Celestial Pillars

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Celestial PillarsHardmode exclusive
Solar Pillar
Solar Pillar.png
Vortex Pillar
Vortex Pillar.png
Nebula Pillar
Nebula Pillar.png
Stardust Pillar
Stardust Pillar.png
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeCelestial Pillar AI
Damage0
Max Life20000
Defense20
KB Resist100%
Immune toAll debuffs except Whip debuffs
  • Internal NPC ID: 517, 422, 507, 493

The Celestial Pillars (also known as the Lunar Pillars, Lunar Towers, or Celestial Towers) are four late-Hardmode bosses that appear during the Lunar Events after the Lunatic Cultist has been defeated. They appear at four locations equally spaced across the map (see pillar spawning mechanics below), and are completely stationary, apart from slowly bobbing up and down in place. Each pillar takes control of the map in a circular area around it with a radius of 250 tiles, or 500 feet.[1] When the player is in that affected area, the background will change to a pillar-specific one, and only pillar-specific enemies will spawn in large numbers.

The four Celestial Pillars are the Solar Pillar, the Vortex Pillar, the Nebula Pillar and the Stardust Pillar. Judging by the gear craftable from the fragments that they drop when defeated, they represent the four damage types in Terraria: Solar for melee, Vortex for ranged, Nebula for magic, and Stardust for summon.

Initially, the Celestial Pillars have a large shield around them, which prevents them from taking any damage. In order to remove the shield, the player needs to defeat 100 enemies that correspond to that particular pillar. After doing that, the shield will lower, and the pillar can be damaged. Enemies will continue to spawn until the pillar is defeated. If the player exits the world without destroying a pillar, all damage done to it will be reset, and the kill count needed to remove the shield will also reset. However, player deaths will not reset them. After defeating the Moon Lord, the player only needs to defeat 50 enemies of each respective pillar to lower its shield.

When destroyed, the Celestial Pillars each drop between 12–60 / 24–100 Lunar Fragments of their type.

The Pillars themselves are fairly easy to defeat, having only 20000 HP each and having fairly weak attacks (none in the case of the Nebula Pillar). The direct threat comes from the large number of minions they spawn; they can deal high amounts of damage, inflict debuffs, and easily swarm the player if not dealt with quickly.

There is no set order in which the Celestial Pillars must be defeated. The following status messages will appear from whichever pillars are taken down first, second, third, and fourth:

  • First pillar defeated: "Your mind goes numb..."
  • Second pillar defeated: "You are overwhelmed with pain..."
  • Third pillar defeated: "Otherworldly voices linger around you..."
  • Fourth pillar defeated: "Impending doom approaches..."

After defeating all four Celestial Pillars, the screen will start to vibrate, and the music volume will lower before eventually going completely silent. After 60 seconds, the Moon Lord will spawn.

Solar Pillar

Solar PillarHardmode exclusive
Solar Pillar.png
Map Icon Solar Pillar.png
Map Icon
Classic mode icon.png Classic
Expert mode icon.png Expert
Master mode icon.png Master
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeCelestial Pillar AI
Damage0
120 (Solar Fragment)
Max Life20000
Defense20
KB Resist100%
Immune toAll debuffs except Whip debuffs
Drops
Projectile created
Projectile created
Projectile created
  • Released Energy
    Released Energy

The Solar Pillar is the melee-themed pillar, with minions that bear strong defensive abilities and deal heavy contact damage. When nearby, the world is tinted orange, and the background will display a massive orange planet with an ongoing meteor shower. It drops 12–60 (24–100) Solar Fragments when defeated.

The Solar Pillar has the ability to continuously shoot Solar Fragments, projectile NPCs that are fired upwards from the top of the pillar before gradually falling to the ground in wide arcs. The fragments explode upon contact with solid blocks or the player and deal immense damage upon contact.

It is widely considered to be the most difficult of the four, due to the Crawltipede forcing the player to stay grounded, leaving them vulnerable to the variety of other ground enemies that the pillar spawns.

On top of this, the Solar Pillar boasts the largest variety of enemies out of the four pillars, with seven total different enemies.

Enemy Spawn chance[2] Max. number[3]
Corite Corite 1/14 (7.14%) (unlimited)
Crawltipede Crawltipede 1/7 (14.29%) 1
Drakanian Drakanian 1/7 (14.29%) 2
Drakomire Drakomire 9/56 (16.07%) 2
Drakomire Rider Drakomire Rider 9/56 (16.07%) 1
Selenian Selenian 9/56 (16.07%) (unlimited)
Sroller Sroller 9/56 (16.07%) (unlimited)
  • The Corite is a flying enemy that phases through all blocks and can shroud itself in fire while lunging toward the player at high speeds.
  • The Crawltipede is a long, high-velocity worm-like enemy that can only be damaged from the orb on its tail, which multiplies the damage dealt to it by a factor of 10. Although it passively hovers and ignores players with solid blocks underneath their feet, it will charge directly at airborne players while dealing immense contact damage.
  • The Drakanian is a footsoldier wielding a flaming spear with moderate speed and damage. It can spawn while riding a Drakomire as a Drakomire Rider.
  • The Drakomire charges at the player and shoots three long-range fireballs, identical to those from the Solar Pillar, from its mouth at the player if they are far enough away from it. Like those of the Solar Pillar, these fireballs can be destroyed in a single hit from any weapon or projectile.
  • The Selenian is a ground-based enemy that wields two flaming swords. While rushing at the player, it occasionally performs a high-speed spinning slash attack. During this spinning attack, they will reflect certain projectiles aimed at them back at the player but also have the damage dealt to them from other methods multiplied by a factor of 3.
  • The Sroller sluggishly walks toward the player but can curl into a ball to swiftly roll into them, potentially dealing a large amount of damage on contact.

Vortex Pillar

Vortex PillarHardmode exclusive
Vortex Pillar.png
Map Icon Vortex Pillar.png
Map Icon
Classic mode icon.png Classic
Expert mode icon.png Expert
Master mode icon.png Master
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeCelestial Pillar AI
Damage0 (contact)
100200300 (Vortex Lightning)[4]
Max Life20000
Defense20
KB Resist100%
Immune toAll debuffs except Whip debuffs
Drops
Projectiles created
Projectiles created
Projectiles created
  • Vortex Lightning
    Vortex Lightning
  • Vortex
    Vortex
  • Vortex Lightning
    Vortex Lightning
  • Released Energy
    Released Energy

The Vortex Pillar is the ranged-themed pillar, with fast, mobile minions capable of flight as well as long-ranged projectile attacks. When nearby, the world is tinted teal, and the background will display a teal planet with occasional flashes of lightning. It drops 12–60 (24–100) Vortex Fragments when defeated.

The Vortex Pillar has the ability to summon a portal above the player that spawns two Alien Hornets or a lightning bolt, identical to the one produced by a Vortexian on death.

This pillar's color scheme seems to resemble that of the Moon Lord.

Enemy Spawn chance[2] Max. number[3]
Alien Hornet Alien Hornet 2/9 (22.22%) (unlimited)
Alien Larva Alien Larva n/a (unlimited)
Alien Queen Alien Queen 1/9 (11.11%) 3
Storm Diver Storm Diver 2/9 (22.22%) 3
Vortexian Vortexian 4/9 (44.44%) 4
  • The Alien Queen fires globs of venomous goop at the player that has a 50% / 100% chance to inflict the Distorted debuff, causing them to become unable to fly upwards or fall downwards for 6–12 / 5–9 seconds and restricting them to horizontal movement for as long as the effect lasts.
  • The Alien Queen spawns three Alien Larvae when killed, which will grow into Alien Hornets and more Alien Queens if they are left unattended.
  • The Storm Diver hovers in midair and fires tight spreads of bullets at the player from their shotgun, dealing immense damage at longer ranges.
  • The Vortexian is a footsoldier that travels along the ground in droves, and, upon being killed, summons a portal that fires a powerful lightning bolt at the player from above.

Nebula Pillar

Nebula PillarHardmode exclusive
Nebula Pillar.png
Map Icon Nebula Pillar.png
Map Icon
Classic mode icon.png Classic
Expert mode icon.png Expert
Master mode icon.png Master
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeCelestial Pillar AI
Damage0
Max Life20000
Defense20
KB Resist100%
Immune toAll debuffs except Whip debuffs
Drops
Projectile created
Projectile created
Projectile created
  • Released Energy
    Released Energy

The Nebula Pillar is the magic-themed pillar, with minions capable of flight, teleportation, and other unusual attacks and abilities. When nearby, the world is tinted pink, and the background will display a pinkish-purple planet with beams of energy pulling debris into the sky. It drops 12–60 (24–100) Nebula Fragments when defeated.

The Nebula Pillar is the only pillar that does not have any unique attack or ability of its own. In addition, its enemies have an indigo or purple pulsating aura effect to make them easier to see.

The Nebula Pillar also has the least enemy count out of the 4 pillars, with four total enemies.

Enemy Spawn chance[2] Max. number[3]
Brain Suckler Brain Suckler 3/11 (27.27%) (unlimited)
Evolution Beast Evolution Beast 3/11 (27.27%) 3
Nebula Floater Nebula Floater 2/11 (18.18%) 3
Predictor Predictor 3/11 (27.27%) 3
  • The Brain Suckler flies through blocks in order to attach themselves to the player's head. Upon attaching to the player, it inflicts the Obstructed debuff, which significantly darkens the player's screen while inflicting large amounts of damage at a constant rate.
  • The Evolution Beast charges at the player on the ground before stopping to fire a purple nebula orb that slowly homes in on them, inflicting immense damage multiple times while phasing through blocks, as well as dealing moderate contact damage.
  • The Nebula Floater spawns up to three smaller Nebula Eyes around it while flying towards the player through blocks, before firing powerful high-velocity lasers at the player from each eye. They also intermittently teleport randomly around the player and have a chance of teleporting upon being hit.
  • The Predictor shoots five nebula energy blasts that travel in straight lines within a tight spread while aiming directly at the player.

Stardust Pillar

Stardust PillarHardmode exclusive
Stardust Pillar.png
Map Icon Stardust Pillar.png
Map Icon
Classic mode icon.png Classic
Expert mode icon.png Expert
Master mode icon.png Master
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeCelestial Pillar AI
Damage0
Max Life20000
Defense20
KB Resist100%
Immune toAll debuffs except Whip debuffs
Drops
Projectiles created
Projectiles created
Projectiles created
  • Starmark
    Starmark
  • Released Energy
    Released Energy

The Stardust Pillar is the summon-themed pillar, with large swarms of enemies that spawn smaller, weaker entities to attack. When nearby, the world is tinted blue, and the background will display a blue planet and a sparkling effect. It drops 12–60 (24–100) Stardust Fragments when defeated.

The Stardust Pillar has the ability to spawn extra enemies above itself from constellations. Periodically,[a] a random pattern of linked spherical "stars" will flash, starting and branching out from the pillar's top to form a crude "constellation". The constellation flashes one star at a time, before spawning in a random enemy from the final star produced.

Enemy Spawn chance[2] Max. number[3]
Flow Invader Flow Invader 1/8 (12.5%) (unlimited)
Milkyway Weaver Milkyway Weaver 1/8 (12.5%) (unlimited)
Star Cell Star Cell 1/8 (12.5%) (unlimited)
Stargazer Stargazer 3/8 (37.5%) (unlimited)
Twinkle Twinkle n/a (unlimited)
Twinkle Popper Twinkle Popper 1/4 (25%) (unlimited)
  • The Flow Invader will summon smaller creatures around it, which will shoot themselves as projectiles (one or two at a time) at the player once three are summoned around them. All of the smaller creatures that the Flow Invader summons are immediately shot toward the player after it is killed, potentially inflicting massive damage.
  • The Milkyway Weaver is a small worm-like enemy similar to the Crawltipede, which can only take damage from its head and attacks by flying and swiftly charging towards players both in mid-air and on the ground while phasing through blocks. Occasionally, it slows down and stops in place for a few seconds to gather energy before spawning another STardust Pillar enemy from its head via a constellation pattern similar to that of the Stardust Pillar itself.
  • The Star Cell, if killed, splits into a maximum of four smaller-sized versions of itself that grow into full-sized versions after a few seconds, which can cause swarms of them to fill the screen.
  • The Stargazer walks slowly toward the player before firing a thin, yet powerful stardust laser at them.
  • The Twinkle Popper, along with dealing contact damage, attacks by vomiting up smaller enemies called Twinkles that chase after players along the ground and explode to inflict heavy damage.

The Stardust Pillar can only spawn one of the flying enemies via its ability: It can spawn a Star Cell (unless more than one Star Cell or Mini Star Cell is already alive), a Milkyway Weaver (unless two or more are already alive), or a Flow Invader (unless one or more is already alive).[5] It will never spawn a Stargazer or Twinkle Popper via its ability.

Pillar spawning mechanics

When it is time for the four pillars to spawn, the game follows the following steps.[6] All coordinates are in tiles.

  1. Randomly arrange the order of the 4 pillars.
  2. Multiply the width of the world by 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 to find rough spawn locations for the pillars, equally spaced from each other and the world's edges.
    (For example, a large world is 8400 tiles in width, so the four pillars will be spawned at somewhere near xa=1680, xb=3360, xc=5040, and xd=6720.)
  3. For each pillar:
    1. Pick a random x1 coordinate in the range [ x0 - 100, x0 + 100 ], where x0 represents the x coordinate of the location the pillar was assigned to (xa, xb, xc, or xd).
    2. Try to find out a possible y1 to spawn the pillar at (x1, y1). The y1 is processed from the 0′ surface level to 100 tiles above it, from low to high. This place is a valid spawning space for a pillar if:
      • There are no solid blocks (does not include platforms and other similar tiles) in a 20×35-tile rectangle centered on the point 2.5 tiles above (x1, y1), i.e., the rectangle with the vertices ABCD, where A = (x1 - 10, y1 - 20), B = (x1 + 10, y1 - 20), C = (x1 + 10, y1 + 15), and D = (x1 - 10, y1 + 15).
      • The place is outside the player's screen plus a 20% margin, i.e., the four vertices ABCD are all outside a rectangle of 2304 (1920×1.2) by 1296 (1080×1.2) pixels (144×81 tiles) centered on the player.
    3. If the two checks above succeeded (hence the place is a valid spawning space), then the pillar spawns at (x1, y1).
    4. If no valid y1 could be found, then go back to the first step and pick a new x1. Repeat the entire process no more than 30 times.
    5. If no valid coordinates could be found after 30 times, give up and just spawn the pillar at a settled point: (x0, y0 - 40), i.e., 40 tiles above surface level at the initially determined location x0.

Pillar relative location

Using the above spawning mechanics, the approximate location of each pillar can easily be computed relative to the world's default spawn point (i.e. the center of the map).

Assuming S is the world size (in feet) and PX is the location factor (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, or 0.8) for pillar X, then the relative location RX can be computed as RX = (S × PX) - S ÷ 2. The exact location of each pillar will vary randomly up to 100 tiles (200 feet) left or right.

This is visualized in the following table, which represents the profile of a world. Remember that the order of pillars is random, the one used here is only an example.

Horizontal position in feet
World size [ Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Map Spawn.png Pillar 3 Pillar 4 ]
Small −4,200 −2,520 −840 0 840 2,520 4,200
Medium −6,400 −3,840 −1,280 0 1,280 3,840 6,400
Large −8,400 −5,040 −1,680 0 1,680 5,040 8,400

Notes

  • Similar to the Old One's Army, celestial enemies do not drop coins.
  • NPCs will not try to attack pillars, even if they are in range.
  • In Expert Mode or Master Mode, pillars will drop additional fragments depending on the number of players.
  • The pillars and their respective enemies can spawn on background walls, unlike most other enemies.
  • If there is at least one Celestial Pillar alive, the player is unable to sleep in a bed to accelerate the time.

Achievements

Achievement Star Destroyer.png
Star Destroyer • Defeat the four celestial towers of the moon.
Defeat all four Celestial Pillars. (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Category: Slayer Slayer

Tips

For more elaborate strategies on defeating Celestial Pillars, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunar Event strategies.

All pillars

  • A player can tell if they have reached the kill count or not by seeing if, after killing an enemy, a colored line travels from the corpse to the Pillar. If the line does not appear, the kill count has been reached. As well, the shield surrounding the Celestial Pillars becomes more transparent as it becomes closer to breaking. If the player is using the lighting type "Color", they can look for the shockwave that the pillar sends in all directions before breaking.
    • With the addition of boss health bars, the Pillar's shield is shown as a blue bar layered over the regular red-colored health bar.
  • Before starting the Lunar Events, it is worthwhile to set up a Pylon network or lay a teleporter line across the map, with enough stations that the player can at least choose which pillar to approach first.
  • Some enemies can travel or attack through blocks.
    • For this reason, if a player has an effective weapon that can deal damage through walls (such as the Solar Eruption), they can for the most part build a shelter under the surface and attack these incoming enemies. This strategy is the most difficult for the Nebula Pillar due to the Evolution Beast's spit-like projectiles and the Brain Suckler's debuffs.
  • The weapons gained from defeating the first pillar(s) can be very helpful in defeating the others. The Solar Pillar yields the Solar Eruption and Daybreak, the Vortex Pillar gives the Phantasm and Vortex Beater, the Nebula Pillar provides the Nebula Arcanum and Nebula Blaze, and the Stardust Pillar enables the Stardust Dragon Staff and Stardust Cell Staff.
    • It may be best simply to target the pillar matching the player's preferred class, thus gaining at least one powerful weapon of it.
  • Players can use the GPS to know the height of one Pillar, build/expand a nearby building to provide a firing platform at this depth, then pelt the Pillars with a Rocket Launcher, optionally backed by a Sniper Rifle. The time the rocket takes to reach a pillar can be long: in a large map, a Rocket takes ~1 minute to travel from the center of the map to the farthest Pillar.
  • If the player or players have acquired the Vampire Knives once a pillar's shield is destroyed the player can regenerate health extremely fast by firing the knives at point-blank range at the pillar.
  • A strategy for taking out the pillars is to stand near the edge of a pillar spawning area and to retreat and recover when at low health until its shield is down.

Solar Pillar

  • While fighting the Solar Pillar enemies, it is highly recommended to stay grounded. Airborne players are easy prey for the Crawltipede minions, which do an excessive amount of damage, but will only target airborne players.
  • If the player has a skybridge set up in their world, standing on it will allow them to shoot down at enemies on the ground and even the pillar without being targeted by the Crawltipedes. Keep in mind Srollers will still be able to jump up to the platform and roll towards the player.
  • It is highly suggested not to use bullets, arrows, or most projectiles that are not rockets, at least not on Selenians, as they can reflect non-rocket projectiles. These projectiles will deal the same damage to the player that they would have dealt to the Selenian.
  • If the player has a Neptune's Shell, a combined accessory with its effect, or Gills Potions, then standing in a large pool of water under or near the pillar will allow them to move around off the ground, without being targeted by Crawltipedes. In addition, this will also cause most enemies, with the exception of Corites, to move slower, and make it easier to target them.
  • If available, the Scutlix Mount improves forward firepower and ground maneuverability considerably, making the fight much easier.
    • Remember that the Selenians can reflect the lasers.
  • When fighting the Solar Pillar, try building a small building with doors, platforms, and make it two floors tall, right on the edge of where the Pillar starts spawning enemies, to help block off some enemies from swarming the player, and to force them into a small and easy to defend area. Only the Corites will fly through walls.
  • Oddly, enemies that the Solar Pillar spawns are not immune to the On Fire! debuff.
  • Weapons such as the Possessed Hatchet or the Stardust Dragon Staff will only target the tail of Crawltipedes, and this can kill them quickly and easily, making the fight much easier.
  • With a ranged weapon, the Corites can be locked in place by shooting them while they are charging.
  • It is possible to outrun the Crawltipede with enough speed. Though may seem counterintuitive, one way to defeat the Solar Pillar is to equip a wing with good vertical speed, the Frog Leg (or its upgrades), and the Soaring Insignia (if available) and fly diagonally, and use homing weapons (such as Vortex Beater with Chlorophyte Bullets or Razorblade Typhoon) to attack the tail of Crawltipedes that are after the player. After killing the Crawltipede, the player can stay airborne for some time and aim the homing weapon at the enemies on the ground.

Vortex Pillar

  • If the player sees a swirling portal in midair, they should keep their distance and move quickly. The portal will either shoot a lightning bolt similar to the Lunatic Cultist's attack or spawn two Alien Hornets. Portals will mostly attempt to be summoned above the player's current location.
    • When the portal shoots a lightning bolt, there will be a blue swirling marker pointing towards the direction the lightning bolt will strike at, but they will only shoot downwards.
    • The Vortex Pillar will always spawn Alien Hornets on back-walls with a direct line toward the player if there are any on its screen. If not, it can spawn Alien Hornets anywhere within an approximate 300-block radius of the Pillar.
  • The Distorted debuff inflicted by Alien Queens is likely intended to leave the player in a vulnerable position to get hit by Storm Diver shotgun blasts. If afflicted by Distorted, the player should move above or below any approaching Storm Divers and kill them before they can get onto the same horizontal level as them, as by the time they do, their bullets will be unavoidable if the player is still afflicted.
  • Because most of the enemies try to stay at the same elevation as the player, staying on the ground removes much of the mobility that Alien Hornets and Storm Divers have.
  • This is the only pillar where enemies or projectiles cannot travel through blocks, and thus, taking cover is very effective. However, it is somewhat slow as many enemies keep their distance.
  • Avoid getting swarmed by Alien Queens, as they easily grow from Alien Larvae and Alien Hornets and the Distorted debuff greatly decreases the player's fighting and agility.
  • If the pillar spawns Alien Hornets in an enclosed space and the player has a weapon that can damage enemies through blocks, one could potentially wait for them to grow into Queens, kill them, wait for the Larva to grow back into Hornets, and repeat, allowing for a quick and safe method of knocking down the Vortex Pillar's shield. This technique is especially effective if the Hornets happen to be just outside the pillar's enemy spawning range.

Nebula Pillar

  • When fighting, take caution to avoid getting hit by a Brain Suckler. They cause the Obstructed debuff, which is similar to Darkness but with a darker shade. It will persist until the player kills the Brain Suckler stuck to them, and for a moment thereafter.
  • Be very wary of Nebula Floaters. They do high damage with high accuracy, and their tendency to teleport, especially when harmed, can make them unpredictable.
    • They can also teleport directly in front of the player and fire at point blank: if the player would not survive another shot and cannot heal up, it may be best to retreat. Be careful when flying in a straight line, as the Floater will deal potentially fatal contact damage if it teleports in front of you.
  • Kill Evolution Beasts quickly, because once they get in range they will fire a slow but highly damaging ball of energy that tracks the player, passes through walls, can deal continuous damage, and only expires after a few seconds. These will force the player to move around and into other hazards.
  • Keep an eye out for Predictors because they will stay at a distance, not attempting to get close to the player, and shoot several Nebula Piercers in a similar fashion to how Storm Divers fire their shotguns.

Stardust Pillar

  • Using splash-damage weapons on Star Cells is perhaps the easiest way to kill them, as it will destroy all of the split cells as well as the initial cell.
  • A quick and easy way to break the shields is to lead a Star Cell away from the pillar, pop it into its smaller orbs, and then let those orbs grow into full star cells. This creates an infinite loop, and the new ones will also count towards the counter.
  • On death, the Flow Invader will hurl up to three projectiles directly at the player. Be ready to dodge when the player kills this enemy.
  • Stargazer lasers deal very high damage, but they have difficulty targeting the player without direct line of sight. Weapons that ignore terrain or can go around it will be very effective, such as Yoyos, Minions and Chlorophyte Bullets.

Trivia

  • Correspondences:
    • As noted above, both the craftable gear and the enemies from the pillars correspond to the four main classes in the game: Solar – melee, Vortex – ranged, Nebula – magic, Stardust – summoner.
    • When in a pillar's area, the entire area nearby will turn the pillar's color: Solar – orange, Vortex – teal, Nebula – purple, Stardust – blue). This effect will only occur if the lighting mode is set to "Color" or "White".
    • The four pillars could also reference the lifespan of a star: Solar – a living star, Vortex – a collapsing star as it dies, Stardust – the remains of a star's corpse, and Nebula – the birth of a new star.
The background scenery from a Hallowed Forest and Vortex Pillar combined.
  • Occasionally, the background scenery of the biome the pillar is in will overlap with the background scenery that appears when near the pillar (see image on the right).
  • All of the Celestial Pillars have a humanoid enemy:
  • The Nebula Pillar is the only pillar not to have a directly damaging attack; the Solar Pillar attacks with fireballs, the Vortex Pillar summons portals that shoot lightning or spawn Alien Hornets, and the Stardust Pillar summons portals that spawn any enemy.
  • The Celestial Pillars are the only bosses in the game which do not deal any sort of contact damage.
  • If the lighting mode is set to "Color" or "White", the shield will have a distortion effect. When the shield is down, it sends a shockwave in all directions. These effects do not occur in the "Retro" or "Trippy" modes. It seems to notice that the Vortex Pillar's color is the same as the Moon Lord's.
  • Prior to 1.4.0.1, reversing gravity with a Gravitation Potion or Gravity Globe has a strange effect on a pillar's shield. Instead of being stationary around the pillar like it normally would, its vertical position changes according to its relation to the player. This is only cosmetic, as the pillar cannot be attacked when the shield appears to be removed.
  • The projectile spawned upon a celestial enemy's death (until the pillar's shield falls) is called "Released Energy" and has the projectile ID 629. A player can spawn this projectile using mods. If one is spawned while there are no pillars, it will target the Old Man by the Dungeon. If the Old Man is not present, the Released Energy will despawn immediately.
  • Quitting and re-entering the game will put the pillars at the top of their bobbing motion while maintaining their position, causing them to sink slightly.
  • All of the Celestial Pillars have two health bars, the shield (blue) and the pillar itself (red). This makes the Celestial Pillars the only bosses in the game to have two separate health bars.
  • The Ice Rod can be used to move the pillars vertically.
  • All of the Nebula Pillar enemies appear to have exposed brains.
  • Assuming that the player is at 5′ 9″ (1.75 m) in terms of height, the Celestial Pillars would be about 43′ ½″ (13.13 m) tall.

BestiaryBestiary entries

  • Solar Pillar: "Representing a flaming celestial event known as 'solar flares', this tower holds the seal locking away a terrifying tyrant."
  • Vortex Pillar: "Representing a deep celestial void known as 'vortex', this tower holds the seal locking away a terrifying tyrant."
  • Nebula Pillar: "Representing a stormy celestial body known as 'nebula', this tower holds the seal locking away a terrifying tyrant."
  • Stardust Pillar: "Representing a glittering celestial remnant known as 'stardust', this tower holds the seal locking away a terrifying tyrant."

History

  • Desktop 1.4.4:
    • Expert/Master worlds no longer have an increased Celestial Pillar kill requirement. Previously in these difficulties, lowering the shield require 150 kills.
    • Upon defeating Moon Lord, Lunar Pillars now require only 50 kills to lower the Pillar shields, which applies in all difficulties.
    • Hornet Portals and Vortexian Portals from the Vortex Pillar now make a more distinct sound when spawning, giving the player notice that it is present. Vortexian Portals also make a more pronounced sound when firing.
  • Desktop 1.4.0.1:
    • Lunar Fragment drops now scale with player count in Expert Mode.
    • The Nebula Pillar's shader is now slightly less pink, and its enemies have been given a pulsing aura effect.
    • The sprites for all of the background planets have been updated.
    • All pillars will now rise to the top if any blocks, actuated or not, are behind it.
    • Fixed (again) an issue where Celestial Pillar shields would fly into the sky when reversing gravity.
  • Desktop 1.3.4.2: Fixed pillars sometimes not loading properly, resulting in immediate wipe and triggering the spawn of the Moon Lord.

References

  1. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, method UpdateBiomes() in Terraria.Player.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Describes the relative spawn chance, i.e., the likelihood of spawning this enemy instead of one of the others. Actual, real spawn chances may vary. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.6 source code, method SpawnNPC() in Terraria.NPC.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 This limit is checked when attempting to spawn a new enemy; it will not be spawned if there are already this many enemies of the type alive. "Unlimited" does not mean actually unlimited, just that no limit is checked when spawning an enemy – the usual restrictions apply (see NPC spawning). Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.6 source code, method SpawnNPC() in Terraria.NPC.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  4. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method AI() in Terraria.Projectile.cs. The relevant part is the aiStyle == 108 block.
  5. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method SpawnStardustMark_StardustTower() in Terraria.NPC.cs.
  6. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, method TriggerLunarApocalypse() in Terraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  1. The cooldown between subsequent uses of this ability lasts 2.5–7.5 seconds.