Are there Guardians in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

Guardians were everywhere in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. These ancient machines were created by the Sheikah to help in the battle against Calamity Ganon, but eventually fell under his control and would attack anyone on sight. They wound up being some of the most formidable foes in Breath of the Wild.

Since the events in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom take place several years after its predecessor and there don’t seem to be any Guardians in the Great Sky Island portion of the game, you might wonder whether they’re even in the game at all, since a lot has changed.

Can you find Guardians in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

In short, the answer is no, there are no Guardians in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. They don’t appear as enemies, nor do they appear as allies. They do, however, appear in the form of remains scattered throughout the various ruins in Hyrule.

For example, you can find the ruins of a Guardian in Hateno Village. In fact, the top half of one has been built into the roof of the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, which is fitting given it’s a lab.

What’s more, every time Link is preparing to launch out of a Skyview Tower, mechanical tentacles that look a lot like a Guardian’s tentacles emerge and attach a safety harness. They’ve likely been repurposed by Purah.

But while Guardians might not feature as enemies in Tears of the Kingdom, they’ve been replaced by Zonai Constructs, which are mechanical enemies that work to a similar effect. They’re a lot easier to defeat, though—at least, in my experience.

Related: Best weapons to fuse early in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

For example, there’s no need to deflect projectiles with god-like timing using a shield like in Breath of the Wild. Instead, each one has a weakness depending on what sort of weapon it’s using.