Guardian in Minecraft: Lasers, Spikes and Ocean Monuments

Guardians are spiky, one-eyed fish that defend ocean monuments. Each one fires a laser that charges for four seconds and then hits hard, and their spikes hurt you whenever you hit them in melee. Break line of sight to stop the laser, and come prepared to breathe underwater.

Stat	Value
Health	30 (15 hearts)
Laser	4 / 6 / 9 (Easy / Normal / Hard), plus some magic damage
Spikes (thorns)	2 damage (3 on Hard) when you hit it in melee
Spawns	Ocean monuments only
Drops	0-2 prismarine shards, often prismarine crystals or raw cod; 10 XP

Where guardians spawn

Guardians only spawn in and around ocean monuments. In Java they keep spawning in the monument’s area, mostly in covered water. In Bedrock they spawn in fixed columns around the structure. Either way, a monument never runs out of them, which is why guardian farms work.

Three elder guardians also live inside each monument. They’re the bigger, paler version, and they inflict Mining Fatigue on anyone nearby.

The laser

A guardian locks on, and a beam appears between you. It shifts from purple to yellow over four seconds, then flashes and deals its damage. Anything solid between you, including glass, breaks the beam. A guardian doesn’t chase you once you’re out of sight; it just waits until it sees you again.

That gives you the core tactic: move from cover to cover, and only fight a guardian when it’s alone.

The spikes

When a guardian isn’t swimming, its spikes stick out, and hitting it in melee hurts you for 2 damage. It’s minor on its own but adds up with lasers coming in. A bow, a crossbow, or a trident with Impaling (Java) lets you avoid the spikes entirely.

Preparing for a monument

• Water Breathing. A potion of water breathing gives you eight minutes, which is enough for most raids. A turtle shell helmet adds ten extra seconds of breathing each time you dive.
• Respiration and Aqua Affinity on your helmet let you breathe longer and mine at normal speed underwater.
• Depth Strider boots let you move quickly.
• Night Vision helps in the dark lower rooms.
• Milk clears Mining Fatigue from the elder guardians.

Axolotls in a bucket are a strong addition: they attack guardians and clear your Mining Fatigue when you finish a kill.

Drops and farming

Each guardian drops up to two prismarine shards, and usually either prismarine crystals or a raw cod on top. Shards craft prismarine and dark prismarine blocks; crystals and shards together make sea lanterns. In Java, killing one as a player also has a small chance of a random fishing-loot fish.

The 10 XP per kill and endless spawns make guardians one of the best XP sources in the game. A guardian farm usually involves draining the monument’s surroundings and dropping spawned guardians to a kill spot, which is a big project but pays off for years.

Guardians also attack squid, glow squid and axolotls, and drowned are immune to their lasers.