A Guardian farm is one of the most powerful farms in Minecraft. Guardians drop massive amounts of XP — more per mob than almost anything else in the game — along with Prismarine, Prismarine Crystals, and raw fish. A fully operational Guardian farm levels you from 0 to 30 in under two minutes and produces enough Prismarine to build entire structures passively.
The challenge is the setup. Building a Guardian farm requires draining an Ocean Monument, which is a significant undertaking. This guide covers the full process from finding the monument to running the finished farm.
Why Build a Guardian Farm
Guardians are the best XP source in the game for active farming. A single Guardian drops 10 XP — the same as a Blaze — but Guardian farms can be built to spawn and kill at much higher rates than Blaze spawner farms.
Beyond XP, the drops are genuinely useful. Prismarine and Prismarine Bricks are beautiful building materials. Prismarine Crystals combine with Prismarine Shards to craft Sea Lanterns — one of the best light sources in the game. Raw fish from Guardians can be cooked for food or traded with fisherman villagers for emeralds.
Finding an Ocean Monument
Ocean Monuments generate in Deep Ocean biomes. They are large, pyramid-like structures made of Prismarine, lit internally by Sea Lanterns, and guarded by Guardians and three Elder Guardians.
Cartographer villager: Trade with a Cartographer to journeyman level and purchase an Ocean Explorer Map. This points to the nearest Ocean Monument.
Command: /locate structure minecraft:monument gives coordinates instantly.
Exploration: Sail deep ocean biomes and look for the distinctive teal Prismarine structure on the ocean floor, typically at Y=40-60.
Preparation
Before approaching the monument, prepare thoroughly:
Mining Fatigue: Elder Guardians inside the monument inflict Mining Fatigue III on any player who comes within range. This dramatically slows mining speed and makes draining the monument much harder if you have not dealt with the Elder Guardians first.
Kill all three Elder Guardians before beginning construction. They are found in the monument's three wing chambers and the top chamber. Bring a strong sword and potions — Elder Guardians have 80 health points each.
Equipment needed for draining:
- Full diamond armor with Respiration III and Aqua Affinity (mandatory for underwater work)
- Depth Strider III boots
- Night Vision potions (extended)
- Doors or signs (for creating air pockets)
- Sponges — lots of them (found inside the monument itself)
- A furnace for drying wet sponges
Draining the Monument
Draining is the most time-consuming part. The goal is to remove all water from inside the monument so Guardians cannot spawn inside and mobs can be funneled to a kill chamber efficiently.
Method 1: Sponge Draining
Collect all sponges from inside the monument (wet sponges generate in the sponge rooms). Dry them in a furnace. Use dried sponges to absorb water room by room, starting from the top and working down. Each sponge absorbs a 7x7x7 area of water.
This method is slow but requires no external resources beyond what the monument provides.
Method 2: Sand or Gravel Fill
Drop sand or gravel from above to fill the entire monument interior. Sand and gravel fall through water and stack on the floor. Once the interior is filled, break the blocks from the bottom up — air pockets form as you mine downward.
This method is faster for large spaces but requires a significant supply of sand or gravel.
Method 3: Perimeter and Pump
Build a wall around the entire monument using cheap blocks, then pump the interior dry using sponges or sand within the enclosed perimeter. This is the most efficient method for large-scale operations but requires the most initial construction.
Building the Farm
Once the monument interior is drained, the farm structure replaces the monument itself.
Basic Design
- Clear the monument interior completely — remove all Prismarine walls and blocks, leaving only the outer shell if desired
- Build a flat spawning platform covering the monument footprint at Y=39 (the natural floor level)
- Add water streams flowing inward from all sides toward a central collection point
- Build a drop shaft at the collection point — 22 blocks deep
- At the bottom of the shaft, create a kill chamber with hoppers feeding into chests
Spawning Conditions
Guardians spawn in water in ocean biomes, at light level 7 or below. The monument area naturally meets these conditions. Keep the spawning platform dark and ensure the water streams cover the entire surface area.
The Kill Chamber
At the bottom of the drop shaft:
- Build a 3x3 room with 1-block-high openings on the sides
- Place hoppers on the floor feeding into chests
- Stand in the kill chamber and hit Guardians as they arrive — one or two hits kills them at reduced health from the fall
- XP orbs and drops go directly to you
AFK Design Option
For a fully automatic version, replace the manual kill chamber with a lava blade kill mechanism:
- At the bottom of the shaft, place a row of lava source blocks suspended 1 block above a water stream
- Guardians fall through the lava (taking lethal damage) and land in the water stream
- The stream carries drops to hoppers and chests
- This kills Guardians automatically but you lose the XP — stand nearby to collect orbs before they despawn
Maximizing Output
Looting Sword
Use a Looting III sword for manual kills. Looting increases Prismarine Shard, Prismarine Crystal, and fish drops significantly. The difference between no Looting and Looting III is roughly double the material output per kill.
Fortune on Prismarine
When clearing the monument, use a Fortune III pickaxe on Prismarine blocks — it does not increase drops from Prismarine, but it does maximize drops from any Sea Lanterns you break, giving extra Prismarine Crystals.
Conduit Power
If you build a Conduit near your farm (requires Prismarine from the monument itself), you gain Conduit Power — underwater breathing, faster mining speed underwater, and night vision. This makes any future maintenance or expansion dramatically easier.
FAQ
Q: How long does draining an Ocean Monument take? A: Expect 2-6 hours depending on the method and your equipment. With Respiration III, Aqua Affinity, and a good supply of sponges, an experienced player can drain a monument in 2-3 hours.
Q: Do I need to kill the Elder Guardians first? A: Yes. Mining Fatigue III makes it nearly impossible to place or break blocks efficiently. Kill all three Elder Guardians before starting any construction.
Q: How much XP does the farm produce? A: A well-built Guardian farm produces 0 to 30 XP levels in approximately 60-90 seconds of active killing. It is one of the fastest XP sources in the game.
Q: Can I build this in Survival without a friend? A: Yes, but it is much harder solo. Draining is tedious alone. Having one or two friends speeds the draining phase dramatically. The farm itself runs perfectly fine solo once built.
Conclusion
A Guardian farm is a major project — draining the monument is genuinely demanding work. But the payoff is one of the best farms in Minecraft: unlimited fast XP, a steady supply of Prismarine for building, and Sea Lanterns on demand.
Commit to the project, prepare properly, and work through the draining systematically. Once the farm is running, you will reach enchanting levels faster than any other method in the game.
For your next major farm project, check out our guide on building an Iron Farm — a simpler build that pairs well with the Guardian farm for a complete resource production setup.