diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4fb9e9bc..ed436f62 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## Version 2.4
 * [Fix] [#238](https://github.com/gradlex-org/jvm-dependency-conflict-resolution/issues/238) Patch DSL now works for dependencies with non-standard variant names (e.g. com.google.guava).
+* [Deprecation] [#251](https://github.com/gradlex-org/jvm-dependency-conflict-resolution/issues/251) Deprecate GuavaComponentRule in favor of more general patch DSL.
 
 ## Version 2.3
 * [New Rule] [#66](https://github.com/gradlex-org/jvm-dependency-conflict-resolution/issues/66) itext:itext / com.lowagie:itext (Thanks [Björn Kautler](https://github.com/Vampire) for reporting)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e9724a96..2663fe31 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -100,21 +100,14 @@ If some of the transitive dependencies are not wanted in your case, you can fine
 jvmDependencyConflicts {
     patch {
         module("com.google.guava:guava") {
-            removeDependency("com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305")
             reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("com.google.errorprone:error_prone_annotations")
+            reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("com.google.j2objc:j2objc-annotations")
+            reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("org.jspecify:jspecify")
         }
     }
 }
 ```
 
-If you need the previous behavior for older Guava versions, you can explicitly apply the `GuavaComponentRule`.
-
-```kotlin
-dependencies.components {
-    withModule<GuavaComponentRule>("com.google.guava:guava")
-}
-```
-
 ## Disclaimer
 
 Gradle and the Gradle logo are trademarks of Gradle, Inc.
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/resolution/rules/GuavaComponentRule.java b/src/main/java/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/resolution/rules/GuavaComponentRule.java
index 081b013e..e8e92c5f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/resolution/rules/GuavaComponentRule.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/resolution/rules/GuavaComponentRule.java
@@ -29,8 +29,24 @@
 /**
  * Kept for individual usage to get the patch functionality for older Guava versions.
  * Might be removed in future versions.
+ *
+ * @deprecated use patch DSL:
+ * <p>
+ *     <pre>
+ *         jvmDependencyConflicts {
+ *           patch {
+ *             module("com.google.guava:guava") {
+ *               reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("com.google.errorprone:error_prone_annotations")
+ *               reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("com.google.j2objc:j2objc-annotations")
+ *               reduceToCompileOnlyApiDependency("org.jspecify:jspecify")
+ *             }
+ *           }
+ *         }
+ *     </pre>
+ * </p>
  */
 @CacheableRule
+@Deprecated
 abstract public class GuavaComponentRule implements ComponentMetadataRule {
 
     private final static Attribute<String> TARGET_JVM_ENVIRONMENT_ATTRIBUTE =
diff --git a/src/test/groovy/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/test/GuavaClasspathTest.groovy b/src/test/groovy/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/test/GuavaClasspathTest.groovy
index 5ac591b3..f427cb2e 100644
--- a/src/test/groovy/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/test/GuavaClasspathTest.groovy
+++ b/src/test/groovy/org/gradlex/jvm/dependency/conflict/test/GuavaClasspathTest.groovy
@@ -121,12 +121,8 @@ class GuavaClasspathTest extends Specification {
                 result.add([it[0], it[1], it[2], 'standard-jvm', 'runtimeClasspath'])
             }
         }
-        if (System.getProperty("gradleVersionUnderTest") == "7.6.4") {
-            // only do all permutations for one Gradle version
-            return result
-        }
-        // reduced amount of permutations
-        return result.subList(0, 80)
+        // The rule we are testing is Deprecated, until we remove it just test one permutation
+        return result.subList(0, 4)
     }
 
     @Unroll