Support: Early Game Warding

Warding is a game of information and denying information from the enemy - the sooner you realise the importance of said information, the sooner you can begin efficiently using your wards and providing worthwhile and meaningful vision for your team.

Knowing the location of the enemy should and will affect the way you play: for example, in a fairly even bot lane, seeing a gank by the enemy Jungler in the top lane will encourage you to play offensively, knowing you won’t be punished by a gank by the enemy Jungler. Moreover, spotting where enemies are, specifically in their jungle, can cause you to choke the enemy; surrounding them, outnumbering them and ultimately killing them. Alternatively, offensive vision can also lead to you effectively playing defensively; for example, if you see the enemy mid lane and Jungler coming to gank your lane, you know to retreat to your tower/base. Deep vision is more valuable, as it gives you more time to react and alter your play - either offensively or defensively.

It is worth noting that optimal locations for wards will depend on which side of the map you are.

If you are on blue side, a fantastic ward in the enemy jungle is:

 

If you are on the blue side, the enemy Jungler will typically gank from 3 locations: starting from their base and running down the lane, creeping into the side bushes, your tri bush (which is the least likely considering the enemy Jungler will spend most time in their jungle rather than yours) or the river. This ward prevents most river ganks, as Junglers will most likely kill the blue buff and krugs before ganking the bot lane. Moreover, not only can you play defensively if you spot the Jungler there, but this will encourage your mid and top lanes to play aggressively, knowing they can’t get ganked by the Jungler. Ensure you place the ward on the rock highlighted in the image above, as you don't have to go around the rock to place the ward.

A pink ward in tri bush is another fantastic ward:

 

Not only is this ward easy to defend (considering it’s on your side of the map), but also, players on the enemy red side will typically ward the tri bush, and it’s a common route for your Jungler to gank the lane in (hence, they'll want to spot that). So, not only can you easily deny the enemy vision, meaning you’ll get value out of your pink ward, but the ward can also be used as bait for the enemy bot lane to overextend to kill the pink ward, putting them in a disadvantageous position which you can take advantage of. Usually, the SupportSupport will go to kill it on their own, meaning you and your ADC can 2v1 the out of position SupportSupport, or the vulnerable and alone enemy ADC. Ensure you place it in the bottom left area of the bush (like in the picture), as if an enemy does go to kill it, they have to travel further into the bush, meaning they're more vulnerable to damage.

Conversely, when playing on the red side, there are different optimal ward locations in the early game. Aforementioned, a ward in the tri bush is valuable, considering it’s a common gank route for the enemy Jungler. 

 

When warding the enemy jungle, there are a few good places to ward:

  

  

Ward position number 1 will not only spot out enemy Junglers on the gank path from raptors, but also, any sneaky mid laners creeping through the jungle to gank, instead of through the river.

Ward position number 2 can easily spot out ganks from the Jungler who have just killed red buff and are planning to gank your lane. 

Ward position number 3 is brilliant, as it provides incredibly deep vision, and not only provides you with vision for when the enemy Jungler is killing raptors, but also, when they’re travelling from one side of the map to the other. However, one major weakness of this ward is the fact that man Junglers will typically smite raptors for the ward detection buff, and will commonly check that bush for wards (especially if they have the ! above their head). Therefore, it’s likely this will be an inefficient ward and won’t last long.

 

Pink wards aren’t very valuable in the early game on the red side; a common place to place a pink bush is here:

 

Though this does provide you with decent vision of the river, a deeper river ward allows you to react to enemy Jungler ganks quicker. Secondly, the ward is difficult to defend considering the enemy it’s in a neutral part of the map, making it an easy ward to kill . Finally, if an enemy Jungler does enter that bush, they too can easily destroy it and know that you know their location, meaning they are likely to quickly leave and not waste their time. 

 

I would only recommend one location in the early game to place a pink ward if you're on the red side:

 

It’s highly unlikely anybody will check this bush due to it not being on the Jungler’s farming path and it’s uselessness for ganking potential. Placing a ward here though is fantastic, as you can track when the Jungler is moving to their gromps; allowing your mid and top lanes to play aggresively, and potentially allowing you, your Jungler and ADC to collapse on the enemy Jungler, or for you and your ADC to play defensively, knowing the enemy Jungler is near. This ward is incredibly valuable and efficient, and can last for the whole game.

 

A ward in the river can be very useful on both sides:

 

This ward still prevents river ganks, and mid lane ganks too (though these are unlikely in the early game). Moreover, this can spot out early solo-dragon attempts, which can be easily stopped by your presence alone. Finally, this is a safe ward to place, considering you don’t leave your ADC alone for as long as you would if you were to place a ward in the enemy jungle. 

However, one disadvantage of this ward is that it doesn’t always provide vision of the enemy Jungler, as a Jungler is more likely to be in their respective jungle, than in the river. Moreover, this ward can become useless if your Jungler has killed the scuttle crab (albeit temporarily), as the vision provided by the crab is at the same location as the aforementioned ward.

 

There are 2 Junglers to specifically ward against: Rengar and Evelynn. For Rengar, a common gank post level 6 is for him to use his ultimate travelling from his base through the enemy bot lane. Hence, a ward here is brilliant for spotting him travelling down the lane, signalling for you to retreat:

 

Secondly, due to Evelynn’s passive and stealth, wards are useless as you won’t be able to see her. Therefore, wards on jungle camps are imperative, as, unless she’s ganking, you can’t see her any other way. Be careful when going to place these wards though, as a stealthed Evelynn can easily kill you on your way to placing the ward, or on your way back to lane, so I’d only suggest going to place wards when the you see her ganking another lane, or your Jungler is invading/killing her.

Finally, timing when to place is a ward is another crucial element to warding in the landing phase - the optimal time is when one or both of the enemy bot lane have backed, meaning you can safely leave your ADC to ward. Alternatively, if you are playing aggressively and have the lane pushed up to the enemy tower, you can go and place wards then. Finally, if you spot the Jungler on the top side of the jungle (due to the strong warding by your Jungler, though don’t become dependent on this) or ganking another lane, then you know it is safe to go and ward; although don’t ward if you are losing the bot lane significantly, as leaving the lane to ward will leave your ADC in a very vulnerable position.