Warhead Junction Map Guide

Warhead Junction is a 3-lane Map belonging to the Starcraft universe. The signature Objective of this Map are Warheads. They can be collected and launched on a target location, usually to damage enemy Structures. On this Map, you can also find the Slime Boss, a unique Mercenary Camp that deals a huge amount of damage to enemy Heroes and Structures.

Here you can find one or more formations that are viable on this Map. Keep in mind that positions in lane are not strict and will often change based on the situation.

The go-to formation for Warhead Junction is 3-1-1:

• 3 Heroes cover the top lane and push as much as possible;
• 1 Hero, the Offlaner, covers the middle lane;
• 1 Hero, the Anchor, covers the bottom lane.

• At 0:30 minutes or whenever available, start clearing the allied Bruiser Camp and capture it as soon as possible. To make this Mercenary Camp join the lane behind allied Minions, capture it at 0:45 minutes or 15 seconds after a wave of Minions spawned.
• At 2:30 minutes or 30-40 seconds before the next Objective phase, start clearing the allied Siege Camp in the bottom lane and capture it slightly before the Warheads spawn. To make this Mercenary Camp join the lane in front of allied Minions, capture it at 2:35 minutes or 5 seconds after a wave of Minions spawned.
• During the Objective phase, get at least half the Warheads and use them to open the battlefield at your advantage. If possible, poke enemy Heroes who are trying to collect a Warhead and interrupt enemy Heroes who are trying to launch them on your Structures.
• After about 10:00 minutes, whenever your team has an advantage, regardless if there is an Objective to contest or not, you can capture the Boss Camp and push with it. Avoid doing it earlier if you do not have a dedicated team composition.

As shown in the image below, Warhead Junction has a total of 5 Mercenary Camps:

• 1 Boss Camp (red icon) in the top lane;
• 2 Bruiser Camps (violet icon) in the top lane;
• 2 Siege Camps (green icon) in the bottom lane.

Mercenary Camps on Warhead Junction are always active, even when Warheads are available on the battlefield.

Mercenary Camps indicated with a red icon are immune to Bribe effects.

This type of Mercenary Camp features 2 Hellbats. Once captured, it spawns the same units fighting for your team in the corresponding lane. When possible, push with them to get more value.

Hellbats reduce the Armor of enemy Structures and Heroes hit by their cleaving Basic Attacks for 3 seconds by 4 Armor per Basic Attack, stacking 5 times, for a maximum of 20 Armor reduction.

This type of Mercenary Camp features 3 Goliaths and 1 Raven. Once captured, it spawns the same units fighting for your team in the corresponding lane. When possible, push with them to get more value.

Ravens do not use Basic Attacks. Instead, they fire a Seeker Missile (5-second cooldown) which Reveals the targeted Hero and damages them upon impact. Ravens deal only 20 (not scaling) damage per second whereas Goliaths deal 40 (+1 per minute) damage per second.

This type of Mercenary Camp features 1 Slime Boss. Once captured, it spawns the same unit fighting for your team in the corresponding lane. When possible, push with it to get more value.

While in combat, the Slime Boss will use Slime Spit (14-second cooldown) to create a damaging pool on the ground, so be ready to avoid it. About 6 seconds after that, the boss will cast Spawn Pods (14-second cooldown) to launch multiple slime pods around him.

Due to being Elite, this Mercenary Camp is immune to Bribe effects (such as Covert Mission by Nova).

The signature Objective of Warhead Junction are Warheads (also called Nukes). To pick them up, Heroes have to channel for 5 seconds. Warheads also spawn a Regeneration Globe when collected from their spawn location. Collecting a Warhead will allow Heroes to nuke a given area and damage all enemy units within it. Due to their relatively long cast time and huge delay, Warheads are best used for damaging enemy Structures.

Warhead Deployment Multiple Warheads will spawn periodically across the battleground.

Collect Warheads Pick up a Warhead to activate your Nuke. Use it or you will drop it when you die!

Call Down the Thunder Launch Nukes to burn enemy team's fortifications. Attack their structures to extend the burn!

Warheads can spawn in 9 possible locations over 3 rows (top, middle, and bottom). Warhead will be distributed evenly in each lane: if there is only 1 Warhead, it will be at the center; if there are 2 Warheads, they will be on the sides.

Every spawn will feature from 2 to 4 Warheads. Spawns with 2 Warheads will have them on separate lanes. Spawns with 3 Warheads or more will always have exactly one lane with 2 Warheads.

The number of Warheads depends on the Objective phase's number:

• the 1st Objective phase can have from 2 to 3 Warheads;
• the 4th Objective phase can have from 3 to 4 Warheads;
• any other Objective phase can only have exactly 2 Warheads.

The 1st spawn has two additional rules:

• when there are 2 Warheads, they will be both middle;
• when there are 3 Warheads, they will be 1 middle, 2 in a side lane, and 0 in the other.

The 4th spawn has an additional rule:

• when there are 3 Warheads, they will be 2 in a lane and 1 in another;
• when there are 4 Warheads, they will be 1 top, 2 middle, and 1 bottom.

After collecting a Warhead, it will be on cooldown for 5 seconds. If you do not pay attention to this characteristic, you may end up walking within range of enemy Structures by mistake, taking unnecessary damage or even dying in the process. Also, Warheads deal damage after 4 seconds, so you will rarely hit enemy Heroes.

Warhead [F]

• Item

After a 2.5 second channel and a 4 second delay, launch a Warhead dealing 1000 (+70 every minute for 25 minutes) plus 12% of the target's maximum Health. Structures hit are set on fire, taking 1.2% of their maximum Health as damage over 10 seconds. Heroic Basic Attacks extend the burning's duration to 5 seconds.

Try to hit multiple Structures at the same time to maximize their value. Using 1 Warhead on each Fort (while also hitting nearby Towers) is more efficient than using 3 Warheads on the same Fort (while also hitting nearby Towers). This way you will also open the battlefield by getting rid of enemy Forts and nearby Healing Fountains.

You can use the Warhead timings provided below to launch a Warhead when the Game Time shows the corresponding amount of seconds. This way you can instantly kill a wave of enemy Minions for free when using a Warhead to hit a Fort or Keep and its nearby Towers.

When going for a Fort, the Warhead timings are:

• Top: 16 seconds, 46 seconds;
• Middle: 9 seconds, 39 seconds;
• Bottom: 17 seconds, 57 seconds.

When going for a Keep, the Warhead timings are:

• Top: 29 seconds, 59 seconds;
• Middle: 28 seconds; 58 seconds;
• Bottom: 29 seconds, 59 seconds.

Heroes trying to use a Warhead can be interrupted with crowd-control Abilities, putting the Warhead on a 10-second cooldown. To defend from Warheads, stay near your Structures to constantly stop enemy Heroes for nuking them. At the same time, though, enemy Heroes will try to use Warheads from the sides, behind the impassable terrain surrounding your Forts.

Whenever a Hero having a Warhead dies, that Warhead will drop on the ground, ready to be collected by another allied or enemy Hero. If you predict that you are going to die for sure in the next 2-3 seconds, you can use it on the spot so that the enemy team will not be able to get value from it.

You can keep some Warheads for when you will try to end the game. When doing so, target the enemy Core to take it down faster but aim them more towards your team, so that they will not only hit the enemy Core but also zone enemy Heroes away from you.

Even if Warhead Junction is a big Map, it is relatively fast to travel between the bottom and the top lane thanks to the Sewage Tunnel connecting them. When clicking on it, after channeling for 2 seconds, you will be teleported to the other side of the tunnel. You cannot use the Sewage Tunnel while directly taking damage from enemies.

You can use the Sewage Tunnel for various things, such as:

• when you are in the top lane but the enemy team is trying to siege your Structures in the bottom lane;
• to surprise enemy Heroes with a gank;
• as a valuable shortcut when traveling from a Mercenary Camp to the furthest lane, or in the opposite direction.

All that said, avoid using them if your team is not controlling at least one of the Watch Towers because, thanks to them, the enemy team will see all your movements between the bottom and top lane on the Minimap, indirectly gaining a tactical advantage by knowing your approximate position in the next few seconds and because, due to not having them, you will risk meeting enemy Heroes at the exit of the Sewage Tunnel.

Warhead Junction features 2 Watch Towers: one right above the middle lane and another slightly below it, each of them giving vision on one of the entrances of the Sewage Tunnel.

Securing a Watch Tower provides your team with greater vision, allowing you to keep an eye on enemy movements in that part of the battlefield. Watch Towers can be captured by standing in the area until your team gains control.

Watch Towers controlled by the enemy team are extremely dangerous, especially when there are bushes nearby, therefore you should think twice before contesting them. If you do not have mobility tools at your disposal and your teammates are not nearby to help you, you should definitely not try to capture a Watch Tower as you will only risk dying for no reason. Staying alive is more important than getting vision.

Every 18 seconds, the Core launches a Warhead at a nearby enemy Hero, dealing 30% maximum Health as damage to enemy Heroes hit.

To win the game on Warhead Junction, you should count on any of the following win conditions:

• Boss Camp,
• Split-push.

• Use the first Healing Fountain (2-minute cooldown) at or before 1:00 minute because the first Objective on this Map activates at 3:00 minutes, so you will have it back in time for that.
• Warheads do not deal bonus damage in the center, therefore they give maximum value when hitting as many Structures as possible at the same time.
• Watch Towers controlled by the enemy team are extremely dangerous, especially when there are bushes nearby, therefore you should think twice before contesting them.
• Before using the Sewage Tunnel for rotating between top lane and bottom lane, it is important to look at the Minimap and be aware of where enemy Heroes could be.