Guardian
On the Guardian, one headshot kills through a heavy shield, and 3 body shots kill through a heavy shield.
Shots to kill and time to kill
Shields absorb damage one-for-one, so a light shield puts an opponent on 125 effective health and a heavy shield on 150. Time to kill measures from the first bullet landing to the last, which is why a one-shot kill reads 0.00s.
0–50m195 head · 65 body · 48.75 legs
| Target | Headshots | TTK | Body shots | TTK | Leg shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No shield | 1 | 0.00s | 2 | 0.19s | 3 |
| Light shield | 1 | 0.00s | 2 | 0.19s | 3 |
| Heavy shield | 1 | 0.00s | 3 | 0.38s | 4 |
Between 0 and 50 metres, a headshot deals 195 damage and kills through a heavy shield outright — one bullet ends the duel. Body shots take 3 through a heavy shield at this range.
The Guardian deals identical damage at every range — there is no falloff to play around.
Handling
Aiming down sights
- Zoom
- 1.5×
- Fire rate
- 5.25 rounds/sec
- Run speed
- 0.76×
- Burst count
- 1
Scoping slows both your movement and your rate of fire, so it trades the ability to reposition for a cleaner shot. On a rifle that is rarely worth it in a close fight.
What a Guardian buy actually costs
The Guardian is 2,250 credits on its own, but nobody buys a gun on its own. Adding armour is what turns it into a real loadout, and these are the shield prices straight from the buy menu.
| Loadout | Shield | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Guardian + Light ArmorAbsorbs 66% of total damage taken. Breaks after it has absorbed 25 damage. | 400 | 2,650 |
| Guardian + Regen ShieldAbsorbs 100% of total damage taken. Regenerates after it has absorbed damage. Has a total regeneration pool of 50. | 650 | 2,900 |
| Guardian + Heavy ArmorAbsorbs 66% of total damage taken. Breaks after it has absorbed 50 damage. | 1,000 | 3,250 |
Abilities are on top of these figures and vary by agent, so treat the totals as the floor for a full buy rather than the final number. Heavy armour is what the kill tables above assume — it is the difference between 100 effective health and 150.
How it compares to the other Assault Rifles
All 4 Assault Rifles side by side, at point-blank range. The Guardian row is highlighted. Damage falls off with distance on most guns, so these are the best-case numbers — the per-range tables above are the full picture.
| Weapon | Cost | Head | Body | Fire rate | Mag | Body shots to kill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandal | 2,900 | 160 | 40 | 9.75 | 25 | 4 |
| Bulldog | 2,050 | 115.5 | 35 | 10 | 24 | 5 |
| Phantom | 2,900 | 156 | 39 | 11 | 30 | 4 |
| Guardian | 2,250 | 195 | 65 | 5.25 | 12 | 3 |
Body shots to kill assumes a heavy shield, which puts an opponent on 150 effective health. Cost is in credits from the buy menu.
Guardian vs Vandal
Neither the Guardian nor the Vandal kills a heavy-shielded opponent with one headshot, so the comparison comes down to fire rate and cost: 5.25 rounds per second at 2,250 credits against 9.75 at 2,900.
All 65 Guardian skins
Skins are purely cosmetic — none of them change the numbers above. Higher content tiers add upgrade levels, colour variants and effects rather than any advantage.
| Tier | Skins at this tier | Standard tier price |
|---|---|---|
| Select | 32 | 875 VP |
| Premium | 14 | 1,775 VP |
| Deluxe | 10 | 1,275 VP |
| Exclusive | 9 | — |
Standard single-skin prices for each tier. Most Guardian skins are sold inside a bundle rather than on their own, and bundle pricing sits below the sum of its parts — so treat these as the ceiling, not the receipt.
Guardian FAQ
How many shots does the Guardian take to kill?
Through a heavy shield, 1 headshots or 3 body shots. Against an unshielded opponent it is 1 to the head or 2 to the body.
Does the Guardian one-shot headshot?
Yes — 195 headshot damage kills through a heavy shield at any range.
How much does the Guardian cost?
2,250 credits. It sits in the Assault Rifles section of the buy menu.
Can the Guardian shoot through walls?
Its wall penetration is rated High. Higher penetration keeps more damage when shooting through surfaces, which is what makes pre-firing common angles and spraying through soft cover viable.