Warding is one of the most important mechanics in League of Legends. Placing a ward grants the team vision in that area, making it a crucial aspect of map awareness and keeping track of the enemy team. For players who struggle with the basics of warding, here are some tips.

At the beginning of the game, players will have the choice between the Warding Totem, which allows them to place wards, versus the Oracle Lens, which allows them to scan for enemy wards and destroy them. Most players are going to want to go for the Warding Totem right away. If you're playing a Support unit using Spellthief's Edge, this item will turn into a Warding item once you earn 500 Gold from warding.

Once this happens, you should switch to an Oracle Lens ASAP.

How to Get Better at Warding in League of Legends

Knowing where to ward is extremely important. Most often, players are going to want to ward in the bushes between their lane and the rift. For bot lane players, this means keeping the tri-bush warded as much as possible. For top players, this also means keeping the river warded. Mid laners have to focus on keeping both the top and bottom river bushes warded. The Jungler should be helping with these, as well as keeping the rest of the map warded. If enemies keep attacking from a certain point on the map, or hiding in a certain bush before getting the jump on you, you're going to want to keep that area warded.

If the enemy Jungler is constantly ganking you, keeping their ganking lanes warded should be top priority. However, if your enemy Jungler is heavily focusing another lanes, you're at liberty to use your wards for other things. For example, if you're in bot lane and the enemy support keeps entering bushes to CC your team, keeping the bush closest to them warded can be a quick way to keep them visible and scare them back.

Remembering to ward in general is one of the trickiest parts of starting League of Legends. Players should try and avoid saving up their wards. They expire eventually, meaning players should just be placing them whenever they can as they travel through the map. If you're a Support or Jungle main, warding is one of the most important things to remember, and it will eventually become second-nature as you play the game.

This article was originally published on dbltap as How to Get Better at Warding in League of Legends.