How to Beat Guardians | Guardian Stalker Locations and Spoils

This is a guide to fighting Guardians, an enemy in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW). Learn where to find Guardian Stalkers, materials dropped from Guardian Stalkers, as well as tips and strategy for defeating them.

Guardian Stalker Base Info

Where to Find Guardian Stalkers

Guardian Stalker Locations

Guardian Stalker Locations
・Hyrule Field ・Hyrule Castle

There are many active Guardian Stalkers walking around the Central Hyrule region. They also respawn during a Blood Moon. It is ideal to hunt Guardian Stalkers within this region if you want specific materials like the Ancient materials.
Central Tower Region (Central Hyrule)

Guardian Stalker Spoils

Ancient Core	Ancient Gear	Ancient Screw	Ancient Shaft
Ancient Spring	Giant Ancient Core

Guardian Stalker Tips and Strategies

Parry Guardian Stalker Attacks

It is possible to defeat Guardian Stalkers early in the game by parrying their lasers back at them, though this takes some practice. This method requires a shield. You can use any shield, even the Pot Lid, but it's best to use tougher ones made of metal so that the laser doesn't instantly destroy it just in case you miss the parry.

Once you find a Stalker, they will start aiming at you with their laser. Hold your shield to block and take note of the ticking sound they make. Guardians fire their laser once they stop making their ticking sound.

As soon as you see the Guardian Stalker fire its laser, press the A button to deflect the attack with your shield. The timing for the deflection is important as the window of opportunity to deflect the attack is very tight. It takes two to three laser deflects to bring down a Guardian Stalker.
How to Parry (Perfect Guard)

Fighting from a Distance

You can also engage Guardian Stalkers at range by targeting their eye. A successful hit always stuns the Guardian for a couple of seconds, allowing you to fire another arrow quickly.

This requires a bit of practice as the eye is a rather small target. For this method, it's best to use a bow that can fire multiple arrows in one shot to increase your chances of hitting the eye such as the Savage Lynel Bow.
How to Get More Arrows

Use Ancient Arrows

The Ancient Arrow, when used with any bow will instantly destroy a Guardian Stalker when hit on the eye. Even if you miss the eye, it will still inflict heavy damage!

How to Get More Ancient Arrows

Ancient Arrow Cost and Materials	・Rupees (×90) ・Ancient Screw (×2) ・Ancient Shaft (×1) ・Arrow (×1)
Ancient Arrow x5 Cost and Materials	・Rupees (×400) ・Ancient Shaft (×5) ・Ancient Spring (×5) ・Arrow (×5)
Ancient Arrow x3 Cost and Materials	・Rupees (×250) ・Ancient Screw (×6) ・Ancient Shaft (×3) ・Arrow (×3)

Ancient Arrows can be obtained by handing in Rupees and materials at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab after completing Robbie's Research. It costs a fair amount of rupees and materials, so we suggest farming for those items first.
How to Get More Ancient Arrows

Fight Guardians Up Close and Attack with Master Sword

You can also engage the Guardian Stalkers up close. This method requires you to have stronger weapons and at least one or more upgraded armor. You also need a good stock of food and healing elixirs.

Guardian Stalkers will walk up to you at a very close distance, circling you as it charges its laser. It will also back up quickly if you run too close to them. They can only attack you with their laser beam and they'll often back off a short distance before they fire it at you.

It is recommended to use the Master Sword as its attack power increases from 30 to 60 if used against Ganon or Guardian Scouts.
How to Get the Master Sword

Use Stasis and Break Their Legs

If you're having a tough time hitting the Guardian, you can use Stasis+ to freeze them in place. Once they're stunned, quickly run to one of its legs and hit it repeatedly with your weapon.

Breaking their legs limits their movement, making them easier to chase after. This may also cause them to roll over, exposing a weakspot that you can attack. It's also possible to destroy all of their legs, rendering them completely immobile and will result to getting more loot.

List of Materials

Zelda: BotW Related Guides

Enemies List