"My fist, your face." - Ardan
Ardan is a utility focused roamer who can save allies from certain death and change the tide of teamfights that seemed in the enemy's favor. The next time you think roaming isn't important, remember that one good play by the roam can change the outcome of a teamfight and win the game. This guide will go over Ardan's abilities, the role of roam and how to play it, and situational items. Take note that this guide is for experienced players who know the game and its mechanics.
I recommend starting
Ardan in the jungle, earn as much gold as possible, then go where you're needed.
Ardan's abilities have positive synergy with nearly all carries. Hover over icons for more stats.
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Julia's Gift
Slot: Heroic Perk
Ardan benefits from purchasing health items.
- Whenever Ardan takes damage, he heals for 0.8% of his missing health, but no more than 75% of the damage taken.
- Instead of energy, Ardan uses a yellow meter called Vengeance. Vengeance builds over time and can also be gained with basic attacks, critical strikes and abilities.
- Because Ardan doesn't need regular energy, 5% of bonus energy and 50% of bonus energy recharge are converted to crystal power.
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Julia's Gift makes Ardan more durable, especially against DOT (e.g
Skaarf FtF,
Skye Forward Barrage,
Ringo Hellfire Brew burn damage, etc.), additionally, he doesn't use regular Energy, he uses a special resource called Vengeance, which aren't used for his A & ultimate, but for his B ability,
Blood for Blood.
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Vanguard
Slot: A
Ardan dashes to protect an ally, granting them a 2s barrier and a burst of move speed. This also slows and damages nearby enemies.
- Overdrive: At max rank, Vanguard grants 50% Vengeance when cast on an ally.
- Using this ability on himself results in only half the barrier, speed boost and no Vengeance gain.
- Barrier scales up with 35% of Ardan's bonus health.
- Any time this ally takes damage, Ardan gains Vengeance.
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Vanguard is a very useful skill and can be used defensively and offensively, as it (once applied) deals crystal damage and slows enemies, as well as speeds up your ally. For example, you can apply
Vanguard to a ally to speed them up when chasing a slippery hero, as well as slow them down. And, of course, you can use it as just a barrier.
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Blood for Blood
Slot: B
Ardan rushes forward and punches his target.
- Overdrive: At max rank, Blood for Blood deals an additional 15% damage.
- Blood for Blood can only be activated when Ardan has 100% Vengeance and will consume all of it.
- Blood for Blood triggers basic-attack effects.
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It is counted as a basic attack and an ability, meaning
Aftershock can be proc'd and used on activation. Use
Blood for Blood as a gap closer and (if you bought it) activate
Shiversteel for a quick slow. Remember that activating this ability resets Ardan's basic attack timer, meaning you can basic attack two times in a row. Try to basic attack before activating this ability to deal maximum damage.
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Gauntlet
Slot: C
Ardan leaps to the target location and projects a perimeter around him. Enemy heroes who touch or cross the perimeter are stunned and take crystal damage.
- If Ardan leaves the perimeter, it is immediately destroyed.
- Ardan instantly gains full Vengeance upon using this ability.
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His ultimate,
Gauntlet can be used for many things. I suggest reading the
Gauntlet info if you don't fully grasp its power. It can be used in ganking for obvious reasons, in teamfights, and for your team's own defense. It usually takes a bit of skill to land
Gauntlet exactly where you want it. Beware of
Reflex Block as it renders Gauntlet useless.
Usually, there are three roles in a team. Each hero plays one of these roles. These roles are the lane, the jungle, and the roam.
Ardan can be played as both a jungler and a roamer, but this build focuses in on his roam path. The roam is usually the most durable hero in the team. He supports the carries and builds teamwide items (no
Aegis or
Metal Jacket). A roamer is usually also in charge of vision over the map, meaning it's his job to place those traps. Here's a map of good areas to place down mines:
Green mines are mines give you vision and are very important. They can win you games and have a low chance of being detonated; expect these to last long. Red mines are for the laner's protection and have a higher chance of getting detonated, while blue mines are only useful when the enemy team is starting to push into your base. Green mines in the enemy jungle are more valuable than mines in your jungle, but they can be useful, especially if the enemy junglers invade; this way you have plenty of warning that your enemies are in your jungle! Red mines in the tri-bushes should be placed at the corner of the bushes: this way they have a lower chance of detonating, but putting them in the center can be a good way to get some damage on them in the early game.
Roamers also have to focus on the needs of their team.
Ardan has synergy with many heroes, so he has most of this already covered.
Fountain of Renewal is a must-have for all roamers, not just him, and a
War Treads is also pretty great for hard engages or fleeing from battle. Then comes decision making. What do your teammates need? More damage? Vision? That brings us to our next chapter: situational items.
Sometimes, a single build may not suit the needs of your team. You may need to swap out some items to support your carries.
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Shiversteel is very useful against slippery enemies (
 Taka,
Ringo,
Skaarf). Pick this item up if you constantly find your enemies slipping away from your allies. Especially useful if you have a
 Krul,
 Reim or
 Blackfeather on your team, as they will benefit greatly from this extra stickiness.
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Atlas Pauldron is a strong item seen on most roams. It reduces the attack speed of your enemies, making it very effective on heroes like
Krul who rely on basic attacks. You should almost always pick up this item, unless there is a need for the items listed below.
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Stormcrown, though new this patch, is a great item for roams. Helps you take down objectives faster, take this over Atlas Pauldron if you are more focused on objective control than teamfighting.
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Bonesaw is something you'd never expect to see on a roam. However, if your weapon carry is having trouble breaking down heavily armoured targets and is out of inventory space, this may be a good buy. Only in this situation is
Bonesaw actually needed.
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Tension Bow is also a rare buy and is entirely situational. You should only get this item if the enemy team is out-damaging your team, and you need some extra burst to compensate.
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After upgrading
Dragonheart and picking your sixth item, your item build should be complete and your protection should be in full effect. Remember to build core items first before upgrading and picking the sixth item.
Ardan was originally meant to be played as a Warrior, but I think he's much better as a roam. Remember to use Vanguard for team support and not just your own, and practice blocking nasty CC for your team with Crucible. If you found this guide helpful, please upvote. I put a lot of time and effort into this. I hope you learned a thing or two about Ardan and roaming! Here's a couple links from the website Broken Myth that you may find helpful:
http://brokenmyth.net/support-synergy-boxing-with-ardan/
http://brokenmyth.net/understanding-stickiness-breaking-game-mechanic/
Thanks,
BlightVILE
Verse of Judgement
Blast Tremor
Wait for It
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