Dungeon Guardian

Dungeon Guardian

Map Icon

 Classic

 Expert

 Master

Statistics

Type	Flying EnemyUndead Enemy
Environment	Dungeon
AI Type	Head AI
Damage	1000/2000/3000
Max Life	9999/19998/29997
Defense	9999
KB Resist	100%
Immune to	All debuffs

Drops

• Item (Quantity)Rate
• Bone Key
  100%

Sounds

Hurt
Killed
Spawn

• Internal NPC ID: 68

For strategies on defeating Dungeon Guardians, see Guide:Dungeon Guardian strategies.

The Dungeon Guardian is an enemy resembling Skeletron's head that guards the Dungeon against intruders. If a player enters the Dungeon in a world where Skeletron has not been defeated and travels below zero depth (a horizontal invisible border separating the surface from the underground), one or more Dungeon Guardians quickly fly at the player, dealing 1000/2000/3000 damage each, which will instantly kill most players if they are unprepared. Dungeon Guardians are large, very fast (traveling at around 41 mph in all directions), and travel through all blocks.

Any player who attacks a Dungeon Guardian, regardless of the weapon or other equipment (with very few exceptions), will deal only 1 damage, or 2 for critical hits. This means that the Dungeon Guardian will normally take an average of 1.04 damage. While killing a Dungeon Guardian is possible (and will award the Bone Key pet summon), it requires careful preparation. See the Tips section for setups.

The Dungeon Guardian's Bestiary entry will automatically fill itself out if Skeletron is defeated.

Quick Answers

What is the role of the Dungeon Guardian in Terraria?

The Dungeon Guardian in Terraria serves as a formidable protector of the Dungeon. This enemy, which resembles Skeletron's head, is designed to guard against intruders. If a player enters the Dungeon in a world where Skeletron has not been defeated and travels below zero depth, one or more Dungeon Guardians will quickly fly at the player.

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How much damage does the Dungeon Guardian deal in Terraria?

The Dungeon Guardian in Terraria deals a whopping 1000/2000/3000 damage with each hit. This makes it one of the most formidable foes in the game, capable of instantly killing most players if they are unprepared. So, if you're planning to face this guardian, make sure you're well-equipped and ready for a tough battle!

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What happens if a player enters the Dungeon in a world where Skeletron has not been defeated?

If a player dares to enter the Dungeon in a world where Skeletron has not been defeated, they're in for a nasty surprise! Dungeon Guardians, the formidable guardians of Terraria, will spawn and attack the player. These dungeon guards are practically invincible and can generally kill most players with a single hit. So, it's best to hit da bricks, skeleton, and defeat Skeletron before venturing into the Dungeon!

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Why is the Dungeon Guardian considered a high threat in Terraria?

The Dungeon Guardian in Terraria is considered a high threat due to its formidable attributes. It guards the Dungeon against intruders and quickly flies at any player who enters the Dungeon in a world where Skeletron has not been defeated. The Dungeon Guardian deals a whopping 1000/2000/3000 damage each, which can instantly kill most players if they are unprepared. It's also very fast, traveling at around 41 mph in all directions, and can travel through all blocks. Furthermore, any player who attacks a Dungeon Guardian will deal only 1 damage, or 2 for critical hits, making it a tough enemy to defeat. This is why it's often referred to as one of the '3000 hit guardians'.

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What strategies can be used to defeat the Dungeon Guardian in Terraria?

Defeating the Dungeon Guardian in Terraria requires some strategic planning. One effective method is to lure the Dungeon Guardian into a circular hoik and throw a boomerang, which prevents it from reaching the player while constantly taking damage. Another strategy involves purchasing teleporters from the Steampunker NPC and laying them out apart from each other. The Portal Gun can also be used to keep the player constantly teleporting, making it nearly impossible for the Dungeon Guardian to hit them. Additionally, the Dungeon Guardian is vulnerable to the Frostburn, Stunned, and Bleeding debuffs, which can be used to the player's advantage.

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Notes

• It is possible to survive one or two successive hits in Expert Mode (without utilizing Holy Protection) by having maximum defense and damage reduction.
• Dealing an average of 1.04 damage each hit, it takes an average 9614 hits to defeat the Dungeon Guardian in Normal mode.
• The Dungeon Guardian is vulnerable to the Frostburn, Stunned, and Bleeding debuffs.
  • However, the Dungeon Guardian is only immune to Bleeding on  Old-gen console,  Windows Phone, and 3DS, and Stunned is exclusive to  Windows Phone and 3DS. Frostburn is the only viable option available on all versions.
• Entering the Dungeon before defeating Skeletron can be survived by quickly using a teleportation device, such as the Cell Phone, Magic or Ice Mirror, or Recall Potions before taking a hit, but the Dungeon Guardian will still go after you.
• To be considered in the Dungeon, the player must be in front of a Dungeon Wall, if the conditions are met, the player will hear the Dungeon music. Simply having a large number of Dungeon Bricks on-screen will not count as being in the Dungeon.
  • The Dungeon Guardian will not spawn unless the player is standing in front of a naturally-spawned Dungeon Wall and is completely below zero depth. This prevents the player from easily spawning Dungeon Guardians.
• The Dungeon Guardian will override all Dungeon spawns, so the Bound Mechanic and Angry Bones are impossible to come across, even if the player somehow endures the Dungeon Guardian, e.g. by utilizing Journey Mode Godmode.
• The Dungeon Guardian can drop Hearts and Stars, like all common enemies.
• Ironically, defeating the Dungeon Guardian will not grant access to the Dungeon, despite the name. This means that Skeletron must be fought in order to enter the Dungeon.
• The Dungeon Guardian has a map icon.
  • On the map, the Dungeon Guardian is a normal, red enemy dot.
• Dungeon Guardians will adhere to the same spawn limits as any other enemy: Filling up all spawn slots will stop them from spawning.
• While being arguably more difficult to defeat than anything else in the game (save invulnerable enemies), it is not considered a boss in the game. This is likely because giving it "boss" status may trick some players into thinking its defeat is required for game progression.

Tips

For more elaborate strategies on defeating Dungeon Guardian, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Dungeon Guardian strategies.

Because of the extreme effort that has to be taken to defeat a Dungeon Guardian, and because its only drop, the Bone Key, is a purely cosmetic item, defeating a Dungeon Guardian is pointless from a practical perspective. (On the  Old-gen console version, the Bone Key is required for the "Pet Hoarder" achievement.) Most of the following tips assume taking a late-game or endgame character to a fresh world where the Guardian can still be summoned, as they involve items that can only be obtained after defeating Skeletron (if not the Moon Lord).

In order to quickly reach the surface after spawning the Dungeon Guardian, a player can dig a shaft into the Dungeon, flying up as soon as reaching zero depth. The Depth Meter or its upgrades are almost mandatory to avoid being caught off-guard. In multiplayer, it can simply be lured out by another player.

In Expert Mode or Master Mode Dungeon Guardians have no mode-exclusive drop, but they do have double (triple) the health (and damage). Due to this, it is simplest to fight the Dungeon Guardian on a Classic world to save time, money, and further troubles.

Weapons with a high rate of fire or splash damage are preferable, in order to compensate for the reduced damage. Damage per hit is nearly irrelevant for this fight, as any weapon hit gets reduced to 1 or 2 points of damage. However, high critical chance is crucial, as critical hits can tremendously speed up the fight. Viable options include:

• Phantasm with Luminite Arrows or Endless Quiver.
• Life Drain, as the Dungeon Guardian is not immune to the debuff it inflicts and it additionally ignores the defense, allowing it to deal 5 damage per tick.
• Chain Gun, Megashark, or S.D.M.G. with Crystal Bullets or Endless Musket Pouch.
• Tizona, which, while dangerous to use, inflicts the Bleeding debuff.
• Piranha Gun for its good damage rate (7 DPS against the Dungeon Guardian's defense) and lack of a need to aim. It also does not use ammo.
• Zenith, due to its incredibly high swing rate and ability to hit anywhere onscreen. With appropriate melee accessories and armor, it can deal up to approximately 40–50 DPS in Expert Mode.

Since the Dungeon Guardian moves at 41 mph, having high mobility is essential. The UFO (41 mph), or Unicorn Mounts (61 mph) are suitable, and many types of wings reach speeds above 41 mph, especially when the Soaring Insignia is combined with hovering wings. A Rod of Discord may help with turning around at the world's edge. Before 1.4.1.1, the Pirate Ship Mount traveled 82 mph horizontally, as opposed to the current 36 mph horizontally, which was especially effective at outrunning the Dungeon Guardian.

Frost armor is highly recommended for ranged and melee users because Dungeon Guardian is not immune to Frostburn debuff.

Equipping full Titanium armor can allow a player to occasionally dodge otherwise lethal hits. Accessories offering dodge abilities can likewise help.

One complex but effective way to kill the Dungeon Guardian is to lure it into a circular hoik and throw a boomerang, effectively preventing it from reaching the player while it will constantly be taking damage from the boomerang.

Purchasing teleporters from the Steampunker NPC and laying them out apart from each other can be a viable strategy. Similarly, the Portal Gun can be used such that the player is always teleporting, which will make it nearly impossible for the Dungeon Guardian to hit them.

Trivia

• Originally, actual Skeletron Heads were spawning during the day, and they were extremely weak. Additionally, defeating all of them granted access to the Dungeon, skipping the actual Skeletron itself. The Dungeon Guardian was introduced to prevent this unintentional behavior.
• Despite being initially intended to be unbeatable, it is not invulnerable like Spike Balls, Blazing Wheels, and True Eyes of Cthulhu.
• It has no gore on the  PC,  Console,  Old-gen console,  Mobile,  Old Chinese,  tModLoader, and  tModLoader Legacy versions, but on the  Windows Phone version and Nintendo 3DS version, the remains of Skeletron's Hands will appear upon its death.
• It uses Skeletron's old sprite from before 1.3.5.
• Its head spins clockwise when the player is going left and counterclockwise when going right.
• The Master Mode Dungeon Guardian has the highest health of any non-boss and non-event enemy in the game.
• Dungeon Guardian is immune to the Lightning Aura sentry summons' effect of ignoring defense.
• In 2011, YouTuber Yrimir uploaded a video of him killing the Dungeon Guardian in, approximately, version 1.1. This prompted the developers to add the Bone Key as a reward for defeating it, as at the time, the Dungeon Guardian dropped nothing.
• The Bestiary entry for the Dungeon Guardian: "A lethal sentry that stands watch over the Dungeon's gates. Those who are deemed unworthy to enter shall not pass!"
  • The end of the bestiary entry, “Those who are deemed unworthy shall not pass!” may be a reference to The Lord of the Rings, in which the character Gandalf says "You shall not pass!".

History

 PC version

• Desktop 1.4.4: Damage can no longer be avoided by dodge procs such as Hallowed armor and Master Ninja Gear.

• Desktop 1.4.1: Now immune to all debuffs. Previously had the same immunities as Skeletron.

• Desktop 1.4.0.3: The Dungeon Guardian's Bestiary entry will now fill itself out upon the death of Skeletron.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1:
  • The speed of Dungeon Guardians and any other enemies with the Dungeon Guardian Al (Skeletron and Skeletron Prime during the day) have been buffed to move faster when flying in clear air.
  • If the Dungeon Guardian is going through blocks then its speed slows down.
  • When trying to outrun it with asphalt blocks, the Dungeon Guardian will chase you down and keep a certain distance near the player until you stop or if it goes through blocks.

• Desktop 1.2.3:
  • The AI-reset problem has now been fixed, causing Turtle armor to no longer deal massive damage. The damage is now reduced to 1, like all other attacks.
  • Defense raised from 9000 to 9999.

• Desktop 1.2.0.3: Damage reduced from 9000 to 1000, to prevent Turtle armor from dealing too much damage, however, the exploit still works due to the Dungeon Guardian's AI resetting the damage.

• Desktop 1.2: Now drops a Bone Key upon death.

• Desktop 1.0.5: Introduced, replacing Skeletron Heads as the Dungeon's guards.

 Console version

• Console 1.0.933.1: Made changes from PS4's 1.0.750.0 update. ()

• Console 1.0.750.0: ()
  • The speed of Dungeon Guardians and any other enemies with the Dungeon Guardian Al (Skeletron and Skeletron Prime during the day) have been buffed to move faster when flying in clear air.
  • If the Dungeon Guardian is going through blocks then its speed slows down.
  • When trying to outrun it with asphalt blocks, the Dungeon Guardian will chase you down and keep a certain distance near the player until you stop or if it goes through blocks.

• Console 1.06:
  • Turtle armor now only deals 1 damage when deflecting attacks to the Dungeon Guardian.
  • Defense raised from 9000 to 9999.

• Console 1.02:
  • Reduced damage from 9000 to 1000 in an effort to prevent the Turtle armor exploit.
  • Now drops a Bone Key upon death.

• Console-Release: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced with changes up to Desktop 1.3.0.1.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.3.0.7:
  • The speed of Dungeon Guardians and any other enemies with the Dungeon Guardian Al (Skeletron and Skeletron Prime during the day) have been buffed to move faster when flying in clear air.
  • If the Dungeon Guardian is going through blocks then its speed slows down.
  • When trying to outrun it with asphalt blocks, the Dungeon Guardian will chase you down and keep a certain distance near the player until you stop or if it goes through blocks.
  • Frostburn debuff longer deals percentage-based damage; frostburn items no longer deal 32 damage per second against the Dungeon Guardian.

• Mobile 1.2.11212:
  • Turtle armor now only deals 1 damage when deflecting attacks to the Dungeon Guardian.
  • Defense raised from 9000 to 9999.

• Mobile 1.2.6508:
  • Reduced damage from 9000 to 1000 in an effort to prevent the Turtle armor exploit.
  • Now drops a Bone Key upon death.

• Mobile-Release: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced, drops a Bone Key on death and has a damage stat of 1000.