Monoliths

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Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.
Monoliths
  • Vortex Monolith item sprite Nebula Monolith item spriteStardust Monolith item sprite Solar Monolith item sprite Blood Moon Monolith item sprite
    Void Monolith item sprite Radio Thing item sprite Aether Monolith item sprite CRT Monolith item sprite Retro Monolith item sprite Film Projector item sprite
Auto-use
9999
Statistics
Type
FurnitureMechanismAccessoryVanity
Placeable✔️
Use time15 (Very fast)
Research1 required
  • Internal Item ID: 3536–3539, 4054, 4318, 5113, 5347, 5598, 5599, 5655 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
  • Internal Tile ID: 410, 480, 509, 658, 720, 721, 725, 733

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.

There are eleven different monoliths: the Vortex, Nebula, Stardust, Solar, and Void Monoliths can be crafted at an Ancient Manipulator, the Blood Moon Monolith has a 1/10 (10%) chance of being dropped by Dreadnautiluses, the Radio Thing has a 1/3 (33.33%) to be dropped by Deerclops, the Aether Monolith can be obtained via dropping an Angel Statue into Shimmer, the CRT and Retro Monoliths are sold by the Cyborg for 25 GC, and the Film Projector can be obtained as part of Heroicis' set by dropping a Platinum Coin into the Water of an Oasis.

  • The Nebula, Solar, Stardust, and Vortex Monoliths mimic effects that normally surround the corresponding Celestial Pillar during the Lunar Events.
  • The Blood Moon Monolith mimics the effects seen during a Blood Moon.
  • The Void Monolith mimics the screen effects of the Moon Lord boss fight.
  • The Radio Thing activates the same sepia filter of The Constant world seed.
    • In The Constant seed, however, it instead deactivates the filter.
  • 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.
  • The CRT Monolith mimics the effect of an old-fashioned CRT TV.
  • The Retro Monolith mimics the effect of an old two-color green and black monitor, like the original Gameboy.
  • The Film Projector adds a black-and-white effect to the screen.

Types

Monolith Placed Tile ID W × H Tooltip Rarity Sell
Inactive Active
Vortex Monolith Vortex MonolithInternal Item ID: 3536 Vortex Monolith placed
Vortex Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 410 2 × 3 'Wield a small amount of power from the Vortex Tower' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 20 GC
Nebula Monolith Nebula MonolithInternal Item ID: 3537 Nebula Monolith placed
Nebula Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 410 (1) 2 × 3 'Wield a small amount of power from the Nebula Tower' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 20 GC
Stardust Monolith Stardust MonolithInternal Item ID: 3538 Stardust Monolith placed
Stardust Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 410 (2) 2 × 3 'Wield a small amount of power from the Stardust Tower' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 20 GC
Solar Monolith Solar MonolithInternal Item ID: 3539 Solar Monolith placed
Solar Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 410 (3) 2 × 3 'Wield a small amount of power from the Solar Tower' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 20 GC
Blood Moon Monolith Blood Moon MonolithInternal Item ID: 4054 Blood Moon Monolith placed
Blood Moon Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 480 2 × 3 'Sustain a bloody fraction of the Moon' Orange (Rarity level: 3) 1 GC
Void Monolith Void MonolithInternal Item ID: 4318 Void Monolith placed
Void Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 509 2 × 3 'Harness a small amount of power from the Void' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 25 GC
Radio Thing Radio ThingInternal Item ID: 5113 Radio Thing placed
Radio Thing (placed) (active).png
 733 3 × 3 Allows the user to see the world differently
'Forbidden Knowledge echoes from the radio...' 		Blue (Rarity level: 1) 1 GC
Aether Monolith Aether MonolithInternal Item ID: 5347 Aether Monolith placed
Aether Monolith (placed) (active low).gifAether Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 658 2 × 3 'Witness a glimpse of the Aether's power.'
Can be used to manifest or suppress the Aether 		Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 1 GC
CRT Monolith CRT MonolithInternal Item ID: 5598 CRT Monolith placed
CRT Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 720 2 × 3 'Behold the ancient power of the CRT Monitorlith' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 5 GC
Retro Monolith Retro MonolithInternal Item ID: 5599 Retro Monolith placed
Retro Monolith (placed) (active).gif
 721 2 × 3 'Witness a fraction of visuals past' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 5 GC
Film Projector Film ProjectorInternal Item ID: 5655 Film Projector placed
Film Projector (placed) (active).gif
 725 2 × 3 'Projects a view of classic cinema' Cyan (Rarity level: 9) 1 GC

Crafting

Recipes

ResultIngredientsCrafting station
Nebula MonolithNebula Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Ancient ManipulatorAncient Manipulator(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Solar MonolithSolar Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Stardust MonolithStardust Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Void MonolithVoid Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
  • LuminiteLuminite(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)25
Vortex MonolithVortex Monolith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Shimmer transmutation

ShimmerShimmer(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
OutputInput
Aether MonolithAether Monolith(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 from the edge of the monolith.
  • When checking for active monoliths, the game starts checking at the top-left corner, from top to bottom, then from left to right.[1]
    • As a result, when multiple monoliths are activated at the same time, the rightmost and lowest monolith takes precedence. For example, if a high-state Aether Monolith is placed at the bottom-left of the screen and an off-state Aether Monolith is placed at the top-right, the resulting Aether visual effect would be in its off state.
    • Additionally, the active Aether effect can always override the Blood Moon visual effect.Verify
Combination of a Blood Moon Monolith with a Stardust Monolith.
  • Lunar monoliths (Nebula, Solar, Stardust, Vortex, and Void Monoliths) will not stack their effect with each other.[2] However, they do stack with Blood Moon or Aether Monoliths.
    • When stacking a Blood Moon Monolith with lunar monoliths, activating a lunar monolith first and then the 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.
    • When stacking an Aether Monolith with lunar monoliths, which monolith the player activates first does not appear to affect the resulting effect.
  • 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.
  • The Radio Thing's filter does not apply properly in the Retro or Trippy lighting modes.

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 Red (Rarity level: 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 Radio Thing is the only monolith to be 3 tiles wide when placed.
  • The Radio Thing's tooltip is a reference to the "Forbidden Knowledge" animated short – the backstory of Wilson, the main character of Don't Starve. In the short, the main antagonist Maxwell sends out forbidden knowledge to Wilson through a radio and takes him to The Constant.
    • While the Radio Thing itself does not appear in Don't Starve, its appearance is based on the game's Divining Rod. It appears to be the PR-76 radio created by Wagstaff.
  • The CRT Monolith appears to share many of the same screens as Video Visage.

Gallery

  • The Solar Monolith when active.
    The Solar Monolith when active.
  • The Vortex Monolith when active.
    The Vortex Monolith when active.
  • The Nebula Monolith when active.
    The Nebula Monolith when active.
  • The Stardust Monolith when active.
    The Stardust Monolith when active.
  • The Void Monolith when active.
    The Void Monolith when active.
  • The Blood Moon Monolith when active.
    The Blood Moon Monolith when active.
  • The Aether Monolith when active.
    The Aether Monolith when active.
  • The screen shader effect caused by the Radio Thing.
    The screen shader effect caused by the Radio Thing.

See also

History

  • Desktop 1.4.5.0:
    • Added CRT Monolith, Retro Monolith, and Film Projector.
    • Radio Thing can now be placed as a monolith.
  • Desktop 1.4.4:
    • Added Aether Monolith.
    • Monoliths can now also be equipped as accessories.
  • Desktop 1.4.3: Added Radio Thing as a vanity accessory. It cannot be placed.
  • Desktop 1.3.5: Fixed Vortex Monolith not selling for as much as it should.

References

  1. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method ScanAndExportToMain() in Terraria.SceneMetrics.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
  2. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method CheckMonoliths() in Terraria.Main.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
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