As their name suggests, the Guardians found in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are not supposed to be killing machines that threaten civilisation. We won't go into the story here, but even if you only have a passing knowledge of the game you're likely aware of players that are in constant fear of these mechanised foes. Like it or not players eventually have to stand up and fight these mechanical menaces, so for those playing the epic adventure we've brought together an extensive guide for survival, at the cost of trial, error and… a few unfortunate casualties.
Obviously, some spoilers included, but we've stayed away from specific plot points (if not locations).
On this page: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild: Guardians - How To Kill Guardians
First and foremost, know that there are six different models of Guardians recorded on our studies. Five of them are corrupted and the sixth very unique type remain safe from corruption inside Sheikah Shrines, standing as tests of combat. If you find yourself targeted by one of them: 1) Don't panic! and 2) Always keep in mind that machines obey their programming. We will use this against them. But first, a word on recommended equipment:
Ancient Weapons
Regular weapons will barely make a scratch on Guardians, you need to fight fire with fire, in this case Sheikah weapons. You can find several variants of these glowing weapons, often inside Shrine chests, make them on demand at the Akkala Tech Lab or claim them from fallen Guardian Scouts. It is always a good plan to keep a couple of Ancient Weapons in your inventory at all times, saving them to fight with Guardians.
The Master Sword
A big game changer this one, since it doubles its base power when facing off against corrupted Guardians; it will become your de facto Guardian killer once you are worthy to wield it. Sadly it will need to recharge after extensive usage, so make sure you do keep a few Ancient weapons at hand just in case.
Electric Weapons
Machines often run on electricity but get current passing anywhere outside where it is supposed to and you've got fried circuitry all over. Guardians and electricity don't mix, so if you happen to have Electric Weapons make sure to use them to briefly stop these foes in their tracks. If you have Electric Arrows and a x3 or even x5 Bow make the most of them on our rather large preys.
Ancient Shop
If you ever found yourself thinking "If only there was a place on Hyrule that let you buy Ancient weapons in exchange for Ancient crafting materials and rupees…", well you're in luck because unlike the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab that deals exclusively with Sheika Tablet upgrades, its counterpart in Akkala offers a much wider range of Ancient possibilities… if you can afford them. You will still need to bring the nearby Blue Ancient Flame from the hill (which is a prominent side-quest) before they may set up their services. Once you do, it's Ancient shopping spree time… again assuming you can afford anything. Here is what is on sale:
Ancient Arrow
2 Ancient Screws, 1 Ancient Shaft, 1 Arrow - 90 Rupees
Ancient Arrow x3
6 Ancient Screws, 3 Ancient Shafts, 3 Arrows - 250 Rupees
Ancient Arrow x5
5 Ancient Springs, 5 Ancient Shafts, 5 Arrows - 400 Rupees
Ancient Short Sword
15 Ancient Springs, 5 Ancient Shafts, 2 Ancient Cores - 1,000 Rupees
Ancient Shield
10 Ancient Gears, 15 Ancient Springs, 1 Ancient Core - 1,000 Rupees
Ancient Bladesaw
15 Ancient Screws, 5 Ancient Shafts, 2 Ancient Cores - 1,000 Rupees
Ancient Spear
15 Ancient Gears, 5 Ancient Shafts, 2 Ancient Cores - 1,000 Rupees
Ancient Bow
10 Ancient Gears, 15 Ancient Springs, 1 Giant Ancient Core - 1,000 Rupees
They also sell three very interesting clothing options… and that's our next equipment recommendation.
The Ancient Armor
If you don't mind walking around looking like a Shrine, The Ancient Armor is your go to choice of clothes when facing off Guardians. Once upgraded by Fairy power it will substantially reduce damage from Guardian laser cannons, offering excellent defense stats overall and adding an Ancient Proficiency bonus that will allow you to deal extra damage with Ancient weapons. It's expensive and you will have to gather Ancient materials for it, but it is all well worth it. Here is what you need to gather:
Ancient Helm
20 Ancient Gears, 5 Ancient Shafts, 3 Ancient Cores - 2,000 Rupees
Ancient Cuirass
20 Ancient Gears, 5 Ancient Screws, 3 Ancient Cores - 2,000 Rupees
Ancient Grieves
20 Ancient Gears, 5 Ancient Springs, 3 Ancient Cores - 2,000 Rupees.
We added all the numbers here so you don't have to: the complete Ancient Armor Set will cost you exactly 60 Ancient Gears, 5 Ancient Shafts, 5 Ancient Screws, 5 Ancient Springs, 9 Ancient Cores and 6,000 Rupees. Keep in mind you will need extra Ancient crafting material to upgrade it further in Fairy Fountains.
Fighting Techniques
Now that you're nicely stocked for a fight, here are some helpful, common pointers regarding Guardian engagement:
Fight Fire With Fire
Try to block a Guardian's Laser Beam discharge with any Shield in the game and you can kiss that piece of equipment goodbye (unless it happens to be called Hylian Shield). Get the timing correct, however and press the "A" button just as the Laser is about to hit and you can use your shield (any Shield! Yes, even a Pot Lid!) to deflect the beam back to its point of origin. Just make sure you don't use your favourite shield for this in case you mistime it. Can't get the timing right? Here are the easy alternatives: Daruk's Protection will do the exact same thing without the need to press "A", just hold "R" and watch the fireworks. Else the Ancient Shield from Akkala Ancient Tech Lab is your best friend since it will bounce those lasers back without the need of your input.
One In a Million
Guardian's Eyes make for some excellent bow and arrow practice. Shooting any type of arrow against an Eye will make its tracking procedure reset and give you a few precious seconds to either setup a follow-up attack or run to safety. However if you happen to get an Ancient Arrow straight in the Guardian's Eye, it will trigger a complete catastrophic system failure. You read that right: Ancient Arrows are a one-shot sure way of turning a lethal foe into a pile of Ancient Crafting Materials. If you are having trouble aiming those shots, make use of the mid-air Bow shot that will slow down time for a few seconds and let you align that perfect shot. Just make sure you make those Ancient Arrows count.
Hot Air
More often than not a Guardian Laser blast will set what it hits on fire, creating an updraft. You can quickly jump and use your Paraglider to either escape to safety or set up an attack from a vantage point. Note that some Guardians are unable to track you if you are standing right on top of their head. We leave that dangerous rodeo to your good judgement (or lack of it).
Hold It!
Upgrading your Stasis Rune at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab will allow you to use it to give enemies a time out. Smaller enemies will be frozen in time up to five seconds. Sadly Guardians are only frozen for about 1.5 seconds. Use this time to either escape to safety or close the gap to rush them.
Now that you are both well stocked and have some vital knowledge for the hunts ahead, let us take a look at the Guardian types you will encounter in your adventure, and how to deal with them.
Defeating Different Guardians
Decayed Guardians
HP: 500
Formidable as they are, you will be relieved to learn most Guardians have been destroyed by time, destroyed from resistance by the people of Hyrule or simply broken down due to lack of maintenance. As such you will often find their hulking carcasses covered in vegetation, abandoned to decay along the roads. If you're in a pinch, they provide the easiest method to obtain Ancient crafting materials; you just need to go up to them and try your luck with the "A" Button. Keep a lookout for puddles of water underneath their husks. In that case use your Cryonis Rune to create a block of ice to lift them up, revealing extra Ancient crafting materials to pick up.
Be wary that there is an off chance you might stumble onto a live decayed Guardian! In this case it will power up but remain immobile, its eye will begin tracking you and it will begin charging its devastating laser cannon. You can either flee (something that is usually easy if you run for cover or quickly find a blind spot from his eye) if you are not well equipped or just too weak to risk a fight, or charge them, repeatedly striking them with your Master Sword or Ancient weapons. Note that standing on top of their heads will confuse them quite a bit, but it is a risky proposition.
Guardian Stalkers
HP: 1500
The most common and notoriously dangerous Guardian types are these highly mobile six legged menaces. Once they spot you they will quickly shorten the distance between them and you, stopping at the optimal distance to fire a Laser Beam. Trying to outrun them even on horseback is useless, so it's better to stand up to them. If you do happen to be on horseback, jump and pull off a quick Bow shot to their Eye, allowing you to rush them as soon as your feet touch the ground. Due to their programing, if a Stalker Guardian senses his prey near, it will back away until it is back to optimal distance to its target. Don't allow this to happen, get in close and go for their legs, one by one. With luck you might be even able to briefly turn them over, making there eye-tracking impossible.
After you chop all legs off you end up with a still dangerous but now immobile Stalker Guardian that you can take out with a method of your choice. If you're not on horseback, then quickly take a glance at your surroundings and use a tree, a ditch, ruins or even a rock to stand between you and the Guardian. Once it loses track of you, it will revert to its programing again and move close to the last place it spotted you. Let it get really close and then rush attack its legs and use the same strategy written above. Sweet payback for all the hardships we had to endure earlier in the game.
Guardian Skywatchers
HP: 1500
Don't let that name fool you, the Skywatchers are not looking at the sky at all. Instead they are flying around in set patterns looking for anything that moves on the ground with their spotlights. Once they do find an interesting target they swoop down to optimal range and begin charging up the same Laser beam weapon found on other Guardian Models. This is your chance to either fight or flee. Your bow and bomb arrows are your best friends here, but don't try to hit the main body, try to shoot at any of the unit's propellers instead (and if you're confident in your archery skills Ancient Arrows will destroy propellers in one shot!). A Skywatcher with minus one propeller will fly slower and irregularly, but a Skywatcher with two propellers down will fall to the ground with little ceremony. Once an airborne threat, it's now little more than a grounded nuisance for you to dispose in any way you see fit. If you wish to avoid a fight, do your best to run or hide somewhere where it can't see you. The Skywatcher will shortly lose interest and return to its programmed flight pattern.
Guardian Sentry
HP: 1000
These peculiar models are exclusive to the Divine Beast Vah Rudania. They are easy to confuse with Skywatchers, but are fortunately much less of a threat since they carry no weapons and have less hit points to bring down. Once they spot you or your hypothetical Goron companion, they will sound off an alarm and the attack itself will come from Vah Rudania that will unceremoniously make fire rain down on you. We reckon these are best avoided rather than risk confrontation and get the whole mountain coming down on top of you.
Guardian Turret
HP: 1500
You will find these nasty pieces of work exclusively in Hyrule Castle. As their name implies they are immobile towers that have been spread atop of the many walls of Hyrule Castle. Worse yet, they are often spread in a way so that one tower covers the closest tower blindspots, so remember not to wander around in the open because you can easily get targeted by three or more of these nasty contraptions at a time. Also, be warned about aerial assaults; these things have a greater vertical range than regular Guardians and will track you even if you're standing right above them. The trick to deal with these nuisances is patience: locate one, hug the walls or even climb the wall itself or go inside the walls if possible, and find a good spot to do some hit and run attacks. By that we mean get in close, drop them a few solid Master Sword or Ancient weapons slices and then quickly retreat to a blind spot where they can't track you. Repeat until destroyed.
Guardian Scouts
HP: Varies with model, between 500 and 1500
These are very unique variants of the Guardian models. You will find Mk I Scouts serving as corrupted defenders of the Divine Beasts and even as standard defense on some shrines, with some of them carrying a regular Ancient weapon, but most of the time they just shoot at you from afar when they spot you. This model poses little threat and you should have little problem rushing and attacking them, even with regular weapons.
MK II, III and IV Scouts are a different matter. These Guardians were made to emulate human soldiers in battle, and as such will carry both Ancient weapons and shields. You will find them in Shrines with minor, regular and major tests of strength. Their first attack pattern thus resembles how a humanoid would attack, with weapons at hand. Greet your mechanic opponent shield first and wait to see its actions. Do not attack if it has its shield up, you will only be degrading your weapons in trade of zero damage. Wait until it locks one of its weapons arms in position and then you can choose to block the attack or attempt to jump to either side or back in hope of triggering a Flurry Attack. Even if you don't trigger that counter, proceed to attack the Scout with regular swipes until it jumps away from you.
At this point the Scout will trigger its second attack pattern by beginning to rotate its upper torso with all arms and weapons fully extended. You will not be able to outrun it, so instead seek cover behind a pillar or even make an Ice wall using the Cryonis Rune between you and the Scout. It will hit the obstacle and be stunned for a short period of time in which you should rush in and deliver some swipes with your weapon of choice. Scouts will then repeat these two patterns broken up, with some small volleys of Laser fire at your general vicinity.
Once you deplete enough energy, they will engage their third attack pattern: they will jump away, withdraw their arms and beginning spinning around when stationary, eventually firing up a tight laser beam that will create a "circle of death" around the Scout. Stay well clear of the radius and notice that this motion creates an updraft around you. Use your Paraglider to quickly set yourself up directly above the Scout and drop down on its head to stop this attack and do a good chunk of damage. If you are lucky, this should be enough to dispose of the Scout.
If not, the fourth attack pattern will trigger: the Scout will run away from you, immobilize in one spot and begin charging its eyes for a very potent, very lethal laser blast. These take much longer than their Stalkers and Skywatchers variants to charge, so this is your chance to shorten the distance between you and the Scout to deliver as many blows as you can muster before the Laser fully charges. If you are lucky you will deal the killing blow to your mechanic foe before it fires on you. If you're not… be prepared to run perpendicular to the Scout's firing angle. If you're feeling courageous and do not fear losing your shield, it is possible to tap "A" at the right time and send the blast back to its point of origin just like one would when fighting a Stalker. This fourth attack pattern is pretty much do or die for either you or the Guardian Scout, so make sure it is not your adventure that ends in the cold, inglorious floor of a sacred Shrine.
That is all for this guide on Advanced Anti-Guardian Warfare. We hope you adventurers picked up a new strategy or two to deal with these millennial mechanical menaces. Good luck out there in the field!
This is part of our Zelda Breath of the Wild walkthrough, which includes All Shrine Locations And Maps and help with specific shrines, including the Keo Ruug Shrine Puzzle Solution, Mirro Shaz Shrine Puzzle Solution, Sha Warvo Shrine Solution, Shae Loya Shrine Puzzle Solution, Eventide Island - How To Beat The Hardest Shrine Quest, and Shee Vaneer And Shee Venath Shrine Answers and Solutions.
If you're just starting out, Getting Started And Beginner Tips will be useful. We also have BOTW guides to help you with the Tarrey Town Quest, how to get equipment such as the Hylian Shield, the Master Sword, the Green Tunic, and the Radiant Set, plus advice on the Best Clothing And Armour Sets and How To Find Every Item in the Master Trials DLC. We can help you find key places such as All Captured Memory Locations, All Great Fairy Fountain Locations, and Where to find The Lord of the Mountain, too.
If you're looking for general advice on various topics, you might want to check out the Best Recipes And How To Cook Food, How To Farm Star Fragments, How To Farm Dragon Parts, How To Defeat Guardians, How To Shield Surf Like A Pro, and How To Get Unlimited Korok Seeds. And if you're wondering what amiibos work with the game, our guide to All amiibo Unlocks lists them all.
Comments 63
I can't wait for hard mode, cause even without all this, all you need is a little courage and guardians are a cinch
Seid ihr das Essen?
Nein, wir sind der Jäger!
I figured a lot of that out but wow!! There was a whole lot more I didn't.
Guardian Shield Parry is incredibly easy. Hit A the instant you see blue light begin to form around the head.
Alternative to fire, you can also jump off a horse to get your bow shot with an ancient arrow (This was shown in animated form in the first teaser video we ever saw of 'Zelda Wii U') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUFFVATu9Lg
My issue with the ancient armour and weapons are finding enough ancient cores. I'm more than halfway thru the main campaign and I've found like 5 cores total.
@gatorboi352 Don't bother, just practice the shield deflection and don't waste your money on arrows and armor.
These Test of Strength shrines were some of my favorite as they tested your patience and knowledge in the battle system rather than relying on pure strength.
I liked battling them all a lot more once I headed for SPOILER, though I only realized you could actually use your Master Sword against them a few days ago.
Anyway, I've just completed the game today (main quest done, all memories, all shrines, all Korok Seeds (thanks Zeldadungeon's interactive map! ), all clothing for Link and my horses (including amiibo exclusives), all three Kilton Medals, all side quests, all Hyrule Compendium entries) and was shocked to only get a 99.83% completion, suggesting that I missed two locations. Spent two hours comparing my ingame map with Zeldadungeon's and couldn't find them. I'm sick and tired of Zelda at this point anyway and am relieved to say - Persona 5, here I come!
Or:
1. Equip ancient cuirass and leg armour. The helm looks daft. Master Sword and no shield
2. Run as fast as you can towards them as slice off the legs. Darin's protection will reflect back any laser beams.
@Hotfusion Glad I could help.
Having completely forgotten that justly-timed shield usage was even a thing (therefore never even attempted to deflect), I'd found cover-taking and leg-chopping to be my go-to tactics. Stasis+ makes them lose their targeting, so that's really good to use when they're about to fire so you can almost double your not-getting-shot-at time, especially when lacking cover (dangit Rogue Squadron!).
That said, now I almost want to load my completed save just to try deflection.
@gatorboi352
You need to start hunting guardians. Do it on hourseback with electric arrows if you don't have ancient. Once you stun them another good way to cut off legs is to spin around them with a two handed weapon.
Still hoping you do a Korok guide with the info I sent you folks. I've seen way too many people saying they've only found like, 50 Koroks. And are beating the game. >.>
By the way, see that first "cool guys don't look back at explosions" heading image? It didn't really go as planned:
Dude, Guardians are a joke. At least the normal ones are, I skipped past the rest in the guide because of spoilers.
All you need to do is use any old shield and parry its laser at the right time, 3 hits and it's exterminated. Pathetic! XD
Honestly guardians are the most underwhelming part of BotW for me. Simply because... well at the start of the game they were terrifying, and yeah I suppose the point is for them to be a danger until you get strong enough but... well, they may be easier when you're far enough but once you begin fighting them you realize they aren't even that hard. Unless you're somehow in a completely flat plain with no trees or anything, they're easy to escape. Their movements are predictable and telegraphed, good practice with a shield makes weapons irrelevant, cutting off their legs removes much of their threat... with a little courage at the start of the game you can learn they're not that dangerous and in a second play through they're not even challenging. Stealth is no longer tense. I love BotW but hard mode better actually make it hard. Increasing damage from them or even health doesn't do much if they're easy to dodge or counter. Seriously, first time I actually fought one I came out of the battle thinking, "really? These are the things I've been avoiding? I really wasted time there."
@Alshain01
I find it easier to use sound cue than visual one, tapping A right when I heard the 'ping!' sound at the end of charging phase.
@Shiryu Are you the weekend staff now? In all seriousness, I do love your articles.
@gatorboi352
Cores are pretty rare, but just scrounge up enough for the armor. Screw everything else. Except the ancient arrows- you should definitely keep some of those on hand at all times... but those don't require ancient cores to purchase.
I'm about 150 hrs into Zelda, and I think I've gotten 2 ancient cores from the Guardian amiibo. The rest I got from treasure chests in shrines, or from killing guardians. Giant ancient cores are even more rare, but they're not really used for anything so I actually have an excess of about 6-8 of those, and nothing left to really spend them on. I might go ham on some ancient weapons right before I storm the castle and use em up. Might as well.
Once you start buying ancient arrows though you will start killing guardians in one hit (if you hit the eye) and once you start killing guardians you're going to start getting a lot of ancient cores. Not every single time you kill one but I'd say probably one out of every two or three you kill. Ancient arrows were crucial for me when I first started killing guardians and I needed those last 3 ancient cores to buy the final guardian armor piece... now I just kill them with my sword. Chop off a leg and get 2 hits in while they're stunned, chop off another leg, get 2 more hits in, etc, and by the time you chop off the final leg you've got enough time to kill them before they can charge up their beam.
There is a guardian resist circlet though, which I used as my headpiece until I got all the cores I needed for the matching headpiece. It's found in the square island labrynth north of Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. It's just below the Shrine, fall down the hole in the ground with an updraft blowing out of it. And there is a guardian graveyard all around the treasure chest. As soon as you open that chest be prepared because about 10 guardians are going to come to life all at once. I killed them, but you could always just grab the loot and make a run for it, catch that up draft and sail right on out of there
@Loui My pleasure.
Silver lynel was the hardest fight for me. So much HP!
@Ralizah
Was zum Teufel ? Alle Leute gegen Nintendo sollen schlafen !
You certainly put a lot of details in the Guardian Scouts. All you need to know, fight them with Electric Weapons/Shock Arrows. They are very effective as they short circuit the guardians stopping them from attacking, except when they turn blue and do there final attack. This doesn't seem to work with other Guardians.
Its also possibly to dodge and Flurry the Scouts when they do there rotational weapon attack. I managed to do this once or twice. Timing seems to be a dodge right before the attack hits you. Of course it's better to just avoid it.
Despite the short time, Stasis+ is pretty effective on the other Guardians. Use it, move around and they will stop targeting you for a while. I found this to be pretty effective against the Turrets as once is enough, to give enough blows to destroy it. While it's less effective against Decayed Guardians as it doesn't take long before they target you again, which can also happen to Walkers while attacking it.
As for weapons, I just use any I got. Even if it isn't one of the three types mentioned above. 3x/5x Bows are good to use against Walkers and Skywatchers.
I have the maxed out ancient armor set. I just don't care and take the beams to the face. I think I lose half a heart. Cut the legs with an ancient weapon. One hit does it and they become super easy.
@RedMageLanakyn Just because it has more HP, doesn't necessarily make them harder. Just takes longer to kill. Silver Lynel fights just as a White Lynel does, but has 2000 more HP. As long as you know what to do against each of it's attacks, it's not that hard to deal with.
@Zeargo I just couldn't get the pattern down for dodging the horizontal swipes. I had that in my comment when I wrote it, but it isn't there now for some reason. The extra HP made the fight drag on way too long for me, and I used up a lot of good weapons. I've fought everything the game has, including ganon, and to me thebsilver lynel was the hardest one based on his damage and HP.
Yikes, this article is in dire need of a good spell check and grammar editor... Do you folks need a good proofer? I'm your man
Wish the Bladesaw made a chainsaw sound. It was very displease to hear nothing....
@Ralizah It took me a minute to get the reference, and that upsets me because I'm watching that show right now.
Pfft, weapons, armor, fighting techniques? A few years ago, you just had to run from them for dear life and hope for the best!
That Guardian armor is sooooooo derpy. Lol
Guardians aren't so hard but I do enjoy the overkill of that fully upgraded Ancient Armor. You look pretty stupid in it but nothing can touch you. Walk up to a Lynel and beat him in the face? Sure thing.
I can't remember the last time I took down a Guardian in regular combat... I tend to just run up to them and hit them in the eye with an ancient arrow... a shot from that close is pretty hard to miss.
The Ancient Shield is AMAZING during the final Ganon fight. Seriously, you can down him in minutes.
@Shiryu Fantastic guide. Really well written and a pleasure to read.
One point I discovered today was that the Ancient Shield is capable of reflecting all Guardian laser beams without even needing to reflect with A. So if anyone wants the thrill of deflecting a beam back into a Guardian's face, but without any of the skill, that's the option to go for. The downside is that it does sustain some damage, although nowhere near as much as the other shields which break on impact (baring the Hylian as you've mentioned).
I managed to kill about 10 enemies (I can't remember the exact number) simply by standing around like a sitting target and holding my shield up, but then is finally crashed. Still, that's about 30 hits, which is a lot more than 1.
Combined with Daruk's Protection, it should offer a situation where you always reflect the beam back, whether you're too early, too late, or right on time. It'd be a good setup for beginners who want to work on their timing without getting fried.
Although at an asking price of 1000 rupees and a Giant Ancient Core, it's not exactly priced with beginners in mind. Still, I thought it was interesting.
Spoiler, shoot flying guardians in the eye with ancient arrows to 1 shot kill. Or walking. But even knowing that and being able to slow-mo shoot, they still get the adrenaline going every time
An easy trick that I've found is to short them in the eye once, then get on top of them and whack them about 10 times before they start moving again. Rinse, repeat, reap.
@ShadJV Well, that can be said about everything in the game. Every enemy has a predictable pattern... it has to or the game would be insanely difficult both to play and to program. After enough battles, Silver Lynels are easy too and they are just about the most difficult thing in the game.
@invictus4000 Only the helmet. If you don't care about the set bonus you can always substitute the Diamond Circlet, but my opinion is you don't need guardian resist at all.
@Nintendoer I imagine that theme song is looping in Link's head as he slices off guardian legs and exacts his sweet, sweet revenge for all those moments of hapless terror early in the game.
Farming Guardians after every blood moon will get you rich quick. You can also use the drops at the skull and fang shop. I was able to buy out the entire store after 2 guardian runs. Also, Level 4 ancient armor set has a high defence rating and worth getting. Ancient cores will drop. Farm them all in Hyrule Field and just outside the castle. You should be able to get 3 or 4 per run
Hm... I got the game last time but still newbie about this game though I have ever played some JRPG. Is there any easy way to survive and continue the storyline until beat the Final Boss without overwhelmed by Tons of Tasks from searching from Shrine to Shrine, Tricky subquests, Hard-to-get Equipments, etc ?
I can't play in Super Hard difficulty setting.
@gatorboi352 If you're thinking you need the armor to hunt the guardians and get the ancient gear, check out the Tu Ka'loh Shrine on the Lomei Labyrinth Island. Once you complete the shrine, instead of just leaving, there's a hole right in front of it that you can drop down (you'll see the updraft). There's a chest there with the diamond circlet, which has guardian protection. (It's a mad sprint to get it from the chest, and guardians WILL shoot you, but put the circlet on immediately after grabbing it, and you should be able to get back up the hole using the paraglider even if you get blasted once.)
I usually just use the Lab's ancient shield for reflects, since deflection timing is not required...just hold it up and it auto-reflects.
At any rate, it really pays to practice skillful archery in this game. Doing that can kill guardians, flinch Lynels, and generally deter anything that would get you a 'game over' screen faster. And for those who have trouble eye-shotting a guardian, Stasis+ is your friend and can often buy you a bit more time to line up. Wait until they've stopped moving, just before they fire...that way when they break out they won't immediately move.
Also, if you are harvesting guardian graveyards and want to avoid attention, use stealth and either the Champion's Tunic or Stasis+ (the far better option) to betray the location of active guardians. Just be aware that there are rare situations in the game where full-scale stalkers may appear "dead."
@GoldenGamer88 really? I just repeatedly froze them with Stasis and hit them really hard.
@RadioHedgeFund Yeah, I've rarely used Stasis in the entire game and shot them with an Ancient Arrow for the most time. Only once I saw the Master Sword glowing when one was close-by, I realized it could do something against them.
Fighting these bad boys makes for some amazing in game fight scenes. What an awesome game.
I have no idea what you are on about with shields. All you need is the ancient shield or guardian shield. You don't even need weapons. As soon as they start charging up their lasers you just hold your shield. I've wiped out more than ten guardians in one battle doing this and the shield took little to no damage. 🤔 Don't waste money and resources on any ancient weapons other than shields for fighting guardians.
@Maxz Glad you enjoyed! Oh, I must give that a try. Since I lost the first Ancient shield I got to a guardian blast, I assumed you needed to tap "A" properly to deflect lasers away like a regular shield.
@Tyranexx Still a valid technique, as long as you don't run in a straight line.
@Rexx English is not my first language. I apologize for my lack of Shakesperian like writing skills. =)
@Ralizah I think it plays in his head when he fights the Stone Talos and when he mounts a Lynel.
I've gotten worse at timing the perfect guard laser beam deflection over time. It varies based on how far you are from the Guardian and even whether my system is docked! Since it's become so unreliable, I instead opt to get as close as I can and start lopping off legs.
Shrine Guardians are a different matter. I avoided the major ones altogether until I learned how susceptible they are to ice arrows. I stasis them when they first approach, run up and hit them hard, then lock on and perfect dodge, flurry rush. When they pause to change attack modes, ice arrow. Freezes them longer than stasis, but they break free when you hit them again. It gives breathing room and even pauses their final beam charge up so you can close that distance safely.
Man those fights were tough before I started using ice arrows.
@stephenmunn I think lopping the legs off gets you additional loot per leg on top of just killing the Guardian, so even those who've perfected their shield bashing skills have some motivation to do more than just stand there hitting the A button. On top of that, I'm pretty sure that you do more damage with any weapon while on horseback, as well as being able to dodge the beams more easily, so my new favourite technique it just to circle the Guardians on horseback while hacking away at their legs with the Master Sword (with a max attack boost). It's a bit more involved than shield bashing, and obviously you need a fair bit of space to pull it off, but it's a lot of fun, and gets a bit more loot.
@Shiryu That's really odd about the Ancient Shield breaking on impact... I know that the Guardian Shields - even the Guardian Shield ++ - can only deflect Scout beams, but the main thing the Ancient has over them is being able to deflect anything laserish. I'm pretty sure it even states this in the Hyrule Compendium entry, so if you've added it it might be worth verifying.
@Maxz I will give it a try later today.
@Peace-Boy
Yeah but...the one time you miss the timing, you,re deaaaaaad boy.
Happens with me all the time, sucesfully reflect the first two shots, miss the third one and die, game over how cool of me.
@Neferupitou I missed a few times myself but all you have to do is return to your save and get your revenge on it.
I've got the timing just right, just stare at it (Luigi style) and then press the A button the instant you see a flash of light on it.
@Peace-Boy I know, i,ll keep practicing. I want to go on a guardian killing spree and farm a lot of their stuff only with that trick someday.
@Neferupitou I already got a load of their stuff and I'm still at the beginning. Guardians are so easy.
@Tyranexx
On the plus side, they don't drain rupees like a certain Twilight Princess's aptly named Magic Armour: The rupees just disappear. Also, now that I think about it, TP's the only Zelda where you can slash and run at the same time.
@Shiryu How many legs do Guardians have? Check your amiibo...
Thanks for the guide!
@DoctorWily Ops! Nice catch, only real octopus have eight tentacles.
@Darius_Truxton
Cool, gonna try that once i,ll"git gud" with the parry.
@EdFairway: Ah yes, I almost forgot about the Magic Armor. I'm fairly certain it was added in as a Rupee sink since there wasn't much else to spend those hard earned Rupees on past that point in the game. XD
@Neferupitou It may take some time to master the parry timing. My first farm runs I had to save the game right before every fight. Bring some spare shields with you too if you can
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