How to get better at map awareness

[quote=ZeroSoulreaver]It's hard to say, I am still learning better map awareness too. Against smart teams it's a lot more than simply looking at your map or the score board because some things you won't even notice if you aren't experienced. The only thing I can really say is take it slow and get used to your surroundings first. Things that may help: -Play a game with bots and just get familiar with the area and where you think possible ganks may come from. -Use wards in the areas that are obvious for enemy hiders. After you get used to that and play a few real games you can start doing it in not so obvious spots like jungling areas. -Get used to watching your mini-map but make sure you are actively watching. The obvious things are easy to spot. You want to really keep an eye out for small things like enemies who quickly appear and then vanish off your map, you may miss it if you aren't careful. You have to be really watching more than one spot because the enemy might be moving this way just to set you and your team up. This happens all the time. -Notice patterns in how your enemy moves on the map and keep it in mind. Especially enemies like [[Kha'zix]]or any other jungler who can be really tricky if you aren't careful. -Make sure your teammates are on the same page as you. You may find yourself being the only one warding which makes things tough. If you can prevent teammates from getting in a bad situation don't hesitate. It's really not easy to see everything all by yourself. Their are 5 people on a team, not 1 designated map reader. If you let others know what is going on they start to pay closer attention to the map too.[/quote]

[quote=samgoeslol]play alot and use wards. after the 394203409th time of getting killed top even though the jungler ran through a ward you will start getting smarter in taht regard xD[/quote]

[quote=grrg]After just a few games I have noticed a great improvement in my awareness. Thanks a lot for all of the help. I have another somewhat related question if anyone can answer it. When/where to ward? I have seen the charts that say where to ward... but when is it relevant to ward where?[/quote]

[quote=Totallynotn00b]Map awareness comes with time. but the shortcut to it is to play the other roles. I.e, instead of looking at the map all the time, Play [[alistar]] jungle. Realise his speed, where he's likely to be. So in this instance, you would know if you were top lane blue side, not to expect a gank for a minute at least. Other ones? See who you're against. You need to be much more in tune to the map vs the likes of [[leblanc]][[kassadin]], etc, the ones who roam a lot, as opposed to say, [[karthus]] who you're pretty much certain isn't going to go roaming. As for wards? Depends on the lane, but during laning phase you try to put wards where the heaviest traffic by other lanes is that is closest to you. I.e, the crossroads next the wraith camp on both sides - you would want to ward this as mid lane due to how often this route is used by the jungler AND the mid lane. Blah. I can't write everything all down. Best advice i can give is probably watch a stream or two, and see how they do it. EVery game is different. Gotta learn the game, and then learn to adapt.[/quote]

[quote=lifebaka]During laning, it depends on which lane you're playing in. The support bottom lane should be keeping the bottom river warded at dragon and perhaps also at the bottom tribrush (depends on which side; it's often unnecessary to ward the tribrush when you're on blue side), the mid laner should be warding at least one side of his lane (people tend to prefer around enemy wraiths, to watch for jungler position), the top laner generally wants to keep his river warded to avoid ganks, and the jungler should try to pick up a few wards every time they're back to pick up warding slack for the rest of the team and to ward enemy buffs for counterjungling or your own buffs if you're getting counterjungled. After laning is over, it's mostly about warding high-traffic areas that aren't 100% under your team's control and making sure you keep sight on major objectives. If you're worried that the enemies are using certain jungle pathways, it might be a good idea to drop a ward somewhere that can see those paths. If you're winning fights and pushing, you probably control your half of the map pretty well, so concentrate on warding the enemy jungle and making sure that the enemy team can't ward their own jungle. If the enemies are pushing more effectively than you are, they probably have map control, so concentrate on warding your own jungle and buffs (plus baron at pretty much all times and dragon when it's going to be up soon) and removing enemy wards in your own jungle. [url=http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legends/build/support-guide-supplement-286982]This guide[/url] has good warding information geared towards supports, but a decent amount of the warding ideas work for top lane as well. The important thing to remember about this guide, however, is that it's almost never necessary to ward [i]all[/i] the places it suggests. Dragon and gank prevention wards are most necessary; friendly jungle wards should only be placed if they're needed, enemy jungle wards should only be placed if you can afford to (i.e. you can place them safely and they'll actually be useful), and lane bush wards should only be placed if needed as well (if you're zoning the enemies, for instance, it isn't necessary to ward either bush; you're in one, and the other is behind you, so they can't be there). If you're looking for more specific tips, try using LoLRecorder to record some of your games and ask for advice about how you could've warded better. Or just review your games yourself to see where people are at different points in the game and try to ward based on that.[/quote]