Minecraft Warden Mob - Everything we know about it

Minecraft caves and cliffs update was a game-changer, it literally turned the game upside down; no one can believe that Minecraft is the same game where we used to strip mine. Every mining trip feels like an adventure, thanks to massive cave systems and the immersive biomes that Mojang has added to the game.

Not only that, the Caves and cliff update was so huge that Mojang had to split it into two parts, and still, the update hasn’t happened fully. The warden mob was supposed to be a part of this update, but the development is taking so long that Mojang has had to delay the warden two times now!

The Warden is becoming one of the best mobs to be added to the game; some are even going to say it’ll be even stronger than the ender dragon!

So what do we know about this mysterious creature right now, where did it come from, what does it do, what’s its purpose? All this and more in the article ahead!

Warden

The warden as the name suggests, might be guarding something. Many don’t know what, but thanks to recent snapshots, we have much more information about this creature. Let’s look at its spawning location, its behavior, and its drop's to determine what this mob is set to accomplish in the game.

Behavior

The Warden is a giant scary monster. Unfortunately, all this power can’t be used by the warden unless you really aggravate it. You see, the warden is blind, it can't see you, but it can smell you and hear where you are. This is a very unique mechanic that the developers have added to the warden making it more of an obstacle than a boss.

So if the Warden is blind, how does it move around? Won’t it keep running into objects? You see, the warden isn’t wandering the deep dark when you reach there. The warden is only summoned when you make a lot of noise. In a deep dark city, there are various sculk blocks, one of which is a shrieker which, when you make a lot of noise (like jumping), will send out a signal or a shriek!

This then gives a signal to the warden to appear! And the summoning animation of the warden is terrifying. The warden literally emerges from the ground. It has the same color palette as the sculk blocks; it blends into the ground seamlessly. Not only that, when the warden appears, the darkness effects sets in, this effect turns everything around you dark, even if you have lit up the place with torches, and even if you have night vision!

When the warden emerges to the surface, you'll have to be extra careful; even a little bit of noise and the warden will start closing down on you. In addition to this, the warden can also smell you now!

According to the changelog, when vibrations aren’t enough for the warden to catch you, it’ll make use of its sense of smell, which is pretty darn strong. If you collide into one, it’ll once again detect you. 

The warden is powerful; it can kill an iron golem in a couple of hits; many players have already faced the wrath of this beast. Even if you have all netherite armor, the warden can still slay you in a couple of hits! That’s a crazy amount of power, and to top that off, the warden has a lot of health, and by that, I mean a lot; you just can't take on these mobs without getting killed several times.

The more vibrations you make, the more it’ll notify you and get closer. You can actually see how aggravated it gets by hearing the heartbeat that plays through its chest. The warden has a very distinct heartbeat which starts playing in the deep dark once it appears. Once you’ve been spotted, the heartbeat intensifies, the warden runs at crazy fast speeds and kills you.

The only way to stay safe around this mob is by sneaking around the deep dark biome and not making any noise. Once the warden appears, you’ll have to wait quietly for 60 seconds; if it doesn't hear or smell you for another 60 seconds, it’ll dig its way back into the ground. But don’t think that you’ll just stand in a place when the mob appears; it won’t be able to hear you but remember, it can also smell you, so it is best to move around a little.

Also, if you think you can just outrun the mob, you’re wrong once again. The deep dark doesn’t have one warden; you can actually summon multiple wardens at a time!

Now that we know about the mob's behavior let’s look at how people are trying to cheese their way through this beast!

Killing the warden?

The warden is powerful, and the devs know it; it is an intentional feature. The devs have explicitly mentioned that the warden is there to protect the ancient cities and is not a boss. Even the term ‘warden’ says that the warden guarding the place, and is not an evil boss that we have to take down in Minecraft.

The devs have repeatedly said that you’ll have to hide or run away from this mob, not kill it. But this hasn't stopped me from experimenting with the warden with my own techniques. The easiest way to kill a warden is to build a tower of blocks, stand on top, and hit it till it dies. 

But the devs were quick to fix this; in a recent snapshot, they have added a mechanism that allows the warden to hit anyone who is towering and hitting it from above. So now you can’t cheese the warden. 

But when I tried towering in the game, it still worked, so a lot of work still needs to be done on the warden. We have a lot of snapshots to go before we get the actual update, so a lot of what you’re reading here is subject to change.

Drops

The warden drops nothing on being killed, and it will stay that way. The warden is a security guard of sorts; you won’t get anything on killing it. However, what the warden is guarding is still a mystery, and the devs have kept that a secret. We know that the ancient cities will have some exciting loot down there, but what, we don’t know yet.

What is so essential is that Minecraft had to create the most powerful boss/mob in the game to avoid the player from getting it. The answer to this may lie in the ancient cities themselves; let’s look at what these places represent and why the warden is guarding them with its life.

Ancient Cities

The ancient cities are huge cities/areas where you’ll find unusual buildings, walls, statues, pathways, etc. Basically, it is like a city that has now been infested by the sculk blocks. The devs have often said that this place will have interesting loot, but nothing significant has been added to the loot table yet; maybe we’ll get more information in the future.

Skulk 

Sculk is a new substance that can be best described as an infestation. It spreads when mobs die near it. The deep, dark, and ancient cities have been infested with these sculk blocks all over, which allows the warden to be summoned. The sculk family of blocks includes sculk, sculk veins, sculk catalyst, sculk sensor, and the sculk shrieker.

The sculk sensor can hear vibrations and turn them into Redstone signals; these blocks help the warden locate your position. The sculk shrieker sends out a signal summoning the warden! The sculk and the sculk vein are the dark blocks that spread across the world, and the sculk catalysts are blocks that allow the sculk to grow out.

Purpose of the cities and the warden’s role

These ancient have already been released in an experimental snapshot by Mojang. We’ve seen a lot of cool things, but all these features are subject to change in the future, so we can only make assumptions right now, and the thing that has all the players excited about is this portal in the center of the city!

Many were speculating what this massive rectangle in the city's center signifies; now, it is pretty evident that it might be a portal. Why do I say that? 

First of all, this might be the thing the warden is protecting. One of the devs had already confirmed that every ancient city will have something interesting at the city center; this might be the thing the dev was talking about. Second, the blocks that make up the rectangle are invincible, can’t even be blown up by TNT; why would Mojang add such a block?

Third, the same rectangle is found in the ancient city in a miniature form, a small decorative statue. And the in-game files say that it is called a portal_statue. What else do you want as proof! 

This might be the thing the warden is protecting, as it might hold the key to a new world, possibly a new dimension or a pathway to different ancient cities, or we’re just being misled. Whatever the case, the portal and its guardian have intrigued many, and we can’t wait for this update to finally drop!