Beginner Guide 1: Hero Roles

Before you read too much on, there is a concept that every player needs to hammer into his brain over and over (especially all you beginners out there) as it is the single most important thing that you can learn about the game: HoN is a team game.

Now, a lot of people are of course going to say "Ego, of course HoN is a team game. There are five players on each side and they have to work together as a team to defeat the enemy right?"

And I would respond "Correct!". But there is more to it than simply that. It is so easy to be drawn into individual well-being in a game that you can lose sight of what the ultimate goal of playing is: winning! So here you will learn what specific role you're best suited for, and how to play a certain type of role.

The Carry

My worst nightmare when it comes to public/AP games because each team ends up with 4-5 carries and the game becomes a clusterfuck of carries, rather than a balanced game. The carry is the hero that in the early game is heavily supported by his teammates, but in the late game is able to ‘carry’ them to victory.

Characteristics

-Stronger late game than early game (generally)
-Item-dependent
-Must farm well in order to succeed (whether heroes or creeps)
-Able to destroy opposing heroes late game extremely fast

Sub-Categories

Hard Carry

These are carries that are usually only able to really shine once the late game kicks in. They are generally weaker than all other types of heroes early to mid game and must have a very strong farm to be successful.



Semi-Carry

These are carries that are effective all throughout the game (early, mid, and late) but have less carry potential the longer the game goes on compared to a hard carry.



Tank-telligence Carry

My own made-up category because I feel as though they take a special spot distinguished from the other types of carries. The distinct difference is that semi-carries are still reliant on their auto attacks, and TT carries are more or less completely reliant on their spells. TT carries have spells that scale into the late game, and as expected are built like tanks.




Ganker/Nuker

These heroes are the ones that will do bulk of the damage early to mid game. They are able to do well without farm because they are spell-dependent. Needs early levels to have run-away potential.

Characteristics

-Has offensive spells that can either control the enemy hero(es).
-Dishes out large amount of damage in quick succession.
-Expected to roam early/mid game to set up kills.
-Level dependent (to get higher skill levels).



Support

The bane of low rating and pub games: there are no support heroes! When played well, the support heroes can be the most important part of your line-up. They place wards to give vision to your allies so they can gank/avoid being ganked. It's common for them to not even directly be in the lane but rather off in the jungle nearby so that the carry in their lane can get the farm.

Characteristics
*AKA "Ward Bitch"
*Typically lower level and farm than other heroes
*Responsible for setting up wards
*Must protect the carry







Final Words
Please note that the above guide and heroes listed in each section is a general guideline and is not intended for top-tier play. Use it as a good base to build your game sense of hero roles and adjust accordingly.