Complete Beginner Guide to Honor of Kings — Everything You Need to Know

Honor of Kings is a 5v5 MOBA played on a symmetrical map with three lanes (top/clash, mid, bottom/farm) and a jungle between them. Your team's goal is to destroy the enemy's crystal — the big glowing thing in their base.

The three lanes:
• Clash Lane (top) — where tanks and fighters go. It's a 1v1 lane for the first 5-8 minutes. Your job is to not die.
• Mid Lane — where mages go. The shortest lane, which means you can rotate to help other lanes quickly.
• Farm Lane (bottom) — where marksmen (ADCs) and supports go. Your job is to farm gold and become strong for late game.

The jungle: the area between lanes filled with neutral monsters. Your jungler farms these to get gold and XP. The most important jungle monsters are the buffs (red and blue) and the objectives (Tyrant and Overlord).

Every team has 5 roles. Here's what each one does, in plain English:

Clash Laner (Top): You're the tank or fighter. Your job is to hold your lane, not die, and join teamfights in the mid-game. Good starter champions: Arthur, Dun.

Jungler: You farm the jungle and gank lanes. Your job is to secure objectives (Tyrant, Overlord) and help your lanes get ahead. Good starter champions: Liu Bei, Athena.

Mid Laner: You're the mage. Your job is to clear your wave quickly and rotate to help other lanes. Good starter champions: Angela, Daji.

Farm Laner (ADC): You're the marksman. Your job is to farm gold for the first 10 minutes and then carry teamfights. Good starter champions: Luban No.7, Meng Ya.

Roamer (Support): You're the support. Your job is to protect your ADC, provide vision, and set up plays. Good starter champions: Sakeer, Dun.

1. Fighting too much. HOK is not a fighting game. It's a strategy game where fighting is a tool. Farm gold, take objectives, push towers. Fight only when you have an advantage.

2. Ignoring the minimap. The minimap is the most important part of your screen. If you don't know where the enemy jungler is, assume they're in your lane.

3. Not buying items. The recommended build is fine for beginners. Just buy what it tells you. Don't try to theorycraft your own build until you understand why the recommended one works.

4. Chasing kills. You got the enemy to 10% HP and they ran away? Great. You won the trade. Now take their tower or a jungle camp. Don't chase them under their tower and die.

5. Blaming teammates. You can't control your teammates. You can only control yourself. Focus on what you could have done better. Every death is your fault — even the ones that aren't.