The Warden is one of Minecraft’s strongest mobs that was first introduced to players back in 2020 through footage from Minecraft Live.
Mojang finally added him to the game in the Wild update and now, with version 1.20, you might be having some difficulties locating him!
How To Find The Warden?
The Warden is found in the Deep Dark Biome below Y level 0. The mob spawns if you activate 4 Sculk Shriekers in quick succession. Sculk Shriekers produce vibrations, causing the Warden to spawn in your vicinity.
The same effect can be achieved through Sculk Sensors connected to Sculk Shriekers. However, the Warden will not appear if another Warden mob had spawned within a 48-block radius. Additionally, the light level of the area needs to be below 11.
The Warden can only be summoned in the newly added Deep Dark biome since this is the only biome where you’ll find naturally occurring Sculk Shriekers and Sculk Sensors.
Once you’re in the biome, finding the Warden is amazingly easy. In most cases, you’ll do it by accident! Finding the new biome, although, is a different story altogether.
Locating the Deep Dark
Firstly, the easiest way of finding the biome and thus the Warden would be either using the /locate command or entering your seed in an online map site that shows you the location of all Ancient Cities within your seed.
You can also use a specific seed to generate closer to a Deep Dark biome and find the Warden that way. This, however, is cheating in the pure survival sense. The Deep Dark will naturally generate in the -Y levels of your Overworld.
It’s typically found in areas with low levels of Erosion. The Erosion of an area can be checked by toggling your debug info menu through the f3/fn+f3 keys. The “E” value here stands for Erosion. In our case, a lower value of Erosion is excellent news.
This means that mountains and hills generally have a better chance of containing the biome underground.
Exploring Deep Caves
Keeping these attributes of the Deep Dark in mind, the most efficient method of finding the biome is to explore deep underground caves ravenously.
Massive caves will make your life easier as you’ll just have to walk on through rather than having to mine every single block one by one.
Other than that, you really have no options for finding the biome. We know it’s cruel, but relentlessly mining and exploring caves is the only possible option you have!
Finding the Deep Dark is a tedious task. It’s a rare sight to see, and it can be several in-game days before you’ll ever get to lay your eyes on those sweet, decaying blocks of Sculk.
If the terrain takes a sudden shift and you can see bluish-black blocks of Sculk scattered around the area, you’re very close to the biome!
Finding The Warden
If you successfully found the Deep Dark, congratulations! Now, there’s good news and some bad news.
The good news here is – you’ve now done the hard part of this endeavor, and finding the Warden from here on out is a piece of cake! The bad news is – you’re about to find the Warden.
Once you’re in the biome, you’ll be surrounded by blocks of Sculk, and almost camouflaged within these would be the Sculk Sensors and Sculk Shriekers.
In most cases, you wouldn’t even realize it before activating these. However, if you’re purposely looking to cross paths with the Warden (for some reason), you can activate these Sculk blocks 4 consecutive times. As explained before, doing so will immediately alert the Warden, causing it to spawn nearby!
How To Escape From The Warden?
Did you, like us, get too excited upon finding the Deep Dark biome and make a bunch of noise that summoned the Warden? Well, welcome to the club! To successfully escape from the Warden, make minimal noise.
Walking away is an effective strategy to escape the Warden. Walking produces no vibrations so the Warden won’t be able to detect you.
Be sure to crouch while walking and try to sneak around so you make minimal noise. Using projectiles will also distract the Warden, helping you escape.
Your first instinct when you see the dreadful thing spawn would be to run, and yes, you should do that, but only when you’re far from him!
Remember that the Warden is blind and depends on noise, vibrations, and smell to find you. As such, running immediately would practically be a death sentence!
Walk Away
The Warden can’t hear you if you walk since walking produces no noise. As such, the first thing you need to do is try to walk away.
The Warden isn’t aware of your location as soon as he spawns. The only thing he knows is something disturbed the Sculk Shriekers, and he’s out to investigate.
Once you’re at a reasonable distance from the Warden, you can start running as the Warden won’t be able to hear you from afar. At this point, the Warden wouldn’t notice you and spend his time wandering around the area. After 60 seconds of inactivity, the Warden will automatically despawn.
Use Projectiles
If you couldn’t walk away from the Warden, try using projectiles. Anything throwable would work, although arrows would be the most efficient items here.
Since the Warden is attracted to noise, you can throw projectiles in the direction opposite to where you intend on escaping from. Hearing the projectile hit a surface, the Warden will immediately become distracted and move over to the area.
Remember that this isn’t going to work if the Warden has already spotted you since he’ll only be targeting you in that case.
Use Ender Pearls
This one is a bit expensive, but it’s still better than dying at the hands of the Warden.
Ender Pearls can be used as an excellent method of teleportation. This can quickly help you outrun and escape from the Warden. Remember, though, the Warden can be extremely fast. Always aim to throw the Ender Pearl as far away as possible to minimize the chances of him catching up to you!
Build!
If all else fails, build!
This is a viable option to escape the Warden if nothing else works for you. Try to get a few blocks worth of distance between yourself and the Warden, and immediately start building a tower as high as possible, as fast as possible!
The logic behind this is that the Warden only has a limited vertical range for his attacks. If you build fast enough, you can escape the maximum coverage for his Sonic Boom attack. If you’re out of his range, even if the Warden is agitated, he won’t be able to attack you.
In such a case, the Warden will eventually lose interest in you and wander around again.
This will cause him to lose his Anger points over time, and 60 seconds after he calms down, the Warden will despawn. At that point, you can destroy your tower and come down again.
If for some reason, the Warden does not despawn, you can easily use a Bow to shoot him from your tower repeatedly. Since he’s out of range, the Warden won’t be able to retaliate, and you can efficiently finish him off.
Although slaying him takes a reasonable amount of time, so it’s much better to let him go away on his own.
How To Fight The Warden?
The Warden is exceptionally strong and a considerable foe. To defeat him, you’ll need to equip the highest level gear in the game along with anything to complement your equipment.
Constant movement and good damage output are essential to defeating the Warden.
If you have a choice, never, ever try to fight the Warden. It’s both dangerous and difficult to fight him. There are only two scenarios where you’ll ever have to fight the Warden.
These being – you’ve tried all methods of escaping and have no chances of doing so, or you’re looking for a challenge. For the latter, we salute, and for the former – pray.
If you have no choice but to face off with the new boss in Minecraft, you’ll need to be prepared. The Warden is practically a tank. He happens to have the highest health points in the entire game.
For reference, it’ll take you a massive ~25 hits with a Sharpness +5 Netherite Sword – the best weapon in survival mode – to kill him! (This is also considering that all your attacks will be critical hits).
Defeating The Warden
Slaying the Warden fair and square is an arduous task. To do that, ensure you have the best possible gear in the game.
Enchanted Netherite Armor sets and Weapons are the bare minimum! Additionally, stock up on Golden Apples, Healing Potions, and any other healing items available to you, as you’ll desperately need these during the fight.
Once the battle begins, try to circle around the Warden whenever possible to disrupt his movement. Furthermore, try to keep a safe distance from him whenever he tries to attack you.
Make use of all of his animations, as he’ll be open to attacks when these happen (Except for the invulnerable ones) Lastly if you’re fighting the Warden, remember not to move too far away from him. Doing so will cause him to charge up his Sonic Boom attack, which practically cannot be evaded.
He can keep spamming this until you’re dead if you move too far away.
Defeating The Warden – The Easy Way
Now not everyone wants to fight with honor, and that’s fine! The Warden is absolutely horrid, and any method of slaying him is acceptable.
There are 2 methods through which you can “cheese” kill the Warden. We’ve already explained one of them above in which you can build a tower and use the Bow to slay him.
The other method also requires a Bow, but you’ll also need 4x Powder Snow Buckets and a few blocks of your choosing to make a wall.
Once you have these items, find a Sculk Shrieker and make a 4×4 hole in the ground close to it. Cover the top of this hole using the Buckets of Powder Snow. Now, carefully walk 20 blocks away in any direction from this hole.
Once done, place down the blocks you brought in a straight line in this area to make a wall. We’ll explain this later. Now, go back to the hole and activate the Sculk Shrieker block 4 times to summon the Warden.
Here comes the most significant bit – don’t make any noise! Doing so will jeopardize your entire strategy. Once you spot the Warden, shoot an arrow at him to make him chase you.
The game plan here is to lure the Warden into the hole you just created. If done correctly, the Warden will fall into this hole and become trapped.
As soon as that happens, immediately run over to the wall of blocks you created 20 blocks away. Stay behind this block and wait for the Darkness effect caused by the Warden to wither.
Since you’re an entire 20 blocks away, the Warden will neither be able to impose the Darkness effect nor target you with his dreadful Sonic Boom attacks.
At this point, the Warden would be completely helpless and at your mercy. Finish him off with your Bow, and enjoy the day exploring the Deep Dark! The Warden only drops 5 measly experience points and a single Sculk catalyst if successfully defeated – terrible!
It seems as if Mojang wanted you to sneak away rather than fight this mob – and we absolutely agree with that.
Read more: All Villager Jobs, Trades & Blocks in 1.19
Extended Information On The Warden
What Exactly is the Warden in Minecraft 1.20?
That’s a good question.
Although we can’t describe the horrifying nightmare that this mob really is, a description will have to do.
The Warden is a hostile mob that was added to Minecraft in the Wild Update. He is found in the Deep Dark biome if activated through Sculk Shriekers.
The Warden is completely blind and one of the most dangerous mobs seen in Minecraft to date.
Even though the Warden isn’t technically considered to be a new Boss in Minecraft, he’s still incredibly overpowered!
Warden Combat Style
The Warden can engage in both melee as well as ranged combat depending upon the situation. His melee attacks have a cooldown of 0.9 seconds, after which he can continue his onslaught! These attacks also disable any shield that you might have.
He also has a surprisingly small hitbox being 1 block wide and 3 blocks tall, ensuring he can continue his chase in constricted areas.
Furthermore, the Warden can charge up a dreadful ranged Sonic Boom attack every now and then – resembling a blue laser beam. This takes approximately 2 seconds to be fully charged and is symbolized by the formation of particles close to the Warden’s chest.
The attack is a guided projectile type that instantly hits its target and negates all armors and shields that you might have equipped (with the exception of the Resistance effect).
Additionally, it passes through all structures and mobs without hitting them till it reaches its target (If it’s in the attack radius). Wardens ignore the Knockback effect and are also immune to any damage from Fire and Lava.
Warden Attributes
The Warden has a whopping 500 Health Points (equivalent to 250 Hearts). He boasts the greatest melee damage among all enemies in the game.
If that wasn’t enough, the Warden also has a ranged attack that he can use on fleeing players! Mojang, however, did realize that this was pushing it too far. As such, to give players the slightest fighting chance, the Warden is entirely blind.
He focuses on vibrations and an elevated sense of smell to detect nearby entities. The damage attributes of his attacks change depending upon the game’s difficulty settings. The following table provides an in-depth analysis of his damage statistics.
| Difficulty | Melee Attacks | Ranged Attacks |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 16 (-8 Hearts) | 6 (-3 Hearts) |
| Normal | 30 (-15 Hearts) | 10 (-5 Hearts) |
| Hard | 45 (-22.5 Hearts) | 15 (-7.5 Hearts) |
Warden Summoning Mechanism
Unlike other mobs, the Warden isn’t spawned through Mob Spawners or when the world is generated. Instead, he’s summoned when certain conditions are fulfilled.
When exploring the new Deep Dark biome, you might’ve noticed Sculk Shrieker blocks scattered around the area.
If in close proximity with you, this Sculk Shrieker block creates a high-pitched shrieking noise, alerting both the player and the Warden. These Sculk Shriekers work as the trigger for the Warden (Note that this is only true for naturally generated Sculk Shriekers).
If you activate 4 of these blocks in quick succession, the Warden is alerted and immediately spawns nearby anywhere in a 24-48 block radius (The exact distance depends on your game edition)
The only exception is that the Warden cannot spawn on a block already occupied by another mob or some liquid. (The same logic of summoning applies to Sculk Sensors if they successfully activate a Sculk Shrieker).
Warden Sensing Mechanics & Behavior
Since the Warden is blind, he relies on hearing and smell to detect nearby players and mobs. This also makes his movements hard to predict as they’re pretty irregular.
Once summoned, the Warden will wander around the area in search of you or any other entities that disturbed its slumber! Suppose the Warden cannot detect vibrations or disturbances nearby for 60 consecutive seconds.
In that case, he will despawn and not return unless triggered through the Sculk Shriekers again. Every 6 seconds, he imposes the Darkness status effects to any players caught within a 20-block radius of the Warden. (Darkness status causes your vision to deteriorate temporarily).
Some would say he does this because he feels lonely being the only blind one around.
Warden Anger
The Warden also has an Anger mechanic associated with him consisting of 150 points. Whenever you or a mob makes noise around the Warden, he becomes agitated.
Upon hearing these noises and becoming agitated, the Warden will move towards the area to further investigate the matter. His vibration sensing radius consists of 16 blocks. There is, however, a 2-second cooldown between each successive vibration he can detect.
Keep in mind that the Warden prefers to target mobs that he finds to be most suspicious rather than prioritizing targets by distance. Additionally, he has an in-built bias towards targeting the player. Lucky us!
As a part of the Anger mechanic, Wardens can track how angry they are with you or other mobs. The following table explains what actions make the Warden angry with you or a mob and by how many points:
| Scenarios | Values |
|---|---|
| Sensing a Vibration | +10 Anger if a projectile caused the vibration |
| Sensing a Vibration | +35 Anger (instead of +10) if two projectiles are sensed within 5 seconds of each other. |
| Sensing a Vibration | +35 Anger for all other cases |
| Being directly attacked by any Mob | +100 Anger |
| Being Indirectly Attacked by any Mob within a 5-block radius | +100 Anger |
| Coming into contact with a Mob | +35 Anger (1-second cooldown) |
| Finding a Mob from the Sniffing mechanic | +35 Anger |
| Reaching 80 Anger points with a target | +20 Anger |
Additionally, Anger is completely lost if the entity with which it is associated dies. Otherwise, it fades away at a rate of 1 per second.
If the Warden reaches 80 Anger with you or any mob, he shouts angrily and starts pursuing his target. At this point, the Warden has located its enemy and does not require any detection.
The Warden will continue to chase the target until you/the mob die, successfully flee, or slay the vile creature.
Warden Sniffing
Sniffing is another method through which the Warden can detect its targets. The Warden sniffs his surroundings every 5-10 seconds to locate you or any other mobs.
When this happens, the Warden undergoes an animation that lasts about 4 seconds. During this, he remains completely idle.
Once this animation ends, he detects the nearest entity to him and adds Anger points to it, as mentioned in the table above.
The sniffing mechanic doesn’t allow the Warden to pinpoint your location but instead acts as a way to increase the Anger values associated with you.
Read more: How to Find Diamonds in 1.19