Floating Island



A Floating Island is a mass of isolated Forest land found in the sky, generally well above the world's main land mass. There will always be at least one Floating Island on a map, with most worlds containing two or more. Their altitude and lateral position makes them susceptible to Harpies, and, in Hardmode, Wyverns (and Arch Wyverns in the console version).

Each Floating Island has a Gold, Silver, or Copper Brick structure on its surface, with a Door for entry. Within each of these structures is a locked Gold Chest, requiring one Golden Key each (found in the Dungeon) to open. Each of these Chests contains at least one item unique to Floating Islands.

High-tier ores are also usually found within their land masses.

Loot
Each Floating Island has one locked Gold Chest, requiring one Golden Key each to open. Golden Keys are found in the Dungeon. Each of these Chests contains exactly one of the items above. Unique items are chosen at random, with the restriction that all three unique items must be spawned at least once before the generator makes truly random unique items spawn on any remaining Floating Islands.

The type of wall and brick (copper, silver, gold) is completely random, and has no relation to the loot found inside.

Location and characteristics
Floating Islands are randomly placed somewhere in the upper sixth of the map, but cannot occur within the center 160 tiles of the map, laterally. The maximum number of Floating Islands is dependent on the map size. Because the algorithm attempts to place Floating Islands roughly in the top sixth of the map, map size changes the altitude range where they will occur.

Being at high altitude, players usually experience reduced gravity while navigating them.

Upon entering Hardmode, Floating Islands can become Corrupted or Hallowed if they fall within the path of the initial transformation. See Hardmode for more information.

Enemies
Floating islands are not unique Biomes, and instead are generally ordinary Forests. They are generally at an altitude high enough for Harpy spawns (and Wyvern spawns, in Hardmode). Slimes (in the day) or Zombies and Demon Eyes (at night) may also spawn.

Locating


The easiest method of finding floating islands is to use a map viewer. This method will not work for multiplayer maps, where most players do not have external access to the world file.

From within the game:
 * Fire a long-range, ricocheting weapon up in the air, like Meteor Shot or a Water Bolt. If it bounces back a few seconds later, a Floating Island is probably above you. Firing a non-ricocheting weapon like the Musket with ordinary Musket Balls can also be useful, as the sound of cutting vines and/or hitting blocks may be heard on contact with a Floating Island.
 * Building a skybridge near the top of the world allows you to actually explore the sky area directly. If you have access to a gravitation potion, it can be used in a similar way. Jump-boosting accessories, especially the Rocket Boots, may also be useful, as they'll often allow a player to glimpse the very bottom of Floating Islands.
 * Creating a hardcore player and then killing yourself will allow you to fly around the sky as a ghost, allowing you to easily locate Floating Islands. The same world can then be entered again with another player.
 * Strange Dirt and Dirt Wall formations at the surface, and/or surface Clay, Silver, or Gold, are good indications of Floating Islands above.
 * Large areas that never seem to collect Fallen Stars are likely places where a Floating Island is located above.