The Aether

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Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.
BiomeBannerAether.png
The background effect of the Aether.

The Aether is a mini-biome that can be found in the outer fifth of the world in the Underground or Cavern layers. It is generated once upon world creation and is always located on the same side of the world as the Jungle biome. The biome features a large pool of Shimmer in its center that is surrounded by a few Gem Trees. Faelings occasionally fly above the pool. It is usually found under the left beach or undeground jungle.

Players can also create artificial Aether biomes by placing Shimmer in the Underground or Cavern layers. An Aether biome requires at least 300 tiles of Shimmer.

While in the Aether, a unique background effect shows the star-filled sky of Space, with multicolored stars, blackening the entire background but the stars. This effect will also display over tiles that are in complete darkness.

Contents

Characters
Music

Notes

  • To create the Aether biome, the area must be at between 50 tiles below surface and 430 tiles above the bottom true world edge (i.e. most part of the underground and cavern layers) besides the Shimmer tile count limit.
  • Since Terraria's world is not dynamically updated, worlds generated pre-1.4.4 will always lack an Aether biome.
  • Before defeating the Moon Lord, the Aether is the only source of Shimmer, meaning it is finite and cannot be replenished.

Generation

Small world zones where the Aether can generate. The game will first try to generate in the green zone, then the yellow zone if that fails.
This world was generated in 1.4.4.8.1 with the seed "1.1.2.436095035".
Medium world zones where the Aether can generate. The game will first try to generate in the green zone, then the yellow zone if that fails.
This world was generated in 1.4.4.8.1 with the seed "2.1.1.748851262".
Large world zones where the Aether can generate. The game will first try to generate in the green zone, then the yellow zone if that fails.
This world was generated in 1.4.4.8.1 with the seed "3.1.1.870771933".

The Aether always generates on the same side of the world as the Jungle.

The game will generate the Aether by randomly selecting a tile in a zone (see below for technical info about this zone's size and the number of generation attempts in the zone)[1]; then check a 211×211 to 249×249 (size is determined randomly) rectangular area centered on the chosen tile for the following:[2]

If the area passes the check, then the tile is considered valid, and the Aether biome will be generated centered on the tile. Otherwise, continue the process of selecting and checking random tiles. Internally, the Aether biome will be considered a 200×200 rectangular area centered on the valid tile (the bottom-right tile of the four center tiles is the center), and no other structures will overlap with it.[1]

Zones

To better describe the size of the zone, we first set a coordinate system to describe tile location in a world: (all values below are in tiles)

  • The coordinates of the top-left tile in the world is (0,0), while the coordinates of the bottom-right tile is (mX,mY), where mX is the world width and mY is the world height (i.e. the positive direction of X and Y axis is "left to right" and "top to bottom", respectively).
  • The height of the border between Surface and Underground layers is S (Y = S).
  • Similarly, the height of the border between Underground and Cavern layers is C (Y = C).
  • When selecting a random tile (X,Y), the respective coordinate will be a random number between these values: X = [X1, X2); Y = [Y1, Y2)

The size of the first zone is determined as following:

Zone A
  • Y axis:
    • Minimum depth is Y1 = (S + C) ÷ 2 + 50, and the maximum depth is Y2 = [(mY - 250) × 2 + C] ÷ 3.
    • If Y2 is more than mY - 460, then Y2 is set to mY - 460.
    • If Y2 ≤ Y1, then Y2 is set to Y1 + 50.
  • X axis:
    • The range is X1 = 200, X2 = mX × 0.11; or X1 = mX × 0.89, X2 = mX - 200, depending on the side of the world.
      • This effectively makes the selected tile in the outer 11% of the world, and at least 200 tiles away from the world borders.

Then, randomly select a tile inside Zone A. If it failed to pass the check mentioned above, then the game will try 20000 times to find a valid tile inside another zone (Zone B):

Zone B
  • Y axis:
    • Y1 is set to (S + C) ÷ 2 + 20. Y2 is unchanged.
  • X axis:
    • X1 and X2 are unchanged.

If those attempts all failed, then the game will continue to select random tiles in another zone (Zone C), until a valid tile is found:

Zone C
  • Y axis:
    • Y1 is set to S + 120. Y2 is unchanged.
  • X axis:
    • Range is set to X1 = 200, X2 = mX × 0.2; or X1 = mX × 0.8, X2 = mX - 200, depending on the side of the world.
Celebrationmk10 Zones

In Celebrationmk10 worlds, the first scanning zone is different from other worlds. Also, in addition to the Aether biome, most water pools in this zone are replaced with Shimmer pools.

The size of the first zone (Zone A) in a Celebrationmk10 world is determined as following:

  • Y axis:
    • Minimum depth is Y1 = S + 150, and the maximum depth is Y2 = (C + S + 200) ÷ 2.
    • If Y2 ≤ Y1, then Y2 is set to Y1 + 50.
  • X axis:
    • Same as the range of Zone A in other worlds.
Process generation

After determining the zones, the game will first try 10,000 times in Zone A.

If no valid tile is found, then try another 10,000 times in Zone B.

If still no valid tile found, then continue to select random tiles in Zone C.

Tips

  • The Guide's name can be used to find the Aether's horizontal location upon world creation.
    • Note that this method may not always work, as it only calculates the position of the first generation zone (Zone A). Since the Aether cannot overlap with Ebonstone or Crimstone Blocks in regular worlds, if it fails to generate in Zone A, it will generate in another zone, rendering this method invalid.
    • If the original Guide has died, a world with the same World Seed can be created to find the original Guide's name.
    • First, find the number (n) corresponding to the Guide's name (the numbers are in the table below).
    • Then, substitute n into the equation in the table below to calculate the horizontal location of the Aether biome shown on the Compass (in feet, 1 tile = 2 feet). Note that the Aether is always on the same side of the world as the Jungle.
World sizeSmall World sizeMedium World sizeLarge
Jungle on the left side of the world 3800 - 524 × n 6000 - 1008 × n 8000 - 1448 × n
Jungle on the right side of the world 3276 + 524 × n 4992 + 1008 × n 6552 + 1448 × n
  • The completed list of possible Aether's horizontal locations in the table below.
Guide Name n World sizeSmall World sizeMedium World sizeLarge
Left Right Left Right Left Right
Joe0.0000380032766000499280006552
Connor0.0278378532915972502079606592
Tanner0.0566377033065943504979186634
Wyatt0.0833375633205916507678796673
Cody0.1111374233345888510478396713
Levi0.1389372733495860513277996753
Luke0.1667371333635832516077596793
Jack0.1944369833785804518877196833
Scott0.2222368433925776521676786874
Logan0.2500366934075748524476386914
Cole0.2778365434225720527275986954
Asher0.3056364034365692530075576995
Bradley0.3333362534515664532875177035
Jacob0.3611361134655636535674777075
Garrett0.3889359634805608538474377115
Dylan0.4167358234945580541273977155
Maxwell0.4444356735095552544073577195
Steve0.4722355335235524546873167236
Brett0.5000353835385496549672767276
Andrew0.5278352335535468552472367316
Harley0.5556350935675440555271957357
Kyle0.5833349435825412558071557397
Jake0.6111348035965384560871157437
Ryan0.6389346536115356563670757477
Jeffrey0.6667345136255328566470357517
Seth0.6944343636405300569269957557
Marty0.7222342236545272572069547598
Brandon0.7500340736695244574869147638
Zach0.7778339236845216577668747678
Jeff0.8056337836985188580468337719
Daniel0.8333336337135160583267937759
Trent0.8611334937275132586067537799
Kevin0.8889333437425104588867137839
Brian0.9167332037565076591666737879
Colin0.9444330537715048594466337919
Jan0.9722329137855020597265927960

Trivia

  • In Greek mythology, Aether is the personification of the bright upper sky.
  • The Aether's name uses the archaic spelling of the word æther, with the Latin letter æ separated. In modern English, aether is normally spelled ether.

History

  • Desktop 1.4.4.4: Fixed it being possible for the Aether to spawn too high up in worldgen to properly form its visual effects.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.5 source code, method GenerateWorld() in Terraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  2. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.5 source code, method ShimmerMakeBiome() in Terraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
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