After being available for nearly a decade in China and reaching over 200 million registered players, Honor of Kings has finally gotten a global release, meaning fans of the MOBA format have a brand new shiny game to sink their hungry teeth into. Following its global debut, we’re unpacking the biggest question of all: what are the main Honor of Kings and League of Legends differences, and what are the overlapping similarities?
Now that you can finally dive into HOK, be sure to grab some freebies with our Honor of Kings codes guide. We’ve also got an Honor of Kings review and Honor of Kings interview if you want to learn more about one of the most-played MOBAs in the world.
Honor of Kings vs LoL: platforms and availability
Previously, one of the biggest differences between the two games is that Honor of Kings is available only in China, while League of Legends is one of the most popular games across the entire world. However, this has now changed – on Thursday, June 20, 2024, we saw the global Honor of Kings release date, so China’s biggest mobile MOBA is now available to play worldwide.
While League of Legends is a PC-only game, Honor of Kings is arguably more accessible as it’s been built to run on mobiles. This means that it has a potentially broader player base, and as games like Genshin Impact have proven over the past few years, the best games for mobile can absolutely compete with those created for other platforms. Meanwhile, both games are free to play regardless of platform, with monetization coming through in-game purchases.
Honor of Kings vs LoL: gameplay
Honor of Kings is developed by TiMi and Level Infinite as a direct competitor to League of Legends, meaning that there are plenty of direct similarities between the gameplay mechanics of the two titles. Anyone who’s played League of Legends (or other MOBAs, like DOTA 2) will be instantly familiar with Honor of Kings’ style of play when it eventually lands in non-Asian markets. That being said, while the 5v5 fundamentals of the two games are essentially the same, there are some tangible differences that will no doubt lead to players having a preference for one of the other.
As the game is exclusively designed for mobile devices, Honor of Kings typically consists of shorter matches, with games expected to last between 15-20 minutes in comparison to League of Legends’ longer matches which last up to 40 minutes. This is facilitated by a difference in map design, with Honor of Kings’ maps being smaller and more compact than League of Legends’ maps.
Additionally, there are some differences in roles across the map – for example, supports in HOK are called ‘roamers’, as they roam across the map offering healing, buffs, and other forms of enabling to anyone who needs it, whereas supports in LoL typically stick to the main, bottom lane DPS for most of the match. You can learn more about HOK’s different roles and which characters are best for them in our Honor of Kings tier list.
Honor of Kings vs LoL: characters
Playable characters in both Honor of Kings and League of Legends can be selected by the player from an expansive, diverse roster. Both games feature lots of options for finding which characters suit the player best, and characters are divided into classes in both games. In Honor of Kings, there are six classes. These are:
- Assassin
- Warrior
- Mage
- Archer
- Tank
- Support
Conversely, League of Legends boasts eight classes (and some sub-classes) which arguably provides more complexity and variety. These are:
- Controller
- Fighter
- Warrior
- Mage
- Marksman
- Tank
- Slayer
- Specialist
Meanwhile, the individual characters from Honor of Kings are based on Chinese mythology and history, while League of Legends characters take broader inspiration from across the fantasy genre with a less specific focus.
Ultimately, the differences between Honor of Kings and League of Legends are minimal, though there are some significant differences that will make a difference to some players’ enjoyment of the games. That’s no real surprise. After all, Honor of Kings was designed specifically to bring a League of Legends-style MOBA to mobile, with the intention being to learn from League of Legends’ success.
For more mobile fun, take a look at our picks for the best mobile games. Or, check out our choices for the best Nintendo Switch RPGs if you want some LoL-style fantasy.