Monolith (AB)

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On the partially-cyberformedPiggy Island,gigantic stoneMonolithsare alloverthe place. These immobile pig-faced pillars wouldn't seem to be a big threat at first, but when one's about to fall directly on your noggin? Yeah, that's a threat.

Games

Angry Birds Transformers

Monoliths appear in every level of Piggy Island. Their only method of attack is to topple forward and crash down on your head, and they are able to time it perfectly to ensure they smoosh you, doing massive damage and briefly preventing you from attacking for a split second afterwards. (As level 1 Optimus Prime Bird learned the hard way.) The only (100% reliable) way to dodge is to zip by in vehicle mode, as the Monoliths can't fall fast enough, even for the slower-moving characters. You can even transform back to robot modebeforeyou clear a falling Monolith, as your momentum can carry you past the plummeting pillar at dodging speed.

However, noteveryMonolith will fall, and transforming to avoid a non-falling Monolith can make you miss other targets. Non-falling Monoliths are completely still at all times, while Monoliths that will fall give clues by moving ever so slightly: the green eyes will shift to look at you, the teeth will chomp a few times, and finally they'll wobble all over just before they start their topple.

Monoliths are almost completely unstoppable once they start falling.Almost.The only characters that can reliably do anything to stop a falling Monolith are ones with "EMP Round"weapons, which will actually halt a Monolith in mid-fall for a couple seconds, letting them stroll underneath safely. An EMP explosion from a shot-downrainbow missilewill also halt a Monolith in mid-topple, but the timing and circumstances for that to happen are nigh-miraculous. Sadly, the EMP power ofElectroblasthas no effect on the Monoliths, leading to one big headache if you try.

Combiners likeDevastator,however, have nothing to fear from Monoliths. They simply take the full force of the fall and the Monoloth shatters itself upon them without a scratch on the super-bot's armor. And of course, activatingShieldorwill protect a bot from getting crushinated.

There is one other instance when you don't have to transform to dodge a falling Monolith, but it's risky at best. Sometimes the path will curve closer to the camera, and a falling Monolith at that curve may actually miss as the character walks just outside its fall range. But like the missile thing, that's a trick of pure luck, so best to drive by anyway.

Notes

• Not all Monoliths loom over the path; sometimes they're far off into the background, and there are some scenarios where they'll smash a hapless piggy standing beneath it just for show. Of course, you could pop that single piggy before the Monolith does.
• Close calls with falling Monoliths will put the game intodramatic slow motion,whether or not you ultimately avoid getting flattened. This slo-mo effect plays into an Achievement and a Daily Quest, requiring a certain number of successful slo-mo dodges. Timing this basically means transforming to vehicle mode at the last second.
• A Monolith that's already fallen can form a unique threat in "cooperative" Challenge Events. When you swap out characters, the incoming character leaps in from behind... which can make them jump face-first into a fallen Monolith, and yes, they will take damage, and possibly get slightly stuck. So make sure you're well clear of a fallen Monolith before swapping out characters.