Since the release of the 1.19 update, Minecraft has a new toughest mob to conquer. The Warden is a near-unstoppable juggernaut with powerful attacks destined to ruin even the most seasoned player’s run.
Thankfully, there are ways to manage this new threat. So if you’re trying to find out how to beat the Warden in Minecraft with the least amount of effort, you’ve come to the right place.
Warden-defeating Tactic 1: A Hole
Listen, right. Sometimes the tried-and-tested approaches are the best.
Despite all of the Warden’s super-powered attacks and ability to sense the player through movement, one area the Warden isn’t over-powered is in its ability to climb.
The Warden moves like a regular mob. To be exact, think of it like a Golem. That means, despite its best efforts, it’s too stupid to climb over two block gaps.
This weakness is the Warden’s Kryptonite. If we can trap it in a four-block, two-deep hole, players can simply pick it off from a distance while attempting to avoid its sonic blast attacks.
The downside of this tactic is it still risks getting hit by long-range attacks. That said, it’s still an option that’s worth exploring, and you know we’re going to.
Warden-defeating Tactic 2: A Pillar
Once you’ve got the Warden trapped in a hole, you’re still at risk of the sonic boom attack, right? Well, there’s a trick to not getting hit.
As you may know, when the Warden’s chest glows, it’s about to unleash a sonic boom attack. But how do you avoid it? Build a pillar.
No, really, it’s that simple. Here’s the maths: The sonic boom attack reaches out 15 blocks horizontally and has a radius of 20 blocks upwards. So to avoid the blast, simply build 21 or more blocks up and it won’t be able to hit you.
With the Warden trapped in a hole down below, you can sit atop the pillar and casually snipe it from afar without needing to worry about taking damage.
There are a couple of things you do need to note with this tactic, though. You absolutely want to bring plenty of milk to cure the curse of darkness. if you don’t, you’ll be sitting at the top of the pillar with no clue where the Warden is. That’s bad.
Secondly, the Infinity bow enchantment is a must if you don’t want to run out of arrows mid-fight. It’s also worth considering the power enchantment for extra damage and making a selection of harming arrows to make the whole process go slightly faster.
Warden-defeating Tactic 3: Iron Golem Army
This is the least cost-effective way to do things, but hey, if it works, it works.
The idea here is to build an army before the Warden turns up to ruin everything. If you can manage that, the fight is a lot easier.
In our testing, the magic number of golems is seven. Of course, more is better, but seven Iron Golems is the perfect amount to drop the Warden in a matter of seconds.
You will still need to be careful and keep your distance while the lads batter the Warden, but this option gives you plenty of breathing room and the ability to escape if need be.
Another note: Don’t attack the Warden while he’s fighting the golems. You do not want to draw its ire if you can avoid it.
Now, let’s talk cost. One Iron Golem requires four iron blocks, one iron block requires nine iron ingots, so that’s 36 iron ingots to make one Iron Golem.
To have seven Iron Golems, you’ll need 28 iron blocks in total (and seven pumpkins). In terms of ingots, you’ll need 280 to get this method going.
That is a lot of iron! Still, if you’re after an easy method, this is the route to consider.
Warden-defeating Tactic 4: Crush Trap
This method is all about risk and reward. The risk is great, but the reward is you can trap the Warden, then go make a cup of tea or grab a beverage while your trap does all the work for you.
The idea here is to trap the Warden in a box of some sort, minus the top. What we went with is getting it to wonder in there casually, then have some pressure plates to raise the back wall, which in turn traps the Warden.
Here’s where things get fun. The Warden is roughly two blocks tall, so if you set up a ceiling above and use pistons to move the blocks downwards onto the Warden, it’ll suffocate it.
There are a few variables to consider here. Firstly, you don’t need to just build a box. An open area where you control the ceiling will work just as well. So long as the Warden can’t simply walk out of the way, this trap will do its job.
The other thing is this is a very long-winded tactic. The Warden has 500 HP, so it’s going to take a little while for the trap to fully drain all of its health.
The upside, however, is once the Warden is trapped, you’ve essentially won. You can move out of range of the sonic boom attack and just vibe until it finally drops in the distance. How easy is that?
Warden-defeating Tactic 5: Water Trap
The water trap works in a similar fashion to the crush trap, albeit with a few changes.
Dig a four-by-four hole. Let’s say about 10 blocks deep. Lure him in, either by making a shedload of noise or setting up pressure plates by some handy pistons to push it in, then take a step back and laugh. It’s important to always gloat when performing big brain plays. Them’s the rules.
But do keep in mind, the Warden is still dangerous, and it’s now extra angry from you laughing at it. You really shouldn’t have laughed at it. That’s mean.
Next pull out a water bucket and fill in the top four-block gap of the hole. This will create a waterfall that fills the hole completely from the top to the bottom.
Don’t relax yet. In all its wisdom, the Warden is a mob that learned how to swim, meaning it’s going to rise back up to the top of the water. It’s okay, though. Grab some blocks and place them above where you placed the water (doing so won’t delete the water you just made).
What will happen next is the Warden won’t be able to get out. After a few seconds, when it runs out of air, it’ll start flashing red. That means it’s taking damage and will, eventually, perish. Oh no. How sad.
At this point, run off so you’re out of range of the sonic attack. We’d also suggest laughing once more as you’re running off just to add insult to injury.
Tips and Items
To defeat the Warden, you’ll need the best gear going. Not only that, you’ll need to think about items as well.
Enchanted apples are great for regaining health. The Warden’s attacks range from six hearts of damage on easy all the way to 15 on hard. In short, you very much do not want to get hit. Sure, you could use a Netherite sword and hack the Warden until it drops, but chances are it’ll drop you before you drop it.
That’s why we recommend a bow with the infinity enchantment and harming arrows. It’s best to fight the Warden at range. That way you can avoid damage and can run off and heal if you do happen to get hit.
Also, milk. The darkness effect lasts for 12 seconds, which is ages in Minecraft terms, so you’ll want to clear that as soon as it’s safe to.
Also, also, as we mentioned, the sonic boom attack can reach 15 blocks horizontally and 21 blocks up. Use that to your advantage. So long as you’re out of reach, the Warden won’t be able to hit you.
How Much Health Does the Warden Have?
The Warden has 500 health points (HP). And yes, that’s a lot.
For comparison, the Ender Dragon has 200 HP and the Wither 300 HP. So you’re essentially fighting something with the combined health of both the Ender Dragon and the Wither. Yikes.
In Conclusion
The Warden is by far Minecraft’s toughest challenge. There’s also very little point in even fighting the Warden. It drops just a sculk catalyst and offers up just five XP. Seriously, there are much better mobs to farm for XP out there.
It’s worth noting, sculk catalysts generate naturally in the deep dark biome, so defeating the Warden to get one singular catalyst isn’t really a good use of time. Meanwhile, five XP is the equivalent of beating a Creeper, so there are better ways to farm XP if that’s what you’re after.
So what’s the point in beating the Warden? It’s the challenge. By now most will have fallen the Ender Dragon and the Wither about a million times. If you’re after a challenge that will truly test your wits, the Warden is where it’s at.
Whichever tactic you go with, all of the above offer up options for different types of players. What we don’t suggest is charging in head-on without a plan, because that route will end in defeat.
So long as you’ve got a clear plan and strategy going into the fight, and you’re aware of how hard the Warden hits and that you really need to avoid that sonic boom attack, the Warden is totally manageable for those willing to think outside the box.
All images were captured on PS5 hardware and edited to make them more visible across different devices.
