Arc Warden/Guide

Hero

 

Strategy

 

Equipment

 

Gear

 

Talents

 

Relics

 

Responses

 

Sounds

 

Animations

 

Lore

 

Dragon's Blood

 

Unreleased Content

 

Old Abilities

 

Changelogs

 

Known Bugs

 

Gameplay

Playstyle
Arc Warden is a carry that can nuke enemies early and then split push to end the game. His health, armor, and mana early on are fairly low, but they still give him enough to last in lane and nuke foes with his combo. With Flux, he can slow enemies and do damage-over-time, although the effect is prevented if the target is near any allies. Magnetic Field is a useful spell for pushing or defending, as it gives 100% evasion from attacks outside the field, as well as applying a bonus to attack speed. Spark Wraith is a magical nuke that takes time to materialize. Tempest Double creates a replica of Arc Warden, with the same items and attributes he has. His health and mana grow to respectable degrees later on, but his agility still suffers. Throughout the game, he suffers from having no mobility spells, needs to focus on micromanagement, and abilities dealing poor damage against multiple enemies. Nonetheless, the opponents will find a farmed Arc Warden a dangerous foe.
Pros	Cons
Amazing base stats and quite good stat growth Easily nukes most lonesome enemies. Split pushes well with Tempest Double. One of the most versatile heroes in the game. Long attack range and heavy nukes lets Zet dominate the mid lane. One of the best defenders of buildings thanks to Magnetic Field. Gives quite a significant amount of attack speed to allies. Borderline unstoppable late-game.	Hard to play effectively. Slow movement speed with no mobility spells makes it hard for him to escape if ganked. Needs items to farm quickly, and no ability outside of his ultimate helps him with farming. Heavily reliant on micromanagement. Quite bad when underfarmed. Struggles in fighting multiple enemies at once. Weak against heroes with high mobility and escaping abilities.

Hard carry

• Arc Warden either goes safe lane or mid to farm up Hand of Midas. When faced against a lone enemy, use Flux and Spark Wraith to nuke them down, combined with Tempest Double for doubling of nuking power to dominate the lane. When the enemies send two heroes, ask for support and focus more on trying to get Hand of Midas up as soon as you can, as his abilities do not work well against multiple enemies. Later on, Maelstrom helps you farm incredibly fast, and Boots of Travel allows you to traverse the map for farming, fighting, and split pushing.
• Against heroes with summons, Arc Warden may want to invest in Magnetic Field instead of Flux. He will need mana to farm lanes and neutrals with the bonus attack speed from Magnetic Field.

Ability Builds

Mid Arc Warden
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	20	25

Talents

Hero Talents
+10s Tempest Double Duration	25	No Damage Penalty Distance For Tempest Double
-7 Magnetic Field Cooldown	20	+35% Spark Wraith Damage
+20 Magnetic Field Attack Speed/Bonus Damage	15	+1.5s Flux Duration
+200 Health	10	+175 Flux Cast Range

Notes:

• Talents are fully copied by the Tempest Double.

• The health talent increases the max health capacity and keeps the current health percentage.

Tips & Tactics

General

• Arc Warden is squishy early on with no escape tools. Ask the supports to help and rotate to your lane as needed. Also ask them for vision to spot incoming ganks.
• Arc Warden's abilities work a lot worse against 2 or more heroes. Thus carry Arc Warden must be babysitted in lane, while mid Arc Warden is okay on his own.
• Mid Arc Warden lacks a reliable way to secure range creeps, so time Spark Wraith carefully, possibly try to right click the creep the very moment Spark reaches it.
• Always consider Hand of Midas. Arc Warden wants it to farm as he has no way to farm in his abilities, but he absolutely needs items. He also gains the most benefit out of it because his Tempest Double can use Hand of Midas with the gold and experience going to the main Arc Warden.
• Tempest Double cannot copy consumables like Healing Salve, Enchanted Mango, Clarity, and Bottle.
• Arc Warden can have unlimited uses of Drum of Endurance if at least one charge is kept on the main Arc Warden, then only used on the Tempest Double.
  • However, the Tempest Double’s Black King Bar duration is independent from Arc Warden’s so the above trick does not apply here.
• Items that place buffs or debuffs can have their duration doubled if timed right, as well as perhaps correcting any mistakes the main Arc Warden has made (such as targeting the wrong unit).
  • Items that place buffs on allies, such as Linken's Sphere and Lotus Orb, can be used on the main Arc Warden or an ally for increased protection.
• The Double can use teleport items such as Town Portal Scroll or Boots of Travel. This means while the main Arc Warden is somewhere else, farming, pushing or defending, the Double can be on the opposite side of the map contributing to a gank or farm the enemy jungle.
• Using Hand of Midas with the Double grants the player the gold and 2.1x experience. The Double maintains the cooldown while it is unsummoned. This means that the double will not be able to use the item with every summon and Arc Warden must time the Double's summon to get the full benefits of the extra Midas.
• Use the Double to farm or stack neutral camps if it has nothing else to do with its remaining duration for more efficiency and to gain more gold and experience.
• Do not allow an enemy Rubick to steal Tempest Double, since the ability fully works for Rubick, except for using Spell Steal via the Tempest Double.
• When drafting, consider Arc Warden as a more complex and versatile (but also much greedier) version of heroes such as Drow Ranger or Sniper; Squishy, long-range right clickers who require protection from their team but can dish out impressive single target damage if given space. As such, when looking at the hero picks from the enemy, it is best to avoid playing into heroes that are easily capable of getting on top of your hero and killing them (Such as Slark or Storm Spirit), or heroes who rely on summons or illusions as you lack the ability to easily clear them (such as Phantom Lancer or Broodmother). On the other hand, when considering your team's picks, Arc Warden fits best with tanky frontline heroes who can easily setup teamfights and keep the attention away from Zet in order to allow him to attack at his leisure (such as Axe or Mars), and with strong saviour supports who can keep your hero safe from ganks (such as Oracle or Winter Wyvern).

Abilities

Flux

• The ability only slows and damages if there are no enemy heroes, creeps, or jungle creeps within 225 range.
  • If cast on an enemy near a tower or ward, they are still slowed and damaged.
• Flux is helpful in the early game to punish aggressive tower dives from the enemies, so always carry a Town Portal Scroll to react.
• Upon casting, the enemy always takes one damage instance, no matter if they're near another hero.
• Applying Flux on an enemy first before summoning a Spark Wraith can make hitting the enemy with it easier.

Magnetic Field

• Magnetic Field fully affects buildings, so use it to deter a push.
  • True Strike and accuracy do not work against buildings.
• If enemies enter the Magnetic Field, they overcome the evasion, but Arc Warden and allies still keep the attack speed.
• Use Magnetic Field during teamfights on as many allies as possible mainly for the attack speed bonus.
• Magnetic Field can save allies from dying against ranged attacks.
• You can try to carefully place two Magnetic Fields in such a way that it's impossible for enemies to be in both at the same time, thus getting 100% evasion even from melee attacks.
• Come very close to a cliff, a highground, or treeline and then place Magnetic Field with only a bit of it on the low ground. The enemies won't be able to walk around, so sometimes it actually may be sensible not to place a Magnetic Field immediately, but wait to place it as said earlier.
• Magnetic Field may force enemy ranged heroes to get near to attack.
• Use Magnetic Field's evasion to dive enemy towers without taking damage.
• Magnetic Field does not work on creeps. It works only on Heroes, Illusions, creep heroes, and buildings.

Spark Wraith

• Spark Wraith gives 300 vision at its area. Along with long cast range, Arc Warden can place Spark Wraith safely to scout enemies.
• Spark Wraith hits invisible units or those in fog, alarming you of enemy movement.
• Enemies can see the Spark Wraith, so try to place it at chokepoints to deter enemy movement.
• Use Spark Wraith at rune spots to discourage enemies from grabbing the runes.
• Spark Wraith can only hit one enemy at a time. It always hits the closet enemy to the Wraith itself within the radius, including creeps.
• Use Spark Wraith to stack multiple creep camps from a distance if timed right.
• Spark Wraith's cast range is even higher than most blink distances, possibly catching enemies with escape abilities.
• Due to Spark Wraith's activation delay, try to place it ahead of the enemy's path when chasing, forcing them to either choose another, possibly more dangerous, path, or takes the damage and slow.
  • Spark Wraith's low cooldown facilitates repetition of this tactic.
• Place Spark Wraith in front of oneself when escaping from enemies.

Tempest Double

• The Tempest Double essentially acts like a temporary version of a Meepo clone. The main differences include:
  • Tempest Double uses the current stats of Arc Warden, benefits from both stats and things like Point Booster that just add flat amounts. It only takes 100% damage as well.
  • Deals 100% of Arc Warden's current damage including damage from items such as Daedalus, and also gains the permanent buff from a consumed Moon Shard.
  • Can use abilities and items. They have their own, separate cooldowns on the Double.
    • A few items, however, are not completely usable by the Double. These include:
      • Refresher Orb is always on cooldown for the Double.
      • Observer and Sentry Wards are not duplicated by the Double.
      • Divine Rapier and Gem of True Sight is not copied to the Double at all.
      • Enchanted Quiver and Mind Breaker will not work on the Double at all.
      • Helm of the Dominator is usable by the Double. However, any units dominated by Arc Warden or his Double are lost when the Double is resummoned.
      • Consumables, such as Healing Salve, Clarity, Enchanted Mango, Tango, Tango (Shared), and Bottle, are not copied to the Tempest Double at all.
• Tempest Double benefits from both buffs of Magnetic Field.
• Use Boots of Travel with the Double selected to split push. When you move the Double into a lane, force attack (default button: A) the end of the lane and the Double will attack every creep, hero, and tower that comes its way. Another way is to set a hot key to toggle auto attack-on/off.
• The Tempest Double is not an illusion, therefore it is not killed by Scythe of Vyse or Dagon.
• The Tempest Double can not break Smoke of Deceit of the enemies.
• After a successful Flux from the main hero, use Tempest Double and apply Flux again since they stack.
  • Follow with Spark Wraith and physical attacks to finish off the crawling foe.
• You can keep track of the Tempest Double's item cooldowns by selecting its icon on the top left corner of the screen.
• If the enemy can go invisible, Scythe of Vyse and Gleipnir are your only options to catch them, as the Double can not carry any detection.

Items

Starting items:

• Tango gives Arc Warden sustain in lane.

• Faerie Fire gives a bit of damage and can be a lifesaver.

• Healing Salve restores large amount of health in the early game.

• Iron Branch provides attribute bonuses and build into Magic Wand.

• Slippers of Agility gives agility for Arc Warden to last hit early on and can later be built into a Wraith Band.

• Magic Stick can be an alternative starting item if playing against casters.

Early game:

• Boots of Speed improves Arc Warden's mediocre movement speed and gives him some form of escape from enemies.

• Magic Wand restores some health and mana, allowing Arc Warden to use his abilities and escape items like Hurricane Pike.

• Hand of Midas accelerates Arc Warden farming game. Keep track of its cooldown on Tempest Double to know when optimal times to use it are.

Mid game:

• Boots of Travel gives Arc Warden map wide presence for fighting, pushing, and farming.

• Maelstrom improves Arc Warden's farming, wave clear and fighting capabilities and later upgrades to Mjollnir or Gleipnir.

• Gleipnir gives decent stats and crowd control, a good alternative. It's ideal for early to mid game skirmishes, as well as late game teamfights. The major disadvantage of the item is being countered heavily by dispels and lack of attack speed, although the active bypasses Linken's Sphere.

• Mjollnir buffs both yours and your Tempest Double's attack speed as well as punishing enemies who attack either.

• Manta Style is a great item for mid-game fights, as it's component - Yasha - is one of the most cost-efficient items for agility heroes, giving Arc Warden much needed agility and movement speed. The active dispels some negative effects, and four illusions from Tempest Double and Zet can wreak havoc. The double's and the original's Manta Style are independent from and do not replace each other. The illusions also benefit from Magnetic Field, making them more resistant to physical attacks and speeding up their attack speed.

Late game:

• Hurricane Pike lets Arc Warden stay in the back with the increased attack range, and gives him an escape that, if used by Tempest Double as well, can effectively double the distance traveled.

• Monkey King Bar helps tremendously to counter evasion and highly armored heroes, while dealing less to those with high magic resistance.

• Nullifier allows Arc Warden to dispel and slow down enemies so they cannot be protected by defensive items like Glimmer Cape or Force Staff. 80 damage and 8 armor for low price can't be ignored, either. An ideal item both to kite melee rightclickers like Sven and prevent heroes like Drow Ranger or Zeus from escaping.

• Scythe of Vyse boosts Arc Warden's mana and mana regeneration to use abilities liberally. The Tempest Double can use hex as well, doubling the disabling duration. Take care with chain disabling, as the enemy may use Black King Bar right after.

Situational items:

• Blink Dagger allows offensive Arc Warden and Tempest Double to approach enemy targets and unleash their abilities and items quickly.

• Shadow Blade provides attack speed and attack damage, as well as invisibility for Arc Warden to escape or initiate on enemies. It can upgrade to Silver Edge to apply break, suppressing both offensive and defensive passives.

• Bloodthorn boosts mana regeneration as well as damage output with attack speed, attack damage, and True Strike. The silence also prevents much of retaliation or escape from enemies. Black King Bar and other dispel items can counter this effect, so take caution.

• Black King Bar counters most disables so Arc Warden can attack and use items. It can also be used to send in the double in fights and staying back in safety with the main Arc Warden. The Double can use Avatar, but its duration is independent of the main Arc Warden's Black King Bar.

• Butterfly turns Arc Warden into a heavy hitter. His primary attribute is agility, so he benefits a lot from its attributes. The Tempest Double has no attack damage penalties like most illusions do, since it is not an illusion, so it can greatly increase Arc Warden's overall damage output. Arc Warden's two damaging spells deal both magical damage and do not scale. A Butterfly helps him keep on doing damage to the enemy in the late game. The attack damage he gets from the item is also great for pushing and synergizes very well with Magnetic Field.

• Daedalus, like Butterfly, significantly increases your damage output, as Arc Warden can constantly deliver crits thanks to the enormous attack speed boost provided by Magnetic Field. Note that this passives doesn't work against buildings.

• Eye of Skadi increases Arc Warden's stats, HP and Mana. Its frost attack, synergizing it with Flux, his Tempest Double clone, and his Manta Style Illusions, make it significantly harder for enemies to escape.

• Divine Rapier, although not as good as it used to be on the double, still packs a punch and goes well with Arc Warden's attack range and attack speed.