How to Defeat an Elder Guardian in Minecraft

Minecraft is full of many challenges to overcome. But when many players think of challenges, they’ll think of the Elder Dragon, the Wither, or even the Warden. The poor Elder Guardian may never cross their mind. However, this beast is truly one to behold, purely for the challenge of the hunt. Deep under sea, the Elder Guardian poses unique challenges that all the other bosses won’t come close to. Here is how to defeat the Elder Guardian in Minecraft.

How to kill the Elder Guardian in Minecraft

What you need

Most of your preparation for the fight will be to tackle surviving in the deep. I have compiled a list of the bare minimum that you will need to survive in the ocean and fight an Elder Guardian and come out alive. However, feel free to add more items, bring better quality equipment, more potions, and more enchants if you wish.

Note: The potion is night vision and the helmet is enchanted with Aqua Affinity III. You can get away with simply bringing a water breathing potion instead of enchanting the helmet, or having a lower quality Aqua Affinity enchantment. In the case of having a lower quality enchant, I would highly advise you bring more ‘water-parting’ objects.

‘Water-parting’ objects are items such as doors that, when placed, will push out the water of the blocks it resides in, creating an air bubble. Doors are the most effective water-parting block. Bring many doors, as you will be placing them throughout the monument and extensively in your fight with the Elder Guardian. At least 20 should suffice.

Also note that due to the Elder Guardian’s fatigue, you will not really be able to break the doors without a seriously enchanted axe, so don’t just bring one door under the pretense that you will simply destroy it and place it.

You will be fighting the Elder Guardians with the trident, so the sword is mostly to bat away the skittish Guardians that will be giving you trouble.

Where the Elder Guardians reside

Each monument contains three Elder Guardians, one in the top room of the monument and one in each wing. You will have to go through the entrance swarming with Guardians to navigate the monument, as the Elder Guardians will inflict fatigue upon you when you get near to the structure, so you can’t break through into their chambers without a very enchanted pickaxe.

Swim your way to them, avoiding the Guardians, and you’ll soon stumble upon the giant sea creatures.

Fighting the Elder Guardian

The fight itself isn’t too hard, you just need to exercise extreme caution, else you will be ripped asunder. The Elder Guardian attacks the same as the Guardians, through the laser beam. When the thorns are extended, you will receive damage if you strike them with a melee attack. But that is the extent of its attacks, so you’re main priority will be blocking its line-of-sight so it can’t shoot you down.

To avoid getting hurt by its thorns, and to avoid having to get up close, the trident will be the best and most accessible weapon to kill the Elder Guardians. Having 80HP, they will be slaughtered after ten strikes. You can enchant the trident to be more effective, but a regular one is more than enough.

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Once you throw the trident to strike it, get under cover to interrupt the beam before swiftly swimming to pick it back up. Once retrieved, swim back under cover before rearing your head to strike it again. Do this again and again, and it’ll be dead in no time.

For some of the bosses, cover will be sparse. For that reason, use the doors to barricade yourself a wall. Simply open a door when you want to hit it, and close it again to stop it from shooting you. Make a few barricades for when you must swim to retrieve the trident, so cover is always close.

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