A Holy Mountain is a Biome found between each of the main areas of the game, separating the levels. They are always composed of Brickwork, which is very resilient to most digging methods, and their tops are decorated with portals which lead to the central shop area within the biome. The portals are linked to the eye structures beneath them which are normally filled with Teleportatium; if an eye is emptied or enough of another material is introduced, the corresponding portal can be deactivated.
Though there are many portals at the end of each area, they all lead to the same location, as there is only one shop zone per Holy Mountain. Entering a different portal from the same floor will not refresh the pickups or shop inventory. On occasion, the entire basin containing a portal may be submerged in Blood, Water, Toxic Sludge, or Lava.
Contents
Each Holy Mountain contains the following:
- A Full Health Regeneration
- A Spell Refresher
- Two pools of water, which can be used for washing off your cape or refilling Water potions
- A shop area where you can purchase Spells or Wands[1]
- A small enclosed room containing a Worm Crystal[2] below the shop area, which deters Worms from venturing too close to the shop zone
- An altar with a handful of Perks to choose from, alongside a Perk Reroll machine
Collapse
On the right side is a tunnel leading to the next area. Upon passing through the slanted section of the exit tunnel, the ceiling above the perk altar will collapse and physically block the passage. Red particles will appear which deal significant damage to the player if they try to re-enter the room, though these fade away after a handful of seconds. Trying to enter the Holy Mountain by any means while the curse is active will swiftly result in a death attributed to the "Holy Mountain curse".
Additionally, once the ceiling of a Holy Mountain collapses, it stops granting the ability to edit wands within.
Avoiding Collapse
This content includes possible gameplay spoilers or secrets. Tread carefully.
The collapse of the Holy Mountain is only triggered when the player crosses into the upper section of the exit tunnel. The collapse can be avoided by bypassing the trigger in one of a few ways:
- Destroying brickwork to make a passage (and thus angering the gods)
- Polymorphing yourself with any Polymorphine variant and passing through the trigger in another form
- Teleporting past it using Teleportatium or a Teleport Bolt spell
Adding a Long Distance Cast spell to a teleport wand makes exiting and entering the Holy Mountain trivial, as you can simply teleport through the dividing wall of the exit tunnel, or directly out from the bottom of one of the ponds. Exactly 3 Long Distance Cast spells and a Teleport Bolt can also be used to teleport directly into the eye above the entrance of the shop area. Utilizing the Teleportatium inside of the eye, this method allows traveling upwards to the previous biome.
Using any of these methods, it is possible to leave the Holy Mountain and return later to edit or store spells and wands.
If you choose to use the polymorph method, note that using Unstable or Chaotic Polymorphine can be dangerous, as some of the possible forms can easily kill themselves their own attacks or destroy the temple brick (especially Worm forms), thus unintentionally angering the gods. Be cautious of enemies waiting just below the exit passage, especially when using regular Polymorphine as it leaves you completely defenseless. It is possible to wait at the topmost perch in the exit tunnel until the polymorph expires, but be sure you are not within the trigger zone when the polymorph expires.
The collapse of the Holy Mountain is only triggered when the player crosses into the upper section of the exit tunnel. The collapse can be avoided by bypassing the trigger in one of a few ways:
- Destroying brickwork to make a passage (and thus angering the gods)
- Polymorphing yourself with any Polymorphine variant and passing through the trigger in another form
- Teleporting past it using Teleportatium or a Teleport Bolt spell
Adding a Long Distance Cast spell to a teleport wand makes exiting and entering the Holy Mountain trivial, as you can simply teleport through the dividing wall of the exit tunnel, or directly out from the bottom of one of the ponds. Exactly 3 Long Distance Cast spells and a Teleport Bolt can also be used to teleport directly into the eye above the entrance of the shop area. Utilizing the Teleportatium inside of the eye, this method allows traveling upwards to the previous biome.
Using any of these methods, it is possible to leave the Holy Mountain and return later to edit or store spells and wands.
If you choose to use the polymorph method, note that using Unstable or Chaotic Polymorphine can be dangerous, as some of the possible forms can easily kill themselves their own attacks or destroy the temple brick (especially Worm forms), thus unintentionally angering the gods. Be cautious of enemies waiting just below the exit passage, especially when using regular Polymorphine as it leaves you completely defenseless. It is possible to wait at the topmost perch in the exit tunnel until the polymorph expires, but be sure you are not within the trigger zone when the polymorph expires.
The collapse of the Holy Mountain is only triggered when the player crosses into the upper section of the exit tunnel. The collapse can be avoided by bypassing the trigger in one of a few ways:
- Destroying brickwork to make a passage (and thus angering the gods)
- Polymorphing yourself with any Polymorphine variant and passing through the trigger in another form
- Teleporting past it using Teleportatium or a Teleport Bolt spell
Adding a Long Distance Cast spell to a teleport wand makes exiting and entering the Holy Mountain trivial, as you can simply teleport through the dividing wall of the exit tunnel, or directly out from the bottom of one of the ponds. Exactly 3 Long Distance Cast spells and a Teleport Bolt can also be used to teleport directly into the eye above the entrance of the shop area. Utilizing the Teleportatium inside of the eye, this method allows traveling upwards to the previous biome.
Using any of these methods, it is possible to leave the Holy Mountain and return later to edit or store spells and wands.
If you choose to use the polymorph method, note that using Unstable or Chaotic Polymorphine can be dangerous, as some of the possible forms can easily kill themselves their own attacks or destroy the temple brick (especially Worm forms), thus unintentionally angering the gods. Be cautious of enemies waiting just below the exit passage, especially when using regular Polymorphine as it leaves you completely defenseless. It is possible to wait at the topmost perch in the exit tunnel until the polymorph expires, but be sure you are not within the trigger zone when the polymorph expires.
Angering the Gods
The Holy Mountain area is made of brickwork, which is resistant to explosives but can be destroyed by other means such as Acid or Worms. If the walls surrounding the inside area are damaged, the player will receive a message saying "You have angered the gods" and a hostile Stevari will spawn above the perk altar inside the damaged Holy Mountain. Once the gods are angered, a Stevari will spawn in every future Mountain in the current run. Note that this only occurs if the brickwork around the shop zone is damaged; the player (or Worms) can safely dig into the brickwork on either side of the shop with spells or acid to travel up or down levels if needed without angering the gods.
Once the gods are angered, the only way to stop future Stevari spawning is to pick up the Peace with Gods perk, which will also make any already-spawned Stevari friendly. Alternatively, a few stacks of the More Love perk will cause the spawned Stevari to be passive towards the player.
Trivia
- If the player makes it to a Mountain without killing anything directly since collapsing the previous holy mountain, a Chest will spawn on the perk altar.
- When the player picks up a perk from the perk altar, blood will flow from the glyphs adorning the altar. However, if the player didn't kill anything in the biome before the Holy Mountain, water flows instead.
- According to the files for the default translation mod, the name "Holy Mountain" is a reference to the film Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
- The Glyphs under the Portals read "Teleport".
Notes
- ↑ Typically Holy Mountain shops will contain 5 wands or 10 spells, though this amount can be increased with the Extra Item in Holy Mountains Perk.
- ↑ If the Worm Crystal in the room underneath the shop is destroyed, a message will appear saying "The worm crystal has shattered - - - You feel less safe." and the Holy Mountain will no longer be protected from worms.