(Very) In-Depth and Extensive Guide on Wards

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PLAIN JANE VERSION

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This guide is generally for supports only – and since it’s going to be a very long (and informative) guide, I’d like to get straight down to it. :3

Starting Up - ITEMS:

You have several options on what to get on your first trip down bot lane. DO NOT go into lane without any wards. These are my recommendations:

go into lane without any wards. These are my recommendations: Standard Support #1:

Grab 3x Sight Wards and a Faerie Charm (as well as 3x Potions of your choice). This build is pretty standard and simple. You’ll be granted with good vision all-around the lane for about 5-6 minutes. It’s exceptionally good for supports that wants to rush the Philosopher’s Stone. Grab 3x Sight Wards and a Faerie Charm (as well as 3x Potions of your choice). This build is pretty standard and simple. You’ll be granted with good vision all-around the lane for about 5-6 minutes. It’s exceptionally good for supports that wants to rush the Philosopher’s Stone.

Standard Support #2:

Grab 2x Sight Wards and 1x Vision Ward (as well as 2x Potion of your choice). This build is standard as well. See above. Grab 2x Sight Wards and 1x Vision Ward (as well as 2x Potion of your choice). This build is standard as well. See above.

General Support with Longevity:

Grab 3x Sight Wards and 1x Vision Wards (as well as 4x Potions of your choice). This build is good for lasting up to 6-8 minutes in lane with good vision all around. Grab 3x Sight Wards and 1x Vision Wards (as well as 4x Potions of your choice). This build is good for lasting up to 6-8 minutes in lane with good vision all around.

General Support with Longevity and Counter Warding:

Grab 2x Sight Wards and 2x Vision Wards (as well as 3x Potions of your choice). This build is good for lasting up to 6-8 minutes in lane with good vision all around and for counter-warding by punishing their support if they mostly have green wards. Grab 2x Sight Wards and 2x Vision Wards (as well as 3x Potions of your choice). This build is good for lasting up to 6-8 minutes in lane with good vision all around and for counter-warding by punishing their support if they mostly have green wards.

Counter Warding (Best For Healing Supports and Invisible Enemy Junglers): Grab 1x Sight Ward and 3x Vision Wards (as well as 2x Potions of your choice.) Honestly, this build is best for supports that can heal. (Fiddles, Kayle, Sona, Nami, Nidalee, Taric) Having 2x Potion will put a dent in using abilities since you don’t have a Faerie Charm to help regenerate your mana. Usually, I would run 2x Mana Potions with this build on a healing support. It’s best not to go this build unless you’re really confident in your abilities. It is, however, INCREDIBLE for countering their support wards and great for preventing solid ganks from enemy Junglers who can go invisible such as Rengar and Evelyn.

Starting Up - WHEN TO PLACE YOUR FIRST RIVER WARD:

When to place your first ward depends entirely on their Jungler. Take note on which buff each Jungler starts on. Junglers will move across the map and will more likely gank the lane closest to the second buff they are getting. For instance, Hecarim (on blue side) starts Blue buff first and then works his way to the Red buff. Subsequently, if Hecarim is on blue team he’ll be closer to bot lane at around 3 minutes. He will most likely to gank bot or mid.



Therefore, you should ward river at around 3 minutes if you are on the purple team.



If you are on the blue team and they have a Hecarim, this is his path:



In this case, it is not necessary to ward the river until 4 or 5 minutes since the Jungler is likely to gank Top or Mid. But of course, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, and there are no guarantees that he’s not coming bot first. Please take caution.



This is just an effective intuition in guessing where the enemy Jungler may be. Also remember that some Jungler may start a buff that isn’t common for the Jungler to start on.

Laning Phase - How the enemy Support is Warding

Always be aware and look at the enemy Support’s items. Once you get into lane, you should immediately look at the enemy Support’s items. Take note of how many wards they have to counter-ward.

Once you get into lane, you should immediately look at the enemy Support’s items. Take note of how many wards they have to counter-ward. Pay attention to when the their Support goes missing, and look at their items after they return. When a Support goes missing in the river, then he’s probably warding. You do NOT need to follow him to give an educated guess of where he warded. If he started out with 3x Sight Wards and came back into lane with 1x Sight Ward, he most likely had warded Dragon and Blue-side’s Tri-brush:



If he came back to lane with only one ward missing, he’s most likely to ward the River Brush or the area between Dragon and Blue-side’s Tri-brush.





When a Support goes missing in the river, then he’s probably warding. You do NOT need to follow him to give an educated guess of where he warded. If he started out with 3x Sight Wards and came back into lane with 1x Sight Ward, he most likely had warded Dragon and Blue-side’s Tri-brush: If he came back to lane with only one ward missing, he’s most likely to ward the River Brush or the area between Dragon and Blue-side’s Tri-brush. Each ward lasts 3 minutes; time the enemy support’s wards. This could potentially lead up to good ganks you can set for your Jungler. Keep track of when an enemy support goes missing and when he returns. Add 3 minutes to that time and you’ll know when his wards will die. This is effective when your Jungler is coming down to gank.

BLUE SIDE ONLY TIP - WHERE TO PLACE YOUR RIVER WARD:

Consider Junglers with gap-closers. Junglers that can jump or leap past walls need to be considered when warding. (Jarvan, Lee Sin, Sejuani, Vi etc.) These Junglers can cross into the river brush through Purple team’s tri-brush area.





It is best to ward that brush over Dragon early game if the enemy Jungler is on purple-side and can jump through walls. Warding Dragon early game cannot prevent a river gank in this situation.

Laning Phase - When to Pink

Pink the river or tri-brush if you know the enemy is warding those areas. There’s no point in pinking either if you haven’t seen the enemy ward those areas. Just drop a normal green ward.

There’s no point in pinking either if you haven’t seen the enemy ward those areas. Just drop a normal green ward. Pink if your Jungler is ready to gank bot.

Pink the bush you’re standing in if their bot lane is strong and poking you down.

For the love of humanity, do not DIE trying to clear a ward. Never. Whatsoever. Every ward except your Ghost Ward lasts 3 minutes. You will have 3 minutes to clear a ward if you pinked one of their green wards. Wait until the area is safe before you clear it. They have a green, so they’re not getting rid of your pink any time soon. And even should they pink your ward, that’s a good thing since you essentially made them use one of their wards. A pink for a pink is never a truly terrible thing. There’s no need to rush clearing wards unless your Jungler is really pushing for a gank. Even so, clear wards safely and always look at the mini-map to see if their bot lane will follow you and if the area has high-activity.

Laning Phase - Where to Pink



Do not pink the Red ‘X’ because it provides no vision should they ward the river brush.

Laning Phase - Pinking their Pinks

ONLY pink their pink wards if you KNOW you have map advantage at their pink.

Do not pink their brush if they have a pink there and they are in that brush. They will most likely get to it sooner than you will. There are several exceptions:



Janna - Start up your Tornado (Q) and aim it towards the enemy’s brush. Pink the bush and then launch your (Q) at them. This may give you a slight advantage at clearing their pink before they clear yours because of your knock-up but there is also still a high chance they’ll be able to clear yours too.



Nami - Pink their brush first and then Stun (Q) them when they try to clear yours. This requires precision in landing your stun. You may be able to clear their pink before they clear yours.



Taric - Pink their brush first and then Stun (E) them when they try to clear yours.





They will most likely get to it sooner than you will. There are several exceptions: Janna - Start up your Tornado (Q) and aim it towards the enemy’s brush. Pink the bush and then launch your (Q) at them. This may give you a slight advantage at clearing their pink before they clear yours because of your knock-up but there is also still a high chance they’ll be able to clear yours too. Nami - Pink their brush first and then Stun (Q) them when they try to clear yours. This requires precision in landing your stun. You may be able to clear their pink before they clear yours. Taric - Pink their brush first and then Stun (E) them when they try to clear yours. Do not be so quick to pink Dragon if the enemy Support has just based/died and you ran out of vision at Dragon. When a Support leaves lane, it’s for three reasons: (1) they died, (2) they’re low on health, or (3) they need more items/a.k.a. wards. If they’ve just based, they may had ran out of wards. Upon returning to their lane, they will likely have top priority in pinking dragon. If you pinked right after they left/died, your pink will not last long at dragon and it will go to waste. I always wait until they get back to lane to pink. Most of the time, I get rid of their pink about 30 seconds after they placed it down.

Early - Mid Game Tips

Do not ever go into lane without a ward. Even if you have enough for a Ruby Crystal, if you cannot afford a single ward, do NOT buy the Crystal. Instead, invest in some wards. The Ruby Crystal can wait.

Even if you have enough for a Ruby Crystal, if you cannot afford a single ward, do NOT buy the Crystal. Instead, invest in some wards. The Ruby Crystal can wait. If the enemy Support is picking up some pinks, do not go into lane without at least 2 wards.

You do not need to rush a Ruby Sightstone. The cost-effectiveness of the Ruby Sightstone is lower than the standard Sightstone. For 600G you will only upgrade the Sightstone to having 1 more charge and 1 more ward that can be placed on the map (this is excluding the health benefits). If the enemy team is warding everywhere, it is better to spend the 600G buying an Oracles and 2 Sight Wards.



For comparison… you can get this:

= 3 Wards on the map at a time



Or these…

= 4 Wards at a time + Oracles

= 3 Wards at a time + 1 pink + Boots

= 6 Wards at a time + 2 pinks



…And all of these costs 600G extra after getting a Sightstone.



Only upgrade your Sightstone if you can still buy more wards right after its purchase.

Mid Game Tips

Buy green wards even if you have the Sightstone. Two wards from the Sightstone is not enough to effectively gain map control. I always have at least 4 Wards altogether in my inventory.

Two wards from the Sightstone is not enough to effectively gain map control. I always have at least 4 Wards altogether in my inventory. Use your Sightstone’s wards for areas with high traffic and likely to be cleared by Oracles or pinked – and in areas that you don’t need constant pressure on. Since the Sightstone/Ruby Sightstone will eliminate a ward if you place more than 2/3 on a map at once (respectively), use the Sightstone in areas that you will not regret losing vision of if you need to ward with a Sightstone elsewhere. I would not recommend warding Baron with ONLY a Sightstone’s wards, since those can disappear when you exceed the amount of wards a Sightstone can have on the map at a time.

Since the Sightstone/Ruby Sightstone will eliminate a ward if you place more than 2/3 on a map at once (respectively), use the Sightstone in areas that you will not regret losing vision of if you need to ward with a Sightstone elsewhere. I would not recommend warding Baron with ONLY a Sightstone’s wards, since those can disappear when you exceed the amount of wards a Sightstone can have on the map at a time. Use your Sightstone’s wards (or just normal Sight Wards) for chases and escapes. When your team is engaging onto the enemy’s team or chasing through the jungle, ward the bushes to keep vision on the enemy at all time and set up potential kills. When you and your team are escaping through the jungle, ward behind you so you can see where the enemy is going or if they’re still chasing to dodge skillshots and react appropriately.

When your team is engaging onto the enemy’s team or chasing through the jungle, ward the bushes to keep vision on the enemy at all time and set up potential kills. When you and your team are escaping through the jungle, ward behind you so you can see where the enemy is going or if they’re still chasing to dodge skillshots and react appropriately. Use your green / pink wards in areas you want to permanently have vision on. These wards will only clear after 3 minutes or if the enemy clears it. Use these wards in locations like Baron, Dragon, and the river area.

Warding Baron - The Greens:

Try to keep more than 1 ward at Baron at all times.

Basic Green Ward area:





or





If you’re on Blue Side, these are good places to ward…

If you’re on Purple Side, these are good places to ward…

Warding Baron - The Pinks:

Have at least 1 Pink at baron unless you know they aren’t warding it OR you have Oracles.

Basic Pink Ward Areas:

Notice that unlike the Basic Green Ward picture, there are two potential areas to pink near the Baron pit. There’s one directly in front of Baron and one inside of the pit. Let me show you why it’s crucial to know what difference it makes between those two 'X’s…



If you ward inside the pit, you will reveal all of the enemy’s wards that are in the pit and a little bit outside.







If you ward outside of the pit and in front of Baron, it will reveal a little bit inside the pit and a good portion outside.







The red zone indicates the area the pink ward doesn’t cover! So should the enemy ward in one of those corners, your pink ward will not be able to detect it.



Which brings me to….

Warding Baron - Tips and Hints:

If you ward Baron in the bottom-right corner of the pit, it cannot be spotted by pinks that aren’t directly inside of the pit and is a tough spot for people with Oracles to reveal.





If you pink on the Island brush near Baron, it will reveal the enemy’s ward right in front of Baron.



This is especially useful if you know they’re constantly pinking in front of Baron and you’d like to clear it without having a huge Ward War. This is usually effective against lower MMR and people that aren’t so savvy at warding. They might continue to ward that area thinking you have a pink there — and may not figure out that your pink is in the Island brush.



WARNING: Do this only if you want vision around baron and they aren’t likely to pursue Baron any time soon. Otherwise, always keep a ward that shows vision of Baron, himself, at all times.





This is especially useful if you know they’re constantly pinking in front of Baron and you’d like to clear it without having a huge Ward War. This is usually effective against lower MMR and people that aren’t so savvy at warding. They might continue to ward that area thinking you have a pink there — and may not figure out that your pink is in the Island brush. Do this only if you want vision around baron and they aren’t likely to pursue Baron any time soon. Otherwise, always keep a ward that shows vision of Baron, himself, at all times. Use a bait ward that shows vision of Baron while having another “hidden” one in the pit (works best if enemy does not have oracles). Sometimes, lazy supports that aren’t thinking too much would pink Baron, clear a ward, and get out. If they’re constantly pinking baron, you can put a “bait” ward in front of baron and keep another one in the pit so that enemies would clear one but don’t bother to search for the other. For example:



Like the previous tip, this works best in lower MMR and against people that aren’t so savvy with warding. A good player would use oracles and get rid of both.

How Wards Grant Vision:

Wards grant vision in a straight path. Crooked brushes or angled brushes should always be warded right on the center to provide maximum vision and better secure ward kills when you pink.

Crooked brushes or angled brushes should always be warded right on the center to provide maximum vision and better secure ward kills when you pink. There will be Blind Spots depending where you ward. Brushes do have blind spots because of the fact stated in the aforementioned bullet. Here are some examples of how the blind spot work:



The above picture shows that warding on the corner of the tri-bush only grants vision across and provides no vision for the other two corners. If the enemy were to ward where the blind-spots are, your pink ward would NOT detect it. Therefore, you should always ward in the center of the tri-bush.





Brushes do have blind spots because of the fact stated in the aforementioned bullet. Here are some examples of how the blind spot work: The above picture shows that warding on the corner of the tri-bush only grants vision across and provides no vision for the other two corners. If the enemy were to ward where the blind-spots are, your pink ward would NOT detect it. Therefore, you should always ward in the center of the tri-bush. Another example:







As opposed to:





With this knowledge, choose wisely on how you’ll pink a brush should you see the enemy ward one.







Areas I Frequently Ward When I’m On Blue Side:





Where the Green Dots represent defensive wards, Red Dots represent offensive wards, and the 3 blue dots represent wards to put when their respective towers fall.





Areas I Frequently Ward When I’m On Purple Side:

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