PokéBonk Boss Guide: Fury, Exhaustion and How to Beat Guardians

Quick answer

Guardians have two phases: when their health drops they roar and enter Fury, attacking faster and chaining signature moves. A boss hit can never take more than a third of your health, and a boss that drags on becomes Exhausted and takes double damage. Lock the target, read the telegraph, slide, and keep attacking.

How do guardians fight?

• Two phases: the second phase (Fury) starts with a roar; attacks are faster and signature moves chain together. Official, Patch #2.
• Attacks: Burst, Shockwave (jump over it) and, in Fury, Whirlwind, Skyfall and Hostile Ground. Official, Patch #2.
• Escort: an escort of elites comes along, and if you run far away they leap at you. Official, Patch #2.
• Cross attack (Scyther’s X-Scissor, among others) gives more warning and hits less hard. Official, Patch #2.
• Minibosses: the Totem has more attacks; the Summoner hides and reappears far away. Official, Patch #2.
• Mew and Moltres got new attacks in the sanctuary. Official, Patch #2.

How much damage can a boss do?

• A boss attack takes at most a third of your health. When it hits you, you are Wounded: your healing is halved for 4 s. Official, Patch #2.
• A telegraphed hit always deals a minimum after armor, so pure tank builds are no longer untouchable. Official, Patch #4.
• On Normal in zone 1, an Alpha’s hits take at most 15% of your HP. Official, Patch #4.

How long do boss fights last?

• A boss’s health adapts to the damage you bring, so the fight lasts a fair time even if you arrive very strong. Official, Patch #2.
• Legendary fights: the Shrine legendary and Mewtwo now take about 60 s of your damage (was 100 and 90); in Survival about 50 s (was 80). Official, Patch #3.
• If a guardian goes 12 s without taking damage it grows impatient and attacks more often. Official, Patch #4.
• Exhaustion: if a boss lasts much longer than expected, it takes double damage every 20 s (“Exhausted!”). Official, maintenance update.
• Healing or shielding Pokémon no longer make a guardian immortal. Official, Patch #2.
• If you freeze, sleep or stun a boss nonstop, after 2 s it breaks free and ignores those statuses for 5 s. Official, Patch #1.

How do altars work?

Charge-circle altars were made easier: bigger circles, much less horde push while charging, and you may step out for 1.2 s without losing progress. Official, maintenance update. The guardian altar, shrine and portal are always visible on the big map (M), and you can place up to three markers on it. Official, Patch #7.

How do I fight a guardian well?

1. Lock the target with right-click: target lock prioritizes bosses and Alphas, and pressing again moves to the next target. Official, Patch #7.
2. Read the telegraph and slide with Shift (or jump the Shockwave) instead of trading hits. Observed.
3. Save your Ultimate (R, or toggle Auto Ultimate with Y) for the Fury window or an incoming crowd. Our reading, untested.
4. Stay close enough that the escort does not leap at you across the arena. Official, Patch #2.

Can legendaries be shiny?

Yes: the birds, Mewtwo and the Shrine legendary have a 3% chance to appear shiny in their own encounters. A defeated shiny stays fainted waiting for your Poké Ball, which never misses. Official, Patch #4.

Survival bosses

The first Survival boss (minute 5) was made gentler in Patch #5, and Survival is being reworked for Season 2, so expect change.