Monoliths

Type	FurnitureMechanismAccessoryVanity
Placeable	✔️ (2 wide × 3 high)
Use time	15 (Very fast)
Research	1 required

Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.

Monoliths are furniture items that activate backgrounds and other screen effects normally seen during events or under other special circumstances. When placed, they can be toggled with the ⚷ Open / Activate button or via wire, like other mechanisms, providing their effects in a small area around them. They can also be equipped as vanity accessories, which enables their effect globally for the player, similarly to the Radio Thing.

There are seven different monoliths: the Solar, Vortex, Nebula, Stardust, and Void Monoliths can be crafted at an Ancient Manipulator, the Aether Monolith can be obtained via dropping an Angel Statue into Shimmer, and the Blood Moon Monolith has a 1/10 (10%) chance of being dropped by Dreadnautiluses.

The Blood Moon Monolith mimics the effects seen during a Blood Moon.
The Nebula, Solar, Stardust, and Vortex Monoliths mimic effects that normally surround the corresponding Celestial Pillar during the Lunar Events.
The Void Monolith mimics the screen effects of the Moon Lord boss fight.
The Aether Monolith mimics the screen effects of the Aether mini-biome.

Unlike the other monoliths, the Aether Monolith has three states: One off state (which disables the Aether effect entirely in its area, even if it would normally be present due to Shimmer) and two on states – low, which acts as if the monolith were not present (allowing the Aether effect if enough Shimmer is nearby but not forcing it on), and high, which forces the Aether effect on.

Types

Monolith		Placed		Tile ID	Tooltip	Rarity	Sell
Monolith		Inactive	Active	Tile ID	Tooltip	Rarity	Sell
	Vortex MonolithInternal Item ID: 3536			410	'Wield a small amount of power from the Vortex Tower'	09*	20 GC
	Nebula MonolithInternal Item ID: 3537			410 (1)	'Wield a small amount of power from the Nebula Tower'	09*	20 GC
	Stardust MonolithInternal Item ID: 3538			410 (2)	'Wield a small amount of power from the Stardust Tower'	09*	20 GC
	Solar MonolithInternal Item ID: 3539			410 (3)	'Wield a small amount of power from the Solar Tower'	09*	20 GC
	Blood Moon MonolithInternal Item ID: 4054			480	'Sustain a bloody fraction of the Moon'	03*	1 GC
	Void MonolithInternal Item ID: 4318			509	'Harness a small amount of power from the Void'	09*	25 GC
	Aether MonolithInternal Item ID: 5347			658	'Witness a glimpse of the Aether's power.' Can be used to manifest or suppress the Aether	09*	1 GC

Crafting

Recipes

Result	Ingredients	Crafting station
Nebula Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Nebula Fragment(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)15	Ancient Manipulator(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Solar Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Solar Fragment(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)15
Stardust Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Stardust Fragment(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)15
Void Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Luminite(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)25
Vortex Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Vortex Fragment(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)15
Aether Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	Angel Statue	Shimmer Transmutation(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Notes

A monolith's actual range is relative to the player's resolution size, it will be visible if it is within 30 tiles of the edge of the player's screen. For easier calculation, this is 29 tiles of the edge of the monolith.
Lunar monoliths do not stack their effects. The one placed furthest to the bottom-right takes precedence. If two lunar monoliths, one at the bottom-left, and one at the top-right are active, the one to the top-right will be active. However, the Blood Moon Monolith does stack its effects with the others.
- Activating a lunar monolith first and then a Blood Moon Monolith will result in different colors than vice versa. For example, activating a Stardust Monolith, then a Blood Moon Monolith will display a dark blue, whereas activating a Blood Moon Monolith, then a Stardust Monolith will display a purple similar to the Nebula Pillar.

Combination of a Blood Moon Monolith with a Stardust Monolith.

Aether Monoliths will stack with lunar monoliths, but an Aether Monolith will override a Blood Moon Monolith.
- Which monolith the player activates first does not appear to affect the resulting effect when stacking a lunar monolith and an Aether Monolith.
Aether Monoliths will override each other. A higher priority neutral Aether Monolith will override a lower priority active Aether Monolith, meaning only the highest priority Aether Monolith within range matters.
Monoliths only cause modified visuals. They do not spawn any event enemies or bosses, and they do not change the music.
If a monolith is left active when exiting a world, the background will fade out and be visible for a few seconds, similar to the fade out when turning it off, then it will return to normal.

Tips

The monoliths' effects can sometimes raise the apparent light level in an area, which may be useful.
The lunar monoliths have luminescent parts, but they will only glow when they are in areas with light. This can be utilized to make background effects without having the monoliths visible.
The lunar monoliths provide full vision on the surface at night, and can be equipped in the social accessory slot for permanent effect.

Trivia

When used during a Blood Moon, a monolith will combine its light color with the red tint.
The lunar monoliths appear to be miniature versions of the Celestial Pillars.
- They are the only Lunar Event items that do not have the 10* base rarity.
The Party Center is internally named PartyMonolith. Unlike monoliths, it triggers an actual Party event instead of only the background adjustment.
The design of the Void Monolith is based on the Monoliths from the science fiction novel series Space Odyssey.
The only pre-Hardmode monolith is the Aether Monolith.