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"A giant rock? Well, that's not very threatening at all. Is it gonna fall over onto us or something?"
―Matt encounters a Monolith for the first time, Epic Battle Fantasy 3

Monoliths are a recurring group of enemies found in Epic Battle Fantasy 3, 4 and 5.

Appearance[]

SkyVikingMonolithsOverworld

A Sky Monolith (left) and a Viking Monolith (right) in the Temple of Godcat (EBF4)

Monoliths are enormous slabs of stone or metal that emerge from the ground, usually bearing mysterious markings on their front face. Their origins are generally unknown, but they are presumably relics of the former inhabitants of the areas where they are found.

Monoliths usually appear in rocky environments, like caves and mountains. Curiously, some of their overworld sprites depict them as floating in the air.

Overview[]

Monoliths are incredibly dangerous foes, arguably being the most powerful enemy family in EBF3 and remaining in the highest tier of foes in subsequent games. They use extremely strong magic attacks and a number of supportive skills; they also have great HP and resistances against many elements. Their most powerful skill - usually a massive energy beam - can only be used every few turns; in EBF3, Monoliths would use it on their first turn and every three turns thereafter. As of EBF4, most Monoliths will telegraph their best attack by gaining a Charge one turn prior; some can do this while performing another skill, while others have to dedicate a turn specifically to Charge themselves.

As Monoliths rely solely on their magical abilities for the most part, inflicting Syphon or Berserk on them can leave them completely helpless and unable to do anything. Unfortunately, all Monoliths have Syphon resistance to combat this, and later games give some of them additional means to circumvent this weakness. In terms of actually killing them, they often have poor Evade on account of being giant, immobile rocks; the Cosmic Monolith is a notable exception, boasting some of the best Evade of any foe in its respective games.

Monoliths generally resist most types of damage while having two elemental weaknesses; with the exception of the Cosmic Monolith, one of these weaknesses is always Bomb. Monoliths are also immune to Burn, Scorch, Poison, Virus, Stun, Chill, Freeze, Stagger, Doom, and Instant Death while resisting Syphon.

Species[]

Epic Battle Fantasy 3[]

Epic Battle Fantasy 4[]

Epic Battle Fantasy 5[]

Adventure Story[]

Two types of Monolith appear as high-level enemies in the series' platformer spin-off - Adventure Story. Much like their original counterparts, they are immobile spellcasters with hard-to-dodge, highly-damaging attacks.

Viking Monolith[]

VikingMonolithAS

Largely unchanged in appearance from its EBF3 incarnation (albeit simplified), the Viking Monolith appears in the third area of the game (Snowy Mountain Range). It sits in place and fires off spreads of ice spikes in Matt's direction when he approaches it - the spikes can be deflected, but deal around 12 points of damage to Matt when they hit him.

One of the safest ways to defeat the Viking Monolith is to jump at its upper half and use Matt's aerial attack repeatedly; if done correctly, Matt will bounce in place, damaging the Monolith and deflecting most of its ice spikes.

Cosmic Monolith[]

Unlike the Viking Monolith, the Cosmic Monolith has been changed significantly for its Adventure Story appearance. It is no longer a perfect rectangle, instead appearing somewhat irregular in shape like most Monoliths. Additionally, it now appears to be fire-based, as its only attack is launching large fireballs in Matt's general direction. These fireballs are fast-moving, extremely damaging (depleting about 14 HP a hit), and capable of homing in on Matt to some extent.

Defeating a Cosmic Monolith is a difficult task, as the previous "aerial bounce" strategy risks being pummeled with fireballs. To evade the projectiles, Matt should retreat to an area with multiple platforms and jump between them as the fireballs approach - if done correctly, this should prevent them from hitting him. However, doing this while finding time to hurt the Monolith is often extremely tricky (especially if other enemies are present), so extreme caution is advised whenever a Cosmic Monolith is present.

Trivia[]

  • The movements of the Undying Monolith's skull and the lights running down the Cosmic Monolith's markings are unaffected by turning battle animations off in EBF4's Options menu.
  • The various EBF4 Monoliths (minus the Cosmic Monolith) comprise the second wave of the Battle Mountain Monster Marathon.
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