Guardian

Guardians are a type of enemy in.

Characteristics
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 and are scattered across Hyrule, attacking those who approach.

Guardians that reside within Ancient Shrines, Trial of the Sword and the Final Trial are not possessed by Calamity Ganon, denoted by the fact that they have their normal orange and blue glow, as opposed to the pink glow seen on most Guardians around the world. The reason these Guardians will still attack Link is because they have been placed there by the monks for training purposes, and are simply doing what they have been ordered to do.

While Guardians are formidable opponents, they have a few weaknesses. A Guardian's eye is their weak spot; shooting it with an Arrow causes extra damage and interrupts the charging of their laser. While sufficiently strong weapons can deal a fair bit of damage to Guardians, they are especially weak to Ancient equipment, which deals much more damage to them. The Master Sword is another effective weapon against them.

Guardian Stalker
Guardian Stalkers are powerful enemies, with high health, high resistance and a laser beam attack that deals six Hearts of damage. If a target is too close to them, they will attempt to distance themselves in order to fire their lasers; otherwise they will relentlessly pursue said target until they lose track of it. When defeated, they may drop any combination of Ancient Gears, Ancient Screws, Ancient Shafts, Ancient Cores and Ancient Springs. Link can cut off the legs of a Guardian Stalker, dealing high damage and temporarily stunning them.

Decayed Guardian
Decayed Guardians are decayed variations of the Guardian Stalkers that have long lost their mobility. They are found buried in the ground, unable to move due to having no legs. Decayed Guardians appear inactive until Link approaches it, when they light up and aim their laser sights at Link in preparation to fire.

Guardian Scout
Guardian Scouts are smaller variants of Stalkers that can be found within Ancient Shrines and Divine Beasts. They come in four different forms. Depending on the form, these can be equipped with different weapons. They can also use their laser to repeatedly burn the ground surrounding them, sending Link back if struck. Additionally, when near death, they will charge a stronger laser attack that cannot be interrupted.

Guardian Turret
Guardian Turrets do not move, but instead fire powerful lasers at Link. They are only found around Hyrule Castle. Upon spotting Link, their head will begin to elevate and they will charge their laser in preparation to shoot. Several Guardian Turrets guard the entrance to the Sanctum of Hyrule Castle, where Calamity Ganon resides.

Guardian Skywatcher
Guardian Skywatchers are a flying type of Guardian. They scan their environment with a red searchlight and will begin charging their laser upon locating a target. Many Guardian Skywatchers patrol around Hyrule Castle.

Sentry
Sentries are a type of flying Guardian, similar to Guardian Skywatchers, that only appear on Death Mountain during the "Divine Beast Vah Rudania" Main Quest. Rudania dispatches Sentries as Link and Yunobo approach Death Mountain to hinder them as they attempt to disable Rudania. Sentries use red searchlights along the path up the Mountain which, should Link or Yunobo be spotted, will cause Rudania to furiously unleash Magma Bombs at them.

Trivia

 * Guardian Stalkers were based on the Octoroks from, 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.