A Glimpse into the Future: Arc Warden
In our latest Blog Post we have discussed the most probable addition to the Dota 2 hero roster - Abyssal Underlord. Yet, it is not everything we can be excited about - apart from Dota 2 Reborn coming out of beta and receving needed bug fixes, there is also another hero down the line - Arc Warden.
There are many reasons to be more excited about Arc Warden than about Abyssal Underlord - his skillset will probably appeal to a larger crowd and he is not as one-dimensional. A preview of the hero was due and it will follow the same structure as the last time - we will briefly look at the abilities of the hero and will try to conclude his potential impact on the game and his viability in different roles.
Abilties
- Flux - Engulfs an enemy unit with swirling volatile energy for 6 seconds, slowing its movement speed by 50% and dealing damage over time if it is alone. The effect is muted if there is a nearby enemy unit within 225 units.
The damage from this ability is pretty good (90/180/270/360) and the slow is insane, especially in the early levels. This, however, comes with a condition which has to be fulfilled and there are only two scenarios where this spell will truly shine: zoning an enemy offlaner or forcing the enemy heroes to group up.
The first scenario will be quite common and solo offlaners will have a really hard time dealing with this effect - they will either have to eat a decent amount of damage and remain slowed for 6 seconds, or will have to position themselves closer to their own creep wave, potentially forcing them out of the safe zone. Either way - the kill potential is quite high with the openings the spell provides.
In teamfights, a range of 900 at level 4 of the spell makes it possible to target the backline - which are usually supports. It creates an opportunity for a stronger AoE game with Light Strike Array or Split Earth by forcing the supports to hug their frontline teammates. Alternatively, it can sometimes trick retreating enemies to go back and help out their slowed teammate resulting in an extra kill for your team.
Overall, the mecahnics of the spell are very interesting. In practice, however, I feel it is very inconsistent in what it does and sometimes it does pretty much nothing. It will take a while for people to learn how to use the spell, especially with how quickly people will come up with different counter-plays.
- Magnetic Field - Distorts space, generating a circular field that grants 100% evasion and bonus attack speed to allied heroes and buildings within. The field has a radius of 275 units.
It is one of the most annoying spells I had to play against. With a strong focus on well-scaling magic/pure damage heroes it is probably less effective in the current meta, but a shift to a more right-click oriented game will make it truly shine.
Even without a decent AS buff, it is still unbelievably strong, even with a single point spent. It essentially creates a zone in which your team can fight with a massive advantage and a huge AoE and Cast Range of 900 means that you will not have to risk your own life.
It working on towers/barracks is something that is often overloooked - an extra 5 seconds of glyph (except for specific cases) can make all the difference in the world.
This quite powerful spell is balanced by a massive 50 seconds cooldown, but with Arc Warden's ultimate discussed further, it becomes less of an issue.
- Spark Wraith - Summons a Spark Wraith that takes 3 seconds to fully materialize. Haunts the targeted area until an enemy comes within its range and then fuses itself into them dealing magical damage.
It is basically a visible Land Mine which can not be destroyed. It is good? In specific cases it is, but in a teamfight scenario it doesn't do much - even given a ridiculously low cooldown of 4 seconds and a cast range of 2000.
The probelm with this spell is that it takes a lot of time to activate - 3 seconds is usually enough for the enemy team to either initiate or reposition - you can slowly decrease the amount of space enemy gets to work with, but it is more of a long-term positioning game, rather than a damage burst.
It is, however, good at defending/breaching highground. It can lead to a quick unexpected kill (or force out a BkB) when you are sieging side lanes - in most cases as the team defending from Arc Warden you want to stay away from forestation.
Same goes for defending - limiting the space in which the enemy can operate and forcing them to group up more that they are comfortable with is the name of the game for the hero. Yet again, it combos really well with most AoE heroes. Even if the spell does not do a lot on its own except for specific cases, it is still achieving something.
- Tempest Double - By vibrating at extreme speeds, Arc Warden is able to create a perfect electrical incarnation of himself for 20 seconds, at the cost of his current health and mana. This incarnation can use any spells or items he has, and spawns with his health and mana after the cast.
A very exciting spell - previously only 
Meepo could boast illusions which were capable of casting spells. Add using items on top of it and you get something very new to the World of Dota.
In theory there are many possibilities when it comes to using this spell - double Midas sounds like a decent idea, as well as Dagon and a multitude of other options. The forums are full of people claiming their x-build is amazing on the basis of several games in highly volatile skill-wise Dota 1 games. Do not listen to these claims - the skill level of Garena/iCCup Rooms for Dota 1 is rather low - my personal experience will put most of the games I played in the sub 2.5k region.
More on that in discussing the heroes role.
Laning
Offlane
In theory, Arc Warden seems like a decent offlaner - he has a form of escape similar to Windrun, albeit on a very long cooldown and he has the ability to ensure a safe zone with Spark Wraith he can always retreat to.
In practice his 0 starting armor and an unimpressive HP pool/Strength gain make him an easy target. Additionally, the safe zone ensured by Spark Wraith has the potential of pushing the lane, forcing you to get out of position more often than you should.
Top it with a below-average Movement speed of 295 and the ideas seems less and less feasible.
He is also incapable of clearing jungle stacks - something many current offlaners tend to fall back to after the initial stage.
Mid/Carry
Personally, I tihnk he can be a decent mid hero when it comes to laning. He can get last hits with the help of Spark Wraith while being relatively safe with a much shorter distance to the tower. Additionally, enemy support rotations are easier to predict and they do not happen as often as offlane clashes, making Magnetic Field a lot more potent.
The question is, what does he bring to the table with the extra XP from the middle lane?
He is a good mid laner, a bit overrated in my opinion. But definitely ok to be in a mid position! To say that he is one of the best solo mids etc is really exageration, he was played like 0 times in a high level LAN, you need way more to comapre him to Shadow Fiend, Magnus or Puck.
He can't flash-farm the jungle to get to his core item really fast and snowball, as it is done on other popular Mid heroes. He is a decent ganker, but only in very specific situations. And he does not scale that well despite all the claims.
There are ideal scenarios which theoretically work and there is reality - e.g. double Midas only works once every 55-65 seconds and does not grant bonus XP from the Double. It does give you a lot of gold and if my calculation are correct Hand Of Midas, if used as soon as it is off cooldown, pays for itself in 8 minutes, assuming level 6-11 Arc Warden.
It means that in ideal scenario at minute 15 you have boots/midas/stick and ~2k gold. On a hero who has pretty terrible stats, abilities which cannot be called gamebreaking and which do not scale well/have the same scaling effect on teammates. A hero who is easily shut down and in the late game will be weaker than most carries as well as other popular cores.
The all-in on burst magic damage is very risky and the payoff is generally a quick burst (rarely a kill) on an enemy core at the beginning of teamfight and very little utility from you after you've used your big cooldowns. It is a high risk-medium reward situation in a game with a core Arc Warden.
I might be wrong, and there is a possiblity he is going to become something similar to 6.8x 
Tinker, but the probability of him becoming the next 
Oracle, where everyone tries to get Dagon and fails miserably 99% of the time, is much higher.
Support
Personally, this is the only position I am ever going to play the hero in. Excellent zoning game and offlaner kill potential, as well as ganking prowess will make for a scary active support, while not sacrificing defensive capabilties.
Later on, I will treat Tempest Double as a free refresher on two of my skills (one of which is amazing) and a really strong boost to Spark Wraith.
I will not take lane farm from someone who scales better and comes online faster. If the early game is a huge success I might get Hand of Midas, since it can boost the XP gain, but will not use my high-cooldown ultimate for an extra 190 gold - I might need it in the next gank/engagement I am already planning in my head.
If, for some reason, I come across a lot of gold, I will build disables - 
Eul's Scepter of Divinity, 
Orchid Malevolence, 
Heaven's Halberd or even 
Scythe of Vyse. Otherwise, having two 
Glimmer Capes or two 
Solar Crests can be amazing - that is if I have little money after buying the wards.
Finally, I will always try to get my hands on 
Necronomicon, since it deals a lot of damage and burns mana, while providing tactical/strategic benefits.
Conclusion
I think Arc Warden is an amazing hero with a high skill cap that is extremely rewarding - there are simply too many interactions between enemies/teammates to mention in a single Blog Post, but since a lot of his utility comes from itemistaion his versatility is probably among the highest across all heroes.
That said, I feel he will be soon forgotten, since the usual mindset of Dota 2 player is to get as many kills as they possibly can - disregarding the actual outcome of the game. He is not particualrly good at it - he can be, but as I said, it is a high-risk - average reward kind of thing. Tinker farms faster and has higher potential in the late game as a core, even after the nerfs, yet we don't see him being a popular pick. He is also easier to handle.
As a greedy support, Arc Warden is among the best. And the neat thing is - with his early game kill potential and current state of gold distribution, a team can afford a greedy support like him. It will be a shame to see him disregarded just because people are incapable of grasping the concept of opportunity cost when it comes to drafting.
"He is a good mid laner, a bit overrated in my opinion. But definitely ok to be in a mid position! To say that he is one of the best solo mids etc is really exageration, he was played like 0 times in a high level LAN, you need way more to comapre him to Shadow Fiend, Magnus or Puck." my sides
Agreed
Talking about zoning out an offlaner with the 1st skill - Beastmaster and Lone Druid are decent counters for it. I think Lycan might be too, but he is rarely played as an offlaner.
Its hard to take this post seriously. People tried utility items on arc warden when he was first releashed like double shiva double hex and I can tell you its lacklustre. midas bot manta necrobook divine rapier refresher is what you need. Arc warden is the only hero in the game that can carry a rapier 80% risk free since his clone doesnt drop rapier on being killed. Just go for this build and take the enemy's base while they are foolishly fighting your team. With magnetic field necro and divine you break bases in seconds and beat the crap out of anyone trying to stop you. Youre main hero doesnt even need to be there to take the rax.
With Flux, Spark Wraith and the copy, Zet will become a good roamer and be very helpful to mid-lane ganker. But he needs more mana pool and mana regeneration. So, Clarity, Null Talisman and Tango will be best for the beginning. Than Boots of speed, Arcane boots and Necronomicon. An ideal pusher and semi-support ganking Slark, Ursa and Huskar will be happy. Another build is Support, the goal is to increase the mana pool and use the good damage and short cooldown of 3rd skill the carry will have free farm and no problems with harass.
There are several reasons why this is currently less viable than it was previously:
1. It is Dota 1 - the skill level in a typical pub is really low and you have a lot more space to go all-in with "Double Midas" shenanigans. In Dota 2 it simply won't work - enemy team will aply enough pressure for you to consider using ultimate not to get extra 190 gold, but to actually do things.
2. There are new cheap utility items in **6.84** - Glimmer Cape/Solar Crest. With this you can pretty much guarantee invulnerability on two of your cores.
3. While Tempest Double illusion can take full advantage of a Divine Rapier, it is still a very easy target to kill - stats on Arc Warden are horrible and Magnetic Field only lasts 5 seconds at max level.
4. Current meta is more about Spell Damage and Early fights. Can support Arc Warden counter it? Yes, double glimmer from a single hero can make a lot of difference. Can Core Arc do anything? There is magnetic field but your typical Lesh/Lina/Storm/Shadow Fiend/QoP have ways of dealing magical damage and are not as reliant on right clicks. Your typical AM/PL/Gyro (!!) simply don't care. Gyro will hit a different target and force you to eat the Flak no matter how much evasion you have. Other two have enough disengage potential.
5. Splitpush is different - teams and even pub players now tend to take into account how close/far the lane is pushed to their highground/tower. A 20 second illusion, even with a Rapier can clear 2 waves at the very best. And only then will you get to a tower.
There is a reason Furion/Tinker/Io+anything are not as potent.
I might be completely wrong. The hero might get into the game with little to no nerfs and some professional player will wreck with him on his stream playing pos 1/2. The probability of that happening is really low, though. The game has evolved, the players have evolved. Double the utility from a single hero IMO > 100% damage buff.
You say multiple times that his stats are terrible, but Isnt his str and int stats good? Given, his agi stats are terrible and are his main, but the other two seem pretty good, in fact no other agi hero has starting str and int stats like that, and the gains are pretty good.
I dont know a thing about how the hero will come out, but the first thing that came to mind when i saw his skill set would be indeed a support and get an urn asap. Necro sounds so good, i guess double force is cool too.
" enemy team will aply enough pressure for you to consider using ultimate not to get extra 190 gold "
" 3. While Tempest Double illusion can take full advantage of a Divine Rapier, it is still a very easy target to kill - stats on Arc Warden are horrible and Magnetic Field only lasts 5 seconds at max level. "
" 5. Splitpush is different - teams and even pub players now tend to take into account how close/far the lane is pushed to their highground/tower. A 20 second illusion, even with a Rapier can clear 2 waves at the very best. And only then will you get to a tower. "
)))))))))))
why u talk about zet, if u even dont know how to play him
I think Arc Warden can be a good MID laner or carry, anyway, a good core hero. Just because of his "ilusion", as a MID laner, he can make itens like vyse, dagon, shivas guarda and other intelligence itens, just like The puck itens. But, for all of this works, that hero needs a good protection, i mean, its very necessary a glimmers cape in The team, mekans, force staffs and other save itens, because if some hero like p.a, centaur and etc jump in Arc, hes a very easy kill. At least, try to imagine: a double vyse for disabling two important heroes, double shivas effect and dagons, its just amazing.
So much hate.
Not as a carry, but as a MID laner like puck/tinker can works. Farm this core itens its not a problemas with a double midas, Arc will just need put The midas in his priority and play safe, The supports on his team will aways needs TP's for protection Arc from ganks and some save itens for him. When he finished this core itens, he just needs to focus and use it on The right guys, its not a good TF hero but in individual fights, Arc can maybe defeat alot of heroes, like tinker.
Midas, boots, tp boots, rapier rapier deso mkb :D
this is CANCER
You have a good point. Old school players don't realise that his only strength lies in splitpushing and he is Ember Spirit level weak as a core in rightclick battles, especially against MKB carriers. People exaggerate a lot when they say how OP he is. If you want annoying splitpusher who relies on BoT, then you have Naga and she can farm way faster than him. In current meta he won't find as good niche as he would in 6.82 for example as splitpusher, because there is a lot of AoE magic damage: Lina, Lesh, Gyro all can easily deal with swarms he puts on towers, like Tempest Doubles and double Necro. Considering his stat growth (dude has one of the lowest Agility + Agility per level when his primary attribute is, you know, Agility), he and his clones won't be able to survive for too long. His starting Strength, however, is far from terrible and this allows him to take some early fight, which he is excellent at.
Don't forget about 0 starting armour, though. Stats are not only attributes, but misc also things like MS/Armour/BAT/tange etc.
He does have extra 25 range, but it is hardly compensating for squishiness to physical, low MS and 0.4 turn rate. Low turn rate does not allow hit to be as effective at kiting in the later stages, which is kind of big deal on a ranged hero.
LAwl the final hero is gonna be nerfed
Lol still not given up on the stupid dagon oracle hate
what is that mana cost on the spark wraith?
I'm sure the person who wrote this post doesn't even know how to play Zet.
Support Zet is not gonna work rofl
Dota 2 Wiki says he starts with 0.1 armor
so what if u go for that naga radiance manta octarine build on him? seems with his traps he can make it tough for enemy team to push tower while he can be across the map splitpushing. its my best take on a core Arc Warden.
Also u guys are really hating on necrobook. double dagon double shiva double midas is all crap. the single strongest way of playing this hero imho will be as a support with double necrobook.
Beyond that i agree he wont see to much play. People lower than 5 k are mechanically limited (someone might play a good storm or slark ok..) and cant micro at all which is essential for using zet to his full potential.
Do mines count as enemy units? Cos techies would counter his first skill if so haha
if he's "lanes mine" have a aoe he would be able to farm stack and farm faster in general it could be a good buff.
I hate going back to dotA to play these awsome heroes because of the unbelievable delay. Back in the da i tought it was my internet or something but even now its totally unplayable. STILL i love stealing his ultimate with rubick
I wonder the possibilities with refresher on this hero
I've been waiting for this to come, if played well its a cancer...
ARC WARDEN WOULDN'T BE ADDED BEFORE PIT LORD CUMMING !! WHO THE FUCK GRANTS YOU ARC WARDEN WILL BE ADDED SOONER!??
i prefer pitlord/abbyssal pitlord over arc warden. due to the ultimate abilty utility, i know double tempest is a neat ult that give a lot of pottential but compare to pitlord the io like ult that could teleport all allies near you to other heroes across the map is so pottent that really could turn the table.