Watchers in Dota 2
A Dota 2 Watcher is basically a free ward that can be activated by any player at any point in the game. Although they give reduced vision compared to regular wards, Watchers are highly impactful. In the early game, they allow you to win lanes and possibly snowball into a quick victory, while later on, they can be used to catch “lost” enemies carelessly farming the jungle or to avoid ganks. Let’s break this topic down step by step!
What Are Watchers?
A Watcher is a neutral structure that can be captured by either team. There are a total of 14 Watchers on the map, marked as gray dots on the minimap until captured. Watchers activated by the Radiant or the Dire become green or red, respectively.
To capture a Watcher in Dota 2, just right-click it and wait for a 1.5-second cast. Once the cast is finished, it becomes your team’s unit that provides vision in a small area.
Note that they can’t be replaced or removed, but can be reactivated by another team. They also change a little once captured, becoming a bit brighter (see the screenshot below).
Another important detail is that the vision Watchers give is very restricted as compared to the actual wards.
They are like Templar Assassin’s traps — enough to see the enemy and where they are heading, but not enough to understand what they’re up to. Still, they are very powerful, as you don’t need a specific hero pick to use one, and they remain in your team’s possession until recaptured.
How to Use Watchers Effectively
Now, let’s break down a couple of use cases for Dota 2 Watchers at different stages of the game.
Early Game
Watchers can grant you an advantage even before the first creep wave — smoke ganks before minute 1 have always been powerful. To counter such a gank, you can counter-smoke and capture Watchers on your side of the map as fast as possible. Once you activate them, take a powerful concealed position close to one, so that when the enemy smoke breaks, you will see them in a Watcher radius without being seen in return. Sometimes, you can even counterattack and secure the first blood for your team.
Furthermore, as a support, you should try to control your lane’s Watchers — it will give you an edge over the opposing support. At this stage, every small move matters, and sometimes, a glimpse of an enemy hero next to the Twin Gate or in your jungle will help you secure a pull, a Lotus, or even an enemy core kill. If you like to play roaming supports like BH or Mirana, capturing Watchers in the enemy jungle can create opportunities for courier snipes and bounty rune steals from the enemy mid laner.
If you capture Watchers, you are also more likely to notice your opponents stacking or farming jungle creeps, allowing you to steal experience or even last hits. The perfect scenario is to catch a hero that fights jungle creeps, planning to heal at the fountain — they are usually super focused on their HP and MP, and don’t pay enough attention to Watchers. And that’s exactly what you’re looking for — an easy kill on the opponent who’s typically a couple of levels above you.
Mid & Late Game
Later on in the game, Watchers become less impactful. However, they can still occasionally win you a Dota game if you use them properly. Even on the pro scene, impactful heroes, especially carries, tend to be so obsessed with farming that they will roam the jungle completely alone. A slight misstep and they get caught by the Watcher’s vision and become an easy target for a full pack of enemies. As they usually don’t have a buyback, this can significantly impact the game state.
Conclusion
That’s it for today! Hope you don’t ever underestimate these beautiful little things anymore. Got any more ideas on how to use Watchers? Leave a comment and help others get better!
