Warding is a feature in Dota that is sadly overlooked, but if utilized correctly, it can change the trajectory of the game. The Observer Wards are pretty self-explanatory, they provide you with the vision of a certain area when you plant them, alerting you of any incoming rotations or allowing your team to gank the unsuspecting foes. Wards are undoubtedly essential to the game, a mechanic which we wish never gets removed. Start utilizing the spots that you haven’t and see your MMR go up through the roof.
To assist you in winning your ranked games, we bring you the Best 15 Wards Spots For Winning Games. These spots are up to date with the current 7.33 map and meta, and hence you can use them in your pub games without any hassle.
15. Radiant Bottom Jungle Ward
Starting at 0:22
This is a standard ward placed by both Radiant and Dire supports in the early game to spot any rotations or incoming ganks from the enemy mid-laner to the Radiant safe lane. The ward also helps the Radiant carry farm without worrying about the enemy's presence in the jungle area.
For Dire, this ward can help deter any opposition carry from jungling, and can also help you gank and find any heroes trying to linger around the Dire hard lane. The ward, like all cliff wards, provides flying vision which is helpful as it spots heroes hiding behind trees or heroes with unobstructed pathing.
Advantages of this ward
- Ample vision is provided by this ward, as it is placed on the cliff, which provides unobstructed vision on the high ground.
- It provides a vision of heroes farming or lingering in that area, and hence can be used to plan ganks or ambushes from the lane
14. Dire Bottom Tormentor Ward
Starting at 0:40
With the updates to the map, the addition of the new ancient camps, and Tormentors on both hard lanes, it is essential to have them warded to keep your guard up and also to spot any enemies farming there.
Tormentors and Wisdom Runes spawn in the same area, making it easy for any unsuspecting team to lose out their lead to the enemies who have the whole area warded. On the Radiant side especially, this ward can be most beneficial to spot any incoming ganks or to intercept any couriers.
Advantages of this ward
- It can be used both offensively (to spot any enemies farming the ancient) or defensively (to defend yourself from any enemy ganks)
- Highly useful to snipe couriers or intercept ganks
- It can also be used to spot any Tormentor attempts made by your foes
13. Radiant Top Jungle Ward
Starting at 0:53
This cliff ward is highly underrated and mostly overlooked in the game, but it is one of the most essential ward spots which can make or break the game! The cliff spot provides you flying vision over the nearby area, providing you with the vision of neutral creeps and potentially any heroes trying to invade your territory.
Though this ward is often seen in the late game, it is also advantageous in the early game. This deep ward can even net you any kills if you’re on the Dire side. Any unsuspecting low HP enemy can’t escape alive if he is seen under this ward!
Advantages of this ward
- Provides vision of neutral creeps and heroes farming in the vicinity
- It can also be used defensively to escape or prevent any incoming ganks
- Offensively it can be used to gank any unaware enemy hero farming in that area.
12. Radiant Secret Shop Ward
Starting at 1:02
This ward is great if you’re on either side of the map. For Radiant, this is a great defensive ward to spot any potential gank attempts or to safeguard your ancient and other neutral creep stacks. For Dire, this ward turns into an offensive ward, giving a vision of the enemy team while they farm or spot out any incoming rotations.
The ward also provides ample vision of the secret shop, which makes it easy to spot any new items built by your enemies, alerting you of their potential build. This is a classic ward, as it has been used for various patches by now, yet the reliability of this ward never seems to fade.
Advantages of this ward
- Provides vision of any incoming ganks
- Provides vision of any stacks made by the enemies in the nearby jungle
11. Dire Top Outpost Ward
Starting at 1:50.
The Outpost cliff ward offers immense vision over the Dire Top jungle, making it easy for both sides to spot rotations or to gank any unsuspecting hero farming the jungle. The Dire jungle is highly susceptible to ganks in the early game, to bag the early game runes, or to gank the Dire mid-laner.
This ward is a highly common spot in the early game and hence can be prone to sentry wards. We recommend to ward this spot later in the game for maximum value. The ample vision of the Outpost can also help you with spotting any rotations and teleportations.
Advantages of this ward
- It is exceptional to spot early game rotations from the Dire side if you are on Radiant
- If on the Radiant, this ward can help you spot and potentially gank enemy carry if you find them jungling nearby
- Provides ample vision since it is on the cliff, you can also spot any teleports on the Outpost
10. Dire Top Jungle Ward
Starting at 1:38.
This Dire cliff ward is of high value, as it is used to spot enemy-carry heroes farming alone deep into the jungle. Intercepting smoke ganks becomes easy with this ward. If you’re on Radiant, you can put this ward down on the cliff or on the low ground to provide a vision of any nearby foes while your team is fighting Roshan.
This ward is best in the early game as no one expects such a deep ward so early on. If you see any low HP enemies jungling or returning to the base, you can just snipe them if you’re in the vicinity. This ward is a common spot in the late game, as it is often used defensively by the Dire side.
Advantages of this ward
- The ward provides a vision of all the jungle creeps in the vicinity, making it easy to spot any heroes farming there
- You can also use this ward defensively on the Dire side, by safeguarding your position, and escaping if you find any enemy heroes scouting for kills
9. Radiant Bottom Outpost Cliff Ward
Starting at 0:12
The Outpost cliff ward offers immense vision over the Radiant bottom jungle, making it easy for both sides to spot rotations or to gank any unsuspecting hero farming the jungle.
This ward is a highly common spot in the early game and hence can be prone to sentry wards. We recommend to ward this spot later in the game for maximum value. The ample vision of the Outpost can also help you with spotting any rotations and teleportations.
Advantages of this ward
- It is exceptional to spot early game rotations from the Dire side if you are on Radiant
- If on the Dire, this ward can help you spot and potentially gank enemy carry if you find them jungling nearby
- Provides ample vision since it is on the cliff, you can also spot any teleports on the Outpost
8. Dire Bottom Rune Spot
Starting at 2:15.
This ward provides you the vision of the power rune, which ensures you don’t waste your time going to the other side in search of it. Along with that, this ward also spots out any potential gank attempts on you, making you play safe in the early game.
The ward also provides a faint vision of the enemy high ground, always keeping you up to date with the location of your fellow mid counterpart. The ward can also be used in the late game to spot any enemies trying to invade the bottom side of your jungle as Dire. You can easily intercept such ganks or escape without any casualties if you have this ward down.
Advantages of this ward
- Provides vision of the power rune and any heroes lingering near it
- It also provides a vision of the enemy's high ground
- Spots any potential ganks or enemies lurking around in the vicinity
7. Lotus Pool Ward
Starting at 6:35.
Lotus Pool is a new addition to the game, it provides consumable lotuses which heal you upon usage. You can further stack the lotuses to create a bigger lotus, which in return provides a great deal of heals.
This pool is found on the safe lanes of both teams, making it an essential component of the game while laning. A quick channel time of the pool can save you from getting demolished by your foes. Hence, it is essential to have the pool warded to safeguard it from any enemy onslaught.
Advantages of this ward
- Provides vision of the Lotus Pool and any heroes near it
- Helps you secure the lotus which provides a great deal of heals in the early game
6. Tinker Wards
Starting at 8:30.
Yes, Tinker wards are making a comeback! Even though the hero has been nerfed to the ground, these wards are highly essential in a game where you are playing against heroes with unobstructed pathing (Batrider, Nightstalker, Winter Wyvern, etc.) or heroes that are known to rat (Nature’s Prophet, Beastmaster)
The ample flying vision provided by this ward is highly beneficial in the late game. The ward can be placed on both the Radiant and Dire sides, right behind the safelane jungle.
Advantages of this ward
- Provides flying vision, which is highly beneficial against rat heroes or heroes with unobstructed pathing
5. Cliff Rune Ward
Starting at 9:13.
There is a new cliff spot, where Roshan’s old crib used to be. Even though Roshan doesn’t reside there anymore, the spot is still incredible for warding as it provides a vision of the top rune along with the vision of the top Radiant and Dire jungle stairs which can be useful to spot any incoming enemy ganks or rotations.
As mentioned before, the ward also provides a vision of the top rune, so if you find a useful rune then you can just smoke up and gank away into the enemy lane. This is a criminally underrated spot, hence it is mentioned so high up in the list to grab attention and spread awareness.
Advantages of this ward
- It provides a vision of any incoming ganks coming your way on the top side of the map.
- It is also a great spot for rune vision
4. Lane Wards
Starting at 3:23.
Lane wards are essential if you want to secure your laning phase without much hassle and spot any incoming enemy ganks. These wards are generally placed only during the laning phase, sometimes even before the game even begins, to have an edge over the enemy movements. You may also be able to snipe, couriers, if your enemies are unaware.
Similarly, the same ward can be placed on the Dire side, near the same set of trees! It is surreal how the Dota map is weirdly symmetric, meaning both sides are balanced. Wards like these allow your safe lane to farm without worrying about the possibility of a gank.
Advantages of this ward
- It provides a vision of enemy rotations
- It is a highly uncommon ward spot in the early game in most MMR brackets
- It can be used to sneak up on low HP enemies and snipe them if they aren’t cautious.
3. Twin Gate Wards
Starting at 1:24
The Twin Gates is the newest addition to Dota, allowing heroes on both sides to teleport hassle-free to the other side of the map to gank or secure Roshan. The main objective behind warding the Twin Gate is to look out for any gankers in the early game on both sides.
Your enemies can just teleport and pounce on you if you do not have enough vision of them, hence these wards come to your rescue. Roshan also uses the gate to rest in the pit on the other side of the map, hence securing Roshan becomes a major component, and warding the Twin Gate helps you be aware of any enemy movements into the Roshan pit.
Advantages of this ward
- Provides vision of any enemy rotations behind the Radiant or Dire safe lane
- Provides vision of the Roshan area, helping you spot any sneaky Roshan attempts made by your foes
2. Deep Lane Wards
Starting at 4:14
Like the ward spot seen above, spots between the towers are criminally underrated as they’re not utilized much in your typical pub games. Such wards are seen in the higher MMR pool where players understand the concept of deep wards. These ward spots can be placed on both sides and can be used to gank any unsuspecting and unaware hero farming in the jungle nearby.
These wards are extremely useful after the 15-20 minute mark, as this is the duration where most of your tier 1 towers are destroyed, you need this ward to push lanes and scout for any enemies in the process of smoking up or ganking any lanes.
Advantages of this ward
- This is a great ward to spot enemy rotations, which can help you gank or escape from the enemies depending upon the scenario
- Highly useful to snipe couriers or intercept ganks
- Does not get dewarded quickly as it is an unusual spot
1. Base Wards
Starting at 9:38
If you’re pushing into the enemy team in the late game, the high-ground wards must be an essential part of your siege. This ward is used to spot any enemy movements and also makes you prepared to use your spells if you see the enemies trying to initiate on you. There are various alterations to this spot, but they all work on both sides of the map! This ward is also seen being countered a lot, so use it wisely.
With this spot, the enemy position gets compromised and can’t initiate as you can quickly escape or retaliate without them getting a chance to react. It is an excellent spot that can see any courier rotations or any incoming smokes as well. Add this spot to your arsenal and see your team winning fights effortlessly.
Advantages of this ward
- Low chances of getting dewarded if you don’t make it obvious or initiate from the low ground
- This ward provides high-value vision as it can be the deciding factor of the game for your team
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