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How to get Terraria’s new liquid, Shimmer

Where to find this magical sparkle-liquid.

The new Terraria patch 1.4.4 Labor of Love update has greatly expanded the late mid- and end-game, so naturally, there are even more ways to alter the experience through new items and gadgets. The update has also expanded the crafting possibilities and, more specifically, transmutations. A new type of glowing fluorescent stuff liquid called Shimmer has been added to the game, and it has some truly magical properties. But to get Shimmer and use it, you’ll have to advance quite a bit into the game. If you’re wondering where to find Shimmer in Terraria and what you can use it for, we have prepared this guide to help you out.

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Related: How to get the Terraformer in Terraria

Where to find Shimmer in Terraria

If you’re on the lookout to find the new Shimmer liquid, then you might need a bit of luck first. Shimmer naturally spawns only in Aether Cave biomes, which can be found by digging deep down on the Jungle biome side of your world.

Screenshot by Gamepur

An alternative way of getting Shimmer is through the use of the Bottomless Shimmer Bucket item. This item works exactly like the Bottomless Water Bucket or Bottomless Lava Bucket, meaning that you can use it to create Shimmer pools inside your base. There are two ways to get this item:

  • By crafting at the Ancient Manipulator crafting station using Bottomless Water Bucket and 10 Luminite Bars. 
  • Alternatively, after defeating the Moon Lord, you can throw a Bottomless Water Bucket into a pool of Shimmer to get the Bottomless Shimmer Bucket.

The effects of Shimmer in Terraria

Shimmer has different transformative effects on items and creatures that it comes into contact with. For example, your player character will get a ‘shimmer debuff,’ which will make them freeze until it falls through blocks into free space on the other side. Coins thrown into Shimmer will increase your Luck stat, with the number of coins determining the buff duration. Crafted items thrown into the pool will disassemble into their components. On the other hand, items that have different types (such as Crests and some Bags) can be ‘cycled’ to transmute into different types.

For some humor, you can throw critters into Shimmer (or have them walk in), and they will transform into Faelings. Meanwhile, if you douse NPCs in Shimmer, they will transform into a shimmering variant, but this has no effect other than changing the sprites. Enemies that get into Shimmer can transform into different types, while those that can’t be transformed will just turn temporarily invisible.

All Shimmer transmutations in Terraria

To transmute an item in Shimmer, the item has to be either thrown in or entirely submerged. The transmutation process will expel the new item and make it briefly float so that you can pick it back up.

OriginalTransmutation result
Life CrystalVital Crystal
Life FruitAegis Fruit
Mana CrystalArcane Crystal
Pink PearlGalaxy Pearl
FruitsAmbrosia
Gold WormGummy Worm
Peddler’s HatPeddler’s Satchel
Spell TomeAdvanced Combat Techniques V2
ClentaminatorTerraformer (Post Moon Lord)
Rod of DiscordRod of Harmony (Post Moon Lord)
CritterFaeling
Angel statueAether Monolith
Bottomless Water BucketBottomless Shimmer Bucket (Post Moon Lord)
Town NPCSame NPC with Shimmer variant sprite
Any crafted itemDisassembled to components
Any wood except normal woodNormal Wood
Normal woodDirt Block
Any other Liquid (when Shimmer is poured over it)Aetherium Block
Most slimesShimmer Slime
Star CloakChromatic cloak
Can Of WormsHerb Bag
Herb BagCan Of Worms
Sparkle Slime Balloon (Thrown)Diva Town Slime
TorchesAether Torch
Any CampfireAether Campfire
Any Biome KeyMatching Biome Chest
Any ArrowShimmer Arrow
Whoopie CushionGas Trap
Used gas trapGas Trap
Zombie ArmWhoopie Cushion
Enchanted SundialEnchanted Moondial
SpearTrident
Honey Block or Crispy Honey BlockHive
Jungle Grass SeedMushroom Grass Seed
Mushroom Grass SeedJungle Grass Seed
PumpkinCactus
CactusPumpkin
ZombieSkeleton
Vile/Vicious PowderPurification Powder
FlareShimmering Flare
Living Wood WandFinch Staff
Any glowing MossHelium Moss
Bewitching TableAlchemy Table
Alchemy TableBewitching Table
Pharoah’s robeFlying Carpet
Biome WallsInfested Biome Walls
Any Hardmode cratePre-Hardmode crate variant
GraniteMarble
MarbleGranite
BambooLarge Bamboo
Large BambooBamboo
Discount CardLucky Coin
Lucky CoinGold Ring
Gold RingDiscount Card
Green/Pink/Blue dungeon brickAncient Green/Pink/Blue dungeon brick
Obsidian brickAncient obsidian brick
Hellstone brickAncient Hellstone brick

Shimmer can also be used to downgrade some items that are thrown in. When they can’t be downgraded any further, all items will then turn to Stone Blocks, and then Stone Blocks will turn to Dirt Blocks.

Ores thrown into Shimmer downgrade by one tier below, with Luminite being the highest, and Copper being the lowest. However, Demonite, Crimtane, Meteorite, Hellstone, and Hallowed Bar are not affected by Shimmer.

OreDowngrade result
LuminiteChlorophyte Ore
Chlorophyte OreTitanium Ore
Titanium OreAdamantite Ore
Adamantite OreOrichalcum Ore
Orichalcum OreMythril Ore
Mythril OrePalladium Ore
Palladium OreCobalt Ore
Cobalt OrePlatinum Ore
Platinum OreGold Ore
Gold OreTungsten Ore
Tungsten OreSilver Ore
Silver OreLead Ore
Lead OreIron Ore
Iron OreTin Ore
Tin OreCopper Ore
Copper OreStone Block

The gems thrown into Shimmer follow a similar path as ores, with Diamond being the highest tier and downgrading to Amethyst. Amber is the only gem that’s unaffected by Shimmer.

GemDowngrade result
DiamondRuby
RubyEmerald
EmeraldSapphire
SapphireTopaz
TopazAmethyst
AmethystStone Block

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Author
Image of Miljan Truc
Miljan Truc
I have been into gaming since the days of Sega Mega Drive and Amiga. Over the years in gaming, I have raided at a high level, completed rare achievements, coached other players, and written about games since 2016. Whether it’s been clicking heads; developing cities, colonies, and empires; or commanding parties of adventurers; I’ve always prided myself on being able to understand the underlying mechanics of games. Outside of gaming, I enjoy a variety of activities and hobbies, including playing with my pup Astra, working out, as well as crafting, painting, and leatherwork.