# Talk:Mind flayer
What exactly does the remote attack do, and what is the radius? Specifically, is it the same brain-sucking attack but at a range - and can it cause amnesia? I have a pet Master Mind Flayer, and I see him "lock on to the (monster)" but I haven't noticed what it does. Floatingeye 03:27, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

The remote sensing is not an attack, it is more like a homing signal. Mind flayers, being so senistive to thought patterns, can detect (especially telepathic) intelligent beings and will move to engage them to suck their brains. The messages are simply indicating that a suitable target has been found. You can spend forever on a level with a hostile (master) mind flayer and suffer no ill effects if you do not get close enough for them to melee you (or they pick up and use missile weapons, polearms or wands!). As to a pet mind flayer, they should ultimately follow the same rules and seek out the enemy and... gorge themselves. -- Kalon 04:03, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
That's not entirely true.  There are two separate messages a hostile (master) mind flayer might elicit.  The first simply indicates that there is a (master) mind flayer on the level and you have intrinsic telepathy.  No direct ill effects.  The second occurs when the flayer is relatively near you and actually does a small amount of damage.  When you have a tame flayer, this second type of "attack" is converted to a small healing effect. 138.67.20.187 02:00, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
Err, no healing either. A tame mind flayer has no effect at all, except to annoy the player with spurious messages. --Tjr 10:22, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
Contents

1 What gives?
2 Mind flayers and undead
3 Mind flayers surviving stoning
4 Movement
5 lurking

What gives?
I'm playing in discovery mode and today I've run into Mind Flayers for the first time. For some reason, my blessed unicorn horn does nothing to restore the lost INT? No ring of sustain ability worn. --88.112.27.29 01:18, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

It's supposed to be like that. Sorry! Fredil Yupigo 01:55, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
Seconded. The physical attack of a mind flayer literally sucks your brains out, whereas a unicorn horn removes temporary (usually magical) afflictions. -- Kalon 23:00, 19 October 2008 (UTC)
I was able to increase my Knights intelligence with blessed +0 unicorn horn to 9 after battling with mind flayer lowered it to 5. --sjs

I _think_, but I'm not totally sure, that's what happened to me too (although I had "only" lost 1 Int)... I was a little surprised that my Int recovered, and I thought I must have lost it in another way... Still, it did not cure amnesia... which was a bit more of a nuisance than a mere 1 point stat drop... - Blueshade 03:54, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
adjattrib() only adjusts A_BASE if change is positive, there's no way it'd make a negative stat change permanent.  And wizmode/wizbones testing confirms this, unihorns work fine.  At least wiztest before changing the wiki, guys... 71.147.48.178 19:14, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Mind flayers and undead
Will being polymorphed into an undead monster protect you from a mind flayer's "brain drain"? Supermagle 12:00, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
Unfortunately, no.  98.169.69.185 00:19, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Mind flayers surviving stoning
The article says: "It only takes one hit (unless the mind flayer eats a lizard corpse)."
Can they really eat lizard corpses? Also, isn't it instantly stoned upon being hit? Muad 00:26, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I've seen monsters (soldiers and some others) eat acidic / lizard corpses, so it does happen. Remember, the hero and the rest of the world take turns moving. -Tjr 12:47, 4 June 2009 (UTC)
A monster can take one turn to save itself, but for some reason doesn't simply retaliate which is why you might think there is no chance. In that turn a monster can use an inventory item or (move and) eat an acidic or lizard corpse.--PeterGFin 13:04, 19 November 2011 (UTC)

Movement
Can they fly? I was kind of expecting that a large ring of lava pools would keep some mind flayers at bay (wizard mode, of course), but they didn't seem to mind crossing it to get me. Aeronflux 00:08, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Yes. Tjr 06:51, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
lurking
i guess this is more of a general question about mob movement, but it's happening to me with a master mind flayer.
i'm on medusa's island and there're two master mind flayers.
the first is inside the opening room. i dug down and came back up so the door's still hidden. i'll deal with him later.
the other one's just standing there in the middle of the sea. if i go towards him he'll move towards me, but if i run away he won't follow. which rather undermines my "burned elbereth and stack of daggers" plan.
i was under ther impression that mobs who weren't upstairs wusses would blunder towards you if they could see you, no matter what. the elbereth would only prevent them from attacking you, not coming up to you.
what is going on? is my understanding, as ever, flawed? --194.116.198.188 12:43, 13 March 2012 (UTC)
The mind flayer should make a bee line for you no matter what. Sight doesn't matter. Perhaps things aren't as simple if you are too far away, but I've seen nothing in the code to that effect. --Tjr 10:25, 17 March 2012 (UTC)