So there are multiple ways to play Ardan but for this guide I will be focusing on a general support guide. First thing to remember unlike most carries who have a core build, supports build is heavily dependent on the enemy team and occasionally your own. I remind everyone who reads this to be flexible during a game not only with skill path, item paths but decision making as well.
Stats & Abilities
Stats- Ardan in the stat department is mediocre if not slightly above. His base armor and shield are average. HP slightly higher than average Attack Speed and average weapon power per lvl. Overall a pretty average Joe but that's not what makes him special.
Perk: Julia's Gift- While this perk may seem a little lack luster at first the amount of HP is regenerates you not only in teamfights but early jungling is huge! It makes him very strong against certain characters or abilities such as
Ringo ultimate or
Skaarf 's percent burn damage. The second part of the perk gives him crystal in return for energy regen (50%) as well as bonus energy (50%)this part of the perk is almost negligible and will address the math on it later in the guide in the Items section. It is important to note though Ardan does build vengeance when attacking as well.
A skill: Vanguard- This is Ardans most significant skill, his bread and butter. This is the only skill in the game so far that scales with HP. This what makes him a mid/late game support. While this skill is simple in itself timing is the most key point with this skill. It shields, is slows, it boosts, it deals damage and if its overdrived it restored 30% vengeance! This skill does so much but has a VERY high cooldown so you probably will only get to use it once or twice. As stated before timing is everything. Another key note is that when the person you vanguard to is damaged it will generate more vengeance which will lead to in increase of damage.
B skill: Blood For Blood- This is Ardans main source of damage and is almost entirely dependent on your vanguard placement. This skill is a short range auto attack with bonus damage attached to it. Note you can only cast blood for blood when you have 100% vengeance. It also increases Weapon and crystal damage it deals by 25% when overdrived but for this guide I wont be overdriving it. Remember to auto attack during fights since every one will reduce the cooldown by an additional 3 seconds.
C skill: Gauntlet- The Gauntlet (or as I like to call it "Thunderdome") is the most skill intensive portion of Ardans skills. The reason why is while there is an indicator for how far you can jump to place the gauntlet there is no indicator for its walls. This skill can secure objectives, separate a team and even be used to jump certain walls to escape or even backdoor an exposed crystal. I wish I could tell you there is an easy way to put it down so the wall appears right in the path of their carry or team but only experience can help with that. Just remember when putting it down that Terrain is your BEST friend. Note that stunning an enemy fills Ardans vengeance bar. Most people actually forget this minor point which could win a fight with that little bit of extra damage.
Game Start- So as you enter game you are going to want to start with an Ironguard Contract a potion and a flare (Which I will explain later) There are two general jungle paths currently. Starting from the back camp nearest to your spawn point and work your way to the center or start in the center and work out. The difference between the two is that if you go out to center you will either A get to the center jungle shop before your opponents or B run into them since they clear faster than you or C you wont find them at all because they started center to out. This is where that flare comes in, which will allow you to glance in the jungle shop bush as you approach it. You want to start on the outside to center if you have a fast clear speed like koshka but someone with a slower clear speed like a krul will usually want to start center to out just to avoid a fight. Important note that Ardan is one of the weakest supports early game. His vanguard shields for a pathetic 50 damage while blood for blood only adds 30 damage at lvl 1. Be very careful early on! Learn your limits! You want to push into the mid game as quickly as possible. Try and pick up double oak heart into dragon heart into reflex block into crucible (this is the build order generally that I go for when completing a crucible) this will maximize the amount of shield you can generate for your allies while being the most cost efficient.
IMPORTANT- Remember to buy scout traps. Vision is incredibly important and WINS games. There are two types of scout trap placements. One is for vision, these mines should be placed in areas the enemy will less likely tred upon. Good spots are right next to a standard path or under a minion camp. The second is defensive/offensive mines that are meant to be triggered to give a combat advantage. The tri bush below lanes as well as jungle shop bushes are common places for these types of mines. This is important ALL game. Flares are also crucial but especially for heavy invade/aggressive comps.
Midgame- By this time you should have a crucible done and should be working towards a fountain or pauldren most likely. So generally I would not consider Ardan an initiator. He is in my opinion the perfect follow up or counter initiator. Having your teammate jump in and pulling the enemy teams aggro allows for an easily placed vanguard. In addition by doing this you are bringing your Blood for Blood up every few seconds. Use your gauntlet wisely due to its long cooldown but try and use it usually to separate the enemy team/ catch them out of position or even use it to peel for your carry. Remember to use your actives. Nothing can turn a team fight better than having an enemies CC be rendered useless (especially because often times they place themselves in a bad position to apply it.
Late Game- This is where you really shine now! Your vanguard is shielding for 1000+ damage (Thais almost 2k gold worth in hp!), making your carry incredibly difficult to kill. Fights can end in less than 6 seconds which makes your gauntlet INCREDIBLY powerful. At this point you ARE the protector. Your actives are just an extension of your abilities (with slightly longer cooldowns) between giving your carry a 1000+ damage shield you are healing them with fountain, blocking CC with crucible and destroying your opponents attack speed with a well places pauldren. Ardan while not the flashiest character can make your carry look GOOD. Remember to keep that vision up! This will be vital when trying to secure kraken and catching the enemy team out of position.
Mind Set: I know this might sound strange but there is a mind set to support. Getting kills and building tier 3 items is not your priority. Supports are the indirect tacticians of the battle field. You plan ahead where you think your enemy will move while trying to counter play their defenses and mines. You try and steer fights into favorable conditions and you stay beside your carry 95% of the time and do not leave his squishy behind exposed to the enemy team. Worst off all despite all your set up,, saves and plays you will receive the LEAST glory and recognition but you never know who might notice. Its a thankless job but someone needs to do it and in high tier play your job is in my opinion the most critical.
Items: Ok finally to one of the most important parts. Itemizing as a support is ever changing and flexible, most of the time your items are depending on the enemy team. I am not gonna be discussing every item but only the ones that matter to this build (because this is already long as all hell)
Crucible- Ardans best friend. This is the highest HP item in the game it provides a full team reflex block all for the cheap price of 1850. When your not sure what to build this is your default and 8/10 times your first item. Blocking CC takes a lot of practice but if you can master it then it is one of the most groundbreaking things you can do as a support.
Fountain- Your #2 man. Fountains are the easiest of the support items to use. You see someone is dying you hit the button. TA DA! Important note though fountain heals more the less hp you have and it checks your HP after every tick. So if you feel you carry is getting nuked way faster than it can heal him then popping it right when hes gonna be taking the damage is a good idea rather than after (when they are possibly dead). I wouldn't stack more than 2 of these now though due to their recent nerf.(Go read 1.6 patch notes if you want the details)
Atlas Pauldren- This is my least favorite support item on him due to it giving no HP but its way to critical to pass up. This item is crucial against high attack damage carries such as
Ringo ,
Vox and even
Taka in fact against a Taka I watch for the X-retsu. The moment I see it I vanguard to the target, pauldren and throw a mine at my feet in case he attempts to kaku out. In short in a heavy Weapon game this item is critical.
Warhorn- Ok to make something clear. I HATE stormguard banner on a support since its such an expensive item that offeres ZERO combat stats. The only reason I would build such a thing is to reach warhorn. Warhorn since its change has made a turn for the better. By offering 400 hp now not only gives combat stats but its active is increibly good working with or against a
Rona . I also find it useful for allowing your
Krul to stick or initiate more easier. Overall I call it a very situational buy.
AfterShock - So when you need some damage on your team this is usually the item I reach for due to the fact it also gives cooldown reduction as well as percent damage. If I have enough damage though I find I often build just the chronograph which is usually enough cooldown to get 2 vanguards off in a fight.
Clockwork- I HATE this item on Ardan it provides no HP or defensive stats, no active and while the cooldown is nice its not worth 1950 gp. The energy regen and max energy give you about 30 crystal (which is nothing!)
Infusions- While you may not be as depend on infusions as a carry it is always a good idea to pick one up before a game breaking fight or kraken has been released. If I have a chornograph at least I go for the red infusion since he can utilize the attack speed and attack damage very effectively in comparison to most supports. if I don't I go for a blue infusion for the cool down reduction.
Character/Team synergies
Rona - This right now is my favorite synergy right now. While their early game isn't the greatest the combination of Ardans skills with Rona's Red Mist is amazing. Vanguard speeds her up and aoe slows despite the fact she moves slow as hell and my favorite is throwing them into the gauntlet, vaunguarding Rona and then playing Beyblades with the enemy team.
Krul - I love this combination but the early game on it is SUPER weak. I think its great though post lvl 4 if the enemy team allows you to get there. Give Krul a movement speed, area slow and more barrier? Why not? Put them in a ring where they cant get away? HELL YES!
Koshka -This is probably your most solid go to comp. If you want to run Ardan. Currently koshkas build heavy crystal making them overly squishy, Ardan covers that weakness while benefiting from having koshkas strong clear speed and early game to cover his own weakness.
Taka - While this combination is a bit more unusual I do enjoy a good "kaku into vanguard the cardboard box gank". Taka is extremely high dps but if protected correctly you fix his greatest weakness.
Vox - Vox has an attack range of 4.5 so I find Ardan an ideal support to cover the squishiness of this high dps short range carry.
Ringo - Solid. Nothing particularly special but when it comes down to it effective.
Celeste - Protect your Bae! Celeste is probably one of if not the hardest hitting carry right now but her immobility and squishiness make less desirable. Ardan can fix these with a well placed vanguard. I love this combination but its early game is still week.
Well there is more...
As funny as it sounds this is only the basics to playing a good support Ardan. I may update this further in the future but for now I wana sleep. I hope you guys enjoy my guide and find it useful and if you have further questions you can message me on twitter or find me on a vainglory stream. Take care everyone and good luck in your games!!
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