One of the things I learned from watching tournaments and match games here in Davao City is the importance of smart warding. One of the reasons NoMets became the Davao Cyber Expo champions is because of their excellent warding. Their Lich only had two staples in his inventory: a Boots of Speed and a Town Portal. He used the rest of his gold for buying both Sentry Wards and Observer Wards.

Since most of the tournament and match games here have power-ups, most teams plant observer wards in the areas near the runes. Sometimes, teams put sentry rather than observer wards in these areas so they could see their opponent’s wards and destroy these. These so-called “runes sight” wards are usually planted on high grounds, sometimes on the third level rocks so they could not be easily destroyed. (Screen caps of actual locations of wards at a later time.)

To prevent from being raped while farming or creeping, some teams also plant observer wards in the neutral creeps area on their side of the map. Sentry wards are also put side by side by the observer wards to reveal invisible units such as Rexxar’s Hawk, or those hidden by Mirana Nightshade or Rooftrellen. Of course, this is also a good counter for Rikimaru, Anub’arak, and Anub’seran and other heroes with the ability to hide or be invisible. Sentry wards have a narrower range of sight than observer wards so it is wiser to use the two together if there are heroes capable of invisibility.

Another purpose for planting wards is to counter Squee and Spleen’s hidden mines. By planting sentry wards in the middle of the lanes and in the neutral creeps, you can easily see Squee and Spleen’s mines, destroy them from afar, and avoid being killed by it. Of course, it would be wise for range, rather than melee, heroes to destroy these mines as Squee and Spleen might see you destroying their mines and set them off while you are nearby.

Another trick that I learned in warding is using the Crow Courier to plant the wards. The Crow Courier (in the latest DotA Maps) cost only 225 (for the chicken) plus 200 for the scroll. The Crow Courier also has the Energy Burst and the Courier Shield skills which can be used for effective warding. Of course your warder must have good micromanaging skills in order to pull this off. Another advantage of using the Crow Courier is that sometimes a hero can get killed off by the opposing team while warding. Sometimes a warder hero must be accompanied by a stronger teammate to avoid getting killed while warding. Thus, it is good to have the Crow Courier plant wards with his Courier Shield activated for invulnerability, and the Energy Burst for a quick escape.

While some teams only plant wards for runes sight and to avoid being raped, NoMets is one step ahead of them. NoMets (and the current BoyzTrek teams) use wards liberally along the lanes they are going to push on. They also plant wards at the periphery of their opponents base right before they enter the base. This is very helpful in aOne of the things I learned from watching tournaments and match games here in Davao City is the importance of smart warding. One of the reasons NoMets became the Davao Cyber Expo champions is because of their excellent warding. Their Lich only had two staples in his inventory: a Boots of Speed and a Town Portal. He used the rest of his gold for buying both Sentry Wards and Observer Wards.

Since most of the tournament and match games here have power-ups, most teams plant observer wards in the areas near the runes. Sometimes, teams put sentry rather than observer wards in these areas so they could see their opponent’s wards and destroy these. These so-called “runes sight” wards are usually planted on high grounds, sometimes on the third level rocks so they could not be easily destroyed. (Screen caps of actual locations of wards at a later time.)

To prevent from being raped while farming or creeping, some teams also plant observer wards in the neutral creeps area on their side of the map. Sentry wards are also put side by side by the observer wards to reveal invisible units such as Rexxar’s Hawk, or those hidden by Mirana Nightshade or Rooftrellen. Of course, this is also a good counter for Rikimaru, Anub’arak, and Anub’seran and other heroes with the ability to hide or be invisible. Sentry wards have a narrower range of sight than observer wards so it is wiser to use the two together if there are heroes capable of invisibility.

Another purpose for planting wards is to counter Squee and Spleen’s hidden mines. By planting sentry wards in the middle of the lanes and in the neutral creeps, you can easily see Squee and Spleen’s mines, destroy them from afar, and avoid being killed by it. Of course, it would be wise for range, rather than melee, heroes to destroy these mines as Squee and Spleen might see you destroying their mines and set them off while you are nearby.

Another trick that I learned in warding is using the Crow Courier to plant the wards. The Crow Courier (in the latest DotA Maps) cost only 225 (for the chicken) plus 200 for the scroll. The Crow Courier also has the Energy Burst and the Courier Shield skills which can be used for effective warding. Of course your warder must have good micromanaging skills in order to pull this off. Another advantage of using the Crow Courier is that sometimes a hero can get killed off by the opposing team while warding. Sometimes a warder hero must be accompanied by a stronger teammate to avoid getting killed while warding. Thus, it is good to have the Crow Courier plant wards with his Courier Shield activated for invulnerability, and the Energy Burst for a quick escape.

While some teams only plant wards for runes sight and to avoid being raped, NoMets is one step ahead of them. NoMets (and the current BoyzTrek teams) use wards liberally along the lanes they are going to push on. They also plant wards at the periphery of their opponents base right before they enter the base. This is very helpful in averting failed pushes.

The heroes usually tasked with warding are the intelligence, support type heroes that can farm gold easily such as Lich, Zeus, Pugna, and of course, Ezalor. Sometimes, even Demnok Lannik, Chen or Vengeful Spirit can be tasked with warding. This is one reason most teams include at least one (better if two) intelligence support type hero in their line-ups during the picking of heroes.

While warding is not a required skill for most players and teams, it is definitely a plus. I have seen games won and games lost due to warding skills.

Resource Persons: Erich Pido of STQ and Jay Arabia of CORPOration (formerly NoMets).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 1:12 am and is filed under Items, Strategies, Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.