Fall of the Dinosaurs
From A KoL Wiki
Fall of the Dinosaurs is the Fall 2022 special challenge path, introduced on August 15th, 2022. This path adds variant rules and restrictions to an ascension run. Its description in The Bureau of Reincarnation reads "There's been a theme park accident, and dinosaurs have eaten all of the monsters in the Kingdom!"
Restrictions
- You cannot enter The Sea:
That shack you saw on the main map was just a picture of a shack drawn on the ground.
Divergences
- Your adventure begins with "Fall of the Dinosaurs".
- Monster encounters are replaced with a dinosaur.
- These are named "<dinosaur species> that consumed a <monster name>".
- There are 9 types of dinosaurs with different stats and special properties, and a type that is chosen for a given combat is perceived to be random.
- Many combat properties, like dropped items, are unaffected by the fact that you are fighting a dino, not the monster itself. Others, like monster stats, are adjusted by the specific dino type.
- Most of the bosses are instead replaced by unique boss dinosaurs.
- On the west side of Seaside Town, instead of The Odd Jobs Board, is found a new area, "Dino World".
- Effects that would banish or attract a specific monster don't work, neither for eaten monsters nor for dinos themselves.
- For example, Bowl a Curveball will end the combat at no adventure cost. However, you can immediately encounter the dinosaur or the eaten monster again.
- Other types of queue manipulation, like Transcendent Olfaction and Be Gregarious, apparently don't work either. This isn't confirmed yet though.
- Map the Monsters, Back-Up to your Last Enemy and combat lover's locket work as expected, however. Using them will start a combat with a random dino that has eaten the desired monster.
- Skills like CHEAT CODE: Replace Enemy re-roll both the dino and its stomach contents.
- There are new ways to banish or attract a dino type, those being the dinosaur repellent and the dinosaur pheromone kit.
Dino World
- Entering Dino World takes you to the "Dinosaur Research Facility". Within are found:
- Visitor's Center. Here you can get Dinodollars for research points collected when defeating dinos with the awkward dinosaur research harness equipped.
- Game Warden's Shed. Here you can get Dinodollars for trophy items dropped by defeated dinos.
- Owner's Trailer. Here you can get Dinodollars for valuable dinosaur droppings found in a non-combat adventure in a randomly chosen location.
- Gift Shop. Here you can exchange Dinodollars for many useful items (all of them are quest items except for the stuffed dinosaur).
Dinosaurs
- primitive chicken - has 1 in all stats, can be forced by birdseed hat, does not drop any meat
- glass-shelled archelon - reflects spells
- ghostasaurus - only takes 1 dmg from physical sources
- (element) flatusaurus - deals increasingly-large amounts of the related element damage, which can be stopped with flatusaur gasmask
- spikolodon - does stinging damage on melee attacks, gives +50% item drops from the monster
- high-altitude pterodactyl - attacks with a weapon miss, gives +100% item drops from the monster, can be one-shot with a skill from pterodactyl rifle, only present in outdoor zones
- supersonic velociraptor - runs away on its first combat action making you win the combat but get no drops (so you need to get the jump and one-shot or stun it), gives +200% item drops from the monster
- kachungasaur - is much stronger and gives much more Meat
- (element) dilophosaur - attacks always hit?
In addition to the chicken-specific birdseed hat, dinosaur repellent banishes a specific dino type and dinosaur pheromone kit attracts one.
Dinosaurs are wishable and have their own factoids. The dinosaur you fight will have an empty stomach.
Bosses
- Boss Bat is replaced by two-headed pteranodon with a two-headed bat inside it.
- Knob Goblin King has been usurped by a goblodocus.
- The Bonerdagon was eaten by a T-Rex thus requiring you to fight the T-Rex who ate the Bonerdagon.
- Groar is replaced by a refrigeradon.
- Lord Spookyraven's dried up body was but jerky to a herd of well-fed microraptors.
- The Protector Spectre was laid to rest by the protoceratops spectre.
- Dr. Awkward succumbed to a suruasaurus. Mmmffmmm!
- Ed the Undying was not as clever as the seven supersonic velociraptors which have eaten him. It is not necessary to actually defeat them to defeat Ed.
- The Man was ousted by the Oligarcheopteryx.
- The Big Wisniewski was eaten by The Slackiosaurus.
- Naughty Sorceress is replaced by Naughty Saursaurus.
Lesser bosses are eaten by random normal dinosaurs.
Strategy
- Additional caution is needed when using autoattack macros or scripts, as any monster can be replaced by a dinosaur that reflects spells, is immune to weapon attacks or is immune to physical damage.
- While the combat is harder, especially with the awkward dinosaur research harness equipped, Dino DNAde™ can provide a large buff to stats for a low price (one finished quest can buy 300 turns worth of it).
- Some quests with changes or different strategies:
- All:
- For many quests where progression is advanced by winning a fight, such as the Cyrpt, a running away supersonic velociraptor advances it.
- Level 9:
- A trivial way to cap cold damage for Blech House in The Smut Orc Logging Camp is to force very weak primitive chickens with the birdseed hat.
- Level 11:
- McClusky files still drop from velociraptor devoured accountants, regardless of whether they run or are defeated.
- Bowls of scorpions are still consumed by drunk pygmies, consumeception?
- Level 12:
- Dinosaurs that ate gremlins in The Junkyard don't attack with the Yossarian's tools but the molybdenum magnet still works on them.
- Chickens can mess up your math in The Themthar Hills and with the Mysterious Island Arena sidequest, because they don't drop meat and have very low Monster Level.
- Level 13:
- There is no need for Wand of Nagamar.
- All:
Aftercore
- There are no significant aftercore differences.
- However, you do keep any items you've bought from the The Dinostaur. Dino DNAde™ gives a huge boost to all your stats, which might be useful for high-level areas like The Sea. The reflective vest and camouflage vest might also come in handy.
Text
See The Council of Loathing/Fall of the Dinosaurs
Rewards
- Finishing a Fall of the Dinosaurs run while it is the current special challenge path -- between August 15th, 2022, (and November 14, 2022????) -- gives players 50 (in Normal) or 100 (in Hardcore) extra karma points the next time they visit Valhalla.
- Players will receive a Thwaitgold mosquito-in-amber statuette upon defeating the Naughty Saursaurus.
- Players in Hardcore gain the stainless steel equipment for their class.
Notes
References
- Basically everything in this path is some kind of reference to the classic American science fiction media franchise known as Jurassic Park. See the individual pages for details.
