Solar Eclipse Guide: Mothron, Drops & Solar Tablets (1.4.5)

Terraria's Solar Eclipse event — the 1/20 dawn chance after a mechanical boss, Mothron and the horror-movie enemy roster, and every drop worth farming.

10/5/2026 1.4.5.8 Terraria Wiki Team 3 min read

FAQ

How rare is a Solar Eclipse in Terraria?

Once any mechanical boss is defeated, each dawn has a 1/20 (5%) chance to roll a Solar Eclipse — roughly once per in-game month on average. It lasts the entire day, 4:30 AM to 7:30 PM, regardless of kills.

How do you summon a Solar Eclipse?

Use a Solar Tablet during the day. Tablets are looted (rarely) from Lihzahrd Chests in the Jungle Temple or crafted from 8 Solar Tablet Fragments — fragments drop from Lihzahrds and Flying Snakes, including the ones that spawn outside the Temple door, so you can stock up before ever opening it. You can't use the tablet in a pre-Hardmode world.

What is Mothron and why does it matter?

Mothron is the Solar Eclipse's post-Plantera miniboss — a giant moth that flies, lunges, and lays eggs that hatch into smaller moths. It drops the Broken Hero Sword (needed for the True swords and ultimately the Zenith), the Eye of Cthulhu yoyo, the Mothron Wings, and Wings of Evil.

Does the Solar Eclipse work underground?

No — it only affects the surface layer. Going underground returns spawn tables to normal, which is the standard way to escape if you aren't geared for it.

What should I farm during a Solar Eclipse?

Broken Hero Swords from Mothron, the Death Sickle from Reapers (post-all-mechs), Eye of Cthulhu yoyo and Mothron Wings, Neptune's Shell from Creatures from the Deep, and the Nail Gun from Nailheads — the deep roster (Nailhead, Psycho, Deadly Sphere, Butcher, Dr. Man Fly) is all post-Plantera.

What is the Solar Eclipse?

The Solar Eclipse is a full-day Hardmode event: the moon slides across the sun, ambient light drops below nighttime levels, and the surface floods with fast, aggressive enemies lifted straight from classic horror films — Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, vampires, reapers, possessed weapons. The event runs from sunrise (4:30 AM) to sunset (7:30 PM) no matter how many enemies you kill, and sleeping won’t skip it.

Like the Blood Moon, it’s surface-only — step underground and the spawn table reverts to normal. Unlike the Blood Moon, there’s no dodge-the-night: it’s daylight hours or nothing.

When does it happen?

After any one mechanical boss (Destroyer, Twins, or Skeletron Prime) is defeated, each dawn independently rolls a 1/20 (5%) chance. There is no pity timer — dry spells and back-to-back eclipses are both normal.

To trigger one manually, use a Solar Tablet in the daytime:

Found rarely inside Lihzahrd Chests in the Jungle Temple — occasionally even in chests placed at the entrance.
Crafted from 8 Solar Tablet Fragments at a Hardmode anvil; fragments drop from Lihzahrds and Flying Snakes, including the ones that spawn outside the Temple door — so you can assemble a tablet without a Temple Key by farming the doorstep.
The tablet refuses to fire in a pre-Hardmode world even though fragments can be collected there.

The enemy roster

Phase	Enemies	Notable drops
After 1 mech boss	Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, Vampire, Creature from the Deep, Fritz, The Possessed, Eyezor	Moon Stone and Broken Bat Wing (Vampires), Neptune’s Shell (Creature), Eye Spring pet (Eyezor)
After all mech bosses	Adds the Reaper	Death Sickle
Post-Plantera	Adds Mothron (+babies), Butcher, Deadly Sphere, Dr. Man Fly, Nailhead, Psycho	Broken Hero Sword, Eye of Cthulhu yoyo, Mothron Wings, Nail Gun, Psycho Knife, Deadly Sphere Staff, Toxic Flask, Butcher’s Chainsaw

The Broken Hero Sword is the event’s economic engine — it’s the ingredient that upgrades Night’s Edge and Excalibur into their True forms on the road to the Zenith. In current versions it drops only from Mothron (1/4 chance), and Mothron spawns only after Plantera — so early eclipses are worth farming for Nail Guns and Moon Stones, but the real loot window opens late in Hardmode.

Farming the eclipse efficiently

Set up a flat arena near spawn — the event doesn’t care where enemies die, so a campfire, heart lanterns, and a battle platform turn each day into a loot printer.
Water Candle + Battle Potion stack with the event’s elevated rates for maximum Mothron rolls.
Post-Plantera is the sweet spot — Mothron joins the table, drop chances climb, and you actually want Broken Hero Swords now.
Banners matter — eclipse enemies share banners like everything else; place them along the arena for free damage and defense.

When you’re done farming, the Solar Tablet lets you run the event on demand — and the Enchanted Sundial will skip it entirely if one lands at a bad time.

Screenshot sources: cover — official Steam store screenshot (Re-Logic); gallery — wiki.gg Jungle Temple map render.