Monuments are one of the most dangerous challenges in Minecraft. They are easy to get lost in and filled with dangerous mobs, including guardians and elder guardians. In this article, we are going to show you how to beat a monument in Minecraft.

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What can you get from an Ocean Monument?

Resources-wise, you can get the 8 gold blocks in the core, sponges, sea lanterns and prismarine. You can also set up a guardian farm or underwater base to get even more resources. The monument is one of the biggest underwater structures in Minecraft.

Ocean Monument
Ocean Monument only spawn in certain biomes.

How to find an Ocean Monument in Minecraft

Monuments can only be found in deep ocean biomes. Therefore, to locate one, you'll need to find an ocean and explore it. While the place might be difficult to see underwater, the sea lanterns are distinctive and easily visible, especially at nighttime. Just use a boat and a potion of Night Vision to look for a Monument at night.

However, if you don't want to randomly look around, just trade for an Ocean Explorer Map from the cartographer villager or use the command "/locate monument" to instantly find out its location.

A monument
A monument drained of all water

How to beat an Ocean Monument in Minecraft

Preparation

Before entering the monument, you have to prepare both weapons and food items to survive. You also need underwater-breathing devices when diving into the ocean.

  • Gold armor or better. Try to obtain Depth Strider and Respiration enchantments for breathing and moving underwater.
  • A strong sword, preferably with Sharpness, Mending and Looting.
  • Milk to remove the Mining Fatigue effect from Elder Guardian.
  • Food to regenerate HP
  • Potion to breathe underwater

Setup phase

To enter a Monument, you can either use the front door or just mining to create a tunnel from its top. Once inside, you can set up a base of operation - create a room with doors then use a sponge block to absorb all the water. Afterward, you can bring things you might need here: like a bed in case you die, a furnace to dry off sponges... and more.

Alternatively, set up a conduit. It will remove the need of maintaining the water breathing status, enabling you to beat the monument much easier.

Clearing phase

Your goal inside the monument is to take out the elder guardians to eliminate the Mining Fatigue III that hinders your ability to obtain the resources from the monument. There are three per monument: one in the "penthouse" at the very top and one in each of the wings flanking the main entrance.

The elders themselves are not extremely difficult because they move and attack really slow. You should be fine with sufficient armor and weapons. Finding them within the maze can be a challenge, however - remember to block off areas you have explored.

Guardian and Elder Guardian
Guardian and Elder Guardian in Minecraft

Interested in more of our articles related to Minecraft? Please check out this post for a guide on How To Beat A Nether Fortress In Minecraft.