No Man’s Sky Monolith Riddles and Puzzle Solutions

Exploring the vast unknown is one of the keys to No Man’s Sky’s enduring popularity. There are thousands of planets out there to discover and plant your flag on, before scooting around the surface looking for landmarks, discovering the local animals and plants, and setting up a base. Behind all this lies the mystery of the ancient monuments that can be found across the universe. Each ancient Monolith you find in No Man’s Sky tells its own story, along with its own riddles and solutions.

Monolith puzzle solutions for No Man’s Sky

Monoliths are one of the possible locations you’ll find when using a Signal Booster to find local structures or via a Cartographer on a Space Station from a Planetary Chart (Ancient Artifact Site, 33 percent chance of getting a Monolith). When you land, you’ll always find two or three Knowledge Stones plus a terminal on the main structure. This will offer a riddle of sorts, asking you to choose one of several responses. Give the right solution and you’ll receive a reward, alongside the opportunity to add an artifact to gain a Portal location on the planet. We’ve listed the riddles and puzzle solutions we’ve found below.

Related: 5 Best No Man’s Sky Mods

Giving the correct solution can give a variety of rewards, from recharging your health or a Faction Standing boost to a Blueprint or Multi-tool. Depending on the race dominant in the system you’re in, you’ll need either a Gek Relic, Korvax Casing, or Vy’keen Dagger to trigger the second interaction. Add the correct item and you’ll be given a marker to the location of the Planet’s Portal. Once you have this, you can save the planet’s location code and give it to friends. It will allow them to use another Portal to visit you directly on the planet.

We will add more Monolith Vision information as we find it. If you can add any No Man's Sky information, do so in the comments below. To find Vision Titles while in-game press Escape, go to Catalogue and Guide, then Collected Knowledge. You’ll find your experiences of Monolith Visions there (see the image above).  

No Man’s Sky: Gek Monolith Puzzles

Beak

A beak emerged from the ancient stone. It's shouting, but could not 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.

Positive answers:

• Feed beak rare oxide (titanium): Two Gek words.
• Feed beak uncommon oxide (zinc): Two Gek words, one Atlas word, Gek relic.
• Feed beak common oxide (iron): Two Gek words, one Atlas word.

MetalliGek

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.

Positive answers:

• Give silicate (10 Heridium): Atlas word, Gek reputation, Gek relic.

Holy Site

I hear a low rumble, which gradually builds into an ancient scream. It’s like no noise I’ve ever experienced. To this strange alien landscape it’s a calm silence, inside my helmet it’s a nightmarish cacophony of pain and death.

Through the noise, however, I can make out some words within the screams.

Positive answers:

• Move away: Gek relic, Atlas word, Gek reputation.

Winged Creature

I see a strange vision. A small winged creature lands on the very top of the monolith. Suddenly, its eyes glow red and its head revolves in a full circle. It screams for mercy in an ancient voice that wants itself dead.

The poor animal has clearly broken its neck, but the monolith's power of possession still animates it. I wonder if the right thing would be to shoot it, and put it out of its misery. 

Positive answers:

• Shoot the creature: Gek Relic, Atlas word, Gek reputation.

Related: How many planets are in No Man’s Sky? Total Planets, Types, and Galaxies Explained

Abomination

A strange new reality grips me. The ancient structure swings open to reveal a body encased in ice. It is a patchwork of different body parts. Its ragged beak appears to have been stitched on with animal gut.

A hand-written sign in the language of the ancient traders can be seen above the body's head. A flammable isotope would most likely melt the ice...

Positive answers:

• Leave: Gek Relic, Atlas word, Gek reputation.

Gek Monolith 6

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.

Positive answers:

• A laser beam to the torso: Armour blueprint, Gek reputation.
• A bolt to the brain: Weapon blueprint, Gek reputation.

No Man’s Sky: Korvax Monolith Riddles

Spiders

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.

Positive answers:

• Wait it out: Atlas word, Korvax reputation, Korvax Casing.

Tetrahedrons

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…

Positive answers:

• Let the tetrahedrons in: Weapon blueprint, Korvax reputation, Atlas word.

Sleep

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 worm and comfortable basking in the glow of the ancient Ruin.

Positive answers:

• Sleep: Full health restored.

Child

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.

Positive answers:

• Comfort, then leave: Korvax reputation, Atlas word, Korvax Casing.

Memories

I see a strange vision. Blue light pours from the monolith as if a curtain has been dropped within. I hear a gentle hubbub of voices, and catch a familiar smell on the breeze. I cannot remember my home, but I know that this is a doorway 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?

Positive answers:

• Resist temptation: Korvax reputation, Atlas word, Korvax Casing.
• Step back into the past: Atlas word, Full health restored.

Korvax Monolith 6

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 doppelganger 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.

Positive answers:

• Give multi-tool: Multi-tool, Korvax word, Korvax reputation.

Related: No Man’s Sky – How to save your game

Korvax Monolith 7

A chiselled 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…

Positive answers:

• Insert rare oxide (50 Titanium): Atlas word, Armour blueprint, Korvax reputation.
• Insert rare silicate (50 Chrysonite): Atlas word, Multitool, Korvax reputation.
• Insert rare isotope (50 Plutonium): Atlas word, Korvax reputation.

Korvax 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.

Positive answers:

• Offer units (10 units): Korvax reputation, Atlas word, Korvax Casing, Full health restored.

Korvax 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 is 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.

Positive answers:

• Move back: Korvax reputation, Korvax Casing, Atlas word.

Korvax Monolith 10

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…

Positive answers:

• Stand back: Korvax reputation, Atlas word, Korvax Casing, Full health restored.

Korvax Monolith 11

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.

Positive answers:

• Sink: Atlas word, Full health restored, items repaired, Korvax Casing.

Korvax Monolith 12

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 it captors.

Positive answers:

• Place hand on the lifeform taking shelter: Exosuit blueprint, Atlas word, Korvax reputation.
• Place hand on the lifeform breaking free: Multi-tool blueprint, Atlas word, Korvax reputation.

No Man’s Sky: Vy’keen Monolith Riddles

Molten Rock

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.

Positive answers:

• Stand back: Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy, Atlas word, Full health restored.

Crystal Ice

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.

Positive answers:

• Insert isotope element (10 Carbon): Atlas word, Vy’keen Effigy, Vy’keen reputation, Fuel.

Related: How to find your freighter in No Man’s Sky

Ancient Scripts

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.

Positive answers:

• Press hand against letters: Gek word, Atlas word.
• Press hand against dots: Korvax word, Atlas word.
• Press hand against runes: Vy’keen word, Atlas word.

A Violent End

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.

Positive answers:

• Bury the soldier and multi-tool: Atlas word, Vy’keen Effigy, Vy’keen reputation, Health buff.

The Hunt

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.

Positive answers:

• Grab weapon: Multi-tool, Atlas word, Vy’keen reputation.

Withered Remains

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.

Positive answers:

• Place lungs with heat: Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy, Atlas word.

Vy’keen Monolith 7

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.

Positive answers:

• Die: Full health restored, Vy’keen reputation.

Vy’keen Monolith 8

Two ancient stone cups materialise 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 armour.

Positive answers:

• Drink the bitter yellow liquid: Items repaired, Shield restored, Atlas word, Vy’keen Effigy.
• Drink the viscous red liquid: Full health restored, Atlas word, Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy.

Vy’keen Monolith 9

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…

Positive answers:

• Sacrifice the creature: Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy, Atlas word, commodity item.

Vy’keen Monolith 10

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…

Positive answers:

• Take Multi-tool: Multi-tool blueprint, Atlas word, Vy’keen reputation.

Related: How to find the best planets in No Man’s Sky

Vy’keen Monolith 11

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.

Positive answers:

• Support spear-wielding gladiator: Vy’keen reputation, Atlas word, Multi-tool.
• Support endangered gladiator: Vy’keen reputation, Atlas word, Armour blueprint.

Vy’keen Monolith 12

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.

Positive answers:

• Plug hole with oxide (100 iron): Atlas word, get Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy.
• Take molten substance: A small amount of damage, Vy’keen Dagger

Vy’keen Monolith 13

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?

Positive answers:

• Remove sacrifice’s eyes: Atlas word, negative Vy’keen reputation, Blueprint.
• Respect sacrifice: Atlas word, Vy’keen reputation, Health and Shield restored.

Vy’keen Monolith 14

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…

Positive answers:

• Place goods on giant hound tongue (10 Carbon): Atlas word, Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen Effigy, Health restored.

Vy’keen Monolith 15

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…

Positive answers:

• Give common oxide (100 iron): Vy’keen reputation.
• Give uncommon oxide (50 zinc): Vy’keen reputation, Atlas word, Health restored.
• Give rare oxide (50 titanium): Vy’keen reputation, Atlas word, Health and Shield restored, Vy’keen effigy.

Vy’keen Monolith 16

A sudden pulse of destructive energy flows through my exosuit. My multi-tools sensors 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…

Positive answers:

• Prepare to absorb radiation: Vy’keen reputation, Vy’keen effigy, Atlas word, Units.

Looking for more No Man's Sky help and information? Check out No Man’s Sky: How to get Activated Copper and How to recruit your own Squadron in No Man’s Sky here at Pro Game Guides.