Solar Eclipse

File:Solar Eclipse Terraria.png

Sun and moon as seen during the event

"A Solar Eclipse is happening!"

A Solar Eclipse is a Hardmode event that occurs rarely after at least one Mechanical Boss has been defeated. A Solar Eclipse has a 1/20 (5%) chance of occurring on any particular day. On the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version,  Old Chinese version,  tModLoader version, and  tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, it is also possible to summon a Solar Eclipse using a Solar Tablet (crafted from Solar Tablet Fragments dropped by Lihzahrds and Flying Snakes in the Jungle Temple).

During a Solar Eclipse, unique and difficult enemies spawn at very high rates, even near NPCs. The event lasts for one entire day, from sunrise to sunset, regardless of the number of enemies that have been killed. The moon is visible in front of the sun, causing the ambient light level to drop to near-nighttime levels.

A Solar Eclipse is announced at the beginning of a day with the status message, "A solar eclipse is happening!" The event only affects the surface layer, and can be avoided by burrowing well into the underground layer or below.

Content

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Characters

Common:

• ​Eyezor
• ​Frankenstein
• ​Swamp Thing
• ​Vampire
• ​Creature from the Deep
• ​Fritz
• ​Reaper
• ​The Possessed

After defeating all Mechanical Bosses:

• ​Baby Mothron
• ​Mothron
• ​Reaper

After defeating Plantera:

• ​Butcher
• ​Deadly SpheresDeadly Spheres
• ​Dr. Man Fly
• ​Nailhead
• ​Psycho

Unique Drops

Banners:

• ​Eyezor Banner
• ​Frankenstein Banner
• ​Reaper Banner
• ​Swamp Thing Banner
• ​Vampire Banner
• ​Butcher Banner
• ​Creature from the Deep Banner
• ​Deadly Sphere Banner
• ​Dr. Man Fly Banner
• ​Fritz Banner
• ​Mothron Banner
• ​Nailhead Banner
• ​Psycho Banner
• ​The Possessed Banner

From Eyezor:

• ​Eye Spring

From Reaper:

• ​Death Sickle

From Vampire:

• ​Broken Bat Wing
• ​Moon Stone

From Butcher:

• ​Butcher's Chainsaw

From Creature from the Deep:

• ​Neptune's Shell

From Deadly Spheres:

• ​Deadly Sphere Staff(Post-Plantera)

From Dr. Man Fly:

• ​Toxic Flask(Post-Plantera)

From Mothron:

• ​Broken Hero Sword
• ​Mothron Wings(Post-Plantera)
• ​The Eye of Cthulhu(Post-Plantera)

From Nailhead:

• ​Nail Gun
• ​Nail(Only if Nail Gun dropped)

From Psycho:

• ​Psycho Knife

  From Frankenstein & Swamp Thing:

• ​Broken Hero Sword

For Sale

From the Cyborg:

• ​Rocket IV

From Steampunker:

• ​Purple Solution(Corrupt World)
• ​Red Solution(Crimson World)

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Achievement

Kill the Sun • “Survive a solar eclipse, a day darker than night filled with creatures of horror.”

Survive a Solar Eclipse.

Category: Explorer

Notes

• There is a 5% chance for a Solar Eclipse to occur each dawn, even if one happened the previous day. It is possible for multiple Solar Eclipses to occur in a row. It is also possible for a Blood Moon to follow a Solar Eclipse, or vice-versa.
• It is possible for other events to occur at the same time as a Solar Eclipse, such as a Goblin Invasion or a Pirate Invasion. Prior to 1.3.0.1, these events may also cancel Solar Eclipse enemy spawns.
• Unlike a Blood Moon, a Solar Eclipse only allows its own enemies to spawn on the surface, except for in Corruption, Crimson, and Ocean areas.
• It is possible to obtain a solar tablet from a chest that is outside the Jungle Temple. Although, the item will not work and does not trigger the event before you enter hard mode.
• On the  Mobile version, if you quit the game when the Solar Eclipse message is shown, the event will not occur.
• On the  Mobile version and  Old-gen console version, instead of getting the Broken Hero Swords from Mothron, you get them from Frankensteins and Swamp Things.
• It is possible to fight some bosses during an eclipse.
• As there are very high enemy spawn rates, it is a good idea to use a Minishark (low damage for more coins) with Golden Bullets to farm for money, but for more use a Lucky Coin.

Tips

For more elaborate strategies on defeating Solar Eclipse, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Defending against events.

• Like the Blood Moon, the effects of Water Candles and Battle Potions stack with the event's spawn rate, increasing the chances for rare drops.
• Solar Tablet Fragments, which are used to create the event summoning Solar Tablet, can be acquired before gaining access to the Jungle Temple. This can be done by waiting just outside the Jungle Temple, and killing the Lihzahrds that spawn, who will drop the Solar Tablet Fragments.
  • However, crafting the Solar Tablet requires a Hardmode Anvil, so gathering the fragments pre-hardmode won't be of any benefit until one is obtained.
• Fetid Baghnakhs are great weapons in surviving Solar Eclipses because of the fast speed and high damage.
• The KO Cannon is very effective against the pre-mechanical boss version.
• On the Nintendo 3DS version you can escape the enemies spawned by the Solar Eclipse by going on a Floating Island, but it will not stop the enemies that spawn naturally there from spawning. eg. Harpy, Wyvern.

Trivia

Solar Eclipse enemies and their relationship to classic 20th century horror films.

• Every enemy that spawns during a Solar Eclipse (except the Reaper and Eyezor) share the theme of classic 20th century horror films. (See image on the right and each enemy's individual page for movie references.)
• The type of Solar Eclipse displayed is an annular solar eclipse.
  • In real life, such eclipses are extremely rare, happening less than once a year and rarely where people can see it.
  • Additionally, real solar eclipses only occur on new moons. In Terraria the event can occur on any phase of the moon.
• When loading a world with a Solar Eclipse in progress, the sun that rises and sets on the loading screen is also in its eclipsed state.
• During an Eclipse, the moon icon on the Sextant will turn red, like it does with a Blood Moon.
• Originally, another enemy was planned for the Solar Eclipse, named the Severed Hand: . It was never added to the game, for unknown reasons. Despite this, there is still an unobtainable Severed Hand Banner.

History

 PC version

• Desktop 1.3.0.4: Chance of a natural Solar Eclipse occurring decreased to 1/20.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1:
  • Can now be summoned manually using a Solar Tablet.
  • Added Dr. Man Fly, Mothron, Nailhead, Fritz, The Possessed, Butcher, Deadly Sphere, Creature from the Deep and Psycho along with their banners and drops.
  • Changed sprite for Swamp Thing and Vampire.
  • Other Events will no longer block spawns from the Solar Eclipse.
  • Chance of a natural Solar Eclipse occurring increased to 1/14.

• Desktop 1.2.2: NPCs will now take shelter in their houses during a Solar Eclipse.

• Desktop 1.2.1.2: No longer requires defeating Plantera to happen, only defeating a Mechanical Boss.

• Desktop 1.2.0.3.1: Now only occurs after defeating Plantera. [1]

• Desktop 1.2.0.3:
  • Slightly increased the chance for a Solar Eclipse to happen, from 1/30 to 1/25, but they will now only happen after killing a Mechanical Boss.
  • Solar Eclipses are no longer persistent between worlds.

• Desktop 1.2: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console 1.02: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.2.6508: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced.