During a Q&A session that Mojang released on YouTube, some of Minecraft's developers explained what they are thinking with some of the additions to the 1.17 Caves and Cliffs update. One unique thing that they said, was that Minecraft's 1.17 mob "The Warden" is not actually a new boss, despite initial appearances.
When we were first introduced to The Warden during the Minecraft Live event at the beginning of October, we saw that it potentially has well over 200 HP and could take you down in two hits—even if you had a full set of netherite armor. Initially, the fight with the Warden gave the impression that you are meant to fight it, as you would fight the End Dragon or The Wither.
However, when discussing what The Warden is protecting in the Deep Dark (the assumption being that a mob named "The Warden" protects things) one of Minecraft's developers—Brandon Pearce aka Kingbdogz—explained that The Warden isn't necessarily protecting anything, and is actually meant to be avoided.
He elaborated by saying, "The objective of the Warden is no so much to fight it head-on. We want it to actually be more like you're avoiding it and trying to get loot from chests." After that revelation, the follow-up question that was asked was, "What will the Warden drop upon defeat?"
Pearce said that they were discussing that topic, but that his gut told him that the Warden wouldn't drop anything. "The Warden is not a boss, it's more like a natural disaster...when you have a tornado barreling toward you, you don't try and swing a sword at it," Pearce said, "We don't want to incentivize players actually attacking it, because that's not the sort of gameplay we're going for, for the Warden." Although later, they comment that trophies might be added as a drop.
The Warden is the first blind mob to be added to the game, navigating its way around your world, not by sight, but by "sound." Thanks to the Skulk Sensors (which will also be found in the Deep Dark) that are attached to its head, it is able to detect what Pearce calls "vibrations" anywhere around it. These vibrations could come from flailing limbs, footsteps, snowballs hitting walls—or the sound of opening chests. The challenge then is figuring out how you are going to deal with The Warden so that you can raid the chests that can be found in the Deep Dark.
It would appear that the developers are extremely reluctant to allow you to fight the Warden, as you would other mobs. Instead, they want to add a sneak element to the game to add more variety. Unfortunately, during that same segment, Pearce said that they will not be adding a potion or enchantment that will allow you to hide from the Warden—they want there to be some challenge to playing Minecraft.