Mod:Apotheosis/Creature Shift

Red Sand Reality Shifts, or simply Creature Shifts are a game mechanic that causes certain Creatures to transform (or "shift") into other creatures, permanently replacing them in the current run.

This is caused by reaching 180 seconds of the Blazed status effect by consuming Red Sand.

These shifts can be beneficial by eliminating dangerous enemies such as Korruptoitunut Nukketeatterinmestari or Wandsinarvostelija, as well as dangerous by shifting harmless creatures like Keiju into significantly more dangerous creatures. To easily trigger creature shifts anywhere, extra Red Sand can be carried anywhere in a Powder Pouch, and also multiplied by mixing the red sand with blood, which will cause the red sand to eat the blood to grow.

Behavior

Once the Blazed effect reaches 180, Red Sand Reality Shifts can take place, accompanied by an audio cue and one of six prominently displayed game messages. The resulting effect causes the targeted creature to permanently be transformed into a different creature, determined at the event of the creature shift, and persists for the remaining duration of the run.

After undergoing a shift, the visual effects will rapidly fade, but further shifts cannot occur for the next 4 minutes - in addition to a maximum of 20 shifts being able to occur within a single run. Shifting an affected creature again is possible, should the RNG gods allow.

There is no in-game method of reversing or removing the effects of a Creature Shift, other than attempting to override the effect with more Creature Shifts. Because this change is both permanent and potentially quite hazardous [for example, all the Hamis in your world may forever become Polymorph Masters], Fungal Shifts should be approached with caution.

Creature Shifts will carry over into New Game Plus.

Focusing a shift

If you place your mouse cursor over an animal during the Creature Shift, there is a 75% chance that creature will be shifted into something else.

This can be very difficult given the tripping effects occuring while trying to focus your mouse cursor on a creature, however, some creatures such as Tulikärpänen may have an emissive glow to them which will reveal their true location during the effect; you can also stand closeby to a creature as tripping effects are less extreme nearby the player.

After a shift occurs, the player will gain a new "Perk" which displays an image of what was shifted out of the world.

Bosses can never be Creature Shifted.

Tips

One strategy is to intentionally try Creature Shifting Mutamies to turn them into a more powerful creature when summoned, however, this does come with the downside that they won't expire over time when their charmed effect from magical mud wears off.