Within the world of roguelikes that are visually simple but mechanically complex,Caves of Quddug its way to the foregroundvery quickly. The game’s lo-fi charm and wealth of possibilities has made it an indie favorite. The gameplay starts with a choice: do you play as a mutant or a true kin? True kins augment their abilities with cybernetics, while mutants become stronger — or weaker — through mutations.
Due to the kind of game Caves of Qud is, there’s really no such thing as a bad mutation. Every mutation has its pros and cons and can give rise to an absurd amount of scenarios. However, if you’re starting out, it might be best to know which mutations to keep an eye on.
8Burrowing Claws
Cost: Five Points
Burrowing Claws is a highly useful physical mutation for both combat and navigation. Claws count as a natural weapon, with the key word being ‘natural.’ Because of this, you’ll do more damage with them as your character’s strength increases. This mutation is a good choice whencreating your first character.
This mutation also lets you destroy walls, making it more convenient to move around at your own pace. It can also be a genuinely lifesaving mutation if you need to escape from enemies in a limited number of turns. Don’t run into walls too often, though; it can lead to creating paths you didn’t want.
7Two-Hearted
Cost: Three Points
Two-Hearted is a great mutation to have if you’re willing to invest in it. While it grants a relatively low toughness boost initially, it can add up to be very useful if you level it up regularly and focus on speed.
The real advantage of Two-Hearted, however, is the boost it provides to your sprinting ability. With Two-Hearted, your character can sprint 30% longer even when this mutation isn’t leveled up. That can be crucial in fight-or-flight scenarios. Also, the thought of your character having two hearts is just plain cool.
6Wings
Cost: Four Points
For experienced players, a highly useful starting mutation is Wings. This mutation allows you to fly, with your flight speed influenced by your character’s level as well as that of the mutation itself. you may navigate the overworld quickly and even skip large chunks of terrain using this ability.
There is one big disadvantage, though: while flying, your character has a chance of falling clumsily to the ground. This will make them prone, cost them a turn, and reduce their movement speed for a while.
5Beak
Cost: One Point
No, we’re not recommending this mutation just because it’s funny. The beak has a minimal starting cost, acts as a natural weapon early on, and gives your character an ego boost. More importantly, it gives you ahuge reputation boostwith birds. Also, it’s funny — that does play a role.
Unfortunately, this mutation can’t be leveled up, so its power will depend on your character’s own strength stat. Also, if you equip an item on your character’s face, this mutation won’t be able to attack because the beak is covered.
4Night Vision
Night vision acts as a cybernetic implant for true kin as well, but for mutants, it’s a low-cost starting mutation that can act as a permanent light source. This means that your character doesn’t need to carry a torch to look around, freeing up a hand slot.
It also means that your character will have more inventory space because they’re not stacking up light sources. Unfortunately, this ability can’t be leveled up to make your radius of night vision any better. Still, it’s auseful mutation for beginners.
3Flaming Ray
Between the Freezing Ray and the Flaming Ray mutation, we recommend you start with this one. The Flaming Ray allows your character to shoot fire from their hands, feet, and face — resulting in a deadly AoE attack that can set enemies on fire. It also combines with water to create steam.
Despite its high starting cost, Flaming Ray is incredibly useful for a combat-oriented mutant due to its high damage and low cooldown time. This mutation is useful for both beginners and experts due to the imaginative ways it can be used.
2Double-Muscled
In Caves of Qud, raw strength is rarely a disadvantage, so a mutation like double-muscled can only be a good thing. This mutation lives up to its name by effectively doubling your character’s strength.
Those Chris Redfield-esque biceps aren’t just good as a stat, though: your attacks have a chance of dazing enemies, forcing them to give up a few turns. Also, Double-Muscled applies toeveryarm. Imagine what you could do if you combined this mutation with Multiple Arms.
1Disintegration
It’s easy to focus only on physical mutations in Caves of Qud, but mental mutations are not to be left behind. Disintegration results in a large AoE attack that attacks enemies' weak points for massive damage. It also allows you to destroy walls, allowing you to create your own path quickly without Burrowing Claws. You’ll also notice it has a lower starting cost, though unfortunately, it doesn’t act as a natural weapon.
If you’re surrounded by enemies, Disintegration is the mutation you want. Also, it shares a name with The Cure’s best album, so we have to like it a little bit extra.
