Guardian

{
 "title": "Guardian",
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 {
 "field": "30<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> × 15</span>",
 "label": "(link to Health article, displayed as Health points)"
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 {
 "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: 0.85 blocks<br>Width: 0.85 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": [
 "Guardian Spawn Egg"
 ],
 "images": [
 "Guardian.gif"
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}

Guardians are aquatic hostile mobs that spawn in ocean monuments. They attack with a slow-charging laser beam, and inflict retaliatory damage when damaged by a melee attack.

Guardians spawn naturally in ocean monuments. They require water, flowing or stationary, to spawn.

In Java Edition guardians spawn less often in ocean open to the sky than they do in covered areas (such as inside or underneath the monument). Specifically, spawning fails 95% of the time if the spawning water block is below sea level (Y=63 by default), all blocks between the spawning water block and sea level are liquid or fully transparent, and the block at sea level has a view of the sky. They can spawn only if the spawning block and the block below the spawning block are both water. The block above the spawning block also cannot be solid and has to be transparent, air, or water.

In Bedrock Edition, guardians are structure spawns, spawning in water source blocks in 25 pre-determined spawning columns. Guardians usually do not (or possibly never) spawn near a player, and their continued spawning is not affected by removal of the monument, except through the creation of extra space in which to spawn.

For a given column, the spawn will initially be attempted at Y=61, but if this is not a spawnable block, the game will traverse down the column until it finds the first water source block. Once found, if the block below is a valid spawn location, a guardian will spawn there. If it's not a valid spawn location, the column will not spawn a guardian, meaning that columns can be disabled by a block at Y=61 and a block at Y=59 only. If no water source blocks are found by Y=40, the column will not spawn a guardian. Guardians will therefore not spawn inside the monument unless the entire column above is blocked either with solid blocks or air.

To find the X and Z coordinates of the columns, start counting from the northwest corner of the monument. That is, standing on the furthest corner prismarine block with the smallest X and Z coordinates, let's say (X, 41, Z). The coordinates of each spawning spot are in a grid at X+2, X+13, X+29, X+45, and X+55, combined with Z+2, Z+13, Z+29, Z+45, and Z+55. For example, the bottom of the most northwest column is at (X+2, 39, Z+2) and the top block belonging to the southeast corner column is at (X+55, 61, Z+55). The guardians spawn at the northwest corner of a spawning column block, which can be helpful for some guardian farming mechanics such as causing them to spawn inside of a portal where they are immediately sent to the nether.

Due to MCPE-57215, the guardian won't drop random fish in Bedrock Edition.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Guardians also drop 10XP when killed by a player or tamed wolf.

Guardians swim around in water, attacking any players, squid, glow squid, or axolotls that come into range of its laser. They swim in abrupt charges, moving their tail rapidly when doing so. When swimming, their spikes retract. When not swimming, they sink slowly and their spikes extend and quiver.

During idle swimming, a guardian chooses a water or waterlogged block within a 9×9×9 area centered on itself as the destination to pathfind toward. If unreachable, they still swim directly toward the target despite any blocks in the way. They attempt to cross air blocks and do not try to prevent fall damage.

Stationary guardians are pushed much faster horizontally by flowing water than other mobs, but when swimming they are completely unimpeded; however, they are affected by bubble columns.

When swimming, guardians have a slight bias toward selecting destination blocks with a higher light level. If undisturbed, guardians can be seen loosely congregating around the sea lantern blocks of their ocean structure.

When out of water, they abandon any previous pathfinding target; they squeak loudly and hop erratically, uninfluenced by nearby water or players. They still use their laser and have their spikes extended. Guardians do not suffocate and survive indefinitely without water unlike other aquatic mobs.

The guardian's eye follows and stares at any nearby players, and always looks directly at its target. In Java Edition, the eye does not follow unarmored players under the effects of a potion of Invisibility and the guardians cannot attack them. A player can wear one piece of armor while under the effects of Invisibility and not be attacked.

Guardians, as aquatic mobs, are affected by the Impaling enchantment.‌^{[JE only]}

Guardians have two methods of attack: a laser and a defensive attack analogous to the Thorns enchantment. Unlike most other hostile mobs, a guardian does not follow a player who moves out of sight. Instead, it simply continues swimming until the player becomes visible again to start charging its laser.

Guardians attack players, axolotls, and squid. Otherwise, a guardian does not retaliate against mobs (such as iron golems) that attack it, other than damaging the attacking mob with its natural thorns defense.

Laser

The laser takes 4 seconds to charge, causing no damage in the meantime. It starts out purple and fades to yellow. Once charged, the laser flashes green before disappearing and deals 6HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
damage plus another 2HP👁 ❤️
magic damage on Normal difficulty. The magic damage is increased by another 2HP👁 ❤️
on Hard difficulty, after adding the usual difficulty scaling factor of 1.5x, meaning a guardian can deal up to 5HP👁 ❤️
👁 ❤️
👁 💔
magic damage through this attack on Hard difficulty. Guardians swim around for 3 seconds before firing again. If the target approaches while the guardian is loading its laser, it stops firing and swims away until it is at a comfortable range, at which point it continues attacking. The laser has a maximum range of 15 blocks and cannot be dodged. However, a shield reduces its damage by 50%.

Once the target is out of range, or if the laser is obstructed by solid blocks (including transparent blocks like glass), the guardian's laser disengages and the shooting sound stops.

Spikes defense

A guardian deals damage each time it is hit with a melee attack while its spikes are extended, similar to the Thorns armor enchantment. If cornered, a guardian usually extends its spikes and fires at the player, even at point-blank range.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

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

• A guardian's eye is actually the "head" part of the mob's model. This gives the illusion of a dynamic eye.
• Guardians' laser-beam attacks are affected by the potion of Strength, which normally affects only melee attacks.
• When placed or spawned on a slime block, guardians start bouncing and continue and each bounce higher than the last, until each bounce brings the guardian to 17 blocks height.
• In the texture file for the guardian, "jeb" is written in the bottom right corner.
• Despite being classified as only a monster, the guardian was referred to as an animal in a Minecraft video about the elder guardians.^[1]
• Jens Bergensten stated that guardians were inspired by "floating eye orb monsters" like Beholders from Dungeons and Dragons and Cacodemons from Doom.^[2]

• 👁 Guardian's spikes retracted.
  
  Guardian's spikes retracted.

• 👁 Jeb's Instagram mob reveal.
  
  Jeb's Instagram mob reveal.
• 👁 Jeb's Instagram mob reveal.
  
  Jeb's Instagram mob reveal.
• 👁 The inside of a guardian (with their spikes extended).
  
  The inside of a guardian (with their spikes extended).
• 👁 The old inside of a guardian.
  
  The old inside of a guardian.
• 👁 A guardian's "eye" follows players at any position.
  
  A guardian's "eye" follows players at any position.
• 👁 A guardian attacking a squid.
  
  A guardian attacking a squid.
• 👁 A group of guardians defending their monument.
  
  A group of guardians defending their monument.
• 👁 Size comparison between a guardian and its elder variant.
  
  Size comparison between a guardian and its elder variant.
• 👁 A guardian in a boat.
  
  A guardian in a boat.
• 👁 Axolotls attacking a group of guardians.
  
  Axolotls attacking a group of guardians.

• 👁 Guardian texture file, with "jeb" written in the corner.
  
  Guardian texture file, with "jeb" written in the corner.

• 👁 The guardian face texture as revealed by Jeb on reddit.
  
  The guardian face texture as revealed by Jeb on reddit.
• 👁 Guardians in promotional artwork for the Boss Update.
  
  Guardians in promotional artwork for the Boss Update.
• 👁 Lego Minecraft Guardian.
  
  Lego Minecraft Guardian.
• 👁 Guardian artwork.
  
  Guardian artwork.
• 👁 Ditto but cut-out
  
  Ditto but cut-out
• 👁 A statue of a guardian from A Minecraft Movie Live Event.
  
  A statue of a guardian from A Minecraft Movie Live Event.

• Meet the Guardian – Minecraft.net on September 25, 2017