Threat

Version 0.32: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

The threat level of a monster is a rough indicator of how difficult/dangerous a monster is. This information is accessible through the monster list at the right side of the screen, or in the monster's descriptions. When Ashenzari detects a monster, you'll see their threat level (but not the type of monster). Threat is also used for a few other mechanics throughout the game (such as tension).

The game defines four tiers of threat:

Threat level	Monster's name	Description
Trivial	Dark grey	Minor
Easy	Light grey	Low
Tough	Yellow	High
Nasty	Light red	Lethal

Formula

Threat is based off two factors: a monster's XP value, and the player's current experience points. This is affected by a species' experience aptitude and updates upon reaching a new level.

Tension = Monster's XP points / ( 1 + sqrt(Player's XP points / 30))

If Tension is less than 1, Threat = Trivial
Else if Tension is less than 6, Threat = Easy
Else if Tension is less than 33, Threat = Tough
Else, Threat = Nasty

For species with the default experience aptitude of 0, monsters with an EXP value of 6796 or more will always be labeled nasty.

History

• Prior to 0.31, the threat descriptors were as follows:

Threat level	Monster's name	Description
Trivial	Dark grey	"It looks harmless."
Easy	Light grey	"It looks easy."
Tough	Yellow	"It looks dangerous."
Nasty	Light red	"It looks extremely dangerous."