5. Deep Mid-Ward/Raptor Bush: An aggressive ward that tries to catch the enemy mid-laner arriving to lane or recalling. It also protects against the jungler. This ward becomes especially important after the outer mid-tower falls, and you can place it more freely up the lane, getting a very early warning what the enemy is up to. (Credit: Riot Games)
4. Tribrush: Early on, this is one of the most important ward locations if either side pushes the top or bottom lanes in order to catch attempts to gank. The Tribrush is often a hotly contested ward location and for a good reason. You can catch a careless player trying to ward or de-ward this brush. (Credit: Riot Games)
3. Blue Buff/Gromp: With good positioning, you can cover both the blue buff and the Gromp. Good for aggressive plays. It will help you scout two important early game jungle camps. It also gives you a good warning, if the jungler is on this side of the map and looking for a gank. Keeping a timer on the enemy blue buff and scouting possible roams towards the dragon or Baron is a bonus. (Credit: Riot Games)
2. Pixel Brush: Named after its small and uniform size, as well as being just a pixel on the minimap, this small brush is a great way to keep defensive vision for the mid-lane and one of the ramps towards the Baron or dragon pit. It doesn’t give you as much early information as a deep ward in the enemy jungle, but is much safer to place. (Credit: Riot Games)
1. The Baron/Dragon Ward: Vision here is extremely important. A ward in front of the entrance to the Baron or the Dragon Pit lets you keep an eye on the objective and grants vision of one of the big ramps from the jungle. It is the simplest ward place in the game, but all too often people ignore it and it costs them. (Credit: Riot Games)
The placing and management of wards is one of the most underappreciated aspects of League of Legends. As Riot themselves have said, wards save lives. Here are our top 5 places to put them, so they can save yours when the enemy comes for a gank. For more information on map awareness, check out our warding guide!
