Honor of Kings is a decent MOBA with almost too much content

Honor of Kings, however, is now (re)launching on a platform that is dominated by MOBA titles such as League of Legends: Wild Rift, Pokemon Unite, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). Is this game going the way of Arena of Valor, or does it have anything special to offer?

Hold on, what exactly is Honor of Kings?



Initially released with 3v3, Boot Camp, and AI simulation game types, Honor of Kings is a free-to-play MOBA with 5v5 PvP action. With onscreen touch controls that let players activate and enhance their skills as well as push and pull characters as they move around the map, it functions pretty much like Wild Rift. With the standard three lanes for players to conquer based on their responsibilities, the game’s map graphically resembles League as well.

As usual, the goal is to destroy the towers of the other team while defending your own in each of the three lanes. Your team can advance toward the enemy’s home base and destroy it to declare victory if enough towers have been taken down. However, because players spend the majority of the game farming kills and gold, upgrading abilities, and poking at towers, this usually takes time. According to Level Infinite, 5v5 matches last only 15 to 20 minutes, however in my experience, how well your team coordinates will determine how long you can play.

Players walked aimlessly during my first few games, which lasted up to nearly 30 minutes apiece. Since new players, including myself, are still learning the game, this may have been the result of early-day issues. It should be mentioned that this game is inconsistent in that regard, as those 15–20 matches will be a major selling feature for anyone looking for a streamlined MOBA experience while on the road.

Purchasing goods and selecting heroes


Honor of Kings appears to be a fairly approachable game to introduce yourself to MOBAs, even if you don’t play them frequently. The game uses highly specific terminology to describe its three map lanes, with the top lane being the Clash lane and the bottom lane being the Farm lane. The heroes you choose are categorized by lane and class, such as fighters (who use melee weapons) and mages (who use ranged magic), and the names themselves explain what you’re supposed to do by playing these lanes.

With a total of 85 playable characters in the game, this simplified language proves to be rather helpful. You still have to sift through a ton of possible mains to choose your instant favorites, even if some of them must be bought in advance. You don’t even need to alter each character’s build for added playability. A few pre-selected builds and details on the lane they work best in are included with every character. It is not really necessary to think about choosing your heroes and devising a plan before a match begins, although it is an option.

It’s really simple to purchase goods and upgrade your skills in the game. To get new items to appear on the top right when you have enough gold, just tap the “+” symbol next to your abilities on the right side of the screen. New players can just concentrate on playing the game by feverishly clicking on pop-ups because there are no menus to explore unless they’re aiming for a specific custom build. That’s usually how they win the game. Mobile players don’t need something like as intense, but there is something to be said about the devaluation of tactics in MOBA gameplay that has been so watered down.


Although Honor of Kings’ hero count falls short of MLBB’s requirements, 85 characters seems like a good amount for a relatively young game. With unique histories, ability kits, and skins associated with each of these heroes, it’s almost too much to handle. You might be tempted to pick one out of the crowd. My first choice for the game was Angela because of her combination of burst and stun abilities, which effectively subdue opponents. I also spent a lot of time playing Hou Yi, whose usefulness increases in the late game due to his strong ultimate.

Although this isn’t one of those games, I hope more would adopt Overwatch’s strategy of giving players nearly instant access to every playable character. To unlock the majority of Honor of Kings’ heroes, you will need to grind or pay real money, which is most likely what Level Infinite and Tencent are trying to force you to do. Players are inundated with a dizzying amount of pop-up notifications on the home screen of the game, informing them of event updates, shop modifications, daily log-in rewards, and more. I find it all a little overwhelming, but it’s obvious that the goal is to keep players interested every single day till the end of time. I’m just not into that.

Conclusion


Honor of Kings is a respectable choice for both new and seasoned players of MOBAs on mobile devices, provided that you can tolerate its graphic clutter and excessive amount of playable heroes. Here, I refer to mobile platforms; the game isn’t really comparable because it removes the intricacy of PC games like League and Dota 2 in order to provide players shorter, easier matches. Depending on your preferred gaming device, your experience may differ, but I did observe some freezing and framerate reductions in a handful of my bouts. If not completely fixed, this could be lessened by looking through the game’s graphic options.

There’s really no excuse not to play Honor of Kings if you’re searching for a different MOBA to relax with. As one might anticipate from a videogame that is technically nine years old, it is feature-rich and packed with content for a relatively new multiplayer release.

Finally released worldwide, is Honor of Kings worth playing for MOBA fans?
The recent worldwide release of Honor of Kings should not be taken as a sign that the game is brand-new. Prior to deciding to release an international version of the game, Arena of Valor, in 2016, Level Infinite and Tencent Games’ mobile MOBA was first made available only in China in 2015. Arena of Valor wasn’t a complete failure, but it also wasn’t a huge success outside of China. This year’s worldwide launch of Honor of Kings, which at last let everyone outside of China to play the already nine-year-old game—with a few modifications, of course—must be attributed to the game’s lackluster performance.

Honor of Kings, however, is now (re)launching on a platform that is dominated by MOBA titles such as League of Legends: Wild Rift, Pokemon Unite, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). Is this game going the way of Arena of Valor, or does it have anything special to offer?

Hold on, what exactly is Honor of Kings?



Initially released with 3v3, Boot Camp, and AI simulation game types, Honor of Kings is a free-to-play MOBA with 5v5 PvP action. With onscreen touch controls that let players activate and enhance their skills as well as push and pull characters as they move around the map, it functions pretty much like Wild Rift. With the standard three lanes for players to conquer based on their responsibilities, the game’s map graphically resembles League as well.

As usual, the goal is to destroy the towers of the other team while defending your own in each of the three lanes. Your team can advance toward the enemy’s home base and destroy it to declare victory if enough towers have been taken down. However, because players spend the majority of the game farming kills and gold, upgrading abilities, and poking at towers, this usually takes time. According to Level Infinite, 5v5 matches last only 15 to 20 minutes, however in my experience, how well your team coordinates will determine how long you can play.

Players walked aimlessly during my first few games, which lasted up to nearly 30 minutes apiece. Since new players, including myself, are still learning the game, this may have been the result of early-day issues. It should be mentioned that this game is inconsistent in that regard, as those 15–20 matches will be a major selling feature for anyone looking for a streamlined MOBA experience while on the road.

Purchasing goods and selecting heroes


Honor of Kings appears to be a fairly approachable game to introduce yourself to MOBAs, even if you don’t play them frequently. The game uses highly specific terminology to describe its three map lanes, with the top lane being the Clash lane and the bottom lane being the Farm lane. The heroes you choose are categorized by lane and class, such as fighters (who use melee weapons) and mages (who use ranged magic), and the names themselves explain what you’re supposed to do by playing these lanes.

With a total of 85 playable characters in the game, this simplified language proves to be rather helpful. You still have to sift through a ton of possible mains to choose your instant favorites, even if some of them must be bought in advance. You don’t even need to alter each character’s build for added playability. A few pre-selected builds and details on the lane they work best in are included with every character. It is not really necessary to think about choosing your heroes and devising a plan before a match begins, although it is an option.

It’s really simple to purchase goods and upgrade your skills in the game. To get new items to appear on the top right when you have enough gold, just tap the “+” symbol next to your abilities on the right side of the screen. New players can just concentrate on playing the game by feverishly clicking on pop-ups because there are no menus to explore unless they’re aiming for a specific custom build. That’s usually how they win the game. Mobile players don’t need something like as intense, but there is something to be said about the devaluation of tactics in MOBA gameplay that has been so watered down.


Although Honor of Kings’ hero count falls short of MLBB’s requirements, 85 characters seems like a good amount for a relatively young game. With unique histories, ability kits, and skins associated with each of these heroes, it’s almost too much to handle. You might be tempted to pick one out of the crowd. My first choice for the game was Angela because of her combination of burst and stun abilities, which effectively subdue opponents. I also spent a lot of time playing Hou Yi, whose usefulness increases in the late game due to his strong ultimate.

Although this isn’t one of those games, I hope more would adopt Overwatch’s strategy of giving players nearly instant access to every playable character. To unlock the majority of Honor of Kings’ heroes, you will need to grind or pay real money, which is most likely what Level Infinite and Tencent are trying to force you to do. Players are inundated with a dizzying amount of pop-up notifications on the home screen of the game, informing them of event updates, shop modifications, daily log-in rewards, and more. I find it all a little overwhelming, but it’s obvious that the goal is to keep players interested every single day till the end of time. I’m just not into that.

Conclusion


Honor of Kings is a respectable choice for both new and seasoned players of MOBAs on mobile devices, provided that you can tolerate its graphic clutter and excessive amount of playable heroes. Here, I refer to mobile platforms; the game isn’t really comparable because it removes the intricacy of PC games like League and Dota 2 in order to provide players shorter, easier matches. Depending on your preferred gaming device, your experience may differ, but I did observe some freezing and framerate reductions in a handful of my bouts. If not completely fixed, this could be lessened by looking through the game’s graphic options.

There’s really no excuse not to play Honor of Kings if you’re searching for a different MOBA to relax with. As one might anticipate from a videogame that is technically nine years old, it is feature-rich and packed with content for a relatively new multiplayer release.