Honor of Kings Plus introduced a variety of battlefield changes to spawn times, attributes, and rewards. The roles impacted the most are those in the Farm Lane, Clash Lane, and Mid Lane.
The host of new and improved features are all directly driven by valuable player feedback, said Level Infinite in a press release.
This comprehensive update aims to elevate the gaming experience by offering more depth and engagement than ever before. Players can look forward to a refined and enriched gameplay experience, demonstrating the developers’ commitment to community-driven improvements.
ONE Esports spoke to Honor of Kings Game Producer, Dean Huang, to understand the development team’s decisions.
The way you navigate Farm Lane, Clash Lane, and Mid Lane in Honor of Kings changes with this update
For a start, the Mid Lane will now have four minions. What’s more, the game developers are completely removing the Central River Sprite to create a better flow. It balances gold collection and prevents the unexpected swings that often results from fighting over it.
“Before the 4-minute mark, we’ve added one extra minion per wave in the Mid Lane to encourage mid-lane players to stay and focus on their matchups. This change is aimed at encouraging a greater variety of mid-lane hero picks, instead of just opting for the roam-heavy mid laners,” Dean explained.
Mid Lane players can now actively pressure their opponents in lane in order to control the pace of the game.
“In the Farm Lane, the frequent respawn of the Firehawk was causing too much disruption, often leading to the team with the early advantage to continuously exert pressure and dominate their opponent in lane and crush them too early,” Dean shared his insights.
To counter this, the Firehawk’s respawn frequency has been reduced to create fairer and more balanced encounters, helping players focus on early-game farming.
Lastly, in the Clash Lane, the game developers discovered that that players here are overly reliant on the teleport portal.
“To keep players’ focus and avoid distractions from the Side Lane River Sprite, we made the Space Spirit the main objective and increased its respawn frequency. We hope this will encourage more encounters and gameplay around the teleport portal,” said Dean.
“Game balance is not a fixed value—it’s a dynamic and ongoing process. Any new element introduced to the battlefield has the potential to shift the balance. As long as we continue to deliver fresh content and new experiences to players, maintaining that balance will remain a constant and essential challenge. Ensuring fair and competitive gameplay is a long-term commitment we take very seriously,” Dean added.
In the same vein, the ranked ladder has also been improved. Players’ Star rewards will now be determined by “Result points,” which combine your match outcome with your individual performance.
The developers aim to reward all players in their team-based competitive game, moving beyond solely recognizing the MVP.
The post-match summary evaluates performance using key metrics like assists and participation rate. Consequently, the MVP designation reflects a comprehensive assessment of personal skills, teamwork, and other factors, rather than just solo performance or flashy individual plays.
Likewise, players on the losing team who demonstrate outstanding overall performance – emphasizing teamwork over just individual skill – will receive extra rewards.
What’s more, players on either team who achieve a perfect score based on their overall performance will also be recognized. This system is designed to encourage all players to become better team contributors.
“We believe the essence of a MOBA lies in team-based competition. We hope players will focus more on early-game development to better prepare for late-game team fights and objective control,” commented Dean.
“Even in matches where a single player might seem to carry, it’s rarely about 1vX outplays or solo split-pushing without regard for teammates. True victory belongs to teams that understand coordination and cooperation—those who play not just for themselves, but for the collective win,” he cautioned.
Another area where player feedback had a big impact is the Honor Pass, which was a major pain point due to its inconsistency. Recognizing this, the developers have completely streamlined the system, transforming it into a single, user-friendly hub.
Now, players can quickly and simply find tasks and claim rewards all in one place, eliminating the need to switch between multiple systems. This significant overhaul makes the player experience much more straightforward and enjoyable.
READ MORE: Honor of Kings Destiny is the mobile game’s second anime featuring a fan-favorite hero
