Arch Guardian

These enemies are only found in Eridian locations. Thier primary location is in Eridian Promontory, the Eridian land you will encounter towards the end of the main mission. You will encounter these enemies along with Principal Guardians and Sera Guardians. The Arch Guardian is among the hardest enemies you are likely to face that is not a "Boss"  such as Skagzilla or Mothrakk

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Arch Guardian

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Closeup Arch Guardian

Appearance

They have thin bodies that curve round and very thin arms, they have long thin necks and a very small head, they also have a body part on their back which curls round at the end, this is different from the Principal Guardians, they are some of the most alien looking creatures on Pandora. Along with their unique shape they are a purple colour with lots of bright blues, making them easily identifiable.  

Attacks

The Arch Guardian has two main attacks, one is a very long ranged attack which will be fired from the body part on its back. It fires large blue streams into the aim which fall down on you and are very powerful attacks. The second attack is when you are within close range, it will fire a blade type weapon very rapidly at you, this attack is extremely difficult to avoid due to the speed of it but luckily if you only get hit by a couple the damage is not too bad.

Strategies

You do not want to get close enough for this enemy to start its rapid fire on you. Although it is not heavily armored it will certainly do more damage to you than you can do to it, especially with the Principal Guardians and Sera Guardians joining in. I suggest that you stay far back and try to use you sniper to get the critical hit, which, like humans, is located on the head. If you are underfire from its long range attack it will usually fire 3 bursts which can be dodged and then will wait, this is when you will need to get your shots away. Whilst the enemy is firing he will move up and down making it difficult to get a headshot. If you are under attack by a Sera Guardian it is best to take it out first as Sera Guardians are fairly weak but can be an annoyance.

However, if you are playing as Lilith and have increased speed from killing an enemy with the Intuition skill then you may be able to get in close with a strong and accurate sub-machine gun and score critical hits (headshots) while dodging around in a circle. Also when your shields are knocked out use the Phasewalk skill to gain a breather as needed.