IO Guards are aggressive NPCs that were introduced in Chapter 2 Season 5. Their purpose is unknown, though they are hostile to players and will attack on sight, similarly to Marauders in Chapter 2 Season 3. They cannot spawn in Team Rumble, Creative, or any other Limited Time Modes. IO Guards are all similar masked guards with heavy armor on. They only spawn in groups of 3, through elevators that rise up from underground in specific spots when a player is nearby.
Activity[]
During a match strange Guard Boxes may come up from the ground. The equipment that appears in the Guard Boxes can occasionally change. Most of the time when these boxes appear they are accompanied by 3 IO Guards which are always carrying Rare Tactical Assault Rifles, with a small chance of one IO Guard carrying a Legendary Tactical Assault Rifle instead. All IO Guards spawn with 250 shield and 100 health. Similarly to a squad, when a full group of 3 IO Guards are knocked they will all be defeated, dropping their Tactical Assault Rifle and some Small Shield Potions. They will attempt to revive any of their knocked down squadmates if there is no threat present.
Items the IO Guards drop when eliminated:
Bandages | |
---|---|
Details | |
Time to Use | 3 |
Total Healing | 15 |
Max. Stack | 15 |
Heals 15 HP in 3 seconds. Cannot heal past 75% HP. |
Tactical Assault Rifle | |
---|---|
Details | |
Bullet Type | |
DPS | 154 |
Damage | 22 |
Fire Rate | 7 |
Magazine Size | 30 |
Reload Time | 2.2 |
Structure Damage | 22 |
Tactical Assault Rifle | |
---|---|
Details | |
Bullet Type | |
DPS | 168 |
Damage | 24 |
Fire Rate | 7 |
Magazine Size | 30 |
Reload Time | 2.0 |
Structure Damage | 24 |
Small Shield Potion | |
---|---|
Details | |
Time to Use | 2 |
Total Restoration | 25 |
Max. Stack | 6 |
Shield Potion | |
---|---|
Details | |
Time to Use | 5 |
Total Restoration | 50 |
Max. Stack | 3 |
Spawn Points[]
Similar to Gorgers, IO Guards have certain spawn points across the map. However, they are way more common, with 20 different spawns. Spawn Points include...
- Northeast of Stealthy Stronghold.
- The north side of Coral Castle.
- West of Pleasant Park.
- East of Fort Crumpet (POI).
- On the hill of the Holly House (POI).
- Outside the Durrr Burger (POI).
- West of Salty Towers.
- Weeping Woods (Near the camper vans).
- Risky Reels (Near the entrance).
- The island northeast of Craggy Cliffs.
- South of Slurpy Swamp.
- Hunter's Haven (In the center).
- Mowdown (POI) (Middle of the track).
- East of The Orchard (POI), northeast of Steel Farm (POI).
- North of Lazy Lake, near Gorgeous Gorge (POI).
- Next to the cooling towers at Steamy Stacks.
- Lake Canoe (POI), near the houses.
- Near Rapid's Rest (POI).
- Misty Meadows (Next to the river).
- Next to the hut at Camp Cod (POI).
Rare Boxes[]
There is a rare chance an IO Guard box can spawn something random. Usually these are easter eggs or nods to past characters or are trolls. Most of these secret boxes can spawn up to chests.
Here is the list of what else the IO Guard Boxes can spawn. These are rare and the player has to get lucky when coming across one.
- The GHOST and SHADOW Henchmen duo from the previous season. They are confused about their whereabouts.
- A Shark, which retreats to the water.
- A single red chair, which spawns a single chest.
- Midas' Golden Chair from The Ruins.
- A Golden Toilet.
- The Stone Dog from Chapter 1.
- A Teddy Bear.
- The Durrr Burger head, possibly from Greasy Grove, as that one is missing.
- An Easter Island/Moai Head.
- The Triceratops from the Dinosaur Area in the Desert Biome.
- The Wooden Bear statue, which is found in multiple areas across both Chapters.
- A gnome carrying a lamp.
- A fish on top of a chest.
- Nutcrackers and Candy Canes surrounding chests. (Added December 15)
- A Sneaky Snowman surrounded with M-shaped wreaths and chests. (Added December 15)
- An artificial Christmas tree, surrounded with wreaths , candy canes, and chests. (Added December 15)
Strategy[]
- Use fast-firing weapons like Submachine Guns
- Attempt to defeat or weaken the IO Guards using Sniper Rifles before they can notice
- IO Guards can be powerful in numbers, so avoid any close range combat, unless you have powerful weapons.
- IO Guards only spawn in specific locations, which means if you pick a certain location and avoid the spawn locations there's a good chance you might not run into one.
5. It is suggested to use Rare/Legendary Submachine guns, Uncommon/Legendary Assault Rifles, Rare/Legendary Bolt-Action Sniper Rifles, or a Lever Action Rifle.
Elevators[]
Usually, you would find a tent that is unbreakable rise up out of nowhere, and then you would hear a siren. After the siren, if IO guards are there, you will hear a thriller/sneaky type of music. If an IO Guard saw you, a question mark would rise above it's head. If you don't have powerful weapons, and an IO Guard sees you, run. If an IO Guard shows an exclamation point above its head, start shooting. About 3 IO Guards spawn at an outpost. You're lucky if no IO Guards spawned!