Dota 2 Arc Warden Guide

Punish the selfish foes who dare to walk alone and embrace the raw essence of the primordial powers with our Dota 2 Arc Warden Guide

Hailing from the essence of the same primordial powers as the Ancients, Arc Warden battles to end all disunity among its siblings with one belief: to destroy both Ancients and all its defenders so all may return to unity. 

Arc Warden is a ranged Agility Hero with a decent 604 HP and 363 Mana pool. Its attack damage of 54 and base armor of 2.3 is also quite good, but where it lacks is its movement speed, which is only 285. 

Arc Warden (Zet) is one of the most challenging Heroes to play, thanks to the need for ultimate that grants it a clone that needs to be micromanaged for effective use. But, a master Zet player is tough to win against, as its ability to nuke single targets and split push are off the charts. With a few damage items to benefit its long attack range, Zet can easily dominate the early to mid-game and is borderline unstoppable in the late-game. 

Abilities

Let's learn to play this primordial powerhouse Core by learning its powerful set of abilities. 

Note: Arc Warden and its Tempest Double share alternative ability traits and values (Normal and Tempest versions). When Zet is on the Radiant Side, its Tempest Double will have the Tempest version, and vice versa.

• Flux (Normal) – Zet infuses an enemy with volatile energy that deals up to 60 damage per second, slowing them for up to 35% of their movement speed for 6 seconds (7.5 with level 15 talent). If any enemy comes within 225 radius of the enemy target, Flux does not deal damage.
  Flux (Tempest) – Deals more damage of up to 95 and less movement speed low of up to 18%.
• Magnetic Field (Normal) – Arc Warden generates a magnetic field that grants allies within its 300 effect radius bonus attack speed of up to 80 (110 with level 15 talent) for up to 6.5 seconds. Allied Heroes and buildings in the Magnetic Field also have 100% from any damage sources outside the field.
  Magnetic Field (Tempest) – Does not grant 100% evasion, but 150 ranged attack bonus and up to 80 attack damage bonus (110 with level 15 talent). The duration also increases up to 8 seconds. 
  • Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade – Magnetic Field pushes enemies outside its effect radius and slows their movement by 30% when they are in it. Furthermore, allies inside the field are granted 40% bonus magic resistance.
• Spark Wraith (Normal) – Zet summons an electrifying spirit that slowly materializes in 2 seconds and searches for foes in a 375 radius for 45 seconds. Once an enemy enters the radius, the spirit chases it, deals up to 340 damage (459 with level 20 talent), and slows it by 100% for up to 0.7 seconds. This ability can be upgraded by Aghanim’s Scepter.
  Spark Wraith (Tempest) – Has reduced activation delay of 1 second with increased projectile speed from 400 to 725. Furthermore, it slows for a longer duration of up to 1.2 seconds but deals less damage of up to 255 (344 with level 20 talent).
  • Aghanim’s Scepter Upgrade – Causes the wraith to spawn another one on impact with an enemy. This Spark Wraith shares the activation delay, damage and slow but has a reduced duration of 15 seconds and a search radius of 225.
• Tempest Double – Arc Warden creates a perfect replication of itself at a location within 700 range from itself, capable of using the same items (other than drop-on-death items) and alternate versions of Zet’s ability traits and values with separate item and ability cooldowns. The double lasts up to 26 seconds (38 with level 25 talent) and gives up to 300 Gold when killed. Finally, its attack damage is reduced to 50% if it moves 2000 distance (penalty removable with level 25 talent) away from the original. 

Talents

• Level 10 – +250 Health or +175 Flux Cast Range
• Level 15 – +30 Magnetic Field Attack Speed/Bonus Damage or +1.5s Flux Duration
• Level 20 – -8 Magnetic Field Cooldown or +35% Spark Wraith Damage
• Level 25 – +12s Tempest Double Duration or No Damage Penalty Distance For Tempest Double

Dota 2 Arc Warden Guide – Tips  

Arc Warden and its clone are both adept at nuking down single targets, with their Flux ability allowing them to focus down and eliminate any enemy caught alone. Their Magnetic Field also grants them bonus evasion or range, allowing them and their allies to tear apart enemies safely from afar. With the aid of Spark Wraiths, they can nuke down unsuspecting victims with heavy damage and slow, creating a minefield for anyone who dares to wander alone. Finally, with Tempest Double, Arc Warden can be in two places on the battlefield, dealing massive damage and split-pushing lanes to ensure a sure win. 

Needless to say, farm is essential to Zet, as its set of abilities lets it deal a lot of damage in a short time. Furthermore, Arc Warden can farm with lightning speed with bare Boots of Speed and Maelstrom while sending its Tempest Double across the map to split push. After these basic pickups, you can itemize yourself as per your needs, be it single-target nukes, fast pushing, utility or even high mobility. This is why Arc Warden players must be knowledgeable about the game and be aware of what they need to pick up to utilize Zet fully. 

Dota 2 Arc Warden – Pros and Cons

Here are some of Arc Warden’s best and worst traits that helps or hinders his quest to unite the primordial energies.

Pros:

• Good base stats and stats growth
• Good in midlane due to single-target nukes
• Good at split pushing
• Very versatile
• Good at defending
• Unstoppable late-game

Cons:

• Low armor and agility
• Slow movement speed and no escape
• Needs items to farm
• Needs intense micro-skills
• Ineffective if under farmed

How to play Arc Warden 

Let’s learn to master this primordial being with our short Zet Hero Guide

Starting Items

Start your lane with some basic regen and damage items including a Tango, Healing Salve and Faerie Fire. An Iron Branch or Slippers of Agility will help you with some early stats. 

As you are going mid-lane, if you have difficulty against spell-spamming Heroes, you can pick up a Magic Stick for better survivability. 

Early Game

The early game should all be focused on farming and picking up kills in the mid-lane, especially if assisted by your roaming supports. This can be done easier with some early movement speed from Boots of Speed and more base stats and regen from Magic Wand. 

Arch Warden is an excellent candidate for an early Hand of Midas, as its Tempest Double can also use it whenever off cooldown. This time will help take your farming to the next level. 

Mid Game

An early Boots of Travel is a no-brainer, as the ability to teleport will unlock the map for your Tempest Double to move, farm and push around with ease. A good follow-up item would be a Maelstrom into Mjollnir or Gleipnir, giving you stats, good wave-clear and crowd control. 

If you want more attack speed, stats and illusions, picking up a Manta Style is good, as it will let your Tempest Double push even faster and with awareness, even disjoint projectiles for maximum survivability. Although not staple, you may even get a Blink Dagger or Shadow Blade for mobility. 

Late Game 

Late-game turns you into a monster carry, with items like Monkey King Bar, Nullifier and Hurrican Pike giving your even better damage and single-target burst potential. Other items that will add to your dangerous damage arsenal would be a Butterfly, Stygian Desolator, Eye of Skadi or Daedelus. 

If you are looking for more utility-based items, picking up Scythe of Vyse or Ethereal Blade may be good choices, as both give you an extra disable and damage. If you have problems with spell casters or disablers, you can pick up a Bloodthorn or a Black King Bar. It is essential for you to spend your late-game split-pushing lanes with your Tempest Double while you take teamfights with your team.

Dota 2 Arc Warden Counters

Here are some Heroes who are good at easily snuffing Arc Warden’s primordial energies. 

• Broodmother – She can easily finish the game before Zet has enough time to farm, and her Broodlings keep her company during Flux. Furthermore, her Insatiable Hunger can easily shred through Arc Warden’s low armor.
• Invoker – His summons, disables, and high-damage spells are good at kiting and bursting down Zet. Also, with already low movement speed, Arc Warden is further thwarted by well-placed Deafening Blasts and Ice Walls.
• Anti-Mage – He can quickly Blink out or Blink in close to Arc Warden, draining Mana quickly with Mana Break. Furthermore, a Manta Style is perfect for disjointing many dispels and can reduce Zet’s magical damage’s effectiveness with the addition of Counterspell.
• Chaos Knight – He can dispel Flux with Phantasm and bring Arc Warden into his deadly melee range with Reality Rift. Due to low mobility, Zet will have difficulty surviving once dragged in and disabled by Chaos Bolt. 

Conclusion

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