Pots are common objects found at random around the caves on any level.
They can be used to throw at enemies or traps, or smashed open for the chance to find treasure inside. Take care when doing so, for a broken pot may also be found to contain an aggressive monster instead.
In some cases, pots will be empty and yield nothing at all when destroyed, this is always the case if the pot is destroyed while hitting an enemy.
Pots do not seem to spawn in Spider Levels. Probably due to web sacs serving a similar functionality.
Contents
Pots may contain any one of the following when smashed open, but may also be empty. Lesser treasures and weaker enemies are more common than more valuable treasures and stronger enemies.
| Treasure | Chance | Monsters | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Gold Nugget | 12.8833% | Snake | 8.13741% |
| Large Gold Nugget | 7.36186% | Spider | 11.1889% |
| Large Emerald | 8.41356% | Cobra | 1.54998% |
| Large Sapphire | 6.11895% | Scorpion | 0.781094% |
| Large Ruby | 4.89516% | Alien | 0.02% |
Because of this, there's a 38.6498% of not getting anything out of a pot. Additionally, opening a pot with an explosion seems to break the pot more than once, which may yield to multiple objects spawning from the pot, this can be useful in score runs since it allows to get multiple gems from one single pot. This also applies to Spider Web Sacs in the Skin's Crawling levels and Blue Lights in The Mothership.
Monster Pots
Monsters found inside pots will be temporarily stunned when broken free, but will otherwise be unharmed, similar to how monsters are dazed by the Camera flash.
It is generally safest to break open pots by whipping them, allowing you to quickly follow up with another whip if an enemy is found inside. This is sufficient to deal with any potential monsters besides the Scorpion.
In the case of a Scorpion being found in a pot, you should immediately try to get out of its line of sight and attack it from higher ground.
Throwing an Arrow at a pot will break it open and kill anything inside at the same time, due to the arrow dealing two points of damage. A Tiki Trap will also achieve the same effect.
Alternatively, throwing a pot onto a nearby Altar will sacrifice a Scorpion before it can move, earning you some favor in the process.
Never break a pot while in contact with it, as you will immediately take damage if there is an enemy hiding inside.
Random Pots in the Daily Challenge Mode
The Daily Challenge Mode has revealed that the contents of pots can vary based on the method of their opening.
Evidence is found in these three videos: Green 9090's September 28th Daily Challenge, BaerTaffy's challenge and Northernlion's challenge.
Green opens the two adjacent pots on 1-1 simultaneously using a Rock and finds a Cobra and a Large Ruby, while Baer and Northernlion both open the pots separately with the Whip and receive the Cobra and a Spider.
Because the purpose of the Daily Challenge is to get as much score as you can, breaking pots with explosions can be a very good strategy, grouping them all together and then using a single explosion to break them all.
Pots are a common throwing item generated throughout the dungeon.
They will shatter upon being thrown and hitting an enemy or wall, or upon being dropped a significant distance. They can also be destroyed with the whip, a pistol, a machete, or a shotgun.
Contents
Pots will contain one or two of the following (or possibly nothing at all):
- This amount ranges from the smallest gold chunks (worth $100) to the most valuable Gems.
- When whipped or shot by an arrow trap, a pot may generate two items. Because of this, the maximum potential value of a broken pot is $5600 (in area 4)!
- That said, it is in your best interest to loot any and all pots that you see in the dungeon.
Throwing a pot with a spider or snake in it will cause the spider/snake to pop out unharmed. They will then behave as if you had aggravated them. Whipping a pot with an enemy in it will cause you to take damage if you are too close, but will destroy the enemy inside. The best way to deal with pots when you don't have a gun is to whip them from a distance, without touching the pot with your body (or being close to doing so) - which will both kill any enemies that might be inside and keep you from taking damage from them. While that is easy to do, keep in mind that if you're too far away when you do this, it is actually possible to break open the pot with the edge of your whip but miss the enemy produced from it!
The pot "loot table" is as follows. This list is checked twice whenever a pot is destroyed by a whip or shot by an arrow trap.
| Chance | Item | Base Value |
|---|---|---|
| 33.3% | Gold Chunk | 100 |
| 11.1% | Gold Nugget | 500 |
| 4.6% | Emerald | 800 |
| 4.2% | Sapphire | 1200 |
| 3.9% | Ruby | 1600 |
| 7.1% | Spider | |
| 3.0% | Snake | |
| 32.7% | Nothing |
| Average value of opened pots | ||
|---|---|---|
| Non-whip | Whipped | |
| Area 1 | 239 | 478 |
| Area 2 | 299 | 598 |
| Area 3 | 359 | 717 |
| Area 4 | 418 | 837 |
| Items | |
| Accessories | Bomb Paste • Book of the Dead • Cape • Climbing Gloves • Compass • Hedjet • Jetpack • Kapala • Pitcher's Mitt • Spectacles • Spike Shoes • Spring Shoes • Udjat Eye • Vlad's Amulet • Vlad's Cape |
| Equipment | Ankh • Arrow • Bombs • Parachute • Rope |
| Objects | Arrow • Big Chest • Box of Flares • Chest • Corpse • Crate • Crystal Skull • Eggplant • Flare • Golden Idol • Key • Lantern • Mattock Head • Mystery Box • Piranha Skeleton • Pot • Rock • Skull |
| Weapons | Boomerang • Bow • Camera • Crysknife • Freeze Ray • Machete • Mattock • Pistol • Plasma Cannon • Scepter • Shield • Shotgun • Web Gun • Whip |
| Miscellaneous | Royal Jelly • Teleporter • Treasure |
