I'd much rather see wards removed entirely and replaced with something else. As it stands, wards are unclear at best and they add nothing of value to roleplay. Quite the opposite they prevent roleplay and there's no denying that fact. As much as certain region owners love to have their safezones protected by OOC barriers and fervently defend them, it's still detrimental to roleplay.
You yourself said that these wards are the one big problem you're facing. That's because they are a flawed concept. You're much better off getting rid of them and finding something else to fill the gap. Or rework them entirely. Here are a few suggestions.
-Make wards not ridiculously massive in size and allow dark beings to cross them unharmed, but it dispels any disguises they may be using and makes them glow in a distinctive manner. That way spooks can choose to go into a protected area, at the cost of having their true nature revealed and face possible retaliation.
-Instead of warding off entire cities and preventing roleplay, see about giving guards imbued weaponry or anything to help them defend against dark beings. This is already something you can do, I don't know why it's not being done.
-Actually fight the spooks yourselves? It's like your one purpose.