line |
 Foul Ball Deals Stench Damage and augments your spells with the same |
 foul cozy +10 Stench Damage, +10 Stench Spells Damage |
| 4 |  dark manioc |
 Dire Cassava Deals Spooky Damage to enemies that damage you |
 grim cellophane Monsters will be less attracted to you. |
| 5 |  Observer source code |
 Observer Increases item drops from monsters, and unnerves them |
 rift oculus Monsters will be more attracted to you. |
| 6 |  chill gherkin |
 Cool Cucumber Heals you after combat |
 sweaty egg Regenerate 4-8 HP per adventure |
| 7 |  childrens' stapler |
 Defective Childrens' Stapler Prevents enemies from attacking you, and damages them when they try. |
 carton of extra-sharp, rusty staples Weapon Damage +10, Spell Damage +10 |
| 8 |  plover's egg |
 Glover Weakens and (repeatedly) scratches your enemy |
 glover liners +10% Pickpocket Chance |
| 9 |  electric flyswatter |
 Zapper Bug Damages enemies and gives you back MP. Especially effective against bugs. |
 mosquito speakers +5 to Monster Level |
| 10 |  shame coil |
 Shame Spiral Deals Sleaze Damage and weakens enemies |
 stomach churner +10 Sleaze Damage, +10 Sleaze Spells Damage |
Notes
- A spreadsheet on what the familiars do for each body part is available here. Note that while the path is in-season, only familiars currently in Standard will be available for grafting until you break Ronin.
