Elder Guardian

{
 "title": "Elder Guardian",
 "rows": [
 {
 "field": "80<span class=\"hidden-alt-text\">HP</span><span class=\"nowrap mc-hearts\"><span class=\"iconbar pixel-image nowrap\" style=\"--icon-offset:-1px;\" title=\"1 heart\">(link to File:Heart (icon).png article, displayed as 9px|link=|alt=❤️)</span> × 40</span>",
 "label": "(link to Health article, displayed as Health points)"
 },
 {
 "field": "Hostile",
 "label": "Behavior"
 },
 {
 "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:EntitySprite monster.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Monster|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Monster article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Monster</span>)</span><br><span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:EntitySprite aquatic.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Aquatic|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Aquatic article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Aquatic</span>)</span>",
 "label": "(link to Mob type article, displayed as Mob type)"
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 {
 "field": "(values exceeds 1000 characters...)",
 "label": "Attack<br/>strength"
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 {
 "field": "Height: 1.9975 blocks<br>Width: 1.9975 blocks",
 "label": "(link to Hitbox article, displayed as Hitbox size)"
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 {
 "field": "<span class=\"nowrap\"><span class=\"sprite-file\" style=\"\">(link to File:EnvSprite ocean-monument.png article, displayed as 16x16px|link=Ocean Monument|alt=|class=pixel-image|)</span>(link to Ocean Monument article, displayed as <span class=\"sprite-text\">Ocean Monument</span>)</span>",
 "label": "(link to Mob spawning article, displayed as Spawn)"
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 "invimages": [
 "Elder Guardian Spawn Egg"
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 "images": [
 "Elder Guardian.gif"
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}

An elder guardian is a large hostile mob and a variant of the guardian. It is the largest and strongest aquatic mob. It attacks the same way as a normal guardian, and it also applies Mining Fatigue to players in a large radius around itself. They are only found in ocean monuments; three of them generate in each one.

Three elder guardians spawn naturally during the generation of each ocean monument:

• One in the top room of the monument.
• One in each of the two wings of the monument.

They are spawned with the ocean monument and thus they do not respawn.

MCPE-57215 causes the elder guardian not to drop random fish in Bedrock Edition.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

• 10XP – when killed by a player or tamed wolf.

Elder guardians do not swim around as much as normal guardians, and they do not swim away when approached by a player they are targeting, unlike regular guardians. Like normal guardians, elder guardians attempt to attack the player, squid, glow squid, and axolotls.

The elder guardian's eye follows and stares at any nearby players and always looks directly at its target. The eye still follows a player under the effects of Invisibility or in Spectator mode, though the elder guardian does not attack.

Elder guardians are considered aquatic mobs, and thus are affected by the Impaling enchantment.‌^{[Java Edition only]}​^{[until: JE Combat Tests]}

The elder guardian has three methods of attacking, including firing its laser, inflicting Mining Fatigue, and a defensive thorn-like attack.

The elder guardian pathfinds toward an ocean monument if it is not within one.

An elder guardian attacks axolotls that are not playing dead. Otherwise, an elder guardian does not attack mobs that attack it, although the attacking mob takes damage from the elder guardian's natural spikes defense.

The elder guardian, like a normal guardian, does not take suffocation damage when out of the water for a prolonged period of time.

Elder guardians cannot ride boats.

The laser takes 3 seconds to charge, doing no damage and allowing the player to move away in the meantime. As it charges, it changes from purple to bright yellow. Once charged, the beam flashes green, abruptly disappears, and deals 8HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
damage plus another 4HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
magic damage on Normal difficulty. The magic damage is increased by another 2HP👁 ❤️
in Hard difficulty after its usual scaling factor of 1.5x, meaning an elder guardian can deal up to 8HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
magic damage on Hard difficulty with a single beam attack. The elder guardian swims around for a few seconds before firing again. The beam cannot be dodged and has a maximum range of approximately 14 blocks. Once the player is out of range, if the beam is obstructed by solid blocks, or if the player has a shield, the guardian's beam disengages from the player and deals no damage.

In Java Edition, immediately after spawning and once each minute thereafter, the elder guardian searches for any player within a spherical radius of 50 blocks to afflict with Mining Fatigue III. In Bedrock Edition, the elder guardian inflicts any unafflicted player within range immediately.

When afflicted, the player sees a ghostly image of the elder guardian and hears a bell-like sound. The effect decreases a player's attack speed by 30% and decreases mining speed even more for 5 minutes. The attack targets players through blocks, even underground, and a potion of Invisibility offers no defense. This is not considered an attack in regards to the Thorns enchantment.

The image of the elder guardian is a particle effect that can be recreated by issuing the command /particle minecraft:elder_guardian.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

An elder guardian deals 2HP👁 ❤️
(3HP👁 ❤️
👁 💔
on Hard mode) damage every time it is hit while its spikes are extended, similar to the Thorns enchantment on armor. If cornered by a player or axolotl, the elder guardian usually extends its spikes and fires at point-blank range.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Elder guardians have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements that apply to all mobs:

Advancements that apply to all mobs:

Issues relating to "Elder Guardian" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

• The elder guardian's status as a boss or simply a powerful mob has been historically ambiguous. While it lacks important characteristics of a boss, chiefly a health bar, it has been grouped with boss mobs and addressed as one by Mojang before.^[3][4] The elder guardian was also marketed as a boss in Pocket Edition, having been introduced in the Boss Update. Jeb later stated that it is intended as a miniboss opposed to a full boss which is why it does not have a health bar.^[5]
• The elder guardian's eye is the "head" part of the mob's model, giving the illusion of a dynamic eye.
• According to Jeb, elder guardians were introduced to encourage players to solve the temple maze rather than dig through it easily. He acknowledges there are ways around it, but players would still have to solve the challenge in a different way.^[4]
  • Also according to Jeb, the "jumpscare" by an elder guardian is unintentional; instead, he added it to provide a visual cue as to why players get slowed down by Mining Fatigue.^[4]
• In Bedrock Edition, elder guardians make their underwater death sounds if killed on land.
• The elder guardian drops a sponge to guarantee that a player can get at least three from an ocean monument without a sponge room.^[6]
• Despite being classified as only a monster, the elder guardian was referred to as an "animal of the deep" in a Minecraft video.^[7]

• 👁 Elder guardian's spikes retracted.
  
  Elder guardian's spikes retracted.

• 👁 A special effect of the elder guardian, which gives Mining Fatigue III for 5 minutes.
  
  A special effect of the elder guardian, which gives Mining Fatigue III for 5 minutes.
• 👁 The elder guardian's Mining Fatigue effect.
  
  The elder guardian's Mining Fatigue effect.
• 👁 An elder guardian spawned inside an ocean monument.
  
  An elder guardian spawned inside an ocean monument.
• 👁 An elder guardian spreading its spikes.
  
  An elder guardian spreading its spikes.
• 👁 An elder guardian's laser.
  
  An elder guardian's laser.
• 👁 An elder guardian in full view.
  
  An elder guardian in full view.
• 👁 The inside of an elder guardian (spikes retracted).
  
  The inside of an elder guardian (spikes retracted).
• 👁 Size comparison between an elder and a normal guardian.
  
  Size comparison between an elder and a normal guardian.
• 👁 The elder guardian curse ghastly image shows the elder guardian's full model.
  
  The elder guardian curse ghastly image shows the elder guardian's full model.

• 👁 A player avoiding an elder guardian by using the Invisibility effect.
  
  A player avoiding an elder guardian by using the Invisibility effect.
• 👁 A player avoiding an elder guardian by using the Invisibility effect.
  
  A player avoiding an elder guardian by using the Invisibility effect.
• 👁 A group of axolotls attacking an elder guardian on Minecraft Live 2020.
  
  A group of axolotls attacking an elder guardian on Minecraft Live 2020.
• 👁 An elder guardian in a monument.
  
  An elder guardian in a monument.

• 👁 Elder guardian texture file.
  
  Elder guardian texture file.

• 👁 Official artwork of an elder guardian.
  
  Official artwork of an elder guardian.
• 👁 An elder guardian in promotional artwork for the Boss Update.
  
  An elder guardian in promotional artwork for the Boss Update.
• 👁 Minecraft Mobestiary's page about elder guardians.
  
  Minecraft Mobestiary's page about elder guardians.
• 👁 Lego Minecraft elder guardian.
  
  Lego Minecraft elder guardian.
• 👁 Narrator and MARILLA attempting to battle an elder guardian.
  
  Narrator and MARILLA attempting to battle an elder guardian.
• Animatic of Steve fighting an elder guardian, from the Trails & Tales trailer.

• "Meet the Elder Guardian" by Emily Richardson – Minecraft.net, November 6, 2017.
• "Mob Menagerie: Elder Guardian" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, June 26, 2025.