Minecraft Ancient City guide: Location, loot, tips and tricks, and more

Minecraft is a widely enjoyed sandbox game at first glance. However, it becomes scary and horror-like when someone stumbles upon the Ancient City, where a slightly wrong movement can end the player's life. The Ancient City, introduced in The Wild 1.19 update, is an intricate and challenging structure that presents a mysterious and dangerous environment of Deep Dark Biome.

Like almost every other dimension, it has unique blocks, items, and foes. Talking about foes, it has one of the strongest mobs in Minecraft, The Warden. It is an intimidating creature with an extraordinary ability to sense movement through sound. But the risks are worth it with all the loot one can find in Ancient City, and in this article, we will guide you so you can be fearless next time.

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Everything to know about Minecraft's Ancient City

Finding the Ancient City

The Ancient City is a sporadic and elusive structure in Minecraft. It can only be found within the Deep Dark biome, a new cave biome that typically generates near the Bedrock level of the world. Identifying the Deep Dark biome is made possible by sculk blocks, which display a pulsating animation and emit sound waves when activated.

Here are a few methods to help you locate the Ancient City in your Minecraft world:

1) Utilize the /locate AncientCity command: If you are playing with cheats, you will receive the coordinates of the nearest Ancient City in Minecraft by entering this command.

2) Explore mountainous regions underground: The Ancient City is more likely to spawn beneath mountains than other biomes. The floor of the city always generates at the Y level of -51.

3) Turn on the subtitles: In Minecraft's game setting, you can turn on subtitles describing the sound around the player. While mining, it can display the sounds coming from sculk sensors and other sounds of the ancient city if it's nearby.

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2) Essential supplies for Ancient City

The Ancient City is treacherous and challenging, unsuitable for inexperienced adventurers. It is shrouded in darkness, fraught with traps, and inhabited by one of the most formidable mobs in the game. You'll need essential equipment and items to survive and plunder this structure successfully.

Here's a list of items you should bring with you:

1. A complete set of enchanted diamond or netherite armor: Since the Warden can inflict massive damage even through armor, maximizing your protection is crucial. Enchant your armor with Protection abilities like Blast Protection, Feather Falling, Fire Protection, and Unbreaki abilities.
2. A powerful weapon: We recommend wielding a diamond or netherite sword or axe with enchantments like Sharpness, Smite, Looting, Fire Aspect, and Unbreaking. You can also carry a bow or crossbow with Power, Punch, Flame, Infinity, and Unbreaking. Alternatively, a trident with Impaling, Loyalty, Channeling, Riptide, and Unbreaking can be used.
3. A shield: It offers effective defense against the Warden's attacks, significantly reducing damage. Enchant your shield with Unbreaking and Mending.
4. A stack of golden apples and golden carrots: These items are invaluable for healing, boosting your health, and providing resistance when facing the Warden or other dangers.
5. A stack of torches or glowstone blocks: The Ancient City is enveloped in darkness, with low light levels throughout. Light sources are essential for clear visibility and preventing hostile mobs from spawning.
6. A stack of ender pearls or chorus fruit: These items will prove beneficial in evading sticky situations or quickly reaching elevated positions.
7. A bucket of water or milk: Water can extinguish fires or lava, ensuring your safety and enabling controlled descents from heights. Milk removes negative potion effects and counters the effects of sculk shriekers.
8. A bed: Setting your spawn point near the entrance of the Ancient City is crucial in the event of death within.
9. A shulker box or ender chest: These storage options allow you to safeguard loot and items without consuming valuable inventory space.

Optional items that may be helpful include:

• A swift sneak enchanted book: This enchantment, applicable to boots, allows for quieter and faster sneaking. Swift sneak is particularly helpful in eluding the Warden's detection.
• A spyglass: Crafted using two copper ingots and one amethyst shard, this item allows you to zoom in on distant objects or areas, aiding in the detection of hidden chests or traps.

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3) Looting and surviving the Ancient City

The Ancient City is full of secrets and treasures but presents risks and traps. Navigating this structure in Minecraft requires caution and astuteness. Here are some tips and tricks to help you loot and survive the Ancient City:

1) Destroy sculk shriekers: Sculk shriekers are sculk blocks that emit loud screams when activated, often summoning the Warden or triggering various effects in Minecraft. Concealed behind walls or beneath floors, they can be activated by sound or redstone signals. Destroy these shriekers promptly using a silk touch tool if you wish to collect them. Alternatively, you can temporarily disable them using a hoe without breaking them.

2) Evade the Warden: The Warden is a formidable and hostile mob that appears in the Ancient City when summoned by sculk shriekers. Though blind, it can detect movement through sound waves in Minecraft. Engage the Warden cautiously, opting to evade rather than engage in combat. Employ the following techniques:

• Sneaking: Sneaking reduces the sound you generate, making it more difficult for the Warden to detect you. Swift sneak enchantment enables faster and quieter sneaking.
• Wool blocks: Wool blocks absorb sound waves, preventing them from reaching the Warden. Place wool blocks around or between you and the Warden to create a sound barrier.
• Snowballs or eggs: Throw snowballs or eggs at the Warden or nearby blocks to divert its attention or entice it from your location. The Warden will follow the source of the sound, momentarily disregarding your presence.
• Invisibility potions or chorus fruit: Invisibility potions render you invisible to the Warden, provided you are not wearing armor or holding items. Chorus Fruit teleports you to random nearby locations, facilitating an escape from the Warden's range.

3) Loot chests and structures: The Ancient City boasts numerous chests and structures containing valuable loot in Minecraft. Thoroughly explore each area, uncovering hidden chests and secrets. Expect to find items such as:

• Sculk catalysts: Rare items used to cultivate sculk blocks on any surface. They are invaluable for constructing sculk farms or redstone contraptions.
• Armor Templates: In the recent update of Minecraft, two new armor trims can be found in Ancient City. Although considered rare, players can discover Silence and Ward armor trim in Ancient City.
• Enchanted books: These books feature a variety of enchantments, including swift sneak, mending, fortune, and more. Enchant your gear and tools to enhance their functionality.
• Other miscellaneous items: Additional loot includes gold ingots, iron ingots, diamonds, emeralds, copper ingots, amethyst shards, and more. These resources help craft or trade with villagers in Minecraft.