Hey guys, Librarian Husky here. You know, even before Ark Warden was changed to be a universal hero. I had long felt he was one of the strongest lane dominators in the game.

Ark Warden Lane Dominance

But whenever you bring up Ark Warden, most people think about his oppressive late-game presence that is balanced by his mid-game greed, not his laning prowess. Maybe this is because unlike more typical lane dominators like Huskar or Viper, winning the lane on Ark Warden is not as straightforward as spamming an attack modifier. His spells can often feel finicky and difficult to use with a lot of effectiveness, and often you will need to dramatically change up your item build depending on the matchup you find yourself in.

I have almost a thousand matches on Ark Warden and have managed to climb to 6.5k MMR with him. In the process, I think I’ve developed some pretty key strategies that have helped me not just dominate, but consistently crush my lanes against players of a similar skill level while also first picking him every game. To be clear, I’m not mentioning this to inflate my probably already oversized ego. Instead, I mean to highlight just how powerful this hero can be in the right hands. In fact, my goal in this article is to share some of those strategies and to thus put the hero in your hands.

Mid Lane Strategies

We’ll focus on the mid lane today because I think it’s the lane in which Ark Warden is the strongest and it’s also the lane with which I have the most experience. The self expands. In the mid lane, there are three main objectives in which we are interested. The creeps, the runes, and the tower. Everything we do in the lane is done to help us secure these objectives and deny them from the enemy.

To do this, we must either threaten to kill them or leverage other objectives. Harassing the enemy does the former, and if you’ve ever pushed a wave before a rune, then you’ve done the latter. There are three main concepts I want to discuss before we get into specific strategies. These are harassing, Equilibrium, and timings. It’s easier to understand these concepts in context, but I wanted to outline them here first.

Harassing is dealing damage to the enemy without the intention of killing them. This helps you condition kills on the enemy. Since the enemy would like to avoid dying, they also want to avoid harass. Sometimes this is referred to as trading, which better emphasizes the fact that oftentimes the enemy will retaliate by harassing in return. Setting up situations in which this is a bad option for them is a key skill in the mid lane.

Equilibrium is the position around which the creeps stop to fight each other. While it’s safer to keep the creeps close to your tower, pushing the creeps can help set up good trades and apply pressure. Another essential skill of the mid lane is understanding how all of your small actions can affect the equilibrium position.

Finally, a timing is just a sudden change in your power level. Some examples include leveling up, having items delivered, or activating a rune.

Arc Warden’s Spark Wraith

Each of these concepts has a staggering amount of nuance to them, but it’s important to get into the habit now of thinking about them when you’re formulating strategies for your lane. They’re sort of like the building blocks for analyzing the laning stage. The self knows this power. Okay, that’s enough theory. Let’s start talking about how to actually play Arc in the lane.

I want to start by discussing Arc Warden’s abilities, beginning with Spark Wraith. There are three main ways that I use this spell in the lane: vision, CSing, and harassing. I think this First use is pretty self-explanatory. You can use Spark Wraith to scout for runes or support rotations, to name a few examples.

As for CSing, Spark Wraith is particularly useful for securing ranged creep last hits. It does take some practice to get the timing down. Make sure you pay attention to the Level of Spark Wraith because the damage that Spark Wraith does is going to affect when you need to cast it. Level one is the hardest, and I would recommend that you cast the Wraith when the ranged creep is below half HP, then hit the creep again when the Spark Wraith is about to activate.

A level two Spark Wraith can kill a ranged creep from half health. I think this tactic is at its strongest when used proactively. Since Arc Warden’s base attack damage is so high and Spark Wraith’s cooldown is so low, it’s very easy to quickly secure the ranged creep when the waves meet without punishment.

This does a few things. First, it makes it more punishing for the enemy to draw aggro because they are forced to tank the creeps themselves. This also makes harassing less punishing for you because there are fewer creeps for you to tank. Finally, this pushes the wave, which can potentially give you a level advantage and set up a good trade as they retreat. I would strongly recommend getting into the habit of doing this on every first wave and whenever the ranged creep is not on the enemy high ground.

Spark Wraith is also a great harassing tool, but it can be difficult to land without Flux. The Wraith takes a little over a second to form, and it will trigger on the closest unit that enters its AoE while it is activated. Often, if you cast the Wraith directly on the enemy, they will be able to escape it before it forms.

The best way to consistently land Spark Wraith is to use it to force the enemy into a situation that is worse than just tanking the Spark Wraith. The most obvious example is if they want to run away and you place it behind them. My favorite application is to place it on their stairs after the creeps meet and hit them to force them to walk into it. If we put these ideas together, one of my most common sequences emerges. First, the waves meet. Then, you kill the ranged creep with Spark Wraith.

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Optimizing Flux Usage in Lane

Next, Spark Wraith behind the enemy mid laner. Finally, harass them to force them to walk into it. Flux is similar to Spark Wraith in the sense that it can be difficult to set up situations in which the ability shines. Importantly, Flux damage is muted if the enemy is within 225 range of an ally. This includes creeps. The best and most obvious situation to use Flux is when the target is completely isolated from their creeps. For example, if they’re going for a rune or if the wave just died and they’re running to their tower.

If you’re using it in the latter situation, try to keep track of where their next wave is by looking at your own incoming creep wave. If it’s too close, maybe don’t go for the Flux. While Flux does do damage, I think it’s helpful to think about its primary function to be its slow. That is, you should really only Flux when you’re prepared to follow up the ability with more attacks and Spark Wraiths. We don’t want to just Flux and then walk away.

While the spell has a relatively low mana cost, it has a very high cooldown. So using it is an investment. The safest way for a target to negate Flux is to hug their ranged creep, which makes our aforementioned ranged creep killing tactic even more important. Of course, they might hug their melee creeps instead. And in these situations, it might seem like Flux is pretty useless because they have the option to negate the damage. But remember that the primary use of Flux is the slow, which is not negated by the creeps.

By Forcing them to play close to their creeps, you’re also forcing them to play close to your creeps, which means it’s almost impossible for them to trade with you. If they attack you, they will cause all those creeps to attack them while you can keep a safe distance because they are also slowed. Additionally, several mid laners like Storm Spirit or Shadow Fiend rely heavily on positioning to get value out of their spells. Forcing them to stick to their creeps can make it very difficult for them to use their spells effectively.

The basic idea is that if you Flux an enemy near their creeps, you force them to make a decision to run away or to their creeps. If you can make both options bad for them, then you have a good play. You might have noticed that a common theme is the importance of trading with your auto attacks. Ark Warden has a great attack animation, and now that he’s a universal hero, he hits harder than ever. It’s essential to make the most out of this incredible asset. If you’re not actively getting a last hit, try to get some hits in.

As I mentioned before, if you’re playing against better players, they will often try to respond with their own harass. Here, it’s important to set up situations where harassing back is a bad option for them and pressure them hard.

Ark Warden Mid Lane Strategy

For example, pushing the wave into them can make it difficult to trade because they then have several creeps hitting them too. This concept goes very deep and we don’t have time to go into depth today. If you would like me to make a guide specifically on trading, make sure to leave a thumbs up and comment down below. Magnetic Field can be a great way to negate retaliation during a trade, but I often don’t find myself leveling it early. Recently though, Ark received a facet that gives Magnetic Field some Powerful utility when it comes to rune control.

With Power Capture, Magnetic Field will pull runes towards it and activate them when they enter its AoE. Obviously, this is a very convenient way for collecting runes. You can also place a Magnetic Field directly on the rune spot before it spawns to instantly pick up the rune. This is great against heroes who both have consistent ways of securing runes and rely heavily on them to make good rotations. Heroes like Queen of Pain and Ember Spirit. If you’re interested in a more in-depth discussion of this mechanic, make sure to check out my advanced Ark Warden mechanics guide. Worth it in gold.

Before we talk about Tempest Double, I want to take a brief detour to talk about itemization in the mid lane. To be clear, we’re only going to talk about items that you might buy to help you win the lane. So, kind of like the stuff before Midas or Maelstrom. If you’re interested in what to buy after the lane, please check out my ultimate Ark Warden itemization guide. Before you buy anything, determine if buying items will actually change the matchup at all. Usually it will, but there are some matchups like when you’re playing against Sand King or Nature’s Prophet where there aren’t really any items that will change the matchup dramatically. In these situations, I would recommend just buying tangos and maybe some branches and then immediately going for your early game items.

In this patch 7.38, I think there are three main routes for laning items: Bottle, stats, or corrosion. This will likely change, but I hope that this discussion will help give you some insight for subsequent patches. Here’s the way I think about it. Bottle will allow you to cast more spells, but corrosion and stats will make your attacks hurt more. So, the question becomes, is the enemy weaker to my spells or my attacks? Remember though that one of our key strategies for laning spark rates is pressuring our opponents with our attacks to force them to walk back into spark rates. So, this question is not so simple because sometimes we need our attacks to get value out of our spells. Also with Ark Warden’s current innate, we already get significant regen without bottle at all. So, we can also think about stats as making the regen we already get more efficient while bottle gives us more of it. One option is to buy both, which is sometimes worthwhile, but we want to be careful. Our goal is to get to our early game items, and too many laning items can slow down those timings.

Optimizing Laning Items for Arc Warden

In other words, we want to buy exactly as many laning items that we need to win our lane and not an item more. If you think a bracer or a bottle will make a significant difference, go for it. But I find it’s easy to get carried away with buying too many laning items. Unlike other mid heroes, Arc Warden often struggles to get value out of these laning items after the laning phase because that’s when he’s weakest.

I think one obvious example to get bottle is when you’re playing against Storm. He is already weak to your attacks, which allows you to land spark rates consistently. Flux also allows you to keep your distance, which can set up some good trades. Quop, on the other hand, is often very difficult to trap with your rates. So it’s difficult to get value out of the mana that bottle provides. Melee heroes, on the other hand, often have too much HP to care about your spells.

I think in those cases, usually just getting stats to increase your attack damage is more useful. Corrosion is specifically useful against heroes that either are highly dependent on regeneration or short-range heroes that have limited mobility. Necrophos is a clear example of both cases.

If you’re building stats, you need to pick which ones you want to buy. There are three main options: Wraith Band, Bracer, or Null Talisman. Wraith Band gives you the most damage because it also gives attack speed and gives nice armor. I like Wraith Band against Ember and Kunkka for these reasons. Bracer, on the other hand, makes it more difficult for heroes to burst you, so it’s a great choice against Queen of Pain, Invoker, and Puck. I don’t really ever buy Null Talisman.

Once you decide what build to go for, then you can pick your starting items. If you’re building stats, I would recommend purchasing three circlets and two branches. You can buy tango with bounty gold. If you’re building corrosion, start with a blight stone, four branches, and tango. For a bottle rush, buy tango, a fairy fire, and four branches. Sometimes one can be useful too. I find it’s particularly useful against heroes that use more than one spell per wave and heroes that want to dive you on a specific timing. I think Void Spirit is a good example of both cases. Most of our starting item builds already include branches, so finishing the wand isn’t a huge investment.

Hopefully, these guidelines are helpful, but remember that every matchup is different.

Tempest Double Strategies

These strategies won’t work for all scenarios. If unsure, experiment with different approaches. Analyze failures to understand and adapt for future attempts. Maintain a clear intention in your actions. My builds evolved through multiple trials and errors before finding effective ideas.

Let’s focus on the Tempest Double ability. A common tactic is to eliminate the enemy mid laner at level six, leveraging Flux damage and Wraith’s impact. The combo typically involves Flux, Alt, Flux, Wraith. However, creating ideal conditions can be challenging. Skilled opponents may manipulate creeps, utilize raindrops, or attempt to escape via teleportation.

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To enhance your chances of securing kills:

– Coordinate attacks with both heroes and spell usage while pursuing the target.

– Position yourself advantageously on high ground to prolong their escape route.

– Prioritize eliminating the ranged creep to hinder the enemy’s Flux damage mitigation.

– Use runes as bait to lure opponents away from safety.

– Maintain vision with wards to track their movements.

– Weaken the target before initiating the combo for easier elimination.

– Aim to reach level six before your opponent to prevent defensive responses.

– If equipped with Midas, reserve it for swiftly clearing creeps that could nullify your damage.

– Adjust your approach against tanky foes by staggering Flux casts for more Wraith hits.

– Utilize your ultimate judiciously, considering optimal timings.

While securing kills is essential, don’t lose sight of key lane objectives such as farming creeps, controlling runes, and pushing towers. If the enemy proves challenging to engage, focus on controlling the lane equilibrium, deny creeps from high ground, and capitalize on rune opportunities for sidelanes.

Ark Warden Strategy Guide

If they’re good at escaping, then force them to do so on the rune timing so that you can take it yourself. There’s almost always a way to get great value out of your ultimate. Sometimes you just need to plan ahead. You can also use your ultimate to directly secure runes by placing your double on one rune and your main on the other. With Magnetic Field, this becomes even easier because you can just place one field on each rune before it spawns. This is a great strategy when the enemies rotate supports to secure runes for their mid laner. Additionally, Tempest Double can be a great way to siege a tower. Just make sure that you use Spark Wraiths in the trees to scout for teleports. Finally, you can TP your double to side lanes to help with early engagements without even risking your hero. Just make sure that you’re carrying a TP scroll.

Hopefully, you eventually win your lane. If you do, make sure to take full advantage of your victory by pushing the wave, securing runes, and taking the tower.

Ark Warden Skill Build

Tower Emergence Now that we’ve covered all of Ark Warden’s abilities, let’s talk about some of our options for skill builds. Similar to items, I’m just going to focus on our skill build up until level six because these are the levels that are most relevant to the lane. First, I think you should always take Spark Wraith at level one for the reasons we’ve already mentioned. It helps you secure creeps and it also helps you set up good trades with the enemy.

At level two, I almost always take Flux for the following reasons. It helps you land Spark Wraiths. Similar to Spark Wraith, you can use Flux to help set up good trades by forcing the enemy to either play on creeps or to run away from you. Finally, at level three, I almost always want to take two points in Spark Wraith. And if I skip out a point in Flux now, I won’t have it for the rune fight, which I think is very important. Like I just said, at level three, I almost always take another point in Spark Wraith. This is because Spark Wraith is your primary damage dealing spell and two points in it makes it much easier to secure creeps.

Okay, at level four, this is where things get interesting. I would encourage you to think now about your level six timing. Specifically, I want you to consider which spell is going to help you deal the most damage at that timing. Against heroes that can easily dodge Spark Wraiths, I think it’s a good idea to max Flux. Queen of Pain, for example, can easily blink out of Spark Wraiths, but there’s no way for her to consistently negate Flux damage without being on creeps. Melee heroes, on the other hand, often care much more about your attacks than your Spark Wraith damage. Additionally, for many melee heroes, their best option is actually to try to turn and fight you at your level six timing.

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