Thornclad Warden
GuardianFought on floor 14, in Act 1: Verdant Ruins.
Mythic, cursed, and divine relics sit above legendary, the fusion ceiling, and drop only from boss and guardian kills: mythic from floor 50, cursed from floor 80, and divine from floor 90. This fight sits below all three gates, so no apex relic drops here.
Abilities

Poison Arrow
Strikes one enemy and poisons it; re-applying refreshes the duration.
- damage, power 8 + 0.8×attack
- status, applies Poisoned (dot, 3t)
Statuses It Inflicts
Inflicts:
Poisoned
How to Prepare
- You fight Thornclad Warden solo, and there is no rest heal before the encounter, so arrive with real HP in the bank and sustain already flowing: lifesteal earned in the fight itself, plus potions bought with gold beforehand.
- An escort wave of the biome's regular enemies fights first. Only after they fall does Thornclad Warden step out alone for the closing wave, so keep enough HP and cooldowns in reserve for the real fight.
- It can inflict Poisoned, damage that keeps ticking after the hit lands, so don't count only your burst; a dragged-out fight bleeds you too.
- If you wipe, you restart at floor 1, but your permanent upgrades and talents carry over, so a loss here is a setback, not a full reset. Optional Hardcore mode also destroys your equipped gear on a wipe.