How to kill the Warden in Minecraft

Picture this, you’re playing Minecraft, you’ve dug deeper than you’ve ever dug before, you’re in an alien place illuminated by blue stone, and then The Warden appears and beats you into the ground in an instant. It’s a tough foe, and conquering The Warden while you’re exploring the Deep Dark will allow you to plunder ancient cities it guards. 

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Where to find the ancient cites in Minecraft

Generally, you’re going to have to dig pretty deep to find the Deep Dark in order to find ancient cities. Both the biome and the ancient city are quite rare, so if you’re not up for rooting around in the underground you can use the seed 3018068664000894136 and travel to 494, -47, -581. If you’re a purist, and you’d like to go at it without a specific seed, just dig around the -30 to -55 and take note that the Deep Dark tends to spawn in biomes with a low erosion value, such as a mountain peak or a plateau.

How to defeat The Warden

The Warden is a blind mob, and if you play it right you can use that to your advantage. While plundering an ancient city, you’ll come across a block called a sculk shrieker. After triggering these four times, The Warden will materialize, dragging itself from the ground around you.

The Warden hunts by vibration and by smell. It’s also target passive, until somebody antagonizes it enough for it to hunt them down. If you want to avoid a summoned Warden, then take note that it can’t hear you if you’re sneaking (it can smell you if you’re too close, though), firing a projectile, or standing still. After sixty seconds of hearing no threats, The Warden will plumb back into the depths until summoned again. 

If you choose to fight, keep a few things in mind. The Warden is slow, but incredibly powerful (The Warden deals the most melee damage of any Minecraft mob). They have a ton of health, so remain calm, armor up, and bring your strongest sword. If you’re down here, you most likely have access to diamond. So now is the time to use it.

When it comes to attacks, The Warden has its basic melee strike — which will deal significant damage, an immunity to lava, fire, and knockback, and a ranged sonic boom that will bypass your armor and blocks.

There are no special tactics to deploy or weaknesses to exploit other than its speed and lack of sight. If you’re down there with a friend, you all can whip it into a confused frenzy by drawing its aggro in several different directions. Ranged attacks will keep you out of its range of smell while keeping you silent. If it comes in close, find a way to make some distance. Keep your wits about you, and you’ll survive. The Warden hits like a truck, but its tools are limited and it’s easy to outsmart.