How to Find Elder Guardians in Path of Exile (PoE)

Finding Elder Guardians in Path of Exile (PoE) is a crucial step towards challenging the powerful Elder himself and accessing some of the game’s most coveted loot and crafting options. Unlike their Minecraft counterparts, PoE’s Elder Guardians are not found in static locations but are dynamic entities tied to the Atlas of Worlds system. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to locate and engage with these formidable foes.

How to Find Elder Guardians in Path of Exile

The Elder Guardians in PoE aren’t creatures that you’ll stumble upon in a specific dungeon or biome. Instead, they are interwoven with the game’s mapping system. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Start Mapping: Begin running maps on your Atlas of Worlds. Focus on progressing through the tiers, aiming for Tier 14 or higher maps. The higher the tier, the more likely you are to see Elder influence spreading.

2. Look for Shaper Influence (S-I) Maps: As you progress through your maps, keep an eye out for maps with a blue Shaper Influence on your Atlas. These maps are crucial, as they are the precursors to the appearance of Elder influence.

3. Run Shaper-Influenced Maps: Engage with these Shaper-influenced maps. As you complete them, the forces of the Shaper and the Elder begin to vie for control over the Atlas.

4. The Elder Appears: After completing several Shaper-influenced maps, you’ll eventually witness the Elder himself corrupting a map boss, turning it into his guardian. This event triggers the Elder’s initial spread across your Atlas.

5. Elder Influence Spreads (E-I): The Elder Influence will then expand, turning more and more maps under his control. This is visually represented on your Atlas map by a purplish, corrupted appearance.

6. Elder Guardians Spawn: Once the Elder influence has spread to several maps, the Elder and his Guardians will start appearing on the Atlas. These maps become indicated by an icon that looks like a corrupted guardian.

7. Accessing the Guardian’s Arena: When you enter an Elder-influenced map of Tier 14 or higher, the regular map boss is replaced by one of the four Elder Guardians. Interacting with what would be the boss location will open a portal to the Guardian’s arena.

8. Random Arena: Each Elder Guardian has three possible arenas, chosen randomly when you initiate the portal. Be prepared for varied combat environments.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are Elder Guardians in Path of Exile?

Elder Guardians are challenging bosses that serve as protectors of the Elder, an ancient and powerful entity. They are encountered in Elder-influenced maps and must be defeated to progress further in the endgame content.

2. How many Elder Guardians are there in Path of Exile?

There are four distinct Elder Guardians: The Constrictor, The Eradicator, The Purifier, and The Enslaver. Each one has a unique set of abilities and requires different strategies to defeat.

3. Do Elder Guardians Respawn?

No, the Elder Guardians encountered in maps do not respawn. Once defeated in a specific Elder-influenced map, they are gone. However, more Elder-influenced maps can be generated, allowing you to face them again.

4. What is the drop rate for Elder-influenced maps?

Upon defeating Tier 14+ Map Bosses, an Elder-influenced Tier 14 to 16 map has approximately a 3% drop rate. This rate can be improved using specific Atlas passive skills.

5. What do Elder Guardians drop in Path of Exile?

Elder Guardians drop powerful items, including unique maps, fragments that are used to fight the Uber Elder, influenced items (which are needed for specific crafting strategies), and sometimes other valuable items like currency. The quality and rarity of the loot depend on the map tier and any modifiers present.

6. Is it possible to increase the drop rate of Elder-influenced maps?

Yes, using specific Atlas Passive Skills, particularly those found in the “Influence” and “Map” clusters, you can significantly increase the chance of getting Elder-influenced maps.

7. What are Shaper-influenced maps, and why are they important?

Shaper-influenced maps are maps that are under the control of the Shaper, an entity in opposition to the Elder. They are critical because running these maps is the first step towards triggering the Elder’s appearance and eventually the appearance of his guardians.

8. Can the Elder appear on any map?

No, the Elder and his Guardians only appear on Tier 14 or higher maps that have been influenced by the Elder. This is why map progression and careful management of the Atlas are crucial for finding them.

9. What is the difference between Shaper Influence and Elder Influence?

Shaper Influence is the initial map control by the Shaper, indicated by blue coloration on the Atlas. Elder Influence comes after and is marked by a purplish, corrupted visual. The Elder takes control of maps that were previously influenced by the Shaper.

10. What happens if I clear all the Elder Influence from the Atlas?

If you completely clear all the Elder Influence, you will need to go back through the process of running Shaper-influenced maps to again trigger his reappearance. This is part of the dynamic system of the Atlas.

11. What are Uber Elder and how are they related to Elder Guardians?

The Uber Elder is an extremely challenging encounter where you face the Elder and the Shaper simultaneously. Accessing this encounter requires the collection of fragments dropped by the Elder Guardians. So, defeating them is essential to challenging this pinnacle boss.

12. How does the Map Tier affect Elder Guardian encounters?

The higher the tier of the Elder-influenced map, the more challenging the Elder Guardian fight will be, and the better the possible rewards. Generally, Tier 16 maps will provide the toughest challenge and the best drops.

13. Can I use map fragments to influence the appearance of the Elder Guardian?

Map fragments do not directly affect Elder Guardian spawns. However, they are needed to access areas like the Uber Elder fight, where Elder Guardian fragments are required for entry.

14. Does the difficulty of the Elder Guardian encounter change based on the map’s modifiers?

Yes, just like with any map boss encounter, the difficulty of the Elder Guardian fights is increased by the mods on the specific Elder-influenced map you are running. Be mindful of modifiers when planning your encounters.

15. Are there any specific builds that are more effective against Elder Guardians?

There is no single “best” build for Elder Guardians, however builds with strong bossing capabilities are highly recommended. Builds that can deal consistent and high damage as well as having good movement skills are commonly more efficient at these encounters.