Monoliths are colossal monuments you can uncover while exploring worlds in No Man’s Sky. They generally spawn with three Knowledge Stones and require you to provide the correct responses to their questions. This guide outlines all the Monoliths you can find and the answers for each.
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How to find Monoliths in No Man’s Sky
Monoliths can be located in No Man’s Sky using your Signal Scanner in space in your ship or while on a planet’s surface. You may be better off finding an abandoned structure on the planet and using the controls within to scan for mysterious structures nearby. You can also buy maps on any Space Station that can end up pointing you toward Monoliths, but these aren’t guaranteed. In our experience, the best way to find them is to explore as much as possible.
Monoliths Riddles and Answers Solved
When you encounter a Monolith and interact with it, you’ll need to provide a response. One is superior to all the rest, giving you the best possible rewards. In this list, we’ve outlined every Monolith you can encounter alongside the superior response for it. Find the one you’re looking for, use the answer, and enjoy what the Monolith gives you as a result.
Gek Monolith puzzle
All of the following Monoliths are linked to the Gek race. You’ll find them in Gek systems on various planets, so keep an eye out if you know you’re in a Gek system.
Monolith 1
I’m inspecting the monolith’s surface when, suddenly, a ragged silicon claw grabs me. Despite being broken and fragmented, it holds me tight while an ancient metallic beak emerges from the living rock. It shouts in an ancient tongue, unaware of who or what I am.
- Response: Give silicate(10 Heridium)
- Reward: Learn New Word and Gain Gek Reputation
Monolith 2
I hear a low rumble which gradually builds into an ancient scream. It is like no noise I have ever heard or experienced. To this strange alien landscape, it is calm silence, inside my helmet, it is a nightmarish cacophony of pain and death. Through the noice, however, I can out some words within the screams.
- Response: Move away
- Reward: Receive a Gek Relic, Atlas word, and increased Gek Reputation
Monolith 3
A beak emerges from the ancient stone. It’s shouting, but can’t be heard. In the stone above, someone, long ago, has scrawled advice for those who approach it. The beak screams wordlessly at me, furiously intoning the words of the ancient beings that once worshiped here. My scanner detects traces of oxides around it, but can’t specify which ones.
- Response: Feed beak uncommon oxide (zinc)
- Reward: Learn two Gek words, one Atlas word, and receive a Gek Relic.
Monolith 4
An Unseen replication of my own self and exosuit stalks around the edge of the Monolith. It screams in an ancient tongue while forcing me down onto my knees. The doppelganger first places its boltcaster to my forehead, and then mimes, cutting my belly open with the mining beam. It smiles pleasantly. I am to choose my desired execution.
- Response: A bolt to the brain
- Reward: Boltcaster Blueprint, increased Gek Reputation, 1000 units.
Korvax Monolith puzzles
Each of the following Monoliths can be found in Korvax systems, so be on the lookout if you’re exploring a few of those in your current journey or Expedition.
Related: The seven best ship types in No Man’s Sky
Monolith 1
I feel faint as if my mind is being invaded. Pustules on my skin grow, bubble and pop – and I feel countless tiny stabbing pin-pricks scrabbling from each gaping hole. Suddenly metal spiders, perhaps tiny Sentinels, run up my shoulder and into my visor. Can this be real? This CANNOT be real. I start to scream.
- Response: Wait it out
- Reward: Learn New Word and Gain Korvax Reputation
Monolith 2
Tiny floating tetrahedrons emerge from the planet’s surface and surround me. I try to wave them away with my Multi-Tool, but each time they swam closer to it – as if attracted to it somehow. I raise my multi-tool, and they shimmer blue as they dart this way and that. Closer and closer. They are within touching distance of my Multi-Tool. They make one final surge.
- Response: Let the tetrahedrons in
- Reward: Multi-tool Blueprint, learn New Word and Gain Korvax Reputation
Monolith 3
I begin to feel dizzy. A strange lethargy comes over me, and I feel compelled to lie down in front of the ancient relic. This place feels calming. It feels like home, whatever that might have been. I know that if I truly wanted to fight the impulse to sleep I probably could, but I feel warm and comfortable basking in the glow of the ancient Ruin.
- Response 1: Resit
- Effect: Monolith’s power Fades
- Response 2: Sleep
- Effect: Get Full health
Monolith 4
A flickering reflection of my own body emerges from a portal. It mimics every move I make. When I wave, it waves. When I raise my Multi-Tool, it copies instantly. The doppelgänger makes a motion to suggest it wants something, and we both recoil when I realize I’ve instinctively matched its movements. Its body shimmers, but its equipment looks somehow real. Its multi-tool looks better than my own. The dimensional irregularity is fading.
- Response: Give multi-tool
- Reward: Korvax Reputation
Monolith 5
My movements seem normal but everything else is running faster than it should. The sun spins around this globe in seconds, days endlessly turn to night and back again. The creatures that graze and hunt around site pass by in a blur. I’m trapped in a time vortex. Numbers on my Multi-Tool seem to tick higher and higher. The closer I get to the Monolith, the more disturbance is added to the timeline.
- Response: Touch monolith
- Reward: Atlas Word
Monolith 6
I’m trying to read the ancient glyphs when a liquid metal lasso emerges and wraps itself around my helmet. It freezes in place, before pulling my head into contact with the glow of the Monolith. The ancient stone is warm and deep inside I hear the hum of an arcane technology as it prepares to unleash itself. I look up back up to the glyphs to try to guess why this might be happening. They talk to me in an alien tongue.
- Response: Wait
- Reward: Korvax Reputation, Atlas Word, Two Korvax Words
Monolith 7
A chiseled hole appears at the foot of the obelisk. From its smoothened edges and the scraped markings around it, it’s clear that over centuries unknown creatures have pushed elements through this gap. It’s impossible to tell quite what will happen, but below it are three blocks of the exact same dimensions that look like they can be turned by a mechanism deep within the monolith itself. I search my gear for the rare elements that look like they could fit…
- Insert Rare Oxide (50 Titanium) – Atlas word, suit blueprint, Korvax Reputation
- Insert Rare Silicate (50 Chrysonite) – Mulitool, Atlas word, Korvax Reputation
- Insert Rare Isotope (50 Plutonium) – Atlas word, Korvax Reputation
Monolith 8
For many ages it appears that pilgrims have carved numerical figures between the glowing glyphs of the monolith. Looking down, I notice an ancient coin. I scrape the ground with my boot, and unearth several more. The site is otherwise silent. Perhaps it’s eternally unresponsive, or perhaps it waits for something.
- Take coin – Take some damage, receive Units, decrease Korvax Reputation
- Offer Units – Increased Korvax Reputation, Atlas word, will be healed.
Monolith 9
I am being watched. A red laser dot appears on the ancient stone structure. I’m a target. I turn, but can’t see the potential assailant. Somewhere out there on the alien landscape, someone’s about to pull a trigger. There’s no cover to speak of, and no time to get behind the obelisk. Suddenly, the words of an unknown power blaze brightly on the monolith.
- Answer – Move back
- Reward – increase Korvax Reputation
Monolith 10
I see a strange vision. Blue light pours from the monolith as if a curtain has been dropped within. I hear a gentle hubub of voices, and catch a familiar smell on the breeze. I cannot remember my home, but I know that this is a doorway that leads there. I ache for a past I cannot remember. Every inch of my soul wants to make the leap back. I look to the skies, and the infinity beyond. Can I truly abandon my journey, when it’s only just begun?
- Resist temptation – Increased Korvax Standing, Atlas word, receive a random item.
- Step back into the past – New Atlas word, full heal.
Monolith 11
The Monolith disappears. The landscape around me seems sane, but somehow the planetary vegetation has moved. Sitting central to where the mysterious stone once stood is a red glowing orb. The intensity of the orb burns the ground beneath it. It crackles with an unknown power. I feel compelled to pick it up, and become part of it. A distant voice speaks to me…
- Response: Standback
- Reward: None, but any other option will just cause you take damage and lose Korvax Reputation
Monolith 12
A child emerges from the monolith. It takes a few moments before I realize that… it’s me. I look carefree and innocent. The little one stares up at my Exosuit, and tries to see me through my visor. The child suddenly starts to weep, and clings to my knees. It implores me never to leave. It doesn’t want to be alone. I should stay here forever. We should be reunited. Whole again once more.
- Response: Comfort, then leave
- Reward: Korvax Reputation increase, Atlas word, random item.
Vy’keen Monolith puzzles
Each of the Monoliths in this section of the list is located in a Vy’keen system. Be on th elookout if you’re warping through them.
Monolith 1
I am trying to read the glyphs on the ancient monument when I feel a strange chill. A layer of frozen gas suddenly coats the monolith from bottom to top. It’s so cold that I can see my breath inside my helmet. There is one small gap in the crystal ice, and I feel convinced that I could feed some of my mined elements through it, so they can come into contact with the monolith behind.
- Response: Insert isotope element (10 Carbon)
- Reward: Learn Atlas Word, Get Commodity item, and Gain Vy’keen Reputation
Monolith 2
I see a strange vision. A small terrified creature emerges from the monolith and runs between my legs. I hear the noises of an ancient hunt: the howls of pack animals in pursuit and the thunder of hooves. Warriors on vast beasts charge through the rock, and amidst the chaos one sees me staring. It raises its facial tendrils in greeting, barks a few words and swings a bladed weapon down towards me.
- Response: Grab Weapon
- Reward: New Multi-tool and Gain Vy’keen Reputation
Monolith 3
The body of a warrior emerges from the obelisk, a jagged tear in their midriff suggesting that the dangerous-looking multi-tool that sits in their hand was not enough to save them. The surface of the sculpted rock blurs and shows images of military worship. It’s trying to tell me something.
- Response 1: Take the Multi-tool and leave
- Effect: Get a New Multi-tool, but lose Vy’keen Reputation
- Response 2: Bury the Soldier and Multi-tool
- Effect: learn new Atlas Word, Full health regain and Gain Vy’keen Reputation
Monolith 4
I place my palm on the monolith, then stand back when it melts in response to my touch. Molten rock drips down the stone, exposing a hollow interior. Inside, I see riches that are beyond belief. Ancient technologies and cargo that would aid my journey.
Lava continues to drop, and the edifice seems unstable, but equipment that could aid me is within arm’s reach. Suddenly, the voice of an ancient tribe shakes the ground I stand on
- Response 1: Stand Back
- Effect: Gain Vy’keen Reputation and a Commodity item
- Response 2: Reach In
- Effect: Receive a permanent damage to Exosuit and LoseVy’keen Reputation
Monolith 5
I become a part of a strange new reality. The ancient rock opens. Inside, the dried out heart of an ancient warrior is strung up between wooden pillars. It pulses slowly as it hangs there, still beating. Lying below it on a dusty floor are a set of wrinkled lungs that look forever doomed to wheeze stale air. A desiccated eyeball stares up at me. Unblinking.
- Response: Place lungs with heat
- Reward: Vy’keen Reputation
Monolith 6
I am suddenly underwater. I am drowning. Water clogs my lungs. My chest is on fire. I gasp for air when there is none and feel only tepid liquids filling me inside and out. My vision is clouding. I know it is my time. This is it. This is what it feels like. Suddenly, a green hand thrusts itself through the surface of the water. The light is fading.
- Response: Die
- Reward: Vy’keen Reputation and Maximum Health Increase
Monolith 7
Two ancient stone cups materialize in front of the Monolith. One is filled with a dark red viscous liquid, the other contains a sticky fluid that is bright yellow and smells powerfully bitter. On the stone tablet behind the cup ancient glyphs form an image. A powerful muscular warrior surrounded by a red halo challenges an opponent clad in bright yellow armor.
- Response: Drink the viscous red liquid
- Reward: full heal, new Atlas word, new item.
Monolith 8
The monolith shows images of creatures lying dead before it. Each sacrificed, butchered and offered up to whatever Gods were once worshipped.
Suddenly, the head of a small woodland animal raises up through the earth below me. It stares at me with wide-eyes, then gives a joyful skip when its tiny hooves reach ground level. Something is clearly expected of me…
- Response: Sacrifice the creature
- Reward: Increase Rep, Atlas word, a random item.
Monolith 9
The Monolith rips like paper, opening a window to another world. It is laced with a giant web. Just within my reach, an ancient warrior lies cocooned. It has been there for centuries. Dead, vacant eyes stare through me and on into the landscape beyond. It carries a rusted multi-tool, while a bulging webbed sack on its chest suggest it might carry greater riches on its body. Suddenly, the strange leathery growth starts to move…
- Search body – Atlas word, Vy’Keen effigy
- Take Multi-Tool – Atlas word, new blueprint
Monolith 10
I live within a new reality. I am inside a vast coliseum and beneath a blood red sky. The noise is overpowering. Warriors scream and bark at the battle set up before them. Two combatants are squaring up on the crimson sand. One has lost its blade, and hides behind a shield. The other stalks towards it, with spear raised. I feel compelled to add my voice to the howl of the mob.
- Support spear-wielding gladiator – Atlas word, multitool
- Support endangered gladiator – Atlas word, exosuit blueprint
Monolith 11
I place my hand on the ancient structure and feel an intense heat burning within. Suddenly, as if attracted to my suit, a liquid metal starts to seep from a hole that’s been broken into the rock. What starts as a drip becomes a surge forcing itself through the gap. The monolith’s previous contents are draining, and its glow is starting to fade. A voice screams out.
- Plug the hole with oxide (100 Iron) – Atlas word, increase Reputation, Vy’Keen dagger
- Take molten substance – Vy’Keen dagger
Monolith 12
A portal opens on the Monolith, and the body of a huge winged animal falls to my feet. Its throat has been ritually cut, and its wings has been tattooed with faces of an ancient warrior tribe. The eyes though, the eyes look strange… Its original eyes have been cut out, and replaced by glittering red orbs. The more i look, the more they blaze. An advanced technology clearly lies at their center. Can i bear to desecrate this sacrifice for help with my journey?
- Remove sacrifice’s eyes – Atlas word, decrease Rep, Vy’Keen dagger
- Respect sacrifice – Atlas word, increased Rep, full health and shield
Monolith 13
The giant mouth of an ancient hound suddenly emerges through the face of the monolith. It opens its jaws wide, and foul-smelling spittle streaks my visor. My nausea is tempered by the sight of valuable commodities balanced on its giant tongue. In a sudden movement the hound shifts the goods to one side of its mouth, spraying saliva over my arms. There’s space on the tongue for more, should i wish to give up some of my cargo…
- Place good on tongue (10 Carbon) – Atlas word, increase Reputation, Vy’Keen effigy, max health restore
- Remove good from tongue – take damage, decrease Reputation, but receive Microdensity Fabric.
Monolith 14
The Monolith fragments before my eyes. It folds down in on itself, again and again, until it is a tiny red orb surrounded by dancing lights. It feels like something truly ancient, perhaps something divine, is showing me the origin of the strange constructions. The oxides I carry are physically dragging me towards it – desperate to help it rebuild. It’s not so much that I’m a pilgrim bearing offerings in hope of a blessing, but more that the elements I carry want to offer themselves…
- Give rare oxide (50 Titanium) – Increase Reputation, Atlas word, Health and Shield at maximum, Vy’keen effigy.
Monolith 15
The body of a gulled blob creature materializes on the surface of the rock. It is an ancient sacrifice, impaled through its wide, open eyes with metal spears. Liquid is dripping from the body down the monolith through a channel cut into the rock by ancient hands. It can be diverted toward two carvings – one of a sun, the other of a moon.
- Divert liquid to the sun – Increase Reputation, Atlas word, max health, random Blueprint
- Divert liquid to moon – Increase Reputation, Atlas word, max health, improved Blueprint.
Monolith 16
The body of a gulled blob creature materializes on the surface of the rock. It is an ancient sacrifice, impaled through its wide, open eyes with metal spears. Liquid is dripping from the body down the monolith through a channel cut into the rock by ancient hands. It can be diverted toward two carvings – one of a sun, the other of a moon.
- Touch Monolith – Increase Reputation, Vy’Keen Effigy, take damage.
- Stand still – Both you and your tech take damage, Vy’keen Effigy, Atlas word.
Monolith 17
A sudden pulse of destructive energy flows through my Exosuit. My multi-tools sensor sense another build-up of energy growing deep within the monolith. It will soon unleash itself on me, and the landscape that surrounds the ancient site. I can use my Protection Mesh functions, to dampen the imminent energy wave, but systems are too overwhelmed to identify it…
- Prepare to absorb radiation – Increase Reputation, Vy’Keen Effigy, Units.
Neutral Monolith puzzles
All of these Monolith puzzles are found in neutral systems around the galaxy. These aren’t as common as you’d think, so take the time to look for Monoliths when you’re in one.
Monolith 1
Two stone blocks slowly revolve on the base of the Monolith. Two beads of red light then trace images on each one. The red lights then pool together and liquefy in an indentation below. The closer I get, the more agitated the red pools become.
The images both show masked electronic lifeforms. The first shows the lifeform absorbing power to break free from its shackles. The second shows it hiding from its captors.
- Place hand on the lifrform breaking free – A new Multi-Tool blueprint and a new Atlas word
- Place hand on the lifeform taking shetler – A new Atlas word and an Exosuit upgrade.
Monolith 2
There are three vast columns of words on the ancient structure, each written in a different alphabet. The first column’s words are like savage runes scratched in sand, the second shows precise sequences of dots. The final column has wide and welcoming letters, almost appearing hand-written in hard stone.
The dirt and blood of ancient hand prints cover the base of each column.
- Press hand against letters – Learn one Atlas word and one Gek word
- Press hand against runes – Learn one Atlas word and one Vy’keen word
- Press hand against dots – Learn one Atlas word and one Gek word.
Monolith 3
I’m running my fingers over the ancient glowing runes, when I look down. An expanding pool of liquid metal has rippled out of the obelisk’s base. My feet have already been covered. In the bright reflection I see my expression turn to horror as I begin to sink.
I feel warming hands on my legs, pulling me down into the silver sheet. Every hazard detection device on my Multi-Tool is going haywire. Radiation, heat, cold… every danger imaginable.
- Sink – New Atlas word, a new item, and have your technology repaired
- Struggle – Take a chunk of damage, but receive increased Hazard Protection.
What do you get for solving Monoliths?
When you solve a Monolith riddle, you’ll be rewarded with new words in alien languages, blueprints, and even increased standing with certain races. This all depends on which race dominates the current system and what words you already know in each language. New players will get a lot of help from solving Monolith riddles, so it pays to take the time to solve them early if you come across one.
