Vision in LoL - Guide and Tips

Regardless of your mechanical prowess in League of Legends, there are game-related concepts that you need to master if you want to reach high elo. Undoubtedly the most important one is related to effective ward usage and vision manipulation.

Having good vision over the map is essential in any elo as it provides valuable information about your enemies’ movements and objectives.

There is a lot of nuance when it comes to vision and there are specific ward spots that are much better than others when it comes to vision distribution. Apart from this, there are plenty of other vision tricks you can use in order to gain a strategic advantage over your opponents.

The basics

Types of wards

Stealth wards

Stealth wards, often referred to as “green wards” are the most common ones you’ll encounter in-game as they are automatically obtained if a champion leaves the fountain without picking the trinket.

These wards have a fairly small placement range and provide you with an area of vision (900 units) that lasts for 180 seconds after they’re initially placed. You can have up to 3 active stealth wards at a time on the map and they stack in your inventory, additionally allowing you to hold up to two charges at a time.

They have 3 HP, which means that units need to attack it with three basic attacks before it’s destroyed. These wards are visible for a few seconds after being initially placed, after which they’re stealthed for the remainder of the duration.

Farsight Alteration

This trinket is unlockable after level 9 and it works somewhat similarly to stealth wards, but with a few key differences. You’re able to use Farsight from a much larger range and it provides permanent vision of the place you’ve chosen as it doesn’t expire.

However, unlike the stealth ward, this trinket is visible to the opponents at all times which makes it somewhat unreliable at times. In addition, it provides less vision (500 units) than the stealth ward and once it notices an opponent, it will die within 3 seconds while providing a larger vision range for a brief period.

Even though it has niche usage, Farsight Alteration is a useful tool for champions such as Caitlyn or Jhin who benefit from getting temporary vision at a long distance. 

Oracle Lens

Oracle Lens is much different than the other trinkets given that it’s used to destroy the opponent’s wards and gain vision control. This trinket has an activated effect that sweeps the area around you, revealing any stealth wards or units nearby.

For this reason, Oracle is used on junglers who are trying to establish vision control in order to make plays. In addition, supports tend to switch to Oracles after upgrading their support item since they get free Stealth Wards and have a lot of time to roam around.

Given that this trinket reveals stealthed units, if you’re playing against champions such as Shaco or Teemo, it’s worth purchasing even in games in which you would prefer to have wards. 

Control Ward

Last but not least, there are Control wards, whose main difference compared to the other wards is the fact that it isn’t free and doesn’t consume a trinket slot. These wards are purchasable, consume an item slot until they’re placed, and stackable which means you can dynamically use them as you roam around.

The differences don’t end there, as these wards are tankier than the others, having 4 HP that heals back up after not being attacked for a while. Control Wards also have an effect that disables and reveals other nearby wards which is especially useful when securing objectives.

Generally speaking, these wards are best used on terrain that is highly contested and frequently warded as well as bushes if you have lane control. It’s not wise to use them offensively when you’re behind, as they serve no purpose other than to feed enemies gold.

Rune wards

In League, apart from regularly purchasable trinkets and wards, there are two types of wards that are obtainable by selecting a specific secondary rune.

Zombie Ward provides you with a ward in place of an enemy ward that you’ve previously cleared. This awards aggressive gameplay and also boosts your AD or Adaptive if you’ve placed over 10 Zombie Wards.

Ghost Poros, on the other hand, are placed in  bushes after your wards expire, providing you with continuous vision for the next 90 seconds. Much like Zombie Ward, if you have a large number of these Poros, you also get a boost to your AD/Adaptive.

Warding tips and tricks

Laning phase warding

When it comes to solo queue, the laning phase is often the period of the game that has the highest impact on the final outcome. Players often play risky and aggressively in order to get ahead of their opponent, which is often paired with overextending without vision

When you’re ahead, you should always look for a moment while the minions are pushed at which time you can allow yourself to walk off the lane and ward the nearest bush or the river. This type of responsible behavior will prevent a lot of deaths and protect your lead in the long run.

If you’re looking for a quick spot to drop a ward and keep laning, there are certain spots that shouldn’t take more than 10 seconds of your time to ward while being very effective.

River warding

Warding the river from a laning perspective demands a somewhat advanced understanding of the game as you need to be aware of the state of your lane. You need to develop a lane priority before you venture into the river to place the ward since it will take more time than just walking up to the nearest bush.

Apart from that, there is a strong element of risk when going in the river alone since you can be ambushed by the opposing jungler and your laner. Because of this, you also need to have a good understanding of the potential position of the enemy jungler.

However, these wards are extremely useful as they allow you and your jungler to make skirmishes around the map while also protecting you from potential ganks.

Aggressive jungle warding

This type of warding strategy is a collaborative effort in which the entire team participates when the game is going well, as you can absolutely steamroll your opponents after you establish deep vision.

By placing wards deep into the enemy's territory, you increase your vision control and allow yourself to outpace your opponents by knowing their location before fights. In addition, you can make crucial picks before objectives start that allow you to gain control of the game.

Keep in mind that these types of deep jungle wards are risky when placing and you can easily get caught out if you’re moving recklessly.

Generally speaking, these aggressive strategies require communication and teamwork between laners and junglers which is best achieved if you play duo with someone. If you’re serious about climbing but you’re playing alone, you should visit websites like Duoo whose purpose is to help you find new people to play and climb with.

Mid and late game warding

Lane wards

If you’ve ever watched a professional LoL game, you were probably confused as to why pro players ward lanes after the tower falls. In the late game, when the turrets are destroyed and there’s almost no vision across the map, lane wards are a very good tool to spot players that are roaming.

Especially if you have wards stacked up, don’t hesitate to place a ward in a lane as it can provide you with useful information on the enemies’ whereabouts, allowing you to start doing objectives and exert more pressure.

Objective vision

As the laning phase ends, rotations naturally develop around the map and objectives become an increasingly important aspect. Baron, Rift Herald, and Dragon are all very important in terms of stat boosts and teamfights often happen here as teams try to get the objective for themselves.

Establishing vision around these objectives before they spawn is an excellent way to have an upper hand over the other team before the fights even begin. By knowing where the other team is in these situations, you avoid the risk of being ambushed or baited into a bad fight.

Furthermore, wards in these spots allow you to get the upper hand in terms of positioning as you can control the terrain better if you see through the fog of war.

Siege wards

These wards only come into play in situations in which you’re sieging the opponents’ towers for an extended period of time. In these scenarios, it’s crucial to ward the areas that your opponents can use to surprise and ambush you.

Assuming you’re pushing a lane, you should cover the potential jungle paths that the enemies could use to flank you and put you in an unfavourable fight.

Backdoor wards

These wards are very niche in their practical usage, but there’s worth keeping in mind if you ever need them. Backdoor Wards are usually placed very near the enemy Nexus if you have a player that is using Teleport on your team.

The main idea behind this is to allow your teammate to teleport on a ward when the enemies aren’t paying attention, allowing him to end the game. These wards create a tense atmosphere when the Nexus is open, as you always need to sweep your base before you leave to start pushing.

That being said, since these wards are placed deep into your enemies’ territory,  they also have strategic value as they provide you with information regarding your opponents’ rotations.