Warding- The difference between Bronze & Diamond

Tehlawlfirm·9/6/2015, 11:08:26 AM·69 votes·4,941 views

I'm starting to see now a huge difference on how wards play a huge part in the Game. Last season on another Account I got to silver 1 before I was banned for using a 3rd party program ( Custom Skins I guess). I quit for awhile and came back and I've always known how important wards were as support but never as anything else. I always used the free ward I had and that was about it.. Even then I'd forget to use it when it was up sometimes or didn't pay to much attention to where I put it, I figured a ward is vision at least somewhere so what does it matter where I put it. Then the last game I played someone had placed a ward right next to ward I already placed.. Which is a waste of vision since we already had vision there.

Over the coarse of the last month I have been paying attention to games I play in and realized the majority of the games lost was because people were getting caught out and dying. I would play support and I could place 3 wards and 1 pink and at any given time but the map is so huge there is no way as a support I can ward the whole map and given vision where it is needed the whole game. I started paying attention to players on my team and noticing none of them buying wards not even a pink. They wouldn't even use the free wards they had and never bothered to upgrade those ward..

I remember one game someone told me "It's only supports role to ward the map and other players shouldn't buy wards because they have to worry about their build". I know the common misconception is to think "Duh... everyone should ward" but in reality if you pay attention to you games in casual and low elo games you will notice how unimportant people think wards are and don't even bother to upgrade their wards let alone use the free ones they have.

Then I started watching Diamond games on up and noticed everyone was getting wards and placing them everywhere and always upgrading their free trinkets. I noticed how they avoided getting ganked and caught out and knew where the enemy was on the map to set up ganks. So I would like to tell everyone out there that if you are new and leveling up or you are bronze/silver to start buying wards and upgrading your trinkets. 100 gold for a pink is worth saving your team mates from ganks or setting up a potential gank.

There is a reason high rank players say wards wins games and it's not for shits & giggles. If you aren't buying a pink ward or upgrading your trinket you are decreasing the chance of your team winning the game. It's not just the supports job to ward, it's a huge freaking map and a support can only throw 3 wards down and 1 pink which covers only a small section of the map.

I think lower elo players worry so much about getting kills and trying to carry that they think that is the easiest way to get higher elo. While it plays a factor in how good you are, wards play an even bigger factor because you can be 10-0-0 and lose your lead by getting caught out and ganked.

If anyone disagrees that wards are important and it's not just the supports job to ward I suggest you go watch an LCS game or a Diamond on up game and then come back here and try to argue it. It doesn't matter if you only you and the support are warding, don't not ward just because your team mates don't ward. Do your part, that's all you need to do.

Side not: for 5s teams I think it would also be a good idea to plan out sections for your team mates to ward that way there is no confusion on where wards are suppose to go.

I

70 Comments

Archon X9/6/2015, 11:12:13 AM22 votes

Strongly support this post. As a support main it makes me rather happy with the adc uses their trinket to get river bush/tribush/lane bush warded before I get my sightstone. On the rare occasions I play adc I make sure to use my trinket, at least as a show of respect to the support.

I know you were talking about mid/late game and not laning phase, just want to say that the extra trinket ward during laning phase from the adc makes a difference.

disregardable9/6/2015, 12:27:15 PM6 votes

Keep in mind that wards don't really solve the problem of not getting caught out. 8 out of 10 games I'll upgrade my ward trinket- freelo.gg says I ward like a challenger player. Doesn't stop me from dying like a Bronze player. I'll never forget the last game I played with a platinum player- she was my support. She wanted to go in on our enemy lane, and I didn't. She asked me, "Why not go in? Their jungle already showed top". I looked at the map, and the jg must have left top lane a while ago. She had just been paying that much attention that she knew where the jg last was. That literally shocked me, because I'd never paid that much attention before. Now I kind of try to pay attention, but...I'm pretty shit at it still.

MakeThemRemember9/6/2015, 7:10:02 PM5 votes

I shake my head so much at people who say "OTHER CHAMPS NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR BUILLLLDDDSSS summoner 14 summoner 14 summoner 14 "

No. Just stop.

100g is NOT going to kill you or stop you from getting your items. Stop making excuses for being a crappy team mate.

LordForrest9/6/2015, 6:19:57 PM3 votes

This is so sad, but true. Its even more ironic because the the current state of warding was change to what it is to get rid of the idea of only the support warding. Before there was no limit to wards, basically all the support was suppose to do was by mad wards and throw them everywhere.

Even after the change that was meant to simultaneously destroy that idea and make it easier to ward, people still don't and unbelievably think the support is still suppose to do it with 3 stealth and 1 vision ward.

For instance, my one friend who got me back into league, literally refuses to upgrade his trinket. It absolutely stumps because he is aware of vision's importance and actively complains when our team does a shitty job with it. His excuse that makes me face palm is that 250 gold is too much to spend on something that is not necessary nor going to help in teamfights.

People just don't realize how cost effective item 3361 item 3362 are when it comes to wards. Upgrade and using the stealth totem at 9 is so damn good, you can pretty much supply the majority of your warding needs as a top or mid with this item. Granted buying wards is still a good practice, this just alleviates some of the cost.

BruisingEmu9/6/2015, 8:44:28 PM3 votes

Simple fact. A ward is 75 gold. If it saves you from a gank? You didn't miss the 3 waves of farm you are going to miss for being dead. Profit. Ward spots their jungler and your jungler coordinates with you for a counter-gank? Mega profit.

Don't have a ward? Relinquish all this pressure in lane because you're going to chance it and go without protection. (Also how about recommended items suggest a single green ward if you don't have any in your inventory?)

TL;DR Wear protection. Be safe

DazedOnlooker9/6/2015, 9:07:28 PM3 votes

Only 1 game where this happened last week

Won our lane because i keep a greed ward in the river/pink in tri

Sion Enemy Comes to gank via teleport into the river bush

Sona Sivir We Back towards our turret.we saw him tele in

Sion Proceeds with gank anyway

Jinx Sona(Enemy sona sup) Sion Gets Deleted because our mid saw the tele from his lane on the mini map, and came to assist us

Sivir Talon Killing Spree!!

Sion Tries to gank again w/o tele

Sona deep ward pinked their jg, so we saw him coming

Talon Also warded around our mid. Sion gave up ganking mid

Sivir Triple Kill!!

Fiora Pinked top enemy jg + River

Sion goes to gank top

Fiora Double Kill!!

Sion GG AFK'd

Victory!

My games throughout the REST of the week

Sona Warded around bot like usual MissFortune Only used basic trinket the whole game, did not help ward, we still won the laning phase though

Meanwhile at Top Lane

Darius Did not ward, overextended, was low, then spammed Assist pings for our jg to gank

Darius An Ally has been Slain!

Riven Enemy Double kill!

Darius "Jg why are u soo bad!?"

Nidalee "Dude i'm behind and your low, there was not much i could do there"

Darius "THEN WHY DID U COME GANK ANYWAY???"

Nidalee "Why did u ping?..."

Darius "Stfu"

Riven Executed

Meanwhile Mid

Malzahar Did not ward, Overextended, overstayed his welcome with less than 50% HP

Malzahar An ally has been slain!

Ziggs An enemy is Unstoppable!!

Malzahar "OMG JG Help me! they are camping me WTFFFFF!!"

Sona "Guys please use your wards"

Malzahar "stfu and do ur job. U ward!"

Sona "My lane is warded."And probably the reason my lane isnt feeding

Nidalee An ally has been slain!

RivenExecuted

All turrets are down, we now have 0 vision outside our base, no one is helping me ward. And the enemy team keeps clearing all of my wards

Darius Goes to facecheck Drag

Darius Got caught out. Dies 1v3

Darius "Omfg SUP WARD."

Sona "Its not safe for me to go alone, don't wanna end up like you."

Darius "DO UR JOB"

Sona "Upgrade your trinket, 3 wards and a pink is not enough to save us right now, so please help ward"

Nidalee "Goes to facecheck jg, dies just outside our base. 1v5, all of them were waiting in the bush in the jg just outside our base"

Sona "You should probably upgrade your trinket now don't you think?"

Malzahar "An ally has been slain!"

NidaleeMissFortune goes to facecheck our blue buff

Riven Enemy Double Kill!

RivenZiggs Jinx Annie Jax Executed

Defeat!!

RyzeRework9/6/2015, 1:24:40 PM2 votes

Wards don't really do much good I can have a ward place anywhere I can ping the enemy passing the ward but it seems like no matter if its a jungler or a mid laner they walk right Through a ward and the lane that gets ganked stays pushed to the turret

Lugg9/6/2015, 3:57:02 PM2 votes

You need to add PSA to your title. It still amazes me how little people ward. You get a free trinket that is very cheap to upgrade at level 9.

Vision control may be the most important part of the game. Being able to see where your enemy is and what they are doing, while hiding your own position, is a tremendous advantage. It allows you to control objectives and get picks.

On a good team, the support AND jungler will have sightstones with upgraded sweepers. They are the best roles for this since they roam the entire map.

Wards do equal wins.

High59/6/2015, 7:39:47 PM2 votes

This is a fundamental problem with the game and the teaching tools. It's entirely Riot's fault and everytime they joke about it, it makes it worse.

Fine, you don't want to influence item builds and how people pay champs. This is problem with players even understanding the game though and it's something that Riot could fix if they wanted to. You want better games, help players get better instead of expecting everyone to reinvent the wheel.

Tehlawlfirm9/7/2015, 5:36:40 PM1 votes

What I hate the most is when I get teleport and there are no wards anywhere to teleport to help my team mates out or gank. It's like i'm top with teleport, I just killed nasus and I can teleport bot and help them get some kills but there are no wards and if their are wards they aren't in a bush where teleport would benefit from, its like support decided to put the ward by dragon for better vision but there isn't a single ward in the lane bush, meanwhile I'm telling them to throw a ward down so I can teleport gank and they are ignoring me. Then at the end of the game I get a "Verbal Abuse" report because supposedly I offended them by telling them how to play "Place a ward"... The whole set up is really a joke imo.

Fiveofswords9/6/2015, 7:03:29 PM1 votes

No, its not the wards that make the difference. the difference is that the players know how to use the information that the wards give them. A diamond player will actually have a point behind what they do, while bronze players just wander the enemy jungle hoping to win some 1v1 duel.

TurquoiseYoshi9/6/2015, 5:43:20 PM1 votes

That's why I buy Sightstone on junglers. Because I get free wards.

I GANK LANES9/7/2015, 12:33:36 AM1 votes

upgrades ward every game and is in silver only because low elo can't ward crew

SteelStallion9/7/2015, 3:45:45 AM1 votes

Here's something I've noticed not even a lot of higher ranked players do;

**UPGRADE YOUR F@!CKING TRINKET. ** IT'S AMAZING. 3 WARDS? WOW. FREE STEALTH WARDS? OMG. TEMPORARY ELIXIR ON SCAN? CYA LATER TEEMO.

IT'S 250 GOLD PER PERSON FOR RIDICULOUS MAP CONTROL ALL GAME. UPGRADE. YOUR. TRINKETS. ASAP.

Cipse9/7/2015, 4:26:12 AM1 votes

I wish people in my elo warded more (I'm in Bronze).

Whenever I play mid, I generally feel a bit edgy without wards because it allows me to be aggressive without really worrying about ganks - especially since there are two ways a jungler can approach the mid lane. I also feel the same way early as support cause a lot of adc's don't want to ward even before I've gone back once.

My favourite spot to ward whilst mid (at the moment) is around the enemy raptors because I can take the three small raptors and run or take the whole camp if the jungler is spotted somewhere else (after the mid wave is pushed, of course). Also helps bot know that the jungler is top and top know if a potential gank may be coming.

Ada Wong9/7/2015, 4:35:42 PM1 votes

So how is communication in Diamond and above, I know that Bronze - Gold players to me all flat out suck was S1 last season played with Gold Players on my team and they were god awful?

Like I understand the difference between warding, and what Higher Elo players actually do with wards compared to lower elo.

AmazingBeaver9/6/2015, 12:28:32 PM1 votes

Vision is life , but only if you know how to benefit form it. I main sup and i have a good warding game , but i swear mofos dont even watch the minimap to see whats going on , U have to ping them 3 billion times for them to revert eyes to see that they are getting ganked or that the team is fighting / dying .