Learning how to use Monorail Nodes in Terra Nil can be confusing at first even though they’re rather important. As explained in our 10 Best Terra Nil Tips and Tricks guide, you’ll need to eventually use them for recycling. But, they’re extremely useful for conserving resources as well.
If you get a good handle on how to use Monorail Nodes, you can get through each region significantly more easily. However, they aren’t always available so it’ll depend on what level you’re playing or even what alternate level you’re on.
How to Use Monorail Nodes in Terra Nil
Unlocking Monorail Nodes
Moving every building type around your map can help restore nature more conservatively.
Before you can start using Monorail Nodes, you’ll need to progress far enough in the levels to unlock them. This also means you’ll need to complete the first phase which revolves around restoring your wasteland. After you’ve purified enough polluted land, you’ll unlock the second tab which may or may not have the Monorail available.
If you’re playing on a stage that has it, here’s what you need to know. First, you can place Monorail Nodes on rocks around your region. If you don’t have any rocks, you may be able to produce them via Calcifiers and Igneous Heatsinks. There are a couple of other tricks, but these are the main methods.
Placing Monorail Nodes Near Each Other
Make sure your nodes are connected before you accidentally place them out of reach.
You’ll want to place them near as many buildings as possible while also keeping them near rocks. This is so you can connect multiple nodes together to create a monorail system. In doing so, you can transfer buildings between each area as long as they’re connected. While placing a node you can see a green line between nodes if they’re within reach.
Instead of needing to spend resources on building another structure, you can use the same one repeatedly. For example, you can now transfer a single Toxin Scrubber to several different areas. This can be a game changer whether you’re running low on resources or just looking to conserve a bit. Plus, you won’t have to recycle as much later.
How to Move Buildings Along Nodes
Clicking on a Monorail Node is the first step to moving buildings around in Terra Nil.
The method of actually transferring buildings around is relatively simple. First, click on the Monorail Node closest to the building you want to move elsewhere. As long as it’s within reach, you can then click the building to pick it up.
If the window that appears says Target Invalid when you try, there may be something preventing moving it. Such as it being out of reach of the Monorail Node you’re trying to use. This part can make things a little frustrating when you have several nodes or ones hidden behind terrain.
Transfer Algae Greenhouses from land to the ocean to start making Kelp Forests.
Personally, I would love a button you could toggle and then start moving buildings within every node’s reach. But, that’s not how it works so we’re stuck with the current system. After you pick up a building, you can place it anywhere that any of your nodes can reach.
One potential problem you may run into is trying to transfer a building to an area that doesn’t have enough electricity. In this case, you’ll need to create another source of power or perhaps move a building from that area to another. But, it of course has to be a building that uses power to open up that slot.
Multiple Monorail Nodes can link together if you need to place them near each other.
Otherwise, you can try experimenting with Pylons if you’ve unlocked them in Terra Nil. This is another way to create extra electricity while also extending your reach. Aside from all that, I have one other pet peeve about using Monorail Nodes. It can be difficult to see the range of a node when you’re placing it.
When placing a node, you’ll see two large rings around it representing its range. The first inner ring that has a bright green inside represents buildings it can grab. While the outer hollow ring represents the distance it can connect to another node.
Recycling beacons are one of the simpler methods for getting rid of your buildings in Terra Nil.
This starts to become an issue when your environment comes to life and is cluttered with everything you can imagine. Honestly, even before that happens, simple changes in your region like the level of elevation can make it hard to see. Regardless, this is why I take advantage of the undo button when I misplace a node.
Now that you have a good idea of how to use Monorail nodes, you’ll likely need to recycle your buildings using them. Now all you need to do is place Recycling Beacons on each node to get rid of them. Also, this will remove any buildings within the area and recover resources too.
Start reclaiming your resources by removing Monorail Nodes one beacon at a time.
That’s all there is to this in-depth Terra Nil guide on how to use Monorail Nodes. It’s easy to not use them to their full potential if you don’t take some time to mess around with them. But, if you’re playing on a hard difficulty like Environmental Engineer, you’ll probably need them often.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.