The warden is a hostile mob summoned by sculk shriekers. They are completely blind, and thus rely on vibrations and their sense of smell to identify the player and other mobs. They are extremely powerful, having the highest health and dealing the most damage of any mob in the game, including bosses.
Spawning
Wardens do not use traditional mob spawning mechanics. When a sculk shrieker is activated three times and there isn't another warden within 48 blocks, a warden emerges from the ground. Up to 20 attempts are made to spawn a warden within a 11×13×11 box centered on the shrieker. Wardens require a a light level of 11 or lower to spawn. The warden despawns by burrowing into the ground if it is not agitated and has not detected a vibration in 1200 ticks (one minute).
Behavior
Wardens are blind and wander randomly. A nearby vibration alerts the warden, which moves toward the location where the vibration originated. It can also smell the area around it, allowing it to zero in on an entity's location. The more vibrations a mob or player makes, the more agitated it grows.
The souls on its chest creates a low throbbing heartbeat sound, in tandem with the Darkness effect. The animation and sound speeds up gradually as the warden becomes more agitated.[1] Wardens prefer to track down mobs that it finds most suspicious, rather than the closest one.[2]
Once a warden reaches a high enough level of agitation, it roars and pursues the target. The warden pathfinds to the target normally, regardless of vibrations made. If a mob or player collides with a warden, or attacks it first, the warden immediately enters its angry state.
The warden tracks down and attack all other mobs, excluding other wardens. The warden can also follow vibrations made by non-mob entities such as projectiles or minecarts. After sixty seconds of being "calm" and not detecting any vibrations, the warden burrows back into the ground and despawns.
The warden is classified as an undead mob, which means it takes extra damage from the Smite enchantment, gets healed by the Instant Damage status effect, is damaged by the Healing status effect, is immune to Poison and Regeneration, and is ignored by the wither. However, unlike some undead mobs, the warden does not burn under direct sunlight. Golems will automatically attack Wardens.
The warden's attack disables shields, and deals an exceptional amount of damage, enough to kill a player wearing full Netherite armor on Hard difficulty.
The warden is meant to be a natural disaster that’s avoided and almost impossible to kill. It is intended to have an anti-cheesing strategy to prevent players from killing it by pillaring up, but that has not been implemented yet.
Sounds
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warden groans angrily | Hostile Creatures | [needs testing] | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden whines | Hostile Creatures | Plays randomly | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden rages | Hostile Creatures | Warden targets an enemy | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden lands hit | Hostile Creatures | Warden attacks | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden digs | Hostile Creatures | Warden despawns | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden dies | Hostile Creatures | Dying | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden emerges | Hostile Creatures | Warden spawns | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden heart beats | Hostile Creatures | Plays randomly | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden hurts | Hostile Creatures | Taking damage | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden takes notice | Hostile Creatures | [needs testing] | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden takes notice angrily | Hostile Creatures | Warden moves towards the noise | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden approaches | Hostile Creatures | [needs testing] | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden advances | Hostile Creatures | [needs testing] | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden draws close | Hostile Creatures | [needs testing] | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden roars | Hostile Creatures | Targets entity | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? | |
| Warden sniffs | Hostile Creatures | Scans for nearby entities | entity | subtitles | 0.75 | ? | ? | |
| Warden steps | Hostile Creatures | Walking | entity | subtitles | 0.3 | ? | ? | |
| Warden tendrils click | Hostile Creatures | Detects movement | entity | subtitles | 1 | ? | ? |
History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Created concept art with early designs known as the "stalker". Early "stalker" design was made into the game. | ||||
| 2020 | Created concept art with early designs known as the "hollowed". | ||||
 Early "hollowed" design was made into the game. | |||||
| October 3, 2020 |  Wardens are announced at Minecraft Live 2020. | ||||
| October 6, 2020 | A set of teaser images of the warden's size and behavior were released on Brandon Pearce's Twitter. | ||||
| October 16, 2021 |  Showed new texture and behavior at Minecraft Live 2021. | ||||
| November 26, 2021 | It was revealed that wardens have a sense of smell. It can detect and pathfind toward the general location of a player or mob through a "smelling" action. It also prioritizes smelling the player or mob that it is most suspicious of, rather than the one closest to it.[3][4] | ||||
| December 18, 2021 | Showed warden emerge behavior. | ||||
| Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
1.19{{Extension DPL}}<ul><li>[[Phantom Membrane|Phantom Membrane]]<br/>{{Item
| title = Phantom Membrane
| image = Phantom Membrane.png
| renewable = Yes
| stackable = Yes (64)
}}
'''Phantom membranes''' are items obtained from killing [[phantom]]s. They are used to repair [[elytra]] and brew [[Potion of Slow Falling|potions of Slow Falling]].
== Obtaining ==
=== Mob loot ===
[[Phantom]]s drop 0–1 phantom membrane when killed by a [[player]] or tamed [[wolf]]. [[Looting]] increases the maximum drops by 1 per level, for a maximum of 4 with Looting III.
=== Cat gifts ===
{{main|Cat#Gifts}}
Tamed [[cat]]s have a 70% chance to bring the player a gift when they wake up from a [[bed]], and the gift has a 3.22% chance to be a phantom membrane.
== Usage ==
=== Repairing ===
Phantom membranes can be used in an [[anvil]] to repair [[elytra]], restoring 108 durability points (25% of the pair's total durability) per membrane while preserving their [[enchantments]].
{| class="wikitable" data-description="Repairing elytra"
! scope="col" style="width:64px;" | Name
! Ingredients
! [[Anvil]] usage
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: center;" | '''Elytra'''
| [[Elytra]] +<br>[[Phantom Membrane]]
| style="width: 260px; padding: 1px;" | {{Anvil| title = Elytra|Input1=Damaged Elytra|Input2=Phantom Membrane, 2|Output=Elytra}}
|-
|}
=== Brewing ingredient ===
Phantom membranes are used to [[brewing|brew]] [[Potion of Slow Falling|slow falling potions]] from an [[awkward potion]].
{{Brewing
|Phantom Membrane
|Potion of Slow Falling
|showname=3
}}
== Data values ==
=== ID ===
{{edition|java}}:
{{ID table
|edition=java
|showforms=y
|generatetranslationkeys=y
|displayname=Phantom Membrane
|spritetype=item
|nameid=phantom_membrane
|form=item
|foot=1}}
{{edition|bedrock}}:
{{ID table
|edition=bedrock
|shownumericids=y
|showforms=y
|notshowbeitemforms=y
|generatetranslationkeys=y
|displayname=Phantom Membrane
|spritetype=item
|nameid=phantom_membrane
|id=574
|form=item
|foot=1}}
== History ==
{{History|java}}
{{History||1.13|snap=18w14a|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE1 BE1.png|32px]] Added phantom membranes.}}
{{History||1.14|snap=18w44a|Tamed [[cat]]s now have a chance to give the [[player]] phantom membranes as [[Cat#Gifts|gifts]].}}
{{History|||snap=19w08a|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE2 BE2.png|32px]] The texture of phantom membranes has now been changed.}}
{{History|bedrock}}
{{History||1.6.0|snap=beta 1.6.0.5|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE1 BE1.png|32px]] Added phantom membranes.}}
{{History||1.8.0|snap=beta 1.8.0.8|Tamed [[cat]]s now have a chance to give the [[player]] phantom membranes as gifts.}}
{{History||1.10.0|snap=beta 1.10.0.3|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE2 BE2.png|32px]] The texture of phantom membranes has now been changed.}}
{{History|console}}
{{History||xbox=TU69|ps=1.76|wiiu=Patch 38|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE1 BE1.png|32px]] Added phantom membranes.}}
{{History||xbox=none|xbone=none|ps=1.90|wiiu=none|switch=none|[[File:Phantom Membrane JE2 BE2.png|32px]] The texture of phantom membranes has now been changed.}}
{{History|foot}}
== Issues ==
{{issue list}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External Links ==
*[https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/taking-inventory--phantom-membrane Taking Inventory: Phantom Membrane] – Minecraft.net on August 2, 2019
{{items}}
[[de:Phantomhaut]]
[[fr:Membrane de Phantom]]
[[ja:ファントムの皮膜]]
[[ko:팬텀 막]]
[[pl:Błona fantoma]]
[[pt:Membrana de phantom]]
[[ru:Мембрана фантома]]
[[th:เนื้อเยื่อแฟนท่อม]]
[[uk:Перетинка фантома]]
[[zh:幻翼膜]]
[[Category:Renewable resources]]
[[Category:Brewing recipe]]</li><li>[[:Category:Education Edition items|Category:Education Edition items]]<br/>[[Category:Education Edition]]
[[Category:Items]]</li></ul> | Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1 | File:Warden JE1.png Added wardens. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| December 9, 2021 | Ported warden code from Java Edition. | ||||
| December 17, 2021 | Showed new animation of the warden burrowing into blocks. | ||||
Trivia
- Killing a warden doesn't count for the Monster Hunter advancement, nor is it needed to receive the Monsters Hunted advancement.[5]
- Previous names considered for the warden were the "stalker" and the "hollowed".[6]
- 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 clunky and was more goofy than scary, which is why it was scrapped.[7]
- The hollowed was designed with the intent of inciting trypophobia and had white flesh with holes in it. That iteration was deemed too gory by the developers and had to be toned down.[8]
- 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.[6]
- Kingbdogz stated in a tweet that the souls in the warden’s chest is incredibly important to its lore.[9]
- Kingbdogz also stated that the warden is inspired by the "monster" heard at the end of "11".[10]
Gallery
Screenshots
A warden in the deep dark.
A warden approaching the player.
![The Iron Golem and Warden next to each other.[11]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/a/ae/Warden%26Golem.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/120?cb=20201013183355)
The Iron Golem and Warden next to each other.[11]
Warden and rabbit.
Player and warden next to each other.
Warden emerging from the ground of the deep dark.
- Warden x ancient city sneak peak.jpeg
A warden within an ancient city.[12]
- Warden Subtitles Reveal.jpeg
The showcase of the new warden subtitles.[13]
![The Iron Golem and Warden next to each other.[11]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/a/ae/Warden%26Golem.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201013183355)
Concept artwork
Some concept art in this gallery was originally made for the Caves & Cliffs update.
Sketches of the axolotl and warden.
A "scale of cuteness" depicting the axolotl, goat, and warden.
One of the early concept of the warden, referred to as the stalker.
Various concepts of the warden before sculk's appearance was fully-decided on.
Early concepts of the warden, featuring a smile on it.
More early concepts of the warden, involving particles.
Early concepts of the warden, having white as a main color with sculk referred to as the hollowed.
- Wadrenstalker.png
In-game visual of the stalker iteration.
In-game visual of the hollowed iteration.
Early iterations of the warden, using the current sculk colors.
Sketches of the final iteration of the warden, as well as other iterations for its ears.
Early incarnations of the warden's ears.
- The Stalker Sculk With The Stalker Incarnation.jpeg
Notes
References
- ↑ "Currently the Warden's heartbeat gets faster the more angry or "close" it is to finding its prey. In real time, this has really felt like it mimics the panic level of the player itself — the closer the Warden is to finding you, the more anxious you're probably going to be." – @kingbdogz on X, October 17, 2021
- ↑ "Also currently it sniffs out the mob/player that it is most suspicious of, rather than the nearest mob/player." – @kingbdogz on X, November 26, 2021
- ↑ "Kinda. Wardens have no capability to detect players through vision. It technically has no idea where the player is, a system tells the Warden a general location that the player MIGHT be, not exactly. Only when the Warden suspects a mob enough that it knows their exact position" – @kingbdogz on X, November 26, 2021
- ↑ "Also currently it sniffs out the mob/player that it is most suspicious of, rather than the nearest mob/player." – @kingbdogz on X, November 26, 2021
- ↑ "No" – @kingbdogz on X, July 7, 2021
- ↑ a b "The Secrets of How We're Making the Warden" – Minecraft on YouTube, January 21, 2022
- ↑ "Some ideas we had for early iterations of the Warden. stalkers were going to have a glowing item in the middle of its chest that you would also randomly find throughout the biome floating on totems. The idea was stalkers would stand perfectly still to "fake" those glowing items." – @kingbdogz on X, January 22, 2022
- ↑ "146 - From Modding to Mojang with Kingbdogz // The Spawn Chunks: A Minecraft Podcast" – The Spawn Chunks @ 2:55 on YouTube, June 21, 2021
- ↑ "In terms of character, the souls in its chest were incredibly important to its lore and, likewise with the color palette. It all comes together to tell a story that I think can be really more unsettling than any of these previous iterations, despite it being less "gory"." – @kingbdogz on X, January 23, 2022
- ↑ "Ask Mojang #11: All About Caves & Cliffs" – Minecraft on YouTube, October 30, 2020
- ↑ "Looking kinda short there, Iron Golem." – @kingbdogz on X, October 6, 2020
- ↑ "warden x ancient city sneak peak" – @Cojomax99 on X, February 15, 2022
- ↑ "Warden whines" – @kingbdogz on X, February 17, 2022