The Importance of Vision - A Laning Phase Warding Guide
This guide will show you great wards to place to track the enemy Jungler, see incoming roams, avoid ganks, and dives.
Throughout my earlier times of playing ranked League of Legends I have been placing the same wards over and over again. I was still getting ganked and roamed on every single game not knowing how to defend myself from this. According to Vaas from Far Cry, I was portraying the definition of insanity. I was doing the same thing over and over again expecting something to change. I took it upon myself to dive deeper into the knowledge and power that comes with the ward that is provided in-game. The purpose of this article is to share the different warding spots around lanes that can help preserve your life from junglers, roamers, and dives.
Bottom Lane
In the bottom lane, you would think that this is where you would be the safer. You have your support there with you who is willing to protect you at all costs. The bottom lane is supposed to stay a constant 2 v. 2 scenario and the better duo emerges at the end of the laning phase. However, junglers and roamers can quickly turn this 2 v. 2 into a 3 v. 2 or even a 4 v. 2. This can lead to an enemy team double kill and the snowballing of the enemy bottom lane duo. As the title suggests, vision for your respective lane is very important. The important questions to ask before warding are: "Is the wave being pushed into me?" or "Am I pushing the wave into them?"
- The wave is being pushed into me.
If you answered that the wave is being pushed into you, you may find it harder to gain vision for your lane. To be honest, it is hard to get vision. However, I promise there are wards for you to place to keep yourself safe. We all know that being under a turret does not stop the enemy from diving, killing, and setting you back more in the game. I will be showing you wards that you can place on the blue or red sides of the map that can help keep you safe when you are being pushed in.
Blue Side
In the first picture, placing a ward in your tri-brush ensures that no enemy Jungler or Mid Laner can path through there without being seen by you and the whole team. In the second picture, placing a ward at the top of the Red Pit with secure your safety from invading Junglers or roaming Mid Laners. The third picture portrays the vision working in unison. You can see anyone that could be running in front of the raptors and looping around to your tower. If they decide to path towards your tri-brush, you can see that too. You can see anyone sitting in your Tri-brush. All these wards buy your team time to come help you, push other objectives, or give you time to run to safer position (i.e. your Tier 2 Turret). No speedy Hecarim, parkouring Talon, or snowball rolling Nunu can ruin your day.
Red Side
When the wave is being pushed into you on the red side, placing these two wards will keep you safe. The ward that is placed in the brush to the entrance of your Blue and Gromp camps will secure that you can see the enemy Jungler or Mid Laner invading and pathing for a dive on you. If you cannot get that far, placing a ward in your Tri-brush will be an adequate substitute for accomplishing this task.
- I am pushing the wave into them.
If you answered that you are pushing the wave into the enemy, then you will find it is easy to get vision where you want. You dictate the lane at this point and can choose what to do with your time. With great power, comes great repercussions. When you are pushed up in the lane, this means you are farther from your turret. This means that you are farther from your safe haven which leaves you more vulnerable to ganks or roams. This all sounds very scary, but do not let this frighten you from playing aggressive. These warding spots are meant to keep you safe for when you are playing aggressive and pushing the wave.
Blue Side
If you are pushing the wave and you are on blue side, placing a ward in the river brush and at the mouth of dragon pit and entrance to enemy Blue and Gromp camps will allow you to see deeply in the river. You will be able to see Junglers like Hecarim and Nunu who rely on starting their ganks deeper in the river. Seeing Hecarim before he is at full speed during his Devastating Charge or seeing Nunu rolling the Biggest Snowball Ever before they are close to your lane is key in keeping you safe from these ganks. Not only are you safe from ganks or roams coming from deep river, you are able to see anyone who would want to use the blast cone to avoid a deep river ward. The ward in the river entrance brush will surely catch them, giving you ample time to run back to your turret.
A bonus ward that can be placed to track the enemy Jungler is a control ward between their Blue and Gromp camp. Most Junglers do not even think of someone getting vision in this area. This ward will allow you and your team to see the enemy Jungler clear their Blue and Gromp camp and see where they choose to path next. This alerts you to play safer because the enemy Jungler is on the bottom half of the map and can gank if they choose to do so. I recommend a normal ward not a control ward, because there is no brush that can conceal the control ward.
Red Side
If you are pushing the wave and you are on red side, then those same exact wards river wards can apply. They can accomplish their goals no matter what side of the map you are coming from. However, there is one ward that you would need to place in order to keep yourself extremely safe from ganks or roams. This ward is the enemy Red Jungle Entrance Tri-brush. With this ward, you will be able to see any Jungler waiting for a perfect time to reveal themselves or any roaming Mid Laner doing the same thing.
A bonus ward that can be placed to track the enemy Jungler is a control ward right behind the mouth of the enemy Red camp. Junglers do not usually path through this brush and control wards last until they are destroyed. This will grant you and your team permanent vision on the enemy Jungler when they go for their Red and will alert you to play safer, since the Jungler is present at the bottom half of the map.
Mid Lane
In the Mid Lane, this is where skill expression is very prevalent. During the 1 v. 1, each player will compete for lane priority or kills on each other in order to roam for other kills and objectives. The Jungler plays a crucial role in this lane. The Jungler can easily swing the tide of the Mid Lane matchup. Providing a gank for your Mid Laner can lead to kills that can be translated into objectives and a snowballing of the game. This is great when it works in your favor, but this same tactic can be used against you and you need to be aware of where the enemy Jungler could be. These wards will provide you information on where the Jungler has already been and where they can be. Again, the questions that need to be asked are: "Is the wave being pushed into me?" or "Am I pushing the wave into them?"
- The wave is being pushed into me.
If the wave is being pushed into you, there are still plenty of options for you to ward to be alerted to ganks. However, it will be hard for you to track the enemy Jungler because you cannot get wards in their jungle. Keep in mind that tracking the jungler is not all that important to you if you are being pushed in. More than likely, Junglers will not come to your lane because ganking you would be risky since you are so close to your tower.
Blue Side
If the wave is being pushed into you and you are on blue side, placing ward a ward in your top side single river brush will allow you to monitor the closest Blue Camp entrance and the closest enemy Red Camp entrance. This way you can see any enemy Junglers trying to invade and get behind you. You can also see if the enemy Jungler is going to path into their Red Camps or path to the top side of the map. This top side single river brush has an equal that can be placed in the bottom side single river brush. You gain information on invades on your Red Camps or enemy Junglers pathing bottom or to their Blue Camps. Not only do these wards monitor Jungler activity they are great for catching roams from bottom or top lane. In some cases, they can serve as substitutes for deep river wards for bottom lane. Teamwork makes the dream work.
The next two wards are also equals. If you are not comfortable going too far out of your way for vision, placing wards in either of your long brushes will suffice. Although they do not give you much information of the enemy Jungler, it gives you immediate information if they are in your vicinity looking for a risky gank. Some vision is better than no vision.
Red Side
The great part about Mid Lane is that these defensive wards can work for either side of the map, Blue or Red. Either side will provide you the same information and the same protections.
- I am pushing the wave into them.
If you are pushing the wave in Mid Lane, it is much easier for you to get vision as mid lane is the shortest lane it does not take a long time to get places. Mid Lane can gain lots of information on the enemy Jungler based on the wards that they decide to place. These are great wards to place on the map and can be mirrored no matter if you are on Blue or Red side of the map.
Blue/Red Side
If you are pushing the wave and you are on Blue side, these are the wards you can place to gain valuable information on the enemy Jungler. The first picture portrays warding a popular gank path that enemy Junglers take when you are very pushed up in the lane. Catching sight of them earlier in this path will allow you time to fall back towards your turret. The second picture portrays a more risky, yet valuable ward. If you are able to land this ward, you would be able to see when the enemy Jungler is clearing their Blue buff camp or if they already have cleared their Blue buff camp. Seeing that the Blue buff is still there means that the enemy Jungler could be on the top side of the map clearing their Red camps first or on their way to clear the Blue buff currently. This alerts you to play more towards the bottom half of Mid Lane to create distance between you and the enemy Jungler if they choose to gank from the top half of the map. If the Blue buff camp is gone, this means that the Jungler has already cleared it and could be heading to the top side of the map to clear their Red camps. In this instance, you would still play towards the bottom half of your lane. Remeber, these can be mirrored if you are playing on the Red side of the map. The yield will still be the same.
These next two wards are centered around the enemy Raptor camp. Having the wave pushed up to your enemy's turret allows you to place this ward over the wall. This ward follows the same principle of the enemy Blue buff camp ward. If the Raptors are cleared, the enemy Jungler is either clearing the rest of their Red camps or pathing to their Blue camps. In this instance, the enemy Jungler is likely to have cleared all Red camps and is pathing to the Blue camps. This is where you would play towards the top half of your lane to create that distance again. The most informational ward that you could put down is the Raptor brush ward. With just a single ward, you are able to see when the enemy Jungler is clearing their Raptors or Red buff camps. Not to mention where they just came from and where they plan to path next. As you can tell, this is a much deeper ward and is very risky to place. This is high risk high reward scenario. Again, these wards can be mirrored for when you are on the Red side of the map.
On the safer side, you can place either one of these wards down if you are not comfortable going so deep into the enemy jungle. The ward that is placed in the top of Red buff brush will allow you to see if the enemy Jungler is pathing to the top side of the map via blast cone or if the enemy Jungler is deciding to path into the river to try and gank you. You will be able to see them deep enough before they are right on top of you. The Red buff camp ward is the concept of the Blue buff camp ward. This will allow you to see if the enemy Jungler has already cleared this camp, going to clear this camp, or is currently clearing it. With the camp being cleared, it can be inferred that the enemy Jungler is pathing to their Blue camps. This would mean that you would have to play towards the top half of your lane. Once again, creating that distance between you and the Jungler.
Top Lane
In the Top Lane, your role is very important. Usually you are the tank or the bruiser. No matter which path you decide to go down you are more than likely going to be the main front liner for the team. This means that staying ahead or on par with the opposing Top Laner is paramount to the team's success. Falling behind will make any items you build almost ineffective as the other team with have more damage that are more than your resistances can handle. When Top Laners fall behind, most of the time it is because of dying to roams or ganks. These wards will allow you to stay safe so you do not fall behind or allow you to stay safe when you have a lead. I know it seems repetitive and I know you guys know the questions to ask.
- The wave is being pushed into me.
When the wave is being pushed into you in the Top Lane, Junglers and Mid Laners are going to want to gank, dive, or roam more often. One reason is because the top lane is one of the longest lanes in the game. This means that if you were to be killed, it would take you more time to return to lane. This can result in lost experience and gold which means you fall behind. We do not want that. In some instances, it would cause you to back off from your turret and recall in which you would lose gold and experience still. This is not ideal, but your life is the most important thing to preserve. The second reason is the enemy Jungler and Mid Laner are more willing to go for a kill on you when you are pushed in because the top laner is usually all by themselves. Killing you here results in that loss of gold, experience, and handing over kill gold to the enemy team. The only help they can receive is from their Jungler and that depends if they are close enough to help or not. Blue side and Red side both have wards that you can place to keep yourself safe.
Blue Side
If the wave is being pushed into you and you are on Blue Side, all you really need is these two wards. The first ward is your Blue buff Camp river entrance. This will allow you to see any enemy Jungler or roaming Mid Laner that is pathing through this area and heading for your tri-brush. As soon as you see this you could call for assistance or back off to your Tier 2 turret. Again, although losing farm and experience is not ideal for this position, your top priority is to not die. If you die, you hand over kill gold, lose experience, and gold for yourself. This is hard to come back from. In some circumstances, some champions have blinks, dashes, or jumps that would allow them to avoid the first ward by going over the wall instead. Placing a ward in the top side river entrance brush allows you to reveal those who would want to exploit this. No Kha'Zix, Talon, or Rek'Sai could go unseen. Twitch, Evelynn, and Wukong all possess abilities that allow them to become invisible which allows them to dodge vision. However, placing a control ward instead of a normal ward in the position of the first picture will allow you to see them despite their invisibility.
Red Side
If the wave is being pushed into you and you are on Red Side, these two wards will make you feel a bit safer. This top Red Side Tri-brush will allow you to see anyone who would want to invade from the river towards your Krugs. Not having vision here would allow a free invade for the enemy Jungler to either kill your Jungler or confirm that your Jungler is not around. This is perfect scenario for a dive onto you. Warding the brush right next to your Krugs allows you to see if the enemy Jungler went the long way around the Jungle to get behind you. This brush is popular to start a dive from because it is positioned behind you and it is easy to cut off your escape route. Seeing the enemy Jungler in this brush alerts you that they intend to dive and it can buy you enough time to get a recall off to stay safe. This can waste the enemy Junglers time while your Jungler can gank or steal enemy camps.
- I am pushing the wave into them.
Now you have the wave pushing into the enemy Top Laner. This is good because you are putting them in an uncomfortable situation. You are so pushed up in the lane that you have easy access to the enemy Jungle. You can get vital information with the wards you place. However, being so far pushed up in the lane can lead to you becoming and even bigger target for ganks and roams. Again, Top Lane is one of the longest lanes in the game and it would take you a long time to reach the safety of your turret if the Jungler or Mid Laner are right on top of you. You would need all the time in the world to fall back to safety. These wards will allow you to track the enemy Jungler and get early vision on ganks or roams.
Blue Side
This first ward looks very familiar. It is the deep river ward for the top side of the map. It watches the Rift Herald pit, your Blue Camp entrance, and any pathing to the top side of the map from the river. This ward can catch enemy Junglers getting ready for Rift or a gank and Mid Laners pathing top for a roam. This will give you time to fall back. The great thing about this ward is that it can be used for both Blue and Red sides of the map. The second ward is a fairly popular one to place. Warding your enemy's tri-brush will allow you to see if the enemy Jungler is pathing through this brush for a gank onto you. Plus, you can catch a glimpse of them if they are pathing from their Krugs to gank you from within the lane.
These are great spots for wards to protect yourself and track the enemy Jungler. The Krugs ward will allow you to see if the enemy Jungler has cleared the camp or needs to clear the camp. If it is cleared, then the enemy Jungler is likely to be going to clear his Blue Camps. This means you are safe to play aggressive and push the wave. It would take him an eternity to path back up top to gank you. It is the same concept with this Red buff camp. Plus, if the enemy Jungler is clearing the Red buff camp, you can see where they want to path next. They could path to gank you, path to their Krugs, or path to clear their Raptors. This is all around a very informational ward.
This ward will also look familiar to you. It is the same bonus ward I mentioned earlier in the Bottom Lane section, but this one is its equal in the top half of the map. This ward achieves the same thing that the Bottom Lane ward achieves.
Red Side
If you are pushing the wave into them while on Red side, these wards will help you track the enemy Jungler. The first ward is a safer ward to place. It allows you to see the enemy Jungler clearing their Blue buff camp or see them pathing into the river for a gank. The last ward in the second picture is the mirror ward for the bonus ward in the Bottom Lane section. This ward allows you to see the enemy Jungler clear Gromp, Blue buff camp, and their next pathing decision. This is a very information ward to place, but it is very risky.
