Objects

*This article **contains spoilers** regarding the true ending of the game. Discretion is advised.*
**Objects** are entities found within zones which cannot be picked up. Some hinder the player's progress while others contain helpful items.

Several classes of objects exist: doors, containers, hazards, mechanisms, rune-specific objects, and lore objects.

## Doors

**Doors** are semi-permeable barriers which connect rooms together. Most enemies cannot see or reach the player through doors unless these doors have been opened or smashed.

There are several types of doors:

### Wooden doors

The most common type of door, wooden doors can be opened at any time using the Interact key and will automatically close after a moment if nothing is near them. Alternatively, rolling through or hitting a wooden door with any damaging attack will smash the door open, destroying the door and stunning all enemies in close proximity to the door for several seconds.

### Locked doors

Special doors with an iron lock, they require a key which need to be found. Behind these doors you may find a blueprint or some valuable items as a reward.

Since the v1.8 Bestiary update, some puzzle doors will always be open after the reward has been collected.

### Z doors

Grey and blue in appearance, Z doors cannot be smashed or opened using the Interact key. These must be unlocked by hitting a nearby switch.

### Gold doors

These thick yellow doors always block the way to an item. Each one has a Gold price associated with it based on the current zone and the kind of item it guards, and paying the toll will permanently open the door. Golden doors can also be smashed open, though doing so will  curse the player (10 points of curse for regular items, 50 points of curse for the Hunter's Grenade, which will always be found in the Specialist's Showroom, in the Prisoners' Quarters, after it's unlocked).

### Collector door

Blue in appearance, a door that blocks you from progressing past the collector if you have any unspent cells. Will automatically open if all cells are spent. Can be broken.

### Boss gates

**Boss gates** are large doors that are mostly only found in boss rooms. They close automatically when entering a boss fight and will not open again until your foe has been vanquished. They are also found near the entrance of both the Prison Depths and the Corrupted Prison, and are used to prevent the player from accessing the cursed chest at the start of the level if they initially left it behind. It is impossible to destroy these doors under any circumstances.

### Timed doors

*Main article:* Timed and Perfect Doors
**Timed doors** are located in transition areas between certain biomes, blocking the way to a treasure chamber. Not all transition areas have those.

They are only accessible to the player if they finish all previous stages within a certain period of time. Each timed door after a different stage requires a different time. The specific requirements are as follows:

#### Timed door requirements

* After Prisoners' Quarters: 2 minutes
* After Promenade of the Condemned: 8 minutes
* After Black Bridge, Nest: 15 minutes
* Insufferable Crypt to Graveyard: 19 minutes 30 seconds
* After Slumbering Sanctuary: 26 minutes

If the required time is not met, the doors lock themselves and become inaccessible.

### Perfect doors

*Main article:* Timed and Perfect Doors
**Perfect doors** are awards to the players who manage to consecutively kill a certain amount of enemies without taking any damage. They are located in transition areas between stages, next to the timed doors. Behind them are treasures chambers.

* The threshold for the Prisoners' Quarters is 30 perfect kills, all other non-boss biomes require 60 perfect kills. Boss stages require killing the boss flawlessly, whose rewards are always a Legendary item.
* Note that if the player reaches the threshold of the perfect door during the stage, they retain the qualification regardless if they take any damage later or not.

### Boss Stem Cell doors

**Boss Stem Cell doors (Boss Cell doors)** can be seen in the background and can only be accessed if the player has inoculated a sufficient number of Boss Stem Cells in the current run. The number required is displayed on the door. An accessible BSC door is indicated by a blue light highlighting the cells and a mark on top of it.

Behind these doors are usually: weapon or skill shops, food shops, treasure rooms, cells vats and certain shortcut passages to the next stages where wouldn’t be possible with no boss cell active.

The only 5 BSC door in the game is located in Throne Room, which leads to the Astrolab.

## Containers

**Containers** are objects which always contain helpful items, resources, or Pickups. While many item containers have no strings attached, some item containers are hidden behind barriers, and others may penalize the player for taking their items.

Here are all types of item containers:

### Gold ore

These floating rock-like clusters are commonly found in many stages and give various amount of gold when broken. They can be broken by hitting or by interacting with them.

### Scroll vats

**Scroll Vats** are the primary source of scrolls, magical items which improve one of the player's stats for the rest of the current run. The vat itself is a background object, but the scroll contained within can be picked up using the Interact key.

### Scroll Fragment altars

**Scroll Fragment altars** are found in most non-boss biomes, but only are active in 3BC and above. Each of them grants the player a scroll fragment. Upon collecting four scroll fragments, you can upgrade one of your three stats.

### Cell vats

**Cell Vats** are found occasionally in certain biomes, all timed door rooms and perfect door rooms, and certain BSC door rooms in some biomes. They grant players several cells, ranging from only a few, to a dozen or more.

### Chained altars

**Chained altars** offer 2 or 3 weapons or skills (or even amulets if they are accessed from challenge doors in transition areas). If the player picks one up, the other items will disappear.

### Treasure chests

**Treasure chests** contain a random item with a gear level that is one level greater than the gear level of the biome it was found in. Treasure chests are found in special treasure sections within biomes, they can also be found in certain boss cell door rooms and in challenge rifts.

However, there is a 4% chance that there will be a “trap” treasure chest which, upon being opened, will release 5 zombies and 12 flying biters, and reward 8 cells to the player.

Treasure chest ingame.
#### Challenge Rift chests

**Challenge Rift chests** are special chests found within Challenge Rifts. They always contain an amulet, a Scroll of Power and a gem. The first chest also contains the Crow's Foot blueprint. They look identical to normal chests.

### Cursed chests

**Cursed chests** contain a Scroll of Power, a gem, and a colorless item with a gear level that is 2 levels higher than the gear level of of the current biome. The colorless item will also have its quality increased to the next tier unless it is S quality, in which case there is no quality increase. They talk to the player every time they are approached, and opening one enrages the gods and curses you. The curse lasts until you kill 10 enemies and persists between stages (5 enemies when Acceptance mutation is active, or 15 with Alienation. If combined, it's 8 instead). While cursed, taking any damage instantly kills you. Multiple curses can stack on each other.

Cursed chest enticing the player to open it.
#### Chances of spawning

Cursed chests have different chances to spawn in most biomes. The actual chances are as follows:

* **All boss biomes, 5 BSC biome:** None
* **Prisoners' Quarters:** 1%
* **High Peak Castle, Derelict Distillery,** Infested Shipwreck**:** 5%
* **Prison Depths, Corrupted Prison:** 100% (only 1)
* **Ossuary, Morass of the Banished, Fractured Shrines, Slumbering Sanctuary, Graveyard, Forgotten Sepulcher:** 100% + 10% (guaranteed to spawn one, but possible to spawn another)
* **Promenade of the Condemned, Toxic Sewers, Dilapidated Arboretum, Ramparts, Ancient Sewers, Stilt Village, Clock Tower, Cavern:** 10%

#### Cursed chest dialogue

* *Hey! You there! Hit me!*
* *I've been very naughty.*
* *Hit me real HARD!*
* *I'm a naughty chest. I deserve to be punished.*
* *Ohhh.... I've got so much to give you....*
* *You know I'm hiding a lot inside...*
* *You don't want to see what I've got for you?*
* *Come on... Just a little slap...*
* *HIT ME GODDAMIT!*

### Community chests

**Community chests** are unique to Streamer Mode. They spawn multiple zombies nearby and their contents can only be accessed by destroying the chest. Viewers can also help to destroy the chest by sending messages in the Streamer’s chat.

### Wall secrets

**Wall secrets** are breakable tiles hidden within the walls or the ground of each zone which glow when the player is in close proximity. Breaking a wall secret will spawn a food item or a random gem.

### Challenge Rift runes

*Main article:* Challenge Rifts
**Challenge Rifts** are optional bonus stages which provide player Challenge Rift chests, they contain a Scroll of Power, an item, and a gem. To receive the reward player must take the risk to finish a series of platforming challenges with no enemies. They appear as small green runes underground and can be easily missed if not careful. They have a chance of 20% to spawn in all non-boss biomes.

### Legendary altars

**Legendary altars** hold powerful legendary items. These altars grant 66% damage reduction to nearby enemies (indicated by a shield icon above the enemy's head). The legendary item contained within can only be obtained when all nearby enemies have been defeated.

Legendary altars have a base 2% chance of spawning per biome, increasing by 15% for each biome where an altar did not spawn, meaning that most successful runs can expect to run into at least one of them.

## Hazards

*Main article:* Hazards
**Hazards** are substances, traps, or phenomenon placed throughout biomes which could either inflict direct damage to the player through some form of lethal contact, or pose some other danger to the player, such as falling.

While there are some forms of environmental hazards common to all biomes, most hazards are considered to be biome-specific.

## Mechanisms

**Mechanisms** are objects which can be used by the player to perform miscellaneous functions. Most mechanisms can only be used by the player, and not by enemies.

### Teleportation gates

**Teleportation gates** are objects which automatically activate when the player approaches them. When multiple gates in a stage are active, the player can interact with one of them and teleport to the other ones.

### Switches

**Switches** are big buttons which are usually linked up to metal doors or elevators and activate the associated object when stepped on.

* Switches linked up to metal doors will leave them permanently open when activated.
* Switches linked up to elevators will call them to the current height when activated.
* Activating the switch in Slumbering Sanctuary provokes the entire biome, as all doors will be opened and all petrified enemies will come alive. It also grants access to the rest of the biome.
* Switches can be activated with the Homunculus Rune.

### Elevators

**Elevators** Elevators are platforms held aloft or down by chains which allow for rapid vertical traversal. Interacting with an elevator causes it to move upward or downward. Elevators can crush enemies and the player on the way down, dealing significant damage.

### Mechanized platforms

**Mechanized platforms** are platforms that can be toggled on and off. They are toggled off when the player moves above them and toggled back after a short period of time.

During the fight against Conjunctivius, they are toggled off during tentacle phases; otherwise, they are toggled on.

### Return stones

**Return stones** are mostly found in boss cell door rooms, treasure rooms and key rooms. When used, they return the player to the entrance of the room. They give the player a force field for a few seconds when used.

### Elite monuments

**Elite monuments** are a unique form of mechanism. When the player or an entity allied with the player walks in front of an Elite monument, the monument activates, summoning an Elite enemy. Each monument can only summon one Elite enemy.

### Sepulcher lanterns

**Sepulcher lanterns** are a type of mechanism found in the Forgotten Sepulcher. There are two variants: the ones that glow yellow are permanently stable and dispel the darkness from the player so long as they are near the lantern; the ones that glow blue are lit only when player reached them, and they burn out permanently after a period of time.

### Damaged walls

**Damaged Walls** are unique to the Derelict Distillery. These walls have visible cracks and what appears to be a glowing pipe in them. they are destroyed upon contact with any exploding barrels, including ones thrown by the Infected Worker or fired from the Barrel Launcher. When destroyed they create debris that can damage enemies on the other side of the wall, similarly to Destroyable Ground.

### Breakable platforms

**Breakable platforms** are found in the Infested Shipwreck. These platforms are breakable by the attacks of certain enemies such as Mutineers. However, they cannot be broken by the player's own actions.

### Pulley swings

**Pulley swings** are unique to the Lighthouse. These will send the player vertical upwards once triggered, while the loaded other end of the rope descend, they will launch the player into the air to some height.

## Rune-specific objects

Rune-specific objects are objects which cannot be used until the player has acquired a certain Rune.

### Vine blobs

Vine blobs shoot a climbable vine up and connect the platform above. They can be activated if player possesses the Vine Rune. They usually lead to treasure areas or exits to the next stage. The second half of Promenade of the Condemned also requires the rune to be accessed.

### Teleportation tombs

Teleportation tombs always generate in pairs. Interacting with one of them while possessing the Teleportation Rune teleports the player to the other. They usually lead to treasure areas or exits to the next stage. Progressing through the Forgotten Sepulcher requires the use of this rune multiple times.

### Destroyable ground

These are a section of the ground that can be destroyed by a Dive Attack or slam attack (from hammers and similar) if the player possess the Ram Rune. They are indicated by a yellow triangle pointing downwards, and a passage or a pit can be seen beneath them. They usually lead to treasure areas or exits to the next stage, though they can often be in the middle of larger rooms that contain enemies, which provides a great ambush opportunity.

The falling debris created by destroying these floors deal high damage to enemies that are directly beneath them.

## Lore objects

In the game there are innumerable places (hidden or unhidden) that contain the Lore of the Island. These background lore objects can be interacted with and will often lead to short monologues from The Beheaded.

They usually provide information or obscure hints about the story of the island, such as the backstories of Bosses, the lore of Biomes, the Malaise, characters like The King or the mysterious figure of The Alchemist. While others also give the player random items, foods, some gold or even Blueprints.

The generation of these lore sections can be turned off in the option menu.

## Trivia

* When using a Teleportation Gate, the game will show a prompt saying "Watch out for flies when you teleport". This is a reference to a 1957 French novel named *The Fly*, which revolves around a teleportation experiment gone horribly awry after a fly intruded a terminal, causing a scientist to be genetically fused with it, eventually leading to his death.