Guardian

The Guardian of the Pentagons, or simply the , is an AI-controlled Boss in Diep.io. It has a chance of spawning 45 minutes after the server starts and 0-45 minutes after the death of the previous Boss. It rapidly shoots out Crashers at any player above Level 15 unless provoked in its range. It was secretly added on the 18th of August, 2016. On the 6th of April, 2024, its movement path is changed.
== Design ==
It features a large pink triangle that looks like a very large Crasher as its body. The tank also features a short, trapezoidal Spawner mounted at the back, which spawns Crashers.
== Technical ==
=== AI ===
The Guardian cycles around the edge of the map, killing players who stumbled upon it. On 2024/4/6, its path is changed to make it a real protector of pentagons. 
=== Crashers ===
The Guardian spawns 500 Crashers every minute and each of them has low body damage. It can have a maximum of 24 such Crashers around. Crashers will chase the first player above level 15 and will lock on until the player moves out of range or if the Guardian is destroyed. The Crashers’ speed are about the same as maxed out Overseer drones, but they are much weaker. The Crashers live for about 10 seconds before despawning. The Crashers are also as small as the Mothership's. When the tank dies, its Crashers die alongside it similar to an Overseer’s Drones. The Guardian will not target invisible players or players under level 15 unless provoked.
=== Stats ===
It has 3,000 health points and it regenerates its health slowly. It also possesses high Reload, but with only one Spawner. Its Movement Speed is fairly slow but significantly increases when it shoots Crashers due to its recoil. Its FoV is slightly larger than the Hunter's. Upon destruction, it awards 30,000 experience and score points to the player who killed it.
== Strategy ==
*Strong against: Weak Tanks, Tanks with low penetration, Rammers.
*Weak against: High DPS Tanks, Penta Shots, Spread Shots, Octo Tanks, Triplets, Sprayers, Destroyer branches, Overseer/Sniper Branches.
=== Against the Guardian ===
*This Boss used to have 1/3 the health of the Alpha Pentagon, though it is now twice as durable as said Polygon. The Guardian releases Crashers at an incredible rate, which then lock on to the nearest player. Individual Drones lock onto players within range, attacking said player until they are either dead or out of range. Approaching too close can easily attract the attention of all the Guardian’s attendant Drones.
**They will stay locked on even if another player approaches the main body, so it is wise to sneak in to attack when the Crashers are distracted by someone else.
**The Boss itself will not seek to ram players but will continue on a predetermined course, making it wise to wait until it has moved into a safer area before taking it on.
**The Factory can simply aim its Drones’ bullets at the Guardian’s spawner. The Drones’ combined bullet power is more than enough to overwhelm the Guardian. The Factory can then follow the guardian around until the boss’s health is around 20%. From that point onwards, rushing the drones into the guardian itself will result in the entity’s death.
**However, the best way to kill the Guardian is to use the Penta Shot with this build 4/4/4/0/7/7/7/0. You can simply stay in front of the Guardian and you will destroy all of its drones and keep damaging it until you kill it. Be aware that while the drones are relatively weak, large quantities of them can even take down the Spike with the 3/10/10/10 build. The Spread Shot works too.
**In rare situations, the Octo Tank could destroy multiple drones and attack the Guardian if surrounded by the Crashers.
**The Annihilator or Hybrid even Destroyers can fire a large bullet to take down multiple Drones in one shot and deal heavy damage against the Guardian. It can then move away, and attack over and over again until the Guardian is dead. Be careful, as the Guardian has a lot of drones and the Hybrid may not be able to take them out in enough time before they reach the Hybrid or Annihilator. If Hybrid, once distancing, its Drones may help attack and deal extra damage to the Guardian.
*Classes with a wider FoV like the Stalker, Ranger or Predator can stay far away and attack the boss without having the drones charging at them. Therefore they may hit the Guardian multiple times and take it down.
*The Overlord, Overseer, or Manager are capable of distracting the Guardian’s Drones while striking the Guardian with their own.
*In team modes, it is wise to fight against the Guardian with a teammate since the Guardian only focuses on one player at a time, giving the player a higher chance of getting a kill.
*The Guardian will “forgive you” if you harm it under level 15, escape, and come back.
== Trivia ==
*The Boss was once named by fans as “Triangle Boss” and later “Crasher Spawner” when there was no official name given to this boss. Crasher Spawn is its name in the code.
*An hour after the Summoner added to the game, the developer created a for players to suggest the name of the Summoner and the Guardian as well.
**It was later named Guardian.
***Other prominent names that were suggested but never made it were UFO, Swarmer, Horde and jokingly, variations of "Dorito Boss"
*It was the first Boss Tank to be added into the game, the next boss that was added is the Summoner.
*Originally, it had no official name. The developer has announced the name “Guardian”. Its full name is “Guardian of the Pentagons”.
*The names "Guardian" and "Guardian of the Pentagons" are mentioned in-game. Above the Boss or upon killing it, it will be shown as "Guardian", but in the notification that says the Guardian has spawned or who destroyed it, it will be mentioned as "Guardian of the Pentagons."
*Like the Summoner, part of its name can be shown above the tank.
*Interestingly, it may spawn anywhere, not only in the Pentagon Nest, making it the first Crasher to do so.
*If you cause damage only to its Crashers while being under level 15, then you will be attacked by the Crashers which received the damage from you. Interestingly, other Crashers won’t attack.
*When idle, this Boss slowly circles the Pentagon Nest until it sees a player.
*The Boss was buffed after being released.
*Its Crashers reward no XP when killed, unlike in the Pentagon Nest.
**This is because that the Crashers are ammunition (Bullets, Drones, or Traps) instead of a Polygon (like the Pentagon Nest Crashers).
*The 2024/4/6 update changed its path so it now cycles around the pentagon nest instead of the edge; this caused the pentagon nest to be much more dangerous when the guardian exists. An effective but toxic strategy is to pinch boss hunters and low-level players with a level 45 tank.
== Bugs ==
== Gallery ==
Guardian_Icon1.png|The Guardian
Guardian_BOSS_2.png|Isolated Design of the Guardian
Guardian boss notification.png|The Notification that comes up when the Guardian spawns
Guardian Boss.png|Close-up of the Guardian with its name tag
Triangle Boss 2.png|Another close-up of the Guardian
Screenshot 2016-09-06 at 10.30.01 AM.png|Death by the high number of Crashers spawned as a Necromancer.
Screenshot (18).png|A Penta Shot being attacked by the Guardian
guarsdian.png|Red team players attacking the guardian
Category:Diep.io