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Aaaah, the wards. How sweet this word sounds to my ears. Yes, you know it, the item that temporarily reveals an area of the map, the item that can save your life by showing your enemy's position, the item that only costs 75 gold but the item which leads to all players blaming the support for not buying enough. Aaaah, the wonderful ward, placed next to the Nashor or hidden in a bush where no one suspects it. A great object if ever there was one, and one that will be more use than you think. Let's take a look!
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The botlane is the lane that needs the most wards in the early game. We will take a look at where, when and how to do that.
First of all, you should know that the position of your first wards depends on your starter. So if I start with a bottle, a fairy charm, a life potion and a ward, I won't see things in the same way as with a 4 wards starter. So the following guide is hypothetical and won't necessarily take your starter into account.
The lazy warder
Here we're talking about someone who wants to save gold or is a bit tight. Why use two wards when I can just use one? This is how the lazy warder thinks. But being more serious, I use this negative name just to show that this is not the best way to ward. Take a look at the screens below.
The ward that you think is optimal.
This ward is guarding a bush!
We're talking about wards that are not giving you the very best vision of what could happen on the. In fact the field of vision is still quite small and in the case of a gank from a champion who has good mobility you will react quite slowly compared to how you would if the ward was in a better position. However this ward is still very good if you only have one.
I don't recommend the scenario in the second screenshot. It is a ward that is still used these days but one that I find quite limited. Why? Simply because even if you don't have vision in the bush in the first screenshot, I would like to think that you would be paying enough attention to notice if an enemy slips into the bush, thanks to this ward. It also gives you less vision towards the tribush as well as the Drake, which really isn't very helpful. On the other hand, it could be that the ward in the first screenshot is an enemy pink ward, in which case if you want to get around this without having a "who will be the first to de-ward" battle with your opponent then you can place your ward in the bush. That way you will have vision of the enemy ward without it having vision of yours. However I stand by what I said, this ward is not very effective.
Note that in the case with the first ward, it is more or less useful depending on the side you are on. If you are on the blue side, you are still exposing yourself to the risk that the jungler passes by the tribush. If you are pushed it's not too much of a problem, but if your are overextending then the result will be much more disappointing. In any case you will see your enemy coming much too late to be able to do anything. If you are on the red side then the ward is already more useful in both examples. If you are pushed and the jungler tries something by going through the tribush/river then you will know straight away, so no worries. If you have completely overextended it's also not so serious since the jungler will usually try to take you from behind (PEGI 18) to take you down. So he will have to go past this ward, giving you a little warning.
Green fingered warding!
After going after the lazy warders, let's talk now about quality warding. There are still plenty of things to do on the botlane and things to watch out for!
You see my son, that's how I stop the enemy taking us by surprise.
As shown above, this is some standard "Tribush + Drake / River" warding. With this you can have some very good map control, giving you vision of what is happening at the Drake / River or, on the other hand, at the tribush. You can overextend without worrying too much, although you should still keep an eye on the map. As I often say, it's when you are confident that you always get surprised. If the enemy jungler is quick enough and goes through the tribush, it is possible that you might not have the time to react under your turret. So always stay alert!
Also pay attention because these two wards don't mean that you are invincible, far from it. You are still very vulnerable to a sneaky gank from the enemy jungler. It's for that reason that we will look at where to place other wards in the botlane bushes to avoid getting caught by surprise.
Two very useful wards on the botlane.
These two wards which may at first seem like nothing will prove to be very important on your botlane in a few different situations. Note for the following examples we will be positioned on the blue side.
Once again, there are two examples. In the first image the ward has been placed for a purely defensive and informative purpose. It is usually placed in our 'own bush' when under pressure from our opponent, more particularly the support. Thanks to this ward you can keep an eye on what your opponent is doing and their game. Obviously you will be pushed and if the jungler decides to gank he will try to do it sneaky style. Thanks to this ward you will see what is happening nearby.
As for the second screen, it is simply for the second bush, the 'red' side if I can say it. We usually ward this bush quickly in the early game to avoid what we call "bush control" from the enemy support. This way you will always have vision on your enemy and can anticipate his moves or attempts to harass. It's also a good way to avoid a sneaky gank from the jungler.
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In this part we will take a look together at what impact the wards have on your botlane game as well as on the enemy ganks. Where is best to place the wards? Coming up!
You are the blue side
This is what can happen if you don't have any wards!
So as you can see, without wards you won't be able to guess the movement of your opponents. The image above perfectly illustrates the different ways you could be ganked on the botlane if you are blind (like Lee Sin). Obviously I really don't recommend that you play without vision at the risk of being repeatedly taken down.
Lazy warding leaves options open...
Lazy warding! You might understand a bit better why I call it this. It leaves your opponents with quite a wide field of action, allowing them to gank. They can come in sneakily via their own botlane to surprise you or simply push you back if you are putting pressure on your opponents. It is also possible to go through your tribush since there are no wards! And given the position of your own, you will have no chance of knowing if someone is trying to attack from behind. However it will warn you of a possible gank from an enemy champion by the river / Drake, which is one of the most used paths for ganking.
Optimal warding.
Here we have some optimal warding, as explained in the previous chapter. You will still be vulnerable to a sneaky gank from your opponents. However you will see your opponents arrive via the tribush if they decide to go through it. Be careful all the same, the most patient warriors will go around the whole jungle if they know the bush is warded and still want to get you. By taking this path you won't see them coming via the tribush or it might even be too late! But this ward is still very useful and forcing your opponents to go through your own jungle can be an advantage if you gank as a group, for example.
If we only ward the botlane bushes...
I have to admit that this example doesn't happen often, or when a ward placed by the river has just ended. The good news is that you will clearly see if a sneaky gank is preparing. You will also always have an eye on the enemy support, prevent their bush control and pressure in your lane. However you are leaving the whole River / Drake open to your enemies and with no vision. Don't tempt fate, go back and buy wards!
Some perfect warding from the support!
Well here I say yes sir! This support has done some good work on the botlane. But, and yes there is always a 'but', you are still not TOTALLY safe. When faced with junglers who can easily dash or jump, they will still be able to go through the little wall and the river / Drake. You vision of this will depend a lot on the position of your ward in the area of the Drake. If it is placed a bit closer to the botlane, you can see if a character goes through the wall and will know their position. However it will be very difficult, or even impossible, to see a champion like Shaco or Kassadin go through it. Thanks to their long range, they can immediately take refuge in the bush to the right of the tribush (red side) without you knowing. So be careful!
You are the red side
Disappointed?
Do you remember this famous ward? Well on the red side it will prove to be more useful because it leaves only one route to come and gank you: the tribush. You won't see your enemy go through there until they rejoin the river. This limits the sneay ganks, which is pretty good. So we can see here that the different sides can have their own advantages.
Want to know more? Take a look at Part 2 of this guide that is focused on the wards, stay tuned! :D
