- This page is about the recurring Enemies in The Legend of Zelda series. See Guardian (Disambiguation) for similar terms.
Guardians are recurring Enemies in The Legend of Zelda series.[name reference needed]
Characteristics
Skyward Sword
Earth Guardians serve as obstacles whenever Link visits the Silent Realm. If one manages to land a blow on him, Link will have to restart the current Trial.----
Breath of the Wild
Guardians are ancient machines created by the Sheikah, originally created to aid in the battle against Calamity Ganon. Most Guardians are under the control of Calamity Ganon during the events of Breath of the Wild and are scattered across Hyrule, attacking those who approach. Guardians that are not possessed by Calamity Ganon's Malice, such as those that reside within Ancient Shrines, in the Trial of the Sword, at Upland Zorana, and in the Final Trial, glow orange and blue instead of the pink that corrupted Guardians display. Despite not being possessed by any evil force, they will still attack Link as they were tasked by the Monks to fight him as part of the trials that he must undergo.[1]
While Guardians are formidable opponents, they have a few weaknesses. A Guardian's eye is its weak spot; shooting it with an Arrow causes extra damage and stuns the Guardian for a brief period of time. While sufficiently strong weapons can deal a fair amount of damage to a Guardian, it is especially weak to Ancient equipment, which deals much more damage to it. The Master Sword, which doubles its attack power near a Guardian, is another effective weapon against it.
Guardian Stalker
A Guardian Stalker has high health, high resistance and a laser beam attack that deals up to 15 Hearts of damage. If a target is too close to it, the Guardian Stalker will attempt to distance itself in order to fire its laser; otherwise it will relentlessly pursue the target until it loses track of the latter. When defeated, it may drop any combination of Ancient Screws, Ancient Gears, Ancient Springs, Ancient Shafts, Ancient Cores and Giant Ancient Cores. Link can sever the legs of a Guardian Stalker, temporarily stunning it.
Decayed Guardian
A Decayed Guardian is a Guardian Stalker that have long lost its mobility. It is found buried in the ground, unable to move due to having no legs. A Decayed Guardian appears inactive until Link approaches it, when it lights up and aim its laser at him in preparation to fire.
Guardian Scout
A Guardian Scout is a smaller variant of Stalkers that can be found within Ancient Shrines and Divine Beasts. It comes in four different forms, ranging from I to IV. Depending on the form, it can be equipped with different weapons. The stronger variants found within the "Test of Strength" shrines can also use their laser to repeatedly burn the floor surrounding them, sending Link back if struck. Additionally, when near destruction, they will charge a stronger laser attack that cannot be interrupted.
Guardian Turret
A Guardian Turret does not move, but instead fire a powerful laser at Link. Upon spotting Link, a Guardian Turrent's head will begin to elevate and it will charge its laser in preparation to shoot. Several Guardian Turrets guard the entrance to the Sanctum of Hyrule Castle, where Calamity Ganon resides.
Guardian Skywatcher
A Guardian Skywatcher is a flying type of Guardian. It scans its environment with a red searchlight and will begin charging its laser upon locating a target. Many Guardian Skywatchers patrol around Hyrule Castle and the Akkala Citadel Ruins.
Sentry
A Sentry is a type of flying Guardian, similar to a Guardian Skywatcher. In the "Divine Beast Vah Rudania" Main Quest, Vah Rudania dispatches Sentries as Link and Yunobo approach Death Mountain to hinder them as they attempt to disable Vah Rudania.[2][3] Sentries use red searchlights along the path up Death Mountain which, should Link or Yunobo be spotted, will cause Vah Rudania to furiously unleash Magma Bombs at them.[4]
Other Appearances
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Guardians are automatons created by the ancient Shiekah civilization to combat the original Great Calamity. 10,000 years later at the onset of the second Great Calamity, the Guardians are are infested with Calamity Ganon's Malice causing them to attack the forces of the Kingdom of Hyrule.
A Guardian named Terrako was activated by Zelda as young child. After being confiscated away for many years by Zelda's father, King Rhoam, Terrako travels back in time to aid Zelda after the fall of Kingdom of Hyrule during the second Great Calamity. Terrako has the ability to bring and send others through time and remotely activate other ancient Sheikah technology.
Hostile Guardians present are additionally infested with Malice from the future, creating new forms such as Electric Guardians, Fire Guardians, and Malice Guardians.
Trivia
- Guardian Stalkers were based on the Octoroks from The Legend of Zelda, which to people on the development team seemed huge in comparison to Link, leading to the cephalopod-like design of the Guardians and the technological theme of the game.[5]
Nomenclature
 Names in Other Regions 
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
  |
EnglishUK | Guardian | |
 |
Japanese | ガーディアン (Gādian) | Guardian |
 |
Dutch | Wachter | Guardian |
 |
FrenchEU | Gardien | Guardian |
 |
German | Wächter | Guardian |
 |
Italian | Guardiano | Guardian |
 |
Russian | Страж (Strazh) | Guardian |
 |
SpanishLA | Guardián | Guardian |
Gallery
A Decayed Guardian attacking Link in Breath of the Wild
Inactive Guardians inside the Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild
A destroyed Guardian
Princess Zelda defending Link from a Guardian
Concept art of the Guardian Turret
A Guardian statue from the E3 2016 Breath of the Wild booth
Statues of Link and a Guardian fighting from the E3 2016 Breath of the Wild booth
Guardian in early development in 2014 Breath of the Wild trailer
Attacking the Guardian in the 2014 Breath of the Wild trailer
The Breath of the Wild Guardian amiibo
A Guardian Stalker, as seen in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
References
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ "These sentries dispatched from Divine Beast Vah Rudania are equipped with searchlights that can spot intruders." — Hyrule Compendium (Breath of the Wild)
- ↑ "Oh... Yikes... A sentry is always a nuisance, no matter where it is or how many of them there are." — Yunobo (Breath of the Wild)
- ↑ "If one finds you, Rudania will go nuts, which will cause Death Mountain to erupt, goro. I...always get spotted, and then magma bombs come raining down one after another." — Yunobo (Breath of the Wild)
- ↑ Template:Cite web