Updated 23 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Ancient City and Warden Survival Guide
Ancient cities are huge deepslate ruins in the deep dark, with the floor at Y=-51. Their chests hold loot found nowhere else (echo shards, disc fragments, the Ward and Silence trims, Swift Sneak), but sculk shriekers can summon the warden, a blind 500 HP mob you should avoid, not fight.
Where do you find an ancient city?
Ancient cities only generate in the deep dark biome, often under mountains. The floor is always at Y=-51 and the city is about 20 blocks tall, with a palace around 220 blocks across. With cheats, /locate structure finds one. See every structure.
What loot is in an ancient city?
- Echo shards (only here), used for the recovery compass; see maps and compasses.
- Disc fragments for the music disc "5".
- The Ward (5%) and Silence (1.2%) armour trims; see armour trims.
- Swift Sneak books, up to level III, and snowballs.
- The second-best chance of any loot table for an enchanted golden apple (ominous vaults are first, at 22.5%).
How do you avoid the warden?
- Sneak. A sneaking player's movement makes no vibrations, so sculk sensors and the warden do not hear it.
- Sculk sensors hear vibrations within 8 blocks; placing or breaking wool or carpet makes none, so wool is a safe building block.
- Count the shrieker activations: the fourth one summons the warden. Shriekers also give you Darkness.
- Throw something (a snowball, an arrow) to make a vibration elsewhere and pull the warden away.
- Leave if it appears: the warden has 500 HP, hits for 30 HP on Normal and is immune to fire, lava and knockback.
What is the warden like?
The warden is the first fully blind mob: it finds you by vibrations within about 15 blocks and by sniffing. It has more health than the Wither on Java and can take a player in full netherite armour from full health to 7 HP in one hit. See The Wild Update.
Are there deep dungeons on ArtemisPvP?
Frequently asked questions
What Y level are ancient cities?
The floor is always at Y=-51.
How do you avoid waking the warden?
Sneak, and do not set off sculk shriekers four times.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.