Best Jungle Wards Locations

Warding is one of the most underrated things in League Of Legends. For some reason, many players are not familiar with how powerful wards can be.

A well-placed ward can control an area, prevent a gank, and give us the location of the enemy which can help us determine their future pathing.

I plan to show you the best jungle-warding practices and locations so that you can take your jungling to the next level.

You will learn the following:

• All warding locations for early game
• All warding locations for mid-late game
• The logic behind warding & how to implement it to your games

Early Game Jungle Wards

There are many reasons why you would want to ward early in the game as jungler. Early wards can save you from invades or help you gain valuable information about the enemy. Either way, it is very useful to know all the wards I will mention so that you can apply appropriate ones in your games.

Warding Pixel Bush Early

Pixel Bush is a name shared by two small bushes that stand in the river near mid lane. These bushes are often warded by junglers early in the game to prevent invades from champions like Nidalee and Graves.

Despite being useful against early invades, they are not particularly useful for anything else. If placed at 1:00, they will expire at 2:30. There is a small chance they can provide some additional information during this timeframe.

Early Raptor Ward

After covering the most common ward, it makes sense to cover the best ward too. The raptor ward location is a legendary classic, which has proved to be useful in every game.

When placed in the enemy raptor pit at 1:15, the ward will last until 2:45. This is enough time to guarantee it will sight the enemy jungle at some point.

When the enemy jungler is spotted by this ward, you will receive much game-changing intel. By counting up their CS and dividing the number with 4, you will know how many camps they have killed.

This information can help you decide if you should invade their jungle. It can also help you deduce which side the enemy jungler is pathing to and if you can intercept them or make a counter gank.

Deep Warding Enemy Buffs

Many people deep ward buffs, but few know how to do it properly. A common mistake I see people do is randomly ward a buff without any forethought.

For example, let’s say you ward the enemy red buff. This ward will only give you information about where the enemy has started.

If they started red, you would know since they would be instantly revealed. If they are not there, chances are they started red or raptors. Heck, they can even be in your jungle. All this information is something you could have gotten even without warding.

The only way instance where deep warding is useful is when the enemy is playing a 3-camp clear champion such as WW. A Warwick will usually take blue>gromp>red. The ward will remain active long enough to reveal what camp they are going to next.

Post Early Jungle Wards

Now, wards are a tool that is accessible to you the whole game, and you will definitely want to keep your ward game going in the later stages of the game.

As the game develops, there will be many good warding opportunities, but most of them will be covered by your allies if they are any good. There are however two important warding strategies that you, as a jungler can abuse.

Objectves Ward

I can not understate how powerful warding objectives is, and I am confused why so many people fail to see it. Whenever you ward off an objective, you make it less accessible to the enemy. They will have a harder time capturing it, contesting it, and even approaching it.

So, how do you ward an objective?

The best way to ward off an objective is before it spawns. The more wards around it, the better. For example, if you have a dragon spawning. You can go all the way into the enemy jungle, and start placing deep wards.

You can also ward the surrounding bushes with the help of your team. This will make it harder for the enemy to fight you, as your team will have the ability to make quicker decisions due to having a vision advantage.

In case you are running late for a dragon, you can have a control ward in your pocket. This will enable you to ward the dragon while the enemies are doing it, which will enable you to steal it more easily.

I would urge you to start placing these wards. As soon as you establish more control with vision in your games, you will start winning more, and you will have more success in your ranked journey.

Warding the Enemy Jungle

Another good warding practice consists of warding the enemy jungle in the later stages of the game. These kinds of wards will be super useful, and they will give you plenty of information about the enemy.

For example, whenever you have nothing better to do, you can simply drop a ward deep into the enemy jungle. When you see the enemy, the ward will help you predict their pathing, and it will also help you predict what camps they cleared prior to getting sighted.

If you do not see the enemy, however, you can assume that they are on the other side of the map. Anyhow, you will have the benefit of foresight over enemies since you will have more time and information to make more informed decisions.

In-Game Examples (How it All Ties in Together)

Knowing all this theory is great, but to get the full picture, I think it is best to illustrate the whole vision game through some examples. I will present you with the situations from my games, that have happened consistently in my journey through the ranks.

1. Consequences of Failing to Ward Objectives

If you are to take anything from this guide, it should be this example. It illustrates the worst mistake that can occur when it comes to warding as jungler. The mistake in question is failing warding objectives.

This mistake is not instantly apparent, and this is not something that many people are actively thinking about. This is simply because people do not understand the consequences of not warding objectives.

When you fail to ward objectives before they spawn, you deny yourself a huge chunk of control. This will allow the enemies to take a better position, and win an objective in most cases. It will leave you unable to defend it or do anything around it.

The D2 Game I Inted

This is something that has lost me a fair amount of games, especially in higher brackets like Master. Just recently, I was playing a game 40-minute game in D2 ELO. Everything was going fine but I started autopiloting by the end of the game.

I recalled next to an Elder Dragon that was about to spawn in 20 seconds, and I have not done anything to create a vision around it. This has allowed my enemy to control the area, and I and my team were not able to come close to it. This mistake instantly lost our game.

2. Benefits of Deep Warding the Enemy Jungle

Now, I am not always a complete disappointment. On the same account, in the same ELO, I made a play that won me a game. The play was quite simple. Somewhere in the mid-game, around the 12th-minute mark, I dropped a control ward deep in the enemy jungle.

This control ward was chilling in the bush for some good 5 minutes, and it saw no action. That was until the enemy jungler walked past it. Since I was doing my red buff on the opposite side, I was quickly able to recognize what he is up to.

Since I know he was going for a gank in bot lane, it was quite easy for me to arrange a counter-gank. I pinged my allies to go in and bait, while I made my way to the fight. We managed to score 3 kills, while the enemy only got our support that willingly sacrificed himself for a greater cause.

Conclusion

Warding well is one of the most underrated skills in League of Legends. However, I would argue it is one of the most important ones. Becoming good at warding will significantly improve your skills. You will be able to win more fights consistently and control the tempo of the game more easily.

When it comes to early wards, I would recommend focusing on early raptor wards, and when it comes to post early wards, I would recommend focusing on objective wards. These will give you the most bang for the buck in terms of time invested.