Underwater areas offer a broad expanse of biomes to explore. However, as soon as we enter certain biomes, even more troubles will crop up. The Guardian mob is only spawned in specific situations. Around ocean monuments, they are most common and can be difficult to avoid. That’s why we’ll see how to deal with them with this Minecraft Guardian overview.
Guardian
The Guardian is a bit rarer mob to see in Minecraft. One of the reasons is their aquatic nature, the other detail which impacts it is the fact that it only spawns in and around ocean monuments. With that said, they will still be found around those structures.
A Guardian will be troublesome to handle. Its spiky body can definitely screw up our approach, and the overall danger these mobs pose, especially if multiple attack the player at once, is formidable.
A lot of the troubles Guardians give to the players will likewise come from them being underwater. Fighting any mob in these conditions can be made additionally dangerous. The overall change in physics and speed will be problematic to grapple with if we don’t get some enchantments.
Guardian Attacks
The unique attack Guardian has is its laser. This laser will take 2 seconds to charge, shifting the color on its indicator as it gets ready to fire. The color starts at purple and turns yellow. Charged laser deals 6 damage if it hits. However, the Guardian will not stick close if it gets approached, flying back a certain distance before firing the laser again.
A second attack is more of a direct response to taking melee damage. By extending its spikes, the Guardian can deal damage to anything that hits it. This effect deals 2 damage, which isn’t a lot, but it can stack up if you keep attacking it.
Guardian Behavior
Guardians swim around the location of an ocean monument, looking out for players in Minecraft. The Guardian also attacks squid, glow squid, or axolotl mobs that come within range. The mobs entering the range of Guardian’s laser will be immediately targeted by it.
This mob will rush through the water in short bursts. After that, it pauses for a bit and charges again. Getting into the melee range of a Guardian will make it extend its spikes. These are dangerous and may prevent us from attacking in melee. Do use the chance to kill a Guardian as soon as spikes retract.
A Guardian will constantly follow the player with its eye. The eye will be locked on the player even if the player is invisible. It will not attack but still stick to the character.
Guardian Drops
As with both standard and elder Guardians, we can expect a special drop in Minecraft. This drop is a prismarine shard. The item is only found in ocean monuments, one of the ways being as a mob drop. You can find 0 to 2 prismarine shards as a drop from Guardians. Looting will stack up more drops, up to a maximum of 5.
It’s also possible to get one of the following drops. Keep in mind that these are exclusive from each other. If you get one of these drops, you won’t be able to get any of the others. The first drop is raw cod, up to 1 without Looting or 4 with Looting. This has a chance of dropping 40% of the time.
Another 40% chance goes to prismarine crystals. These are even rarer than prismarine shards, obtainable by slaying Guardians only. We can use both to craft a sea lantern. The drop chance and amount are equal to that of raw cod.
There is also a 20% chance we will get nothing from the mob. Which can be a bit disheartening considering the troubles Guardian can pose.