Warden is a powerful character in Deadlock known for his combination of tankiness and assassin-like burst damage. He excels in crowd control, sustainability, and delivering significant damage in close-range fights. While his role can vary from an aggressive damage dealer to a front-liner, Warden truly shines when his abilities and items are optimized for both offensive and defensive scenarios.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Warden
Strengths:
- Sustainability: Warden’s abilities, especially Last Stand, provide self-healing, making him hard to kill in extended fights.
- Crowd Control: With abilities like Binding Word, he can trap and immobilize enemies, making them vulnerable to his attacks and those of his team.
- Late-game scaling: Warden grows stronger as the game progresses. His survivability and damage output increase significantly once he has his core items.
Weaknesses:
- Weak early game: Warden struggles in the early game, as his abilities don’t reach full potential until he builds up his core items.
- Long cooldowns: Many of Warden’s abilities have long cooldowns, meaning that improper use or bad timing can leave him vulnerable.
- Positioning required: His effectiveness is dependent on proper positioning, particularly to get the most out of Binding Word and Last Stand.
Warden’s Abilities:
| Ability | Description | Cooldown | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alchemical Flask | Throws a flask that damages, slows, and reduces the weapon damage and stamina of enemies it hits. | 14 seconds | 40 damage |
| Willpower | Grants Warden a spirit shield and bonus movement speed, scaling with Spirit Power at higher levels. | 24 seconds | +20% speed bonus |
| Binding Word | Curses an enemy hero; if they fail to escape within the time limit, they are immobilized and take extra damage. | 18 seconds | +20% more damage |
| Last Stand | After a charge-up, Warden releases pulses that damage enemies and heal him based on the damage dealt. | 60 seconds | +70 DPS at level 3 |
Weapon Characteristics and Durability:
Warden’s weaponry and stats are focused on balancing survivability with damage output. His high health pool and defensive stats make him an ideal front-liner.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Health | 550 |
| HP Regen | 2 HP/sec |
| Bullet Resistance | 0% |
| Spirit Resistance | 0% |
| Movement Speed | 6 m/s |
How to Play Warden Effectively
- Early Game: Focus on farming souls with Alchemical Flask and staying safe in lane. Prioritize buying High-Velocity Mag for faster attacks and Slowing Hex to help immobilize enemies caught in Binding Word. Make sure to maintain lane pressure without overextending, as Warden is vulnerable early on.
- Mid Game: Once you unlock Willpower and upgrade Binding Word, you can start looking for opportunities to roam and gank other lanes. Use Slowing Hex and Fleetfoot to chase enemies down effectively. By this stage, you’ll want to secure Fortitude to enhance your durability.
- Late Game: Last Stand becomes crucial for engaging in team fights. Utilize its healing and damage capabilities to sustain yourself in battle. Purchase Bullet Armor and Spirit Armor to maximize your defensive capabilities. Headhunter should be added for its critical hit potential, enhancing your damage output in fights.
Warden’s Key Stats (Table):
| Attribute | Rating |
|---|---|
| Damage | **** |
| Durability | ***** |
| Mobility | **** |
| Crowd Control | ***** |
| Critical Hits | *** |
Optimal Build for Warden: