Webby W (gap on the top-left)
Step through the gap and look just right of the first stone arch. A web-wrapped corpse on the ground means decoy, turn around. Empty ground there means Spider Cavern.
Nothing here = Spider CavernIn the Act 3 jungles the game hands out the quest cave, the waypoint and an empty decoy to the clearings at random. But the clearings are not identical: often you can tell the right one from the first screen after the gap, so you can turn around before wasting a full clear.
Everything here comes from the game's own map files and map generator, not from in-game testing. The screenshots are HD renders in the in-game camera, a bit brighter than the real game.
Right room or dead end?
Every picture is taken from the spot where you stand when the tell first shows up. Flip between the variants with the buttons: a solid ring is the thing to look for, a dashed ring means that spot stays empty. Colours: green = the one you want, red = decoy, blue = waypoint clearing.
Spider Forest
Every Spider Forest has 2 or 3 clearings: the Spider Cavern (Khalim's Eye), the waypoint with the Arachnid Lair, and with 3 clearings an empty decoy. Which clearing gets which is random, but the map pieces are not identical.
Nothing here = Spider Cavern
Webby EW (from the top-left gap)
Check the entrance torch. A second cocoon one tile from it means decoy. No cocoon there means Spider Cavern. A cocoon can spawn already broken (1 game in 14), but it is still there.
No cocoon = Spider Cavern
Webby E (gap on the bottom-right)
Walk in about 5 tiles and look left. A web-wrapped corpse with spider egg clusters means decoy.
Nothing here = Spider Cavern
Any clearing, deep in: the cave mouth
Nothing at the gap? This one never fails: only the Spider Cavern clearing has two lit braziers next to the cave mouth. The decoy has a pile of logs and webs in that spot.
Two lit braziers = Spider Cavern
No early tell: No early tell in Webby S, N, NW, NS and SW (from its top-left gap): cave and decoy look the same until the cave mouth, so use the brazier check. Webby EW (from the bottom-right), SW, SE and NE also differ in the tiny decoration at the foot of the entrance torch, but it is hard to read at speed.
Great Marsh
Great Marsh has no quest cave. One clearing has the waypoint, the others are dead ends with a chest, so this only matters if you want the waypoint.
Boggy E (gap on the bottom-right)
Look at the bridge over the water at the top of the screen. A fallen tree trunk means waypoint. A wooden log bridge means decoy.
Fallen tree trunk = waypoint
Boggy SE (from the bottom-right gap)
A lit torch right at the gap (and a second one further in) means waypoint. No torch there means decoy.
Lit torch at the gap = waypoint
No early tell: Boggy W, EW, S, SW, N, NW, NE and NS: no early tell, only the plants differ. The waypoint itself shows up 10-20 tiles in.
Flayer Jungle
Same deal as Spider Forest: one clearing has the Flayer Dungeon (Khalim's Brain and the Gidbinn altar), one has the waypoint with the Swampy Pit, and with 3 clearings there is an empty decoy.
Pygmy W (gap on the top-left)
Water right after the gap? A pond 2-3 tiles in means dead end (decoy or waypoint clearing). Dry ground with a low ruined wall and pink plants means Flayer Dungeon.
No pond = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy N (gap on the top-right)
Walk in a few steps. A big lily-pad pond on the left means dead end. Dry ground and a straw flayer hut straight ahead means Flayer Dungeon.
No pond = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy SW (from the top-left gap)
The Gidbinn altar on screen means Flayer Dungeon. A waypoint on screen means waypoint clearing. Neither means decoy.
Gidbinn altar = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy EW (from the top-left gap)
A lit torch right at the entrance means Flayer Dungeon. No torch means decoy. River water with a wooden walkway means waypoint clearing.
Lit torch = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy NS (from the top-right gap)
Look down-left. Ruined stone arches with a small pond means dead end. Dense trees that just keep going means Flayer Dungeon.
Trees keep going = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy NS and SW (from the bottom-left gap)
A corpse with a blood stain on the path about 6 tiles in means dead end. No corpse means Flayer Dungeon. Pygmy SW has the same tell from its bottom-left gap.
No corpse = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy SE (from the bottom-left gap)
Look up-right. A flayer camp (bloody corpses, a low wall with planks) means Flayer Dungeon. A dead tree stump and a broken arch means decoy.
Flayer camp = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy SE (from the bottom-right gap)
A small pond with planks up-left means Flayer Dungeon. Ruined walls and no planked pond means dead end.
Planked pond = Flayer Dungeon
Pygmy E (gap on the bottom-right)
A pond with a plank walkway and fresh blood up-left means Flayer Dungeon. A broken stone wall with no blood means dead end.
Pond + walkway + blood = Flayer Dungeon
No early tell: Pygmy NW, NE, S and EW (from the bottom-right gap): no early tell. Once you are inside, the Gidbinn altar settles it.
Spider Forest tells you the Flayer Jungle clearings
Count the clearings along the strip, starting at the docks end. In Flayer Jungle the decoy sits one slot further from the docks than it did in Spider Forest (from the last slot it wraps around to the first), and the cave and the waypoint keep their order. Pick the order you saw in Spider Forest:
Spider Forest
1. Decoy 2. Cave 3. Waypoint
83% of gamesFlayer Jungle1. Dungeon 2. Decoy 3. Waypoint
docks end → far end of the strip (up-right on screen)| Spider Forest (tap one) | Flayer Jungle, most often | How often | Flayer Dungeon clearing |
|---|---|---|---|
| DungeonDecoyWaypoint | 83% | 1st (83%), else 2nd | |
| WaypointDecoyDungeon | 85% | 3rd (100%) | |
| DungeonWaypointDecoy | 84% | 1st (100%) | |
| DecoyDungeonWaypoint | 81% | 2nd (81%), else 1st | |
| WaypointDungeonDecoy | 84% | 2nd (84%), else 3rd | |
| DecoyWaypointDungeon | 83% | 3rd (83%), else 2nd |
Overall this names the Flayer Dungeon clearing right 85% of the time (a blind guess gets 36%). If Flayer Jungle has only 2 clearings it is a sure thing: cave and waypoint in Spider Forest's order.
Cheat sheet (route order)
The quick list for the whole run. Directions are on your screen (up = top of the monitor). A quarter turn goes clockwise on screen: up-right, down-right, down-left, up-left. A dead end is a room with a single opening on the automap.
| Where | Look at | It tells you | How sure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | |||
| Blood Moor | the edge you came in by | Cold Plains is at the far end of the strip. Came in on the top-right edge: go left. | 100% |
| Cold Plains | where you arrive | The waypoint is right by the entrance. | 97% |
| Cold Plains | your entry edge | Stony Field is never on it. Best first guess: the edge to your right. | 100% / 50% |
| Cold Plains | the edge the Stony Field exit is on | Black Marsh: the Tamoe exit edge. Lower Kurast: the Bazaar corner. Frigid Highlands and Frozen Tundra: which way the exit is. | 100% |
| Cold Plains | your entry edge | Dark Wood: which edge the Black Marsh exit is on. | 82% (100% after a bottom entry) |
| Cold Plains (+ Dark Wood) | your entry edge (+ Dark Wood's Black Marsh exit edge) | Act 4 Outer Steppes: which edge the Plains of Despair exit is on. | 82% (88%) |
| Stony Field | the open ground on your first screen | Cairn Stones and the passage are in the half in front of you. Follow the open ground to the Stones. | 100% / 92% |
| Underground Passage 1 | your arrival room's door | Dark Wood exit is left or right, rarely straight. Its door faces the opposite way to yours; take the farthest dead end like that. | 87% / 99% |
| Dark Wood | the passage exit | Inifuss Tree and the Black Marsh exit are in the lower half of the screen; Black Marsh never on the passage exit's edge. | 89% / 75% |
| Black Marsh | your entry edge | Tamoe exit never on the bottom-left edge or your entry edge. Came in on the top-right edge: Tamoe is top-left. | 100% |
| Tamoe Highland | - | Monastery Gate is always on the top-right edge. | 100% |
| Jail 1 | your arrival room's door | Waypoint door = a quarter turn from yours, stairs door = a half turn. Stairs = the farthest dead end like that. | 100% / 94% |
| Jail 2 / Jail 3 | your arrival room's door | Jail 2 stairs: a half turn. Jail 3 Inner Cloister: a quarter turn. Both the farthest dead end like that. | 100% / 89-91% |
| Catacombs 2 | the waypoint room's door | Stairs door = a quarter turn counter-clockwise from it; farthest dead end like that. | 100% / 88% |
| Catacombs 1 / 3 | dead ends on the automap | No door rule, but the stairs are the farthest dead end of their door type. | 93% / 84% |
| Act 2 | |||
| Rocky Waste | your entry edge | Dry Hills is never on it. Follow the open ground (2 screens). | 100% / 87% |
| Dry Hills | your entry corner | Far Oasis is never in it. Halls of the Dead: follow the open ground. | 100% / 85% |
| Halls of the Dead 1-3 | the closed side of the T-shaped entrance room | Next level and the cube chest are never to your right. Stairs door = closed side, a quarter turn counter-clockwise. | 100% |
| Far Oasis | your entry corner | Lost City is never in it. Maggot Lair: follow the open ground. | 100% / 83% |
| Maggot Lair 1-2 | your arrival room's door | Next level rarely to your left. Stairs door = a quarter turn counter-clockwise. | 92% / 100% |
| Maggot Lair 3 | - | The staff chest is up-right. | 90% |
| Lost City | - | Valley of Snakes exit is never in the bottom corner. | 100% |
| Valley of Snakes | - | Claw Viper Temple is straight ahead, about 2 screens. | 100% |
| Claw Viper Temple 1-2 | the closed side of the T-shaped entrance room | Temple 1: the way down is never to your right. Temple 2: the altar is fixed, down-left. | 98% / 100% |
| Palace Cellar 1 / 3 | - | Four-room loop. Cellar 1: waypoint in the bottom room. Cellar 3: Arcane portal in the top room. | fixed map |
| Canyon of the Magi | - | Seven tomb doors along the upper edges. The real tomb is random: use the quest-log symbol. | fixed map |
| Arcane Sanctuary | anything | Nothing predicts the Summoner's arm. | pure luck |
| Act 3 | |||
| Spider Forest | - | Cave, waypoint and the next jungle are all between up-right and right of the docks. | 100% |
| Spider Forest clearings | the first screen after the gap | Right clearing or decoy: see the tells above. | fixed per clearing |
| Spider Forest | the order of its clearings | Flayer Jungle: which clearing has the Flayer Dungeon. | 85% (100% with 2 clearings) |
| Spider Cavern | the entrance room | Take the bottom-left exit: Khalim's Eye is always in the bottom room. | fixed map |
| Great Marsh | - | Flayer Jungle is up-right. Boggy E / SE clearings: waypoint tells above. | 100% |
| Flayer Jungle | - | Lower Kurast is up-right. Flayer Dungeon is in the upper half; follow the open ground. | 100% / 76% / 80-90% |
| Flayer Jungle clearings | the first screen after the gap | Ponds, altar, torch or corpse: see the tells above. | fixed per clearing |
| Flayer Dungeon 1-2 | your arrival room's door | Stairs door = a quarter turn, and it is the only dead end facing that way. | 100% |
| Lower Kurast | the Act 1 Cold Plains exit edge | Bazaar exit at the top or the right corner. 50/50 on its own; Act 1 tells you which. | 50/50 (100% with Act 1) |
| Kurast Bazaar | your entry corner | Upper Kurast is in the opposite corner. | 100% |
| Upper Kurast | - | Causeway is in the middle of the top-right edge. | 100% |
| Causeway / Travincal | - | Travincal up-right; Durance entrance up-right, about 7 screens. | fixed map |
| Durance of Hate 1 | your arrival room's door | Level 2 is never to your right. Stairs door = a quarter turn. | 98% / 100% |
| Durance of Hate 2 | arrival or waypoint door | From the entrance: straight. From the waypoint: never right. Waypoint door = a quarter turn, stairs = a half turn. | 83% / 96.5% / 100% |
| Durance of Hate 3 | - | Mephisto is to the left, about 6 screens. | fixed map |
| Act 4 | |||
| Outer Steppes | the Act 1 Cold Plains entry edge | Plains of Despair never on the top-left (Fortress) edge, top-right half the time. Act 1 narrows it down. | 100% / 50% / 82% |
| Plains of Despair | your entry edge | City of the Damned is never on it. Izual: follow the open ground. | 100% / 84% |
| City of the Damned | - | Waypoint within 1 screen of the River stairs; the stairs follow the open ground. | 100% / 87% |
| River of Flame | - | Chaos Sanctuary is up-right. Hellforge is never in the down-left half. | 100% / 99% |
| Chaos Sanctuary | the shape of each arm | Which seal pops the boss. | fixed map |
| Act 5 | |||
| Bloody Foothills | - | Frigid Highlands is straight left along the strip. | 100% |
| Frigid Highlands | the Act 1 Cold Plains exit edge | Waypoint at the entrance. Arreat Plateau up-left or up-right: 50/50 on its own, Act 1 tells you which. | 100% with Act 1 |
| Arreat Plateau | the Act 4 Plains exit edge (+ Cold Plains entry edge) | Crystalline Passage up-left or up-right. | 76% (94%) |
| Crystalline Passage | arrival or waypoint door | From the waypoint: Glacial Trail never left. From the entrance: rarely right. Exit door = a quarter turn from yours. | 98.5% / 82% / 100% |
| Glacial Trail | arrival or waypoint door | From the waypoint: Frozen Tundra straight. From the entrance: rarely right. Exit door = a quarter turn. | 79% / 86% / 100% |
| Frozen Tundra | the way the open ground runs | Ancients' Way is at that end. | 100% |
| Ancients' Way | arrival or waypoint door | From the waypoint: Summit straight or right. From the entrance: rarely right. Summit door = a quarter turn. | 97% / 82.5% / 100% |
| Worldstone Keep 1 / 3 | dead ends on the automap | No direction rule; the stairs are the farthest dead end of their door type. | 94% |
| Worldstone Keep 2 | the waypoint room's door | Level 3 straight or right, never left. Stairs door = a quarter turn counter-clockwise. | 94% / 100% |
| Anywhere | |||
| Any maze or jungle | the room just before a dead end | Nothing: its look is random, real stairs and decoys get the same mix. | tested |
Want everything else? You can read the full AI report (yes, AI slop). It may contain errors or things that were already known.