Warden

A warden is a mob summoned by sculk shriekers, they are completely blind, and thus rely only on vibrations and sense of smell to identify the player and other mobs, nonetheless, they are extremely powerful and one of the most dangerous mobs in the game.


 * Warden.png


 * Spawns in the deep dark biome, specifically when too many sculk shriekers are activated.
 * "Emerges" from the ground when spawned by sculk shriekers.
 * Digs back into the ground when it doesn't sense any vibration after 60 seconds.
 * The first fully blind mob (bats have basic eyesight, both in-game and in the real world).
 * Because of this, stumbles as it walks.
 * Has a sense of smell. It can detect and pathfind toward the general location of a player or mob through a "smelling" action.
 * Prioritizes smelling the player or mob that it is most suspicious of, rather than the one closest to it.
 * Has a sense of vibration. When sensing movement, it pathfinds toward the source of the movement.
 * It follows and attacks players, mobs, and other entities that make vibrations.
 * It does not attack other wardens.
 * When it detects a vibration, the growths on its head rattle and light up, similar to the sculk sensor.
 * Seems to follow the same rules as the sculk sensor when detecting vibrations.
 * If any projectile (e.g. egg, snowball, arrow) lands near it, the warden inspects the location where the projectile landed, due to the projectile creating significant vibrations. This feature can be used in order to cause a distraction.
 * Does not detect players that are sneaking.
 * Because of this, it can detect players or mobs that have the invisibility effect.
 * Becomes more suspicious of a player or mob as it detects its location more through vibrations and/or smelling. When it suspects the target enough, it identifies its exact location, which aggravates it, causing it to pathfind toward the target to attack regardless of outside distractions.
 * Burns in direct daylight.
 * It is the only mob that spawns in the deep dark biome.
 * A mob designed to be extremely difficult, intended to be avoided and fled from.
 * Has a way to counter "cheesing" strategies like pillaring up to avoid attacks. The solution does not involve block breaking. rather, more related to psychological effects.
 * Incredibly strong, doing damage, bringing players wearing full netherite armor from full health to  health points.
 * Currently has health points.
 * At least as fast as a walking player.
 * Seems to have knockback resistance.
 * Because of this, the warden isn't needed to receive the advancement, Monsters Hunted.
 * Warden's chest has a glowing core that appears to brighten and dim in tandem with the Darkness effect.
 * The core creates a low throbbing or "heartbeat" sound as it pulses. The sound and animation speed up rapidly as the warden gets more suspicious of or closer to attacking a player or mob.
 * Is about 3.5 blocks tall, making it one of the tallest mobs in the game, exceeding the iron golem and enderman in height and width (the same).

Gameplay

 * Status effects
 * Darkness might also be triggered by wardens given how the duration of the effect extended past the one imposed by the sculk shrieker in the Minecraft Live 2021 showcase, and as suggested by a tweet from kingbdogz.

Trivia

 * Previous names considered for the warden were the "stalker" and the "hollowed".
 * The stalker iteration was tall, asymmetrical and had a glowing core. It occurred in totems throughout the Deep Dark. The stalker would stand completely still to trick players into taking its core and aggravating it, and could transform into a one block high form to prevent players from digging away. That iteration, specifically its appearance and transformation mechanic, felt too clanky and was more goofy than scary, which is why it was scrapped.
 * The hollowed was based off of tropophobia and had white flesh with holes in it. That iteration was deemed too gory by the developers and had to be toned down.
 * In the sixth episode of “The Secrets of Minecraft” it was jokingly revealed that the warden’s personal name is William, similar to how the ender dragon, the wither, and player characters all have personal joke names. The word was also jokingly broken down into the words: war and den.
 * Kingbdogz stated in a tweet that the souls in the warden’s chest is incredibly important to its lore.

Concept artwork
Some concept art in this gallery was originally made for the Caves & Cliffs update.