How many hits does it take to reflect a Guardian laser to death?

Three Perfect Guards for a Guardian Stalker, Turret or Skywatcher, one for a Decayed Guardian. Any shield works, but a mistimed guard can break the shield or hurt Link badly.

What is the fastest way to kill a Guardian in Breath of the Wild?

Shoot its eye with an Ancient Arrow: one hit destroys a Stalker, Skywatcher, Turret or Decayed Guardian. Without them, reflect the laser with a Perfect Guard or cut a Stalker's legs, 100 HP each.

Where are Guardian Turrets in Breath of the Wild?

Inside Hyrule Castle. The game places 19 of them there; they never move and wake up when Link comes close. One more, in pristine condition, stands on Upland Zorana with three Skywatchers.

BotW Guardians: Every Type, HP, Drops and How to Beat Them

Guardians are the ancient Sheikah machines that Calamity Ganon turned against Hyrule. This page covers every kind in Breath of the Wild, from the six-legged Guardian Stalker to the small Guardian Scouts in shrines: how to recognise each one, how it attacks, its HP and drops from the game data, and the ways to beat or avoid it, with screenshots.

What kinds of Guardians are there?

Guardian	HP	Moves?	Where	On the map
Guardian Stalker	1,500	Walks and chases Link	Hyrule Field, Castle Town, Akkala	46
Guardian Skywatcher	1,500	Flies a fixed route	Hyrule Castle, Lomei Labyrinth Island, Akkala Citadel Ruins	27
Guardian Turret	1,500	No	Hyrule Castle	19
Decayed Guardian	500	No, half buried	All over Hyrule	53
Guardian Scout I	13	Yes	Shrines, Divine Beasts	—
Guardian Scout II	100 (375 in Minor Tests of Strength)	Yes	Minor Test of Strength shrines and others	—
Guardian Scout III	1,500	Yes	Modest Test of Strength shrines	—
Guardian Scout IV	3,000	Yes	Major Test of Strength shrines	—

HP comes from the game’s parameter files. The map counts are the game’s own placements, with records at the same spot counted once. Not counted: four pristine Guardians on Upland Zorana near Sato Koda Shrine (one Turret and three Skywatchers), which the game data lists apart from the rest.

What does a Guardian Stalker look like?

A Guardian Stalker with a blue eye and six segmented legs standing over Link in a grassy field — A Guardian Stalker: a domed body on six long segmented legs, with one eye in the head. Here the eye is blue and it is not attacking.

The Stalker is the Guardian you meet most often in the open. It walks fast and follows Link, but it has to stop to fire. Some Stalkers sit dark and mossy like Decayed Guardians until Link comes near; their legs stay taut, unlike a true wreck.

A pink-glowing Guardian Stalker aiming a thin red line at Link, a red dot on his back — The attack tell: the Stalker ① glows pink and draws a thin red line onto Link, with a red dot ② on him. That line is the warning that a laser is charging.

When a Stalker sees Link its eye lights up, it charges for a few seconds and then fires a laser strong enough to set things on fire in the distance. Use those seconds: get behind cover, or raise the shield for a Perfect Guard.

How do you recognise a Guardian Skywatcher?

A Guardian Skywatcher with propellers hovering above Link, a red dot on his back — A Guardian Skywatcher ① hovers on propellers above Link. It looks like an upside-down Turret; the red dot on Link’s back shows it is aiming.

Skywatchers fly a set route and sweep a searchlight over the ground. If Link steps into the light, the Skywatcher locks on and charges the same laser. Bomb Arrows can destroy its three propellers, which brings it down.

Where do you meet Guardian Turrets?

Guardian Turrets stand inside Hyrule Castle, 19 of them by the game’s placement data; the only other one is the pristine Turret on Upland Zorana. A Turret looks like a Skywatcher without propellers and never moves. It wakes up when Link comes close, has the same 1,500 HP as a Stalker and a longer range. There are no decayed Turrets or Skywatchers anywhere.

A Guardian Turret with a blue eye and pink-glowing markings sitting on its legless base — A Guardian Turret: a Guardian head on a fixed, legless base. The castle route past them is on the Hyrule Castle walkthrough.

What is a Decayed Guardian?

A moss-covered, half-buried Decayed Guardian with a blue eye ringed in red, Link attacking its side — A Decayed Guardian: a moss-covered Stalker body half buried in the ground, without working legs. It can still turn its head, lock on and fire.

Decayed Guardians cannot move, and most never wake up at all. Those that do fire the same laser as a Stalker, but they have only 500 HP. One Perfect Guard is enough to destroy one. The Forgotten Temple and Hyrule Castle hold many of them.

How are Guardian Scouts I–IV different?

Guardian Scouts are the small Guardians placed in shrines as trials. Scouts in shrines show orange markings, while those in Divine Beasts are magenta, taken over by Malice.

A small Guardian Scout I with no weapons walking toward Link through shallow water in a shrine — Guardian Scout I: a small dome on legs with no weapons, armed only with a scaled-down beam. The first ones stand in the Great Plateau shrines, such as Keh Namut Shrine.

A Guardian Scout II rising in a shrine arena, holding a single blade — Guardian Scout II rises in the middle of a Minor Test of Strength arena, here in Dah Hesho Shrine. It holds one weapon.

A Guardian Scout III holding two glowing blue axes; the HP readout above it shows 1008/1500 — Guardian Scout III in Muwo Jeem Shrine swings two weapons. The Champion’s Tunic readout above it shows 1008/1500, matching the 1,500 HP in the game data.

A Guardian Scout IV with a headdress holding a long spear and a glowing blade, a shield behind it — Guardian Scout IV in Kema Kosassa Shrine: the biggest head, with a full headdress. This one carries a Guardian Spear++, an Ancient Battle Axe++ and a Guardian Shield++.

Scout	HP	Weapons	Where
I	13	None, small beams	Shrines such as Oman Au and Keh Namut, Divine Beasts
II	100; 375 in Minor Tests of Strength	Usually one: Guardian Sword, Guardian Spear or Ancient Battle Axe; some carry a Guardian Sword and Guardian Shield	Minor Test of Strength, other shrines, Divine Beasts
III	1,500	Two ”+” weapons, sometimes a Guardian Shield+	Modest Test of Strength
IV	3,000	Three ”++” weapons, or two and a Guardian Shield++	Major Test of Strength

The training Scout in Ta’loh Naeg Shrine, the combat tutorial, is a separate entry in the game data with only 4 HP.

Armed Scouts spin their weapons before a swing, which is the cue to guard or dodge. From range they extend their weapons and spin toward Link; a stone pillar blocks that, and an arrow in the eye stops the spin. Low on health, a Scout stands still and charges a beam (Scout IV fires four at once), which a Perfect Guard sends back. Scouts’ legs cannot be cut, and they do not power up the Master Sword.

Where are all the Guardians?

Hide defeated

Guardian Stalker (46)
Decayed Guardian (53)
Guardian Skywatcher (27)
Guardian Turret (19)

Drag to move and zoom in to tell the points apart; on a computer, click the map first and the mouse wheel zooms it. Ticks are saved in this browser only; no account is needed.

The map shows all 145 overworld Guardians from the game data. The full table with coordinates and the best farming routes are on the ancient materials page.

How do you beat a Guardian?

Link's shield flashing white as a Guardian's laser bounces back into it — A Perfect Guard: raise the shield and press the guard button just as the laser fires. The beam bounces back into the Guardian.

Reflect the laser with a Perfect Guard. Any shield works. It takes three reflections for a Stalker, Turret or Skywatcher and one for a Decayed Guardian. A missed timing can break the shield in one hit. The Ancient Shield reflects the beam on its own, at the cost of durability.
Shoot the eye. An Ancient Arrow in the eye destroys a Stalker, Skywatcher, Turret or Decayed Guardian at once. Normal arrows to the eye work too, more slowly.
Use the Master Sword or cut the legs. Near a Guardian the Master Sword’s power rises to 60. Each Stalker leg you cut takes off 100 HP and slows it down; Ancient and Guardian melee weapons cut a leg in one hit.

A Guardian Stalker glowing green while frozen by Stasis, with the Stop Time prompt on screen — Stasis+ works on a Stalker too: here it is frozen in place, glowing green.

Link paragliding in the Forgotten Temple while a Decayed Guardian on a ledge aims a laser at him — In the Forgotten Temple a Decayed Guardian ① on a ledge aims its red line at Link as he glides past.

You do not have to fight every Guardian. Each one needs to see Link and charge for a few seconds before it fires, so keep moving and put rocks or walls between you and it. For the whole castle route, see the Hyrule Castle walkthrough.

What do Guardians drop?

Every kill rolls the game’s drop table several times; each draw gives one item with these chances.

Guardian	Draws	Ancient Screw	Ancient Spring	Ancient Gear	Ancient Shaft	Ancient Core	Giant Ancient Core
Guardian Stalker	10–12	35%	26%	21%	15%	2.5%	0.5%
Guardian Skywatcher	8–12	24%	15%	35%	23%	2.5%	0.5%
Guardian Turret	5–8	15%	12.5%	50%	20%	2%	0.5%
Decayed Guardian	4–6	40%	25%	20%	15%	—	—

Guardian Scouts have two tables, one draw from the first and then more from the second:

Scout	First draw	Then
I	Screw 60%, Spring 40%	0–1 draw of the same
II	Screw 40%, Spring 30%, Gear 20%, Shaft 10% (2 draws in Minor Tests of Strength)	1 draw of the same
III	Gear 40%, Shaft 40%, Core 20%	3–4 draws: Screw 30%, Spring 30%, Gear 20%, Shaft 20%
IV	Core 50%, Shaft 30%, Gear 20%	4–5 draws: Gear 30%, Shaft 30%, Screw 20%, Spring 20%

Armed Scouts also leave the weapons they held, which is where most Guardian Swords, Spears and Shields come from; see all weapons.

Link picking up scattered Guardian parts, the pickup list showing Ancient Shaft, Ancient Screw and Ancient Gear — After a Stalker falls its parts scatter on the ground: here Ancient Shafts, an Ancient Screw and an Ancient Gear.

Item card for a Giant Ancient Core picked up after a Guardian fight — A Giant Ancient Core, the rarest drop: 0.5% on each draw.

Cherry at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab turns these parts into Ancient Arrows, ancient weapons and the Ancient armor; prices and farming spots are on the ancient materials page.

Video walkthrough

How to Kill Guardians - The Quickest & Easiest Ways - Zelda Breath of the Wild Tips & Tricks — Video by GameOver Jesse · YouTube

More big enemies in Breath of the Wild: all enemies and their HP, the Lynels and the Hinoxes.