When Arc Warden was introduced in Dota 2 in the 6.86 update (ironically called the ‘Balance of Power’), there was an uproar from the community on what the hero can do in the hands of someone who can use him correctly. The hero gained popularity in pubs as a better rat than Nature’s Prophet because of his Ultimate, Tempest Double. Farm, get a Divine Rapier, let your double do the dirty work while you sit and chill in the base. Here’s a glimpse of what it was like:
So he wasn’t just a rat; he was a rat who could destroy enemy heroes. And farming wasn’t too hard with the cooldown on Hand of Midas resetting every time the Tempest Double was summoned. That meant an additional 190 gold every 60 seconds for a level one ultimate (that’s basically like a +190 GPM talent). But then Valve realized that the only thing they had achieved in that update was the ‘im’balance of power (that was the cancerous OD-Omni-Spectre patch) and they made two major changes to Arc Warden in 6.87:
- Ability and item cooldowns no longer reset on the double on each recast
- No longer replicates items that drop on death (Gem of True Sight and Divine Rapier)
Since then, he received steady nerfs till the 7.00 when he was finally added to Captains Mode; but the nerfs just did not make him a viable hero. However, with a few small buffs going to his talents in the last two patches, teams have started considering Arc Warden as a viable position one or position two hero. He was picked up by OG in their group stage game against Team Empire (a game which OG won) in DAC 2017 which was his first appearance in a premier tournament. But the bigger news comes from Kiev with the mysterious hero showing up in six games of the Kiev Major groups stages. Although he was on the winning side in only one of those six games (win rate of 16.67 %), it seems to be the start of what could be a gradual rise as a regular core hero. The games in which he featured were:
OG vs SG Esports (Ana – Midlane): Lost
OG vs Invictus Gaming (N0tail – Safelane): Lost
OG vs Thunderbirds (N0tail – Safelane): Lost
Liquid vs Thunderbirds (Miracle – Midlane): Lost
Faceless vs SG Esports (Black – Safelane): Won
Faceless vs Liquid (Black – Safelane): Lost
So what makes Arc Warden a good hero? Let’s take a look..
1. Good vision: The spark wraith, which lasts for 50 seconds, is a valuable tool for providing vision in the laning stages of the game and protecting the team from any possible ganks.
2. Accelerated farming: Even though item cool downs might have been reset on the Tempest Double, you still get an additional 220 gold with Hand of Midas every time the Double has it off cooldown.
3. Taking objectives: Magnetic field is one of the best abilities when it comes to taking towers or Rohasn. Allies in it hit with an additional 80 attack speed while enemies outside are forced to watch (unless ofcourse, there is a MKB on them). And with the Tempest Double, the ability can be used for 13 seconds!
4. High ground defense: Again, Magnetic Field comes into play big time in high ground defense. It makes sure the structures take no damage (unless again, MKB) for 13 seconds. Follow that up by a Glyph, you have 17 seconds of building protection! Three seconds later, Magnetic Field is off cooldown again (one with the 10% cooldown reduction talent). This strength of Arc Warden’s was visible during OG’s opener against SG Esports. Even though SG Esports had heroes that were a lot more farmed than OG’s they just could not breach high ground because of Ana’s Arc Warden. Eventually they got the better of OG, but that game showcased how much of a pain the hero can be while trying to wreck the enemy base.
5. Split push: When Arc Warden has a decent number of damage items in his inventory, all that needs to be done is give him a pair of BoTs and send him to various lanes and push out. Maybe get a tower in the process!
The first day of the main event has passed without the hero being picked; and it’s no surprise. He is still new to the professional scene and it might take a few more buffs for teams to consider his a regular pick. Let’s see if that happens till TI 7!
