Everything You Need To Know About The Warden In Minecraft

The Wild Update in Minecraft added more mystery to the game, buried deep, deep underground. On the surface, there may be sweet little Allay and funny Goats, but if you want adventure and peril you’ll only find that in the Deepslate caves of the Deep Dark.

The mysterious Warden boss may be one of the hardest mobs you will encounter, being difficult to find, survive, and defeat. This list will tell you everything you need to know if you decide to go spelunking in Ancient Cities.

Updated December 22, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: The Warden has been in Minecraft for a few years at this point, but this doesn’t make him any easier to deal with. We’ve updated this list with a few more things that you should know before taking on this tanky mob.

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Where To Find The Warden

To get the chance of coming eye-to-eye, or rather eye-to-blank-face, with the wandering Warden you’ll need to dive down to around -50 on the Y axis and spelunk until you come across the blue-green mold of the Deep Dark. Most of the blocks here drop experience when mined, and they regrow when mobs die near a Shrieker Catalyst, so this stuff is completely farmable.

Very rarely will you stumble upon an Ancient City at this depth, which can span up to 200 blocks and is usually only sporadically lit with Soul Lanterns as lichen refuses to grow among the mold. These structures are the hunting grounds of Wardens, which can spawn over and over so long as there isn’t another Warden within 45 blocks.

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How To Summon The Warden

In order to summon the Warden, you don’t need to be in an Ancient City, but they often have plenty of the Deep Dark blocks necessary to summon a Warden. This mob only needs a one-by-three block space to dig up into, and light level below 11. It takes a few seconds for a Warden to pull its way through solid blocks and emerge next to the Shrieker that called for it.

To actually get the Warden to appear, you’ll have to set off any Shrieker three times within ten minutes. Other mobs can set off Shriekers they won’t count towards the summoning; only your own actions can summon the Warden.

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The Warden’s Behavior

It takes six seconds for the Warden to answer the Shrieker’s third call, digging into the nearest appropriate space to the block. The Warden emits the Darkness effect every six seconds in a 20-block radius which lasts for twelve seconds. From there it will sniff the air, detecting any player within sixteen blocks.

Then, the Warden relies on sound and vibrations to track you down. It will follow up on vibrations from other mobs and items but prioritizes anything you do, so watch your step!

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How To Avoid The Warden

Crouching is your best friend, as it silences your movement making it easier to get away from the detection range. Outside of sixteen blocks, the Warden can’t hear you, but it will wander around listening, so keep moving away. Outside of 20 blocks, the Darkness effect won’t reach you, making it much easier to stay safe.

The Warden has a melee attack that deals between 16 and 45 hearts, ignoring resistances and disabling shields. If you tower up or build a wall, then the Warden emits a sonic boom ranged attack causing six to fifteen hearts of damage. The Resistance buff from Turtle Master potions does help against this though, so keep this in mind.

Your best bet is being at least fifteen blocks away on the X-axis (horizontal) and 20 blocks on the Y-axis (vertical) as none of its attacks can reach you there. Then simply fire away with arrows until it drops.

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What Does The Warden Drop?

The Warden drops are pretty lackluster for the amount of danger you put yourself in. Upon a player or tamed wolf killing a Warden, it will drop five experience orbs and a Sculk Catalyst. These Catalysts can be found throughout the Deep Dark.

These are the blocks that spread the Deep Dark when experience orbs from a mob drop nearby, but you don’t need to kill the Warden in order to get one.

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How To Avoid The Warden

Sound made by items and mobs (including the player) activate the Sculk Sensors unless you walk on Wool. This can be any kind of Wool block, and the cities often have huge piles of them lying around on the periphery. Breaking blocks also counts as a noise, so make sure to only destroy blocks aren’t within nine blocks of a Sensor.

Crouching removes the sound of footsteps, so use this mechanic to swiftly remove the Sculk Shriekers as there are usually fewer of those than Sensors. Without the Shriekers the Warden can’t be summoned and you can move freely through the city.

If, however, there’s a sneaky Shrieker on top of the structure that you miss and the Warden arrives, quickly crouch and walk at least 30 blocks away. The Darkness effect will take over, so either remember your surroundings and make a break for it or drink a bucket of milk to remove the effect. After a minute it will despawn.

You can also use a night vision potion in order to see better while in Ancient Cities.

4

The Warden Has A Heartbeat

If you listen closely, you can hear the Warden’s heartbeat. As the Warden becomes increasingly more aggressive, the heartbeat will speed up. The heartbeat itself occurs when the Darkness effect is active.

Based on the heartbeat, you can gauge how likely the Warden is to attack you. A slow heartbeat in the Darkness means he isn’t the closest to attacking, while a fast heartbeat may mean that he has locked on to your presence.

3

Distract The Warden With Snowballs

Interstingly, snowballs are a great way to distract the Warden. Noise distracts this mob, so if the Warden is on your tail, consider tossing some snowballs in the opposite direction. This may seem bizarre, but snowballs are pretty easy to obtain, making them a good option.

For some reason, you’ll only be able to stack 16 snowballs, so be sure to bring a few stacks with you before heading into the Deep Dark. Snowballs can’t actually be used to hurt the Warden, so be sure to bring weapons too.

2

How To Capture The Warden

If you are feeling adventurous, you can also capture the Warden. This can be done by placing a nametag on him and then leading him to a specific location. This one-sentence explanation doesn’t fully capture how difficult the task actually is, but it’s still possible.

Overall, this process will take some planning. You’ll first need to successfully put a nametag on the Warden, which means that you need to get close enough and not die. If you manage this, you’ll need to either manually lure him or use water to transport him to the desired location. All we can say is: good luck!

1

Why Risk It?

The Warden’s drops are not worth fighting for, so why visit the Ancient Cities then if it’s so much hassle? The edges of each city contain ruined buildings, each with a chest inside. There are also altar-like areas with water and candles that have between two and four chests.

You can find stacks of candles, Amethyst Shards, and Glowberries, but more importantly, Music Disc Shards for a brand new disc, as well as Echo Shards. The Enchantment Swift Sneak is only available in these chests as well and can be applied to Leggings to speed up your crouching speed.

Overall, the loot within Ancient Cities is worth it, so you’ll have to deal with the Warden if you want to venture here.