Arc Warden Guide: How to Play in Dota 2

Arc Warden is among the strongest ranged heroes in Dota 2. However, he’s also one of the most challenging ones to play, mainly because of his micro-intensive ultimate ability. Arc Warden also needs proper itemization and skill choices to truly come into his own, and must align his build with the overall team strategy at different stages of the game. If you’re up to the challenge, check our Arc Warden guide in Dota 2 to discover the most efficient ways to play him in the current meta.

Arc Warden Hero Overview

Dota 2 Arc Warden, also known as Zet, is a ranged hero introduced in the 6.86 Balance of Power update on December 15, 2015. Usually, he is played as a Carry, and is known for his great pushing potential in the late game. Arc Warden’s kit also makes him an excellent Nuker and a decently strong midlaner.

However, he isn’t the best choice for newer players who still struggle with micro, as controlling both the hero and his clone can feel overwhelming at times. Here’s a quick summary of Arc Warden’s key strengths and weaknesses:

Arc Warden Abilities Overview

With the basics covered, let’s have Arc Warden abilities explained in more detail.

Flux

Arc Warden strikes a single enemy with an energy blast, slowing them by 14%/21%/28%/35% and dealing 15/30/45/60 magical DPS for 6 seconds. The spell only works if the target is isolated — it won’t deal damage if there’s another enemy unit nearby. Finally, you can enhance this ability with Aghanim’s Scepter, increasing its damage by 30 and extending the duration to 8 seconds, as well as causing it to apply silence to the target.

Magnetic Field

Zet creates a circular magnetic field for 4/5/6/7 seconds. Inside the field, Arc Warden and allied units get 30/60/90/120 bonus attack speed and 100% evasion against the attacks coming from outside the field.

Spark Wraith

Arc Warden summons a Spark Wraith, which fully materializes in 1.5 seconds after the spell activation and starts patrolling a small area around it (within a 375 unit radius) for 16 seconds. Once an enemy comes within this range, the spirit will attack them, dealing 100/170/240/310 magical damage and applying a 100% movement slow for 0,5/0,6/0,7/0,8 seconds. An Aghanim’s shard increases the spell radius to 475 and activates a secondary Spark Wraith, which deals 80% damage to another nearby enemy unit when triggered.

Tempest Double

This ultimate ability summons a clone of your hero for 18/21/24 seconds. Just like the original, the clone can use all the abilities and items you have access to. What’s more, Arc Warden Tempest Double has separate cooldowns for its artifacts and spells. However, the duplicate's accuracy and speed decrease over time, with a maximum penalty of 35%.

Skill Build for Arc Warden

Next, let’s discuss the optimal Arc Warden build and its variations depending on the situation. First of all, you’ll need to choose between two facets:

Arc Warden has a lot of viable builds suited for different in-game scenarios. Here, we’ll discuss the most popular variant of the Arc Warden skill build for the current meta:

		2			5			8	9
											11		13	14		16
	1		3	4			7
						6						12						18
										10					15

If your enemies farm lanes alone, you can focus on maxing Flux instead of Spark Wraith. This way, you’ll get more chances to score a kill before the enemy hero can escape.

Finally, let’s talk about the hero’s talent tree. Here are the options pro players usually go for:

Arc Warden Item Build

Zet is one of the heroes whose effectiveness greatly depends on their artifacts. In this part of our guide, we’ll discuss the most effective Arc Warden item build and some viable alternatives.

Starting Items

In the Early Game, you need to focus on last hitting and pushing your lane, so your initial purchase must support these two objectives. The table below includes the items and utilities to consider:

Item icon
Item name	Tango Dota 2	Faerie Fire Dota 2	Iron Branch Dota 2	Iron Branch Dota 2	Circlet Dota 2	Circlet Dota 2

Alternatively, you can also start with a Wraith Band. Just remember that you’ll need your Support to share their Tangoes with you.

Early & Core Items

Zet’s item progression depends on your role, enemy heroes, and your team’s overall strategy. At the same time, there are items that players buy in almost every match when playing Arc Warden. In the Early Game, you should consider purchasing the following artifacts:

Item icon
Item name	Magic Wand Dota 2	Boots of Speed Dota 2	Hand of Midas Dota 2

Hand of Midas is especially notable for improving your farm and overall income.

Other core items include:

Item icon
Item name	Maelstrom	Rod of Atos	Boots of Travel	Manta Style	Hurricane Pike	Silver Edge

Situational & Luxury Items

Each game of Dota 2 is a little different, so you must be ready to change your build if necessary. Here are the situational items we’ve found useful enough to include in this hero guide:

How to Play Arc Warden

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the item builds and learned how Zet’s skills work, you are ready to enter the battlefield. By following the pro tips from our Arc Warden guide, you can unleash the hero’s true potential.

Early Game

Any decent early game guide for Arc Warden should mention how weak the hero is at the beginning of the match. Thus, you’d better focus on farming lane creeps to get ahead in gold. Nevertheless, if you see a lonely opponent with a low HP pool, you can try to eliminate them with Flux, Spark Wraith, and physical attacks.

Mid Game

After the 15th minute of the game, you must already have the Hand of Midas, which both you and your Tempest Double can use to double your income. Here are some other Arc Warden in Dota 2 tips for the Mid Game:

1. Use your ultimate ability to farm in several places at once.
2. Always maintain distance in the teamfights and use your Magnetic Field to protect your allies and towers.
3. After winning a teamfight, push two lanes simultaneously via Tempest Double.

Late Game

Arc Warden will be at the peak of his power after the 30-minute mark. Follow these Late Game tips to gain the upper hand over your opponents:

1. Keep the pressure on the enemy lanes with your Tempest Double.
2. Always summon your copy during the teamfights to get extra damage.
3. If enemies lay siege to your base, protect it with your hero while using the Tempest Double to push.

Counters & Synergies

Of course, our Arc Warden Dota 2 guide wouldn’t be complete without talking about the hero's synergies and counters. You can find both in the table below:

Common Mistakes

Considering the complexity of Arc Warden gameplay, it’s no wonder that players often make mistakes while playing this hero. Check this list of Zet gameplay sins and try to avoid them:

1. Using Tempest Double inefficiently.
2. Poor micro during farming and pushing.
3. Ignoring Tempest Double’s items.

The best way to overcome these mistakes is to practice regularly and analyze professional matches:

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