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;
• 1 Hero, the Offlaner, covers the middle lane;
• 1 Hero covers the bottom lane.

• At 1:00 minute 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 1:15 minutes or 15 seconds after a wave of Minions spawned.
• At 2:30 minutes or several 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 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 neutral Boss Camp and 2 allied/enemy Bruiser Camps in the top lane;
• 2 allied/enemy Siege Camps in the bottom lane.

Unlike some other Maps, Mercenary Camps on Warhead Junction do not disappear from the battlefield during the Objective phase or right after it ends.

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.

The signature Objective of Warhead Junction are Warheads (also called Nukes). To pick them up, Heroes have to channel for 5 seconds. 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 devastate the enemy team's fortifications.

Warheads can spawn in 9 possible locations over 3 rows (top, middle, and bottom). That said, each Objective phase will either have 2 Warheads (even spawns) or 4 Warheads (odd spawns) active, starting with 4 Warheads and alternating for the rest of the game.

A spawn with 4 Warheads (1st spawn, 3rd spawn, and so on) will follow any of these layouts (top-middle-bottom): 2-1-1, 1-2-1, 1-1-2. Furthermore, it will always be different from the previous spawn featuring 4 Warheads (2 spawns before).

A spawn with 2 Warheads (2nd spawn, 4th spawn, and so on) will follow any of these layouts (top-middle-bottom): 0-1-1, 1-0-1, 1-1-0. Furthermore, it will always be different from the previous spawn featuring 2 Warheads (2 spawns before).

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 1.5 seconds, launch a Warhead. After 4 seconds, the Warhead hits the ground, dealing 2300 to non-Heroes and damage equal to 30% of their maximum Health to Heroes.

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.

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.

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.

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. Watchtowers can be captured similarly to defeated Mercenary Camps, 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.