Animate Guardian

Animate GuardianSpell, Minion
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (11-20) Mana
Cast Time: 0.60 secRequires Level 28Animates a melee weapon or armour, attaching it to an invisible Guardian that fights by your side. Animating multiple items attaches them to the same Guardian. You cannot animate unidentified items. Cannot be used by Traps or Mines. If your Guardian dies you cannot summon an Animated Guardian again in that area.Minions have (0-38)% more Maximum Life
Can use Items requiring up to Level (33-100)
Minion deals (0-38)% more Damage

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(2-40)% increased Minion Movement SpeedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Acquisition
Drop level: 28Metadata
Item class: Skill Gem
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemAnimateArmour

Animate Guardian is a spell, animating weapons and armour on the ground to form an allied minion.

Skill functions and interactions

Using this skill on an identified item on the ground creates an Animated Guardian that uses a default melee strike skill based on the Guardian's equipped weapon or unarmed. Similar to Spectres and unlike other minions, a Guardian is persistent even after logging out on a character. Unequipping the Animate Guardian gem will cause the Guardian to disappear until an Animate Guardian gem is equipped again and the spell is cast (animating an item is not required to resummon a previously existing Guardian). As the Animate Guardian's equipment is specific to a character, the gem itself can be freely replaced without any detrimental effects. Socketing the gem in a weapon or shield slot allows players to quickly unsummon a Guardian at will by switching weapon sets (default hotkey: X). You can only have one Guardian at a time.

Animated Guardian can be equipped with:

• helmet
• body armour
• a pair of gloves
• a pair of boots
• Main/offhand Melee weapons or a shield in offhand

Ranged weapons cannot be animated, similar to default Animate WeaponAnimate WeaponDuration, Minion, Spell, Physical
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (4-16) Mana
Cast Time: 0.60 secRequires Level 4Animates a Melee Weapon Item or Lingering Blade to fight by your side. You cannot animate unidentified Weapons. Will not animate weapons with 6 sockets. Cannot be used by Traps or Mines.Base duration is 40.00 seconds
Maximum (5-14) Animated Weapons
Can use Items requiring up to Level (9-100)
Minions' Attacks deal (5-126) to (8-184) additional Physical Damage
Animated Lingering Blades deal (1-17) to (2-80) Added Attack Physical Damage
Minions deal (0-38)% more Damage
Minions have (0-38)% more Attack Speed

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.1-2) to Maximum Animated WeaponsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.. Items can be of any rarity, including unique, but must be identified and on the ground, and of an appropriate level requirement to be equipped. Once a weapon is consumed by the spell and equipped to the Animated Guardian, the item is permanently destroyed and cannot be reobtained. Caution is advised to avoid accidental animation or overwriting of valuable items. Items containing socketed gems cannot be animated, and the Animated Guardian cannot use or trigger skills from gems or items.

The Guardian uses weapons and shields in the same way as player characters, and can dual wield one-handed weapons. If you animate an item type that the Guardian is already using (such as a helmet), the new item will overwrite the old one. Equipping one-handed weapons will alternate equipping weapons between the left and right hand on subsequent casts. Equipping an armour equipment item restores 25% of the minion's maximum life.

Generally speaking an item cannot be "unequiped", leaving an empty slot, once it has been filled, the exception being you can empty one of your AGs hands by cycling between a Two Handed Melee Weapon and a One Handed Melee Weapon or a Shield depending on which hand you need to be free. For example if you need to empty your AG Main Hand to allow for FacebreakerFacebreaker
Strapped MittsEvasion: (30-39)
Energy Shield: (7-9)Requires Level 16+30% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier
10% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
(600-1000)% more Physical Damage with Unarmed Melee Attacks
Extra goreFly like a Storm Crow, crush like a Rhoa override a Two Handed Weapon with a Shield, or empty your Off Hand to use White WindWhite Wind
Imperial SkeanRune Dagger
Physical Damage: 18-73
Elemental Damage: (160-190) to (280-320)
Critical Strike Chance: 8.00%
Attacks per Second: (1.65-1.72)
Weapon Range: 1.0 metresRequires Level 66, 95 Dex, 131 Int30% increased Global Critical Strike ChanceAdds (160-190) to (280-320) Cold Damage
(10-15)% increased Attack Speed
+(1000-1500) to Evasion Rating
+(30-40)% chance to Suppress Spell Damage while your Off Hand is empty
(100-200)% increased Cold Damage while your Off Hand is emptyThe Maraketh fear very little,
but they dare not whisper the name
of the demon that flies on Winter's gales. bonuses. The Goddess BoundThe Goddess Bound
Whalebone RapierOne Handed Sword
Physical Damage: (14-16) to (59.5-68)
Elemental Damage: 3-7
Critical Strike Chance: 5.50%
Attacks per Second: 1.92
Weapon Range: 1.4 metresRequires Level 7, 32 Dex+25% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier+1 to Level of Socketed Melee Gems
Uses both hand slots
(250-300)% increased Physical Damage
Adds 3 to 7 Fire Damage
20% increased Attack Speed
30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance
+(20-40) to Evasion Rating
20% reduced Rarity of Items found
30% increased Movement Speed when on Low LifeShe paints her offer in wicked hues
An off-white grin, an elegant bruise.
To the nascent scourge she sings the ruse:
"With me in hand, what else need you use?" also deletes the Off Hand slot equipment.

Most modifiers on the items themselves apply to the Animated Guardian the same way they apply to player characters, including enchantments, corrupted implicit modifiers, Scourge modifiers, and Crucible passive trees. Modifiers which allocate notable passive skills do not apply as minions do not have access to a passive tree; modifiers that grant keystone effects do function however. Eldritch implicit modifiers that require unique enemies or pinnacle atlas bosses to be in your presence to activate are always active on Animated Guardians.

Items equipped by the Guardian are not deleted when it dies and will be retained when resummoned. However, it cannot be resummoned in the same area it died in (unless that area is a hideout). Note that with Catarina Bloodline's Prolonged Servitude, it is possible to unsocket the Animate Guardian gem during the 6 second grace period and resocket it to be able to cast the skill again, resummoning it without any penalty.

Like other minions, the Guardian does not share your curse limit, and has a default curse limit of 1 which can be increased through equipped items. They can apply curses through Curse Enemies with <curse> on Hit modifiers.

Character-bound: The Guardian's items are tied to the character that summoned it, rather than the gem itself. The gem can freely be changed around without risking loss of the Animate Guardian's equipment. This also means that trading or moving an Animate Guardian gem to another character will not transfer the Animate Guardian's equipment between players/characters.

Gem level: Note that the skill's gem level determines the maximum level requirement of items the Animated Guardian can equip; if the gem's level is too low for an equipped item, it will disable the item temporarily until it is high enough gem level, at which point it will function normally. This does not delete the equipped item.

Item skills: Animated Guardians cannot use skills granted by items. Equipping items like Death's OathDeath's Oath
Astral PlateArmour: (1990-2502)
Movement Speed: -5%Requires Level 62, 180 Str+(8-12)% to all Elemental ResistancesTrigger Level 20 Death Aura when Equipped
+(40-50) to all Attributes
(10-15)% increased Attack Speed
(180-220)% increased Armour
+(60-70) to maximum Life
1% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life
You take 450 Chaos Damage per second for 3 seconds on Kill
Gore FootprintsTears of blood, aching heart,
My dear Isildria must depart., The Rippling ThoughtsThe Rippling Thoughts
Legion SwordOne Handed Sword
Physical Damage: (127.2-137.8) to (235.2-254.8)
Elemental Damage: 1 to (60-70)
Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
Attacks per Second: 1.20
Weapon Range: 1.1 metresRequires Level 62, 122 Str, 104 Dex40% increased Global Accuracy RatingGrants Summon Harbinger of the Arcane Skill
Trigger Level 20 Storm Cascade when you Attack
(75-90)% increased Spell Damage
(140-160)% increased Physical Damage
Adds 1 to (60-70) Lightning Damage
Adds 1 to (60-70) Lightning Damage to Spells
10% increased Area of Effect


, or Bubonic Trail will not allow the Guardian to use their associated triggered skills. This also includes Fire Burst granted by Essence of HysteriaEssence of HysteriaStack Size: 9
Essence Tier: 8Upgrades a normal item to rare or reforges a rare item, guaranteeing one property
Weapon: Cast Level 20 Fire Burst on Hit
Gloves: Socketed Gems deal 175 to 225 Added Fire Damage
Boots: Drops Burning Ground while moving, dealing 2500 Fire Damage per second for 4 seconds
Body Armour: 25% increased Area of Effect
Helmet: Socketed Gems deal 30% more Damage while on Low Life
Shield: Adds 60 to 100 Fire Damage if you've Blocked Recently
Quiver: Gain 15% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage
Amulet: 150% increased total Recovery per second from Life Leech
Ring: Gain 10% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire Damage
Belt: Damage Penetrates 5% Elemental Resistances during any Flask EffectRight click this item then left click a normal or rare item to apply it., even though it does not contain "trigger" or "granted" in its modifier description.

Ally effects: Like other minions, the Guardian is considered an ally but not a party member. For example, the Guardian cannot benefit from a character with Your nearby party members maximum Endurance Charges is equal to yours from Ambu's ChargeAmbu's Charge
Crusader ChainmailArmour: (663-851)
Energy Shield: (140-176)
Movement Speed: -5%Requires Level 43, 64 Str, 64 Int(180-220)% increased Armour and Energy Shield
+(60-80) to maximum Life
+15% to all Elemental Resistances
Gain up to maximum Endurance Charges when you take a Critical Strike
Your nearby party members maximum Endurance Charges is equal to yoursNothing stops the pain like a courageous rush into battle., or vice versa. However, other effects that apply to nearby allies or enemies, like Leer CastLeer Cast
Festival MaskEvasion: (77-88)
Energy Shield: (17-19)Requires Level 28, 33 Dex, 33 Int+(20-30) to Dexterity
25% reduced Damage
+(60-100) to maximum Life
+(60-100) to maximum Mana
You and nearby allies gain 50% increased DamageFor none of us are as cruel as all of us. or Dying BreathDying Breath
Iron StaffWarstaff
Physical Damage: 14-42
Critical Strike Chance: 7.60%
Attacks per Second: 1.30
Weapon Range: 1.3 metresRequires Level 13, 27 Str, 27 Int+20% Chance to Block Attack Damage while wielding a Staff18% increased Cast Speed
18% increased maximum Mana
18% increased Area of Effect of Aura Skills
18% increased Area of Effect of Hex Skills
Nearby Enemies have 18% increased Effect of Curses on them
Nearby allies gain 18% increased Damage
18% increased effect of Non-Curse Auras from your SkillsThe whispers of the dead
Carry wisdom for the living,
If you are willing to give your life
To listen., will apply as normal.

Necromantic Aegis: While using Necromantic Aegis your Guardian benefits from its own shield (if applicable) as well as the one you have equipped, allowing it to gain the benefit of two shields at once. Some unique shields can have powerful interactions when doubled up this way.

Abyssal Sockets: Although it is possible to Animate equipment with Abyss jewels socketed into Abyssal sockets, Animated Guardians do not benefit from abyss jewel modifiers or modifiers that count abyss jewels. For example, equipping a Tombfist or Bubonic Trail with abyss jewel(s) socketed will not grant their conditional modifiers to a Guardian.

Player versus Player: Guardians have poor survivability in PvP areas due to modified damage scaling for skills/minions. Because of this, they are not generally recommended to be used in Hall of GrandmastersHall of Grandmasters
Promenade MapMap Level: 73
Map Tier: 6
Guild Character: ÙContains the Immortalised Grandmasters
PvP damage scaling in effectThe grandest and greatest ever to fight,
Divine the champions stand tall.
But match their power, best their might,
And even the immortal may fall.Travel to this Map by using it in a personal Map Device. Maps can only be used once. and other PvP areas, though after the change in version 3.26.0 where they no longer have their equipped items deleted on death, this is less of an issue.

Gem level progression

Level				Mana Cost	Max. Req. Level	Minion life	Minion damage	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	28	42	29	11	33	—	—	0	0
2	31	46	32	11	36	2%	2%	199345	199345
3	34	50	35	12	39	4%	4%	285815	485160
4	37	54	37	13	43	6%	6%	401344	886504
5	40	58	40	13	46	8%	8%	554379	1440883
6	42	60	42	14	48	10%	10%	477437	1918320
7	44	63	44	14	51	12%	12%	583786	2502106
8	46	66	46	15	53	14%	14%	710359	3212465
9	48	68	48	15	56	16%	16%	1355511	4567976
10	50	71	49	15	58	18%	18%	1138877	5706853
11	52	74	51	16	61	20%	20%	1368233	7075086
12	54	76	53	16	63	22%	22%	1638338	8713424
13	56	79	55	17	66	24%	24%	1956648	10670072
14	58	82	57	17	68	26%	26%	3655184	14325256
15	60	84	59	18	71	28%	28%	3017327	17342583
16	62	87	60	18	73	30%	30%	7759995	25102578
17	64	90	62	18	76	32%	32%	15138193	40240771
18	66	92	64	19	79	34%	34%	26083825	66324596
19	68	95	66	19	82	36%	36%	62620247	128944843
20	70	98	68	20	100	38%	38%	211708088	340652931
21	72	100	70	20	100	40%	40%	—	—
22	74	—	—	21	100	42%	42%	—	—
23	76	—	—	21	100	44%	44%	—	—
24	78	—	—	21	100	46%	46%	—	—
25	80	—	—	22	100	48%	48%	—	—
26	82	—	—	22	100	50%	50%	—	—
27	84	—	—	23	100	52%	52%	—	—
28	86	—	—	23	100	54%	54%	—	—
29	88	—	—	24	100	56%	56%	—	—
30	90	—	—	24	100	58%	58%	—	—
31	91	—	—	24	100	59%	59%	—	—
32	92	—	—	25	100	60%	60%	—	—
33	93	—	—	25	100	61%	61%	—	—
34	94	—	—	25	100	62%	62%	—	—
35	95	—	—	25	100	63%	63%	—	—
36	96	—	—	25	100	64%	64%	—	—
37	97	—	—	26	100	65%	65%	—	—
38	98	—	—	26	100	66%	66%	—	—
39	99	—	—	26	100	67%	67%	—	—
40	100	—	—	26	100	68%	68%	—	—

Item acquisition

Animate Guardian can drop anywhere.

Recipes

Animate Guardian can be created from the following recipes:

Amount	Part	Description	Meta
6	The SummonerThe Summoner6Minion Gem Quality: +20%To own a piece of the Nightmare, you must first belong to the Nightmare.	Random Minion gem with 20% quality	A
13	The CataclysmThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem CorruptedThe mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.	Random corrupted level 21 Spell gem	A
6	The FoxThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox." - Ezomyte Proverb	Random level 20 gem	A
3	Gemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise3Gem Quality: +20%"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter	Random gem with 20% quality	A
1	The VoidThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.	Random divination card set exchange	A

Vendor reward

This item can be bought at the listed NPC vendors, after completing the following quests:

Class →	Witch	Shadow	Ranger	Duelist	Marauder	Templar	Scion
Quest ↓
A Fixture of Fate Act 3 Siosa
Sever the Right Hand Act 3 Clarissa
Fallen from Grace Act 6 Lilly Roth

Unique items

Item		Stats
Chains of CommandChains of Command Saintly ChainmailArmour: (1002-1336) Energy Shield: (240-319) Movement Speed: -5%Requires Level 70, 99 Str, 115 IntTrigger Level 20 Animate Guardian's Weapon when Animated Guardian Kills an Enemy 10% chance to Trigger Level 18 Animate Guardian's Weapon when Animated Weapon Kills an Enemy (150-190)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(60-90) to maximum Life Animated Guardian deals 5% increased Damage per Animated Weapon Animated and Manifested Minions' Melee Strikes deal Splash Damage to surrounding targets Animated and Manifested Minions' Melee Strikes deal 50% less Splash Damage You cannot have Non-Animated, Non-Manifested MinionsA general may carry his men to greatness, or be dragged beneath the mire by their burden.	70	Trigger Level 20 Animate Guardian's Weapon when Animated Guardian Kills an Enemy 10% chance to Trigger Level 18 Animate Guardian's Weapon when Animated Weapon Kills an Enemy (150-190)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +(60-90) to maximum Life Animated Guardian deals 5% increased Damage per Animated Weapon Animated and Manifested Minions' Melee Strikes deal Splash Damage to surrounding targets Animated and Manifested Minions' Melee Strikes deal 50% less Splash Damage You cannot have Non-Animated, Non-Manifested Minions

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Animate Guardian.

Note that helmet enchantments are no longer obtainable since version 3.23.0 and can only be obtained in permanent leagues as already enchanted items from before this patch.

Name		Labyrinth	Stats	Spawn Weighting
Enchantment Animate Guardian Damage 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Animated Guardians deal 25% increased Damage	helmet 100
Enchantment Animate Guardian Damage 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Animated Guardians deal 40% increased Damage	helmet 100
Enchantment Animate Guardian Elemental Resistances 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	+24% to Animated Guardian Elemental Resistances	helmet 100
Enchantment Animate Guardian Elemental Resistances 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	+36% to Animated Guardian Elemental Resistances	helmet 100

Version history

Version	Changes
3.26.0	Animated Guardians now retain their items when they die. However, if your Animated Guardian dies you cannot summon an Animated Guardian again in that area (unless that area is a hideout). The "Item drops on Death if Equipped by an Animated Guardian" Crafting Option has been removed. This modifier on existing items is no longer functional.
3.23.0	No longer has 0-76% increased Minion Maximum Life, Minions deal 0-76% increased Physical Damage with Melee Attacks, or causes Minion's Attacks to deal additional Physical Damage. It now has 0% more Minion Maximum Life and more Minion Damage at gem level 1, both scaling up to 38% at gem level 20. Animated Guardians now have roughly 11% more base Life inherently, and now have 2 to 6 added Physical Damage while Unarmed.
3.19.0	The damage and life scaling values for minions have been adjusted. This affects all minions other than Raise Spectre, though the damage of Animate Guardian, Animate Weapon, Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow minions is also unaffected as they gain base damage from items instead. Generally speaking, minion life and damage is unchanged in the very early game, roughly 30% lower in mid acts, roughly 20% lower at level 20 of the minion skill, and roughly 10% lower at level 30 of the minion skill. Minion's attacks now deal 32–47 additional Physical Damage at gem level 1 (previously 22–34), up to 126–184 at gem level 20 (previously 56–84).
3.12.2b	Fixed a bug where Animated Guardians didn't lose their items when they died.
3.12.0	Permanent minions such as Golems, Zombies and Animated Guardians are now saved when you log out, and are automatically resummoned when you log in. Fixed a crash where, by adding an item to an Animated Guardian already wearing FleshcrafterFleshcrafter Necromancer SilksEnergy Shield: (246-367) Movement Speed: -3%Requires Level 59, 160 Int(100-150)% increased Energy Shield Minions Convert 2% of their Maximum Life to Maximum Energy Shield per 1% Chaos Resistance they have Chaos Damage taken does not bypass Minions' Energy Shield Minions have (50-100)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge While Minions have Energy Shield, their Hits Ignore Monster Elemental ResistancesImbue the body with stolen spirit, hold the leash tight., you would instantly kill the guardian (and instance).
3.11.0	Fixed the appearance of many items on Animated Guardians.
3.10.1d	Updated the gem descriptions of Animate WeaponAnimate WeaponDuration, Minion, Spell, Physical Level: (1-20) Cost: (4-16) Mana Cast Time: 0.60 secRequires Level 4Animates a Melee Weapon Item or Lingering Blade to fight by your side. You cannot animate unidentified Weapons. Will not animate weapons with 6 sockets. Cannot be used by Traps or Mines.Base duration is 40.00 seconds Maximum (5-14) Animated Weapons Can use Items requiring up to Level (9-100) Minions' Attacks deal (5-126) to (8-184) additional Physical Damage Animated Lingering Blades deal (1-17) to (2-80) Added Attack Physical Damage Minions deal (0-38)% more Damage Minions have (0-38)% more Attack Speed Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(0.1-2) to Maximum Animated WeaponsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. and Animate Guardian to clarify that they cannot be used by Traps or Mines.
3.6.0	Mana Cost at gem level 1 is now 11 (was 19). Mana Cost at gem level 20 is now 20 (was 36).
2.3.0	Animate WeaponAnimate WeaponDuration, Minion, Spell, Physical Level: (1-20) Cost: (4-16) Mana Cast Time: 0.60 secRequires Level 4Animates a Melee Weapon Item or Lingering Blade to fight by your side. You cannot animate unidentified Weapons. Will not animate weapons with 6 sockets. Cannot be used by Traps or Mines.Base duration is 40.00 seconds Maximum (5-14) Animated Weapons Can use Items requiring up to Level (9-100) Minions' Attacks deal (5-126) to (8-184) additional Physical Damage Animated Lingering Blades deal (1-17) to (2-80) Added Attack Physical Damage Minions deal (0-38)% more Damage Minions have (0-38)% more Attack Speed Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: +(0.1-2) to Maximum Animated WeaponsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. and Animate Guardian have had their range modified. Previously there was a bug where you could bypass the range. Now that this is fixed, the range has been tripled from 25 to 75 units. Fixed a bug where the life bar of an Animate Guardian (and curses on it) would display too low on him.
2.0.0	The Guardian's base survivability has been increased by 50%. It now deals additional physical damage.
1.2.1	Fixed a bug where Animate Guardian would not work in PVP.
1.2.0	If an Animated Guardian is unsummoned and resummoned when not on full life, it will now return with the same amount of life it had before.
1.1.4b	Animated Guardians now benefit from the dual wielding bonus that other dual wielders received in 1.1.4.
1.1.0d	Fixed a bug where your Animated Guardian could return from the dead during a PvP match.
1.0.1	The Guardian now recovers 25% of its life whenever a new armour piece is added to it. Fixed an issue with key pickup and the Animate (Weapon and Guardian) skills.
1.0.0e	When an Animated Guardian is dispelled due to its gem being unavailable, its life value is now temporarily saved so that it applies if the Guardian is restored in that area.
1.0.0	Animate Guardian has been added to the game.

See also

• Guide:Animate Guardian strategy