Guide: Infinite Lifetime Spells
Infinite lifetime spells are often referred to as infiniwisps or simply wisps. They are often paired with modifiers like Boomerang and Homing to allow them to target enemies automatically and follow you autonomously. Modifiers like Drilling Shot and Piercing Shot are also often desirable, so the projectile does not expire upon touching ground nor enemies. It should be noted that Piercing Shot alone is sufficient for this, as it prevents the death of spells via terrain. However, if a trigger is used, Drilling Shot should be used to prevent the payload from being permanently lost on collision with any wall; it is also desirable as it prevents the wisp from ever getting stuck on a wall.
Note that a wisp that does damage can be extremely dangerous to the player; since Piercing Shot enables friendly fire, any damage from a wisp must come from the payload from a trigger (such as by using Add Trigger) that does not have friendly fire. However, even if damage from friendly fire is prevented, getting polymorphed will no longer protect you from the damage from the payload, resulting in immediate death (especially if any form of homing is used).
Successfully creating an infinite-lifetime spell for the first time in a session will trigger the game message The gods are very impressed with you and the accompanying achievement.
this excludes certain spells such as Rock, as its lifetime is already defaulted to -1 (see below for explanation)
Mechanics
Lifetime is given in terms of the number of frames a projectile lasts. Noita normally runs at 60fps, so a projectile with a lifetime of 1 second is defined as lasting for 60 frames. If a projectile has a lifetime of exactly -1, then it is treated as having infinite lifetime. Reducing the lifetime further instead treats the projectile as if it had a 0-frame lifetime; it will exist for a single frame then expire.
Some spells are cast with a randomized lifetime within a given range. This is beyond our control and therefore wisps are not guaranteed to spawn and only a given percentage of casts will generate one. However, it is significantly easier to modify spell lifetime towards the range at which a wisp can spawn than it is to precisely target a -1 lifetime for fixed-lifetime spells.
Limitations
Some spells have maximum lifetime restrictions. These will cause the spell to terminate forcibly after a specific timeframe, regardless of the projectile's own lifetime modifiers.
Lifetime Modifiers
The table lists all the modifiers known to affect projectile lifetimes and the value in frames they modify the lifetime by. Several modifiers may be necessary to achieve -1 lifetime.
Lifetime Up | Lifetime Down | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Modifier | Lifetime | Modifier | Lifetime | ||
Increase Lifetime | +75 | Reduce Lifetime | -42 | ||
Ping-Pong Path | +25 | Chain Spell | -30 | ||
Orbiting Arc | +25 | ||||
Spiral Arc[1] | +50 | ||||
Phasing Arc | +80 | ||||
True Orbit | +80 | ||||
Null Shot | +280 |
- ↑ Spiral arc is equivalent to any 2 Ping-Pong Path or Orbiting Arc, but is generally not preferred as an option due to how strongly it affects a projectile's path, often making it difficult to be a reliable infinite projectile.
Divide by spells, Greek letters, the copy spells dropped by Kolmisilmän Koipi, or any spell that can mimic the effect of another spell can be used to get multiple copies of a lifetime modifier.
Perks that affect lifetime
- Boomerang Spells adds 20 frames per projectile in the shot state
- (i.e. simultaneously casting 3 projectiles grants +60 lifetime)
- Bouncing Spells adds 60 frames per projectile in the shot state.
Video guides
Example wand builds
Infinite Platform or Wall
By Letaali
alternative design
Infinite Healing Bolt
Cheap Unlimited Infinite Healing Bolt
Add (Expiration) Trigger may be used instead of Add Timer. The mana cost is avoided by putting the modifiers between Add Timer and a projectile. This cannot be done with "Other" type spells like Gamma and Alpha, however, we can get around this restriction by adding a Digging Bolt or other throwaway spell in a double cast with the Gamma/Alpha. An extra Digging Bolt is added to act as the trigger's payload, which is not affected by these modifiers and therefore should not be used to cast Gamma. This allows you to infinitely cast healing bolts with infinite lifetimes, while also bringing the mana cost down significantly; without Add Timer every Healing Bolt costs 465 mana to cast, using this method brings it down to only 50-60 mana.
Putting the entire cast inside of the payload of a trigger completely removes the extra cast delay from the Drilling Shot and any Add Mana. If recharge time is further reduced by modifiers like Reduce Recharge Time or Heavy Spread, or by casting Wand Refresh at the end, you can rapid fire this wand using only two to three Add Mana (keep in mind that Wand Refresh will need an extra 20 mana). Rapid firing this wand is especially useful because getting an infinite Healing Bolt only has a 6-7% chance per cast.
Cheat Sheet
The following table details the spells that can achieve infinite lifetime, along with the minimum necessary modifiers, and their chance of achieving infinite lifetime on any given cast.
For projectiles with variable lifetimes, the base lifetime is shown alongside the minimum and maximum lifetimes. The chance of creating an infinite spell is directly correlated to how widely varied the projectile's lifetime can be. You can calculate your own solutions with this [wisp solver].
The same information is in this condensed infographic.
Table of spells
Spell | Lifetime (min) |
Lifetime (max) |
Lifetime | / | / | Chance | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summon Fly Swarm | 650 | 850 | 750 | 16 | 0.5% | ||||||
Summon Firebug Swarm | 750 | 950 | 850 | 21 | 0.5% | ||||||
Summon Wasp Swarm | 1000 | 1200 | 1100 | 21 | 5 | 0.5% | |||||
Summon Friendly Fly | 1700 | 1900 | 1800 | 41 | 0.5% | ||||||
Pollen | 650 | 850 | 750 | 16 | 0.5% | ||||||
Flock of Ducks | 200 | 400 | 300 | 5 | 0.5% | ||||||
Ball Lightning | 10 | 50 | 30 | 1 | 2.44% | ||||||
Glue Ball | 20 | 60 | 40 | 1 | 2.44% | ||||||
Giant Spitter Bolt | 22 | 47 | 35 | 1 | 5% | ||||||
Large Spitter Bolt | 18 | 42 | 30 | 1 | 5% | ||||||
Spitter Bolt | 18 | 32 | 25 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Concentrated Light | 23 | 37 | 30 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Magic Bolt | 23 | 37 | 30 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Burst of Air | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Deadly Heal | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Homebringer Teleport Bolt | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Spark Bolt | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Swapper | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Teleport Bolt | 33 | 47 | 40 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Energy Orb | 43 | 57 | 50 | 1 | 4 | 6.66% | |||||
Fireworks! | 23 | 37 | 30 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Firebomb | 63 | 77 | 70 | 1 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Summon Missile | 93 | 107 | 100 | 5 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Healing Bolt | 53 | 67 | 60 | 2 | 6.66% | ||||||
Pinpoint of Light | 83 | 97 | 90 | 3 | 6.66% | ||||||
Bubble Spark | 93 | 107 | 100 | 5 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Prickly Spore Pod | 93 | 107 | 100 | 5 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Black Hole | 113 | 127 | 120 | 4 | 6.66% | ||||||
Triplicate Bolt | 113 | 127 | 120 | 4 | 6.66% | ||||||
Return | 233 | 247 | 240 | 8 | 6.66% | ||||||
/ / Magic Missile | 353 | 367 | 360 | 12 | 6.66% | ||||||
Nuke | 353 | 367 | 360 | 12 | 6.66% | ||||||
/ / Firebolt | 493 | 507 | 500 | 12 | 6.66% | ||||||
Giga Black Hole | 493 | 507 | 500 | 12 | 6.66% | ||||||
Infestation | 593 | 607 | 600 | 21 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Arrow | 743 | 757 | 750 | 25 | 6.66% | ||||||
Bouncing Burst | 743 | 757 | 750 | 25 | 6.66% | ||||||
Energy Sphere | 743 | 757 | 750 | 25 | 6.66% | ||||||
Disc Projectile | 743 | 757 | 750 | 25 | 6.66% | ||||||
293 | 307 | 300 | 11 | 1 | 6.66% | ||||||
Summon Omega Sawblade | 493 | 507 | 500 | 12 | 6.66% | ||||||
493 | 507 | 500 | 12 | 6.66% | |||||||
Worm Launcher | 93 | 107 | 100 | 5 | 1 | 6.66% | |||||
Glittering Field | 600 | 600 | 600 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 100% | |||
Mist of Spirits | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Blood Mist | 500 | 500 | 500 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Toxic Mist | 500 | 500 | 500 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Slime Mist | 500 | 500 | 500 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Path of Dark Flame | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Spiral Shot | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Thunder Charge | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Cursed Sphere | 120 | 120 | 120 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Holy Bomb | 170 | 170 | 170 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 100% | ||||
Bomb | 180 | 180 | 180 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Meteor | 200 | 200 | 200 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Earthquake | 30 | 30 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Intense Concentrated Light | 32 | 32 | 32 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Dynamite | 50 | 50 | 50 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Glitter Bomb | 50 | 50 | 50 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Giga Death Cross | 50 | 50 | 50 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Death Cross | 68 | 68 | 68 | 7 | 3 | 100% | |||||
Fireball | 60 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Summon Rock Spirit | 60 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Tentacle | 60 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Flamethrower | 80 | 80 | 80 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Delayed Spellcast | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Luminous Drill | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Freezing Gaze | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 100% | |||||
Small Teleport Bolt | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Warp Cast | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Teleporting Cast | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Long-Distance Cast | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 100% | |||||
/ / Barrier | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Kantele / Huilu Note Spells | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Explosion of Brimstone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Explosion of Spirits | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Explosion of Poison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Explosion of Thunder | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Magical Explosion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Explosion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Chainsaw | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Chunk of Soil | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Digging Bolt | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Digging Blast | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Bomb Cart | 420 | 420 | 420 | 13 | 5 | 100% | |||||
Glowing Lance | 300 | 300 | 300 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 100% | |||
Summon Platform | 300 | 300 | 300 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 100% | |||
300 | 300 | 300 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Acid Ball | 330 | 330 | 330 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Slimeball | 330 | 330 | 330 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Expanding Sphere | 180 | 180 | 180 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||||
Plasma Beam | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Plasma Beam Cross | 100 | 100 | 100 | 3 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Chain Bolt | 44 | 44 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 100% | |||||
Plasma Cutter | 60 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Giga Holy Bomb | 260 | 260 | 260 | 8 | 1 | 100% | |||||
Iceball | 60 | 60 | 60 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 100% | ||||
Omega Black Hole | 993 | 1007 | 1000 | 21 | 4 | 6.66% | |||||
BULLET??? | 50 | 50 | 50 | 3 | 1 | 100% |