How to Find an Ocean Monument and Survive the Guardians

Ocean monuments are huge underwater temples made of prismarine. They are guarded by guardians and three elder guardians, and they hold eight gold blocks, sponge rooms and endless prismarine. They are also the classic spot for a guardian farm.

Because they sit deep underwater, you can sail right past one without noticing. This guide explains where monuments generate, how to spot them, how to use an ocean explorer map, and how to find one instantly from your seed.

Open the ocean monument finder

Where ocean monuments generate

Ocean monuments only generate in deep ocean biomes. That includes deep ocean, deep lukewarm ocean, deep cold ocean and deep frozen ocean. The center of the monument must be in a deep ocean biome, and the area around it must be ocean too.

• Depth: the monument sits on the sea floor, with its top a few blocks below the surface at sea level.
• Size: about 58 by 58 blocks, so it is one of the largest structures in the game.
• Frequency: placed on a structure grid, so large deep oceans often have several.
• Editions: Java and Bedrock, with different positions for the same seed.

Shallow oceans, warm oceans and rivers never have monuments. If the water is light blue and you can see the floor easily, keep moving to darker, deeper water.

How to spot a monument from the surface

Monuments are hard to see in murky water, but there are clues:

• A big dark shape under the surface, often with a pale outline of prismarine.
• Light from sea lanterns, visible at night as glowing points in the water.
• Guardians swimming nearby. They spawn around monuments and shoot lasers at you.
• The Mining Fatigue effect. Elder guardians give it to players within about 50 blocks. If you suddenly get it, you are right next to a monument.

Sailing at night with high render distance helps, since sea lanterns stand out. A potion of Night Vision lets you see far through water and makes the structure obvious.

Using an ocean explorer map

Cartographer villagers sell an ocean explorer map at the apprentice level. It costs emeralds and a compass. The map marks the nearest ocean monument with a special icon.

1. Find or breed a villager and place a cartography table to make it a cartographer.
2. Trade with it until it reaches apprentice level.
3. Buy the ocean explorer map.
4. Hold the map and follow it. Your marker moves as you travel toward the monument icon.

If cheats are on, use the locate command instead:

• Java: /locate structure minecraft:monument
• Bedrock: /locate structure monument

Find ocean monuments from your seed

The fastest way is to check your seed. Enter it in the ocean monument finder or on the main seed map, choose your edition and version, and every monument appears as a marker. Click one to copy a /tp command or note its coordinates.

The map also shows biomes, so you can see which deep oceans are near you and how much open water you will cross. If you plan a guardian farm, pick a monument close to land or close to your base. Use the chunk calculator to work out which chunks the monument covers.

Make sure you choose the right edition. Terrain matches between Java and Bedrock since 1.18, but monuments are placed differently.

Preparing for the guardians

Guardians shoot a laser that charges up before it hits. Break line of sight behind a pillar. Their spikes also hurt you if you hit them in melee while the spikes are out. A bow does not work well underwater, but a trident does.

What to get from a monument

• Gold blocks: eight blocks hidden inside prismarine in the central treasure room.
• Sponges: wet sponges in sponge rooms. Dry them in a furnace and use them to drain water.
• Prismarine and sea lanterns: great building blocks.
• Elder guardian drops: each drops a wet sponge, and may drop the tide armor trim template.
• Guardian drops: prismarine shards, prismarine crystals and fish.

Kill all three elder guardians to stop the Mining Fatigue. One is at the top, and the other two are in the side wings. After that, you can drain the monument with sponges or sand and build a guardian farm for endless prismarine and experience.

How to get inside and raid a monument

Getting into a monument is the hardest part, because guardians attack as soon as you arrive. A good plan makes the raid much easier:

1. Drink Water Breathing and Night Vision before you dive. Both last several minutes, and an extended potion lasts longer.
2. Enter through the front. The main entrance is on one side, with an opening that leads into the large central hall.
3. Clear guardians as you go. Use a trident or a sword. Fight around corners so lasers cannot reach you.
4. Find the elder guardians. One is in the top chamber, and the other two are in the side wings. Kill them first to stop Mining Fatigue from coming back.
5. Break into the treasure room. It is in the center of the monument, surrounded by dark prismarine. Mine through to find the gold blocks.
6. Look for sponge rooms. They have wet sponges on the walls and ceiling. Mine them with any tool or by hand.

Mining Fatigue makes breaking blocks extremely slow. Milk removes it, but elder guardians reapply it every minute while they are alive. That is why it is best to deal with them early.

A conduit is a great upgrade if you have one. Placed with a prismarine frame, it gives Conduit Power, which lets you breathe, see and mine faster underwater. It also attacks nearby hostile mobs in the water. Building one inside the monument after the first raid makes clearing and draining much easier.

Draining the whole monument is a big project, but it opens up the space for a guardian farm. Use sponges for small areas and sand or gravel to fill larger rooms before removing it.

If you are taking a long boat trip to reach the monument, you may pass a mushroom island on the way. See how to find a mushroom island.

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