Monday, April 11, 2011

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.

44 comments:

  1. This is really helpful for me, I love HoN so much but I'm not that good yet.

    Thanks a lot man! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'n interested in trying this game now. Good guide!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Going to start this game next year, will make sure i have your guide at hand!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This game sounds fun! I used to play Wow, but I would like to try something new.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Im a regular on HoN myself and I can assure the reader the tips here presented are very very helpful if you are new to the game!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's always important not to stack a team with the same type in any game, nice tips.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I always like to play support classes in games. Gets you friends quick.

    ReplyDelete
  8. nice guide, you could also make an advanced guide on initiator/roamer/crowd control/warding

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome blog style man! Also great post! Definitely supporting!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting, this might get me to play this game...

    ReplyDelete
  11. awesome info, i like this much better than lol so far.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's a lot of information, but it seems to be pretty sound advice. I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice info mate, a friend of mine has been telling me to take up HoN. Might just give it a go now.
    Followed!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good into! Mby sometime I'll switch over from dota.

    ReplyDelete
  15. A lot of good info and tips, thanks

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ooo this game looks interesting.. I'll have to get it

    ReplyDelete
  17. This sounds really cool, I'm gonna have to look into it. Maybe then this post will make more sense :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  19. i love RTS games i think i might actually get this!

    ReplyDelete
  20. You missed Tonk! Every team needs a tonk! Also, every team needs a carry (I've had people go afk because we didn't have a carry...)

    ReplyDelete
  21. hmm... i might try this game out

    ReplyDelete
  22. Tank looks beast!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow. Props to this. Thanks very much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  24. One of the most informative posts I have ever seen for HoN.

    Will be following!

    ReplyDelete
  25. good work on the post! keep it up

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love this game! Glad you're making guides

    ReplyDelete
  27. I always end up as a "ward bitch" hahaha - for some reason I get great satisfaction from healing others!

    ReplyDelete
  28. wow great post, looking forward to this blog, following for sure now.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Nice guide, I've trawled through loads of these and not seen one as concise and clear as this. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  30. great guide, thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  31. Nice guide mate, keep it up ^^

    ReplyDelete
  32. Your the second blogger i've come across that has written a post on this game, i've gotta try it now.

    ReplyDelete