The League of Legends is a MOBA-based game in which you have to destroy your enemy’s “Nexus” in order to win.
Although it may sound easy, there are certain things that you need to accomplish before experiencing the winning glory, such as team fights, laning objective control, and more.
There are various different core aspects of the game that needs to be considered, which is why League of Legends is quite hard to master but is definitely a lot of fun.
As a beginner, you shouldn’t be intimidated to do everything at once and focus on a single thing at once instead.
One such critical aspect of the game is vision control, often termed warding. If your team has better vision control over the enemy, your chances of winning will gradually improve because you have more information about your enemy.
Many players have a misconception that warding is only for the support players in the game, which is obviously not true.
Every player in your team must have an effective vision control over the enemy team to make the most out of it and gain a competitive advantage.
In this guide, we’ll explore warding in a little more depth and tell you how you can considerably improve your warding game. We’ll also discuss some good places on the map to perform warding at for tactical advantage, so make sure you read on.
What Exactly Are Wards in League of Legends?
If you’re just starting out with League of Legends and have no idea about wards or their purpose, this section will help you clear your basics. The League of Legends map is mostly covered with fog that prevents you from spotting enemy team members while they roam around the map.
There’s a visual range that you need to be within in order to spot the enemy heroes. Moreover, you can also spot an enemy hero if he passes through one of your stationary objects known as wards, as long as the enemy doesn’t destroy it.
That being said, a ward is essentially a deployable unit that helps your team remove the fog from the map in a particular area, depending on its placement. However, keep in mind that vision control is not necessarily just about wards.
You can gain more vision control through certain champions and the items that you purchase during the game as well. In the beginning, you can choose between two types of trinkets, based on certain conditions, that will further assist you in the laning phase of the game.
Most heroes in the game would benefit from the Warding Totem trinket in the beginning as it provides vision and allows the allied hero to ward off the lane effectively. The alternate option is the Oracle Lens trinket, which is not much preferred at such an early phase of the game.
Wards can also be acquired by upgrading support items, as each of these can hold over three wards after the first upgrade and four after the second update. However, you can only have three stealth and one vision ward at a time.
Types of Wards Available in League of Legends (And Their Benefits)
Wards are available in a wide range of varieties that vary in many ways, such as lifespan, vision radius, health, and placement constraints. It’s crucial to understand the intricacies that make each ward different in the game to help you strategize better:
Totem Ward
Totem wards are one of the most common types of wards available in the game, as all champion heroes can use them by default (except Fiddlesticks). The moment you begin a game, you’ll find that the Totem ward is widely and constantly encountered.
It offers a vision of 900 units in each direction and is hidden from the enemies unless they use any special means to reveal it. Totem wards are also one of the longest-lasting wards in the game, depending on the level of your allied hero.
For instance, if your champion is at level 1, then it will last for around 90 seconds, which increases up to 120 seconds as you keep leveling up. Each Totem ward has only three health points, which means it can be destroyed with just three basic attacks.
Additionally, an allied champion can only have three of these placed across the map at any given time. When you destroy a Totem ward, it grants ten gold and 37.2 EXP if destroyed by a single player and 46.4 shared EXP if destroyed by multiple champions.
Stealth Ward
Stealth wards relate to totem wards in many ways; the latter is even considered one of the former types. These can be generated by upgraded support items and have certain unique properties that make them effective in the game.
Foremost, they last for a standard time of 150 seconds, regardless of when you placed them in the game. Moreover, when stealth wards are destroyed, they grant 30 gold to the player and provide the same amount of EXP points as Totem wards.
They also offer a vision of up to 900 units in any direction and have the same amount of health as Totem wards too. Even they’re hidden from the enemy unless revealed by any special means and only three of these can be placed on the map at a given time.
Therefore, the only way Stealth wards differ from Totem wards is that they provide additional gold when destroyed and last comparatively longer.
Far-Sight Ward
The Far-Sight wards are produced by Far-Sight Alteration and can be acquired by swapping around in the store. Unlike the Totem and Stealth wards, these are considerably different from any other ward in the game in many ways.
It offers a vision of 500 blocks in any direction and cannot be targeted by allies, which is why it is great for champions like Lee Sin and Jax who can use their abilities to dash toward these wards. The best thing about these wards is that they can be placed even 4000 units away from the player.
This ward is completely hidden from the enemy if not placed in a unit that is covered by the enemy’s vision on the map. Unfortunately, a Far-Sight ward only has one unit of health, which makes it prone to being destroyed easily with just a single basic attack.
While there is no limit on how many of these wards you can place in the game, the cooldown on Far-Sight Alteration only allows you to place one every 198 seconds in the early phase of the game, which further reduces to 99 seconds as you progress towards the endgame.
When destroyed, these wards grand 15 gold and 18.6 EXP points if slain by a single player. As no other ward relates to the Far-Sight ward, it can be crucial in countering and re-countering your enemy’s vision in the game.
Control Ward
The Control wards act as a counter for all other wards in the game, provided that you are willing to pay a price of 75 gold per ward from the shop. They can disable any other ward in the game, including Stealthy wards that are usually hidden.
These wards also reveal any traps laid around them in addition to any camouflaged enemies who sneak within a radius of 900 units in any direction of the ward. Moreover, these are also one of the most durable types of wards, with four health points that regenerate after six seconds.
However, all these benefits don’t necessarily mean that these wards are the best ones in the game. Control wards tend to reveal themselves, too, while revealing the enemy team’s wards, which is why they cannot perform their job without altering the enemy.
The amount of gold and EXP acquired by destroying this ward is the same as that of the Stealth ward. All in all, these wards are great for countering other types of wards while also being much more durable at the same time.
Ghost Poro
Ghost Poro is one of the two wards that spawns in the middle of the Domination rune tree and appears whenever your other wards expire due to time. However, the spawned ward is comparatively weaker than its original counterpart as it only has a vision of 450 units in any direction.
Neither the enemies nor the allies can target these wards, but that doesn’t mean they’re invulnerable. If an enemy enters this ward’s range, it will simply stop providing vision and run away from its position.
Moreover, this ward is also completely visible to everyone, making it quite vulnerable to attacks. You can place as many Ghost Poros as you want, as long as you have other wards placed on the map, which is also the only limiting factor for spawning it.
However, destroying a Ghost Poro doesn’t grant the player any gold or EXP points. While it is weaker than the other wards in the game, it only exists to empower other strong alternatives and is more of an auxiliary assistant.
Zombie Ward
Zombie ward is the second ward variant that can spawn in the middle of the Domination rune tree but can only be chosen in place of Ghost ward, and you cannot have both at the same time. It’s quite similar to a Ghost Poro but in an offensive manner.
While a Ghost Poro extends the lifespan of a ward by placing a more fragile variant in its place, the Zombie ward is spawned whenever you destroy an enemy’s wards. The spawned ward only has one health point and can last for 120 seconds at any point in the game.
This allows it to be used for replacing the enemy’s Totem ward early in the game and provides a vision of 900 units in all directions too. However, this ward is visible to the enemies and cannot avoid taking damage, unlike Totem and Stealth wards.
Even the allies cannot target a Zombie ward, so the heroes who could dash towards wards won’t be able to do so. Slaying a Zombie ward provides only one gold and is only useful if you’re looking to clear out the enemy’s vision quickly.
Tips To Get Better at Warding in League of Legends
Now when you know about the various different types of wards and their working, you should consider going through certain tips we’ve shared below to use them more effectively in varying game scenarios as per your situation:
Proper Placement of Wards
Depending on where you place your wards, they tend to change their color which helps you visualize the enemy team’s position.
For instance, placing a ward on the ground or river changes its color to white, and terrain or wall changes it to red. Here are some placement tips to assist you during the game:
Warding Through Walls
At certain locations on the map, you can place wards through walls such as:
- Above the river lane
- In the middle of the openings at the turret lane
- Enemy’s jungle area
Consider targeting the bottom of the wall and placing the ward when the cursor turns red for maximum benefits.
Good Warding Locations
Here are some more tips for warding locations that can help you gain a tactical advantage over your opponent:
- Place Control wards in a position where they can be easily defended
- Protect your stealth wards from the Control wards
- Never place a Control ward in the middle of the tri-bush as enemies can easily take it down; consider positioning it close to the lane area instead.
To reveal enemies looking for ganking, place your Stealth wards at the bottom of the tri-bush area.
By keeping the aforementioned placement tips in mind, you can easily make the most out of the various wards available in the game.
Effective Usage of Vision
The map in League of Legends acts like a football field with three different types of visions, divided into two different areas through the mid-lane. The fog of war prevents you from heading straight to the enemy’s base, so you won’t be able to know their exact location.
Let’s take a look at the three different types of vision available in the game:
Neutral Vision
Any area of the map near the river falls under neutral vision. This is where most of the action takes place, and successfully positioning your wards in this area allows you to engage in battles with caution and prevent getting ambushed.
Defensive Vision
Anything under your side of the river is considered a defensive vision. This is a great place to position your Stealth wards and get alerts whenever the enemy team tries to enter your territory. You can also add vision lines to track your enemy’s moves completely.
Offensive Vision
The area across the river falls under the offensive territory. Before you head forward to offensive vision, make sure you have taken care of the neutral vision and move one step at a time. Also, always keep an eye on the map to stay aware of your enemy’s location.
Get Control Wards Early
As soon as your hero reaches level 9, the Control wards become available to purchase. If you want to carry forward the game offensively, you need to purchase them quickly and head forward to destroy the enemy bases, where the enemy usually places their Stealth wards.
Using the Control ward, you can deactivate your enemy’s stealth wards and destroy enemy turrets easily.
Keep Moving the Control Wards
Since Control wards can be easily detected by the enemy team, they can reveal your team’s strategy upon placement. To prevent this, you should consider moving your Control wards once the area is cleared and keep up with your offensive strategy.
Wards Aren’t Just for Support Players
There are many different hero factions in League of Legends, and each player should consider placing wards strategically in the game. As support players cannot lead the game much further without other players knowing about the vision areas of the map, more and more players should get vision.
Change Visions as You Level Up
As stated above, three different types of vision are available in the game. Still, a lot of players often limit themselves to a neutral or defensive vision that forces them to push back in numerous instances.
If this happens with you, too, you have to consider shifting from Stealth wards to Control wards and destroying the enemy turrets before heading on to offensive gameplay. It’s also recommended to move one step at a time and transition from defense to offense gradually.
Conclusion
Many players have a misconception that warding is a task that’s only put on the shoulders of a support hero. However, if you’re reading this far, hopefully now you have an idea why every player must place wards around the map in the game.
