How to Make a Guardian Farm in Minecraft: Easy Guide

Prismarine is one of the prettiest building blocks in Minecraft, but mining it by hand inside an ocean monument is slow and dangerous. Guardians zap you with lasers, elder guardians hit you with Mining Fatigue, and the water slows every swing. A guardian farm fixes all of that. This guide shows you how to make a guardian farm in minecraft step by step, from finding a monument to building a farm that drops prismarine shards into your chests while you do something else.

How to Make a Guardian Farm in Minecraft: The Plan

Guardians only spawn in the water around an ocean monument, roughly within a 58 block area around its center. The classic farm design drains the monument, builds a flat spawning floor above the water, and uses bubble columns and water streams to push guardians into a killing chamber below. Once it is running, the farm produces prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and raw cod on its own, and you never have to fight a guardian again.

The whole project takes a few hours, so treat it as a weekend build rather than a quick afternoon job. The draining step is the longest part, but every step after it is simple. Work in stages, keep a water breathing potion handy, and bring milk buckets to clear Mining Fatigue whenever an elder guardian spots you.

What You Need Before You Start

• An ocean monument you have found and explored (see our ocean monument guide if you still need to find one)
• Water breathing potions, at least a stack of 8 minute potions
• Milk buckets to clear Mining Fatigue from elder guardians
• A conduit or a Respiration III helmet for long underwater work
• Lots of sand or gravel for draining, plus scaffolding or dirt for temporary walls
• Building blocks: prismarine, stone bricks, glass, or any solid blocks for the spawning floor
• Magma blocks and soul sand for bubble columns
• Hoppers, chests, and signs for the collection system
• A good sword or a trident for the elder guardians
• Doors or trapdoors to make air pockets while you work

Kill all three elder guardians first. They do not respawn, and each one you kill removes a source of Mining Fatigue. Elder guardians guard the top room and the treasure room, so clear them before you start draining, and collect the gold blocks and sponges from the monument while you are there.

Step 1: Drain the Ocean Monument

Draining is the heart of how to make a guardian farm in minecraft, because guardians only spawn in water, and a drained monument lets you build in the open air. The usual method is to wall off a section of the monument with sand or gravel, then remove the water inside one layer at a time. Sand and gravel fall into place, so you can drop them from above and they fill the space for you.

Work from the top down, in layers. Build a sand wall around the monument, fill the inside with sand from the surface, then dig the sand out from the bottom so the water drains away with it. Sponges help too: a dry sponge soaks up water in a small area, and you can dry wet sponges in a furnace to reuse them. The monument has sponge rooms, so you may already have a stack waiting.

Draining the full monument takes time, and you do not need to drain every corner for a simple farm. Focus on the main spawning area around the center of the monument, and leave the far edges for later if you want a tidier build. Once the water is gone from the build area, you can walk around freely and place blocks without fighting the current.

Step 2: Build the Spawning Floor

Guardians spawn in water, so the farm needs a spawning floor with water on it. A good floor layout is the core of how to make a guardian farm in minecraft that actually produces, so take your time here. Build a flat platform of solid blocks a few blocks above the monument floor, covering the main spawning area. Leave water on top of the platform, about one block deep, so guardians can spawn there. The platform should be as large as you can manage, since more spawning space means more guardians.

Keep the floor clear of torches and slabs, because guardians need full water blocks to spawn. Use sea lanterns or glowstone set into the floor for light, so the platform stays bright without blocking spawns. Add walls around the edges to stop guardians from drifting away, and leave gaps where you want them to flow toward the killing chamber.

Step 3: Move Guardians With Bubble Columns and Water Streams

Guardians do not walk, so the farm has to move them for you. Soul sand at the bottom of a water column pushes mobs upward, while magma blocks pull them down. The usual design uses soul sand bubble columns to lift guardians to the top of the farm, then water streams to push them sideways into a drop shaft.

Set the bubble columns at the corners of the spawning floor, with water streams on the top level leading to a central hole. Guardians that spawn on the floor get pushed by the water into a column, float to the top, and then drift along the stream into the shaft. Keep the streams one block deep and the walls smooth, so nothing gets stuck on a ledge. Test the flow with a few guardians before you finish the build, and fix any spot where they stop moving.

Step 4: Build the Killing Chamber and Collection

At the bottom of the drop shaft, guardians need to die and their drops need to be collected. This collection setup is the last step in how to make a guardian farm in minecraft that runs while you are away. A fall of around 20 blocks kills most guardians on impact, and a short lava blade or a row of campfires finishes off the rest. Place hoppers under the kill spot, connected to chests, so prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and raw cod are collected automatically.

Build the killing chamber close to your AFK spot, since guardians only spawn while a player is nearby, roughly within 128 blocks. A small room with a bed, an ender chest and a crafting table makes a good waiting spot. Check the chests after a few minutes: a working farm should fill them steadily, and a well built farm can produce a few thousand prismarine shards per hour.

Rates, Troubleshooting, and Upgrades

A basic guardian farm with one spawning floor produces a steady supply of shards and crystals, enough for large prismarine builds and for trading. If you follow this guide on how to make a guardian farm in minecraft and rates still feel low, check three things first: that the spawning floor has enough open water, that no other water nearby is stealing spawns, and that you are standing close enough for guardians to spawn. Light up caves and ocean floor nearby too, since hostile mobs in the area eat into the mob cap.

The biggest rate upgrade is draining more of the monument and adding a second spawning floor. Each extra floor adds more spawning space, and the same bubble columns and streams can serve both. Some players also add an automatic item sorter for shards, crystals and cod, but a row of double chests is enough to start. Remember that guardians are hostile, so keep the farm area fenced off on a shared server and check https://bdzonemc.com/rules before building near other players.

Java vs Bedrock Notes

The design in this guide works on both editions, but guardian spawning distances and bubble column behavior have small differences between Java and Bedrock. If a design works on one edition and not the other, check an edition specific tutorial for the exact spacing before rebuilding. The layout here follows the general rules that hold on both editions, and it is a safe starting point for either one.

FAQ

Do I have to drain the whole ocean monument?

No. Drain the main spawning area around the monument center first, and leave the far corners for later. A partial drain is enough for a working farm, and you can expand it over time.

How do I deal with Mining Fatigue while building?

Kill the three elder guardians first, since they do not respawn. Carry milk buckets to clear the effect whenever it hits, and use a conduit or Respiration helmet so you can work underwater longer.

What drops does a guardian farm produce?

Guardians drop prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and raw cod. Elder guardians drop those too, plus a wet sponge the first time you kill each one. The farm collects all of it automatically in your hoppers and chests.

How close do I need to stand for the farm to work?

Stand within about 128 blocks of the spawning floor. Build a small AFK room near the killing chamber so you can wait safely while the farm runs.

Start Your Prismarine Supply Today

Now you know how to make a guardian farm in minecraft, from draining the monument and killing the elder guardians to building the spawning floor, bubble columns and collection system. It is a big build, but the payoff is a farm that fills your chests with prismarine while you are away. If you play on BD ZONE, check https://bdzonemc.com/rules before building large farms near other players, and join us on PLAY.BDZONEMC.COM to show off your prismarine builds. Share your farm on Discord at https://discord.gg/QzhjgYZNGs and tell the server what you built.