All ADCs in Honor of Kings and How to Play
Playing as an Attack Damage Carry (ADC) in Honor of Kings can be both thrilling and challenging. As someone who’s spent countless hours in the Dragon Lane, I’m here to share everything you need to know about dominating as a marksman.
The Attack Damage Carry role might seem straightforward at first – stay back and deal damage – but there’s more to it. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve your game, this guide will help you understand the ADC role from the ground up.
All ADCs in Honor of Kings
| Hero | Image |
|---|---|
| Alessio |  |
| Arli |  |
| Consort Yu |  |
| Di Renjie |  |
| Erin |  |
| Fang |  |
| Garo |  |
| Hou Yi |  |
| Huang Zhong |  |
| Lady Sun |  |
| Loong |  |
| Luara |  |
| Luban No.7 |  |
| Marco Polo |  |
| Meng Ya |  |
| Shouyue |  |
How to Play ADC in HoK?
Early Game:
- The opening minutes of each game are crucial for any ADC player. This is where many games are won or lost, even if players don’t realize it at the time. Your primary focus should be on building a solid economic foundation through careful minion farming and strategic trading with your opponents. Think of each minion as a small investment in your late-game carry potential. Missing even a few last hits can result in significant gold differences that compound throughout the game.
- Wave management is particularly crucial during this phase. Instead of mindlessly pushing the wave, you want to create situations that favor your playstyle and make life difficult for your opponents. Keeping the wave closer to your tower not only provides you with safety from ganks but also forces your opponents to overextend if they want to farm. This is relatively safer early game, as the ganks can be more punishable. For example, If you have a wave pushed in and the enemy jungler tries to gank you – in the early stages the tower aggro is too strong for them to handle and it might end up in an even trade. Lastly, always remember your lane matchups are important! And by that, I do not mean your character alone, you need to keep in account your support as well as the enemy’s support.
Mid-Game:
- As the first towers begin to fall and the map opens up, your role becomes increasingly complex. The mid-game phase is where many ADC players struggle to find the right balance between farming and fighting. You’ve probably completed your first major item and are starting to feel stronger, but you’re not yet at your full power potential. Map rotation becomes crucial during this phase. You need to be constantly thinking about where you need to be thirty seconds from now. If Dragon is spawning soon, you should already be moving to secure vision and position yourself for the fight. If your team is planning to pressure mid, you need to quickly clear your wave and move to support them.
- The mid-game is also when you’ll start participating in more team fights. Your positioning becomes increasingly important as these skirmishes often determine who gets objectives and map control. Stay behind your frontline, but make sure you’re close enough to follow up on engages.
Late Game:
- The late game is where all your careful preparation pays off. With your core items completed, you’re now the most important player on your team. Your auto attacks hurt significantly, and you can take down objectives faster than anyone else. However, with great power comes great responsibility – your positioning becomes even more crucial as a single mistake can cost your team the game.
- Your late-game teamfight approach should be patient. One tip that I can give you is that most ADCs are front-to-back characters – which means you need to finish the closest target to you and then move to their backline. Also, always keep track of major enemy cooldowns, especially crowd control abilities that could lock you down. Stay near your support and be ready to use your mobility skills defensively rather than aggressively.
Mastering the Art of Itemization
Building your items correctly can make the difference between carrying a game and feeling useless. The beauty of ADC itemization lies in its flexibility – while there are core items that you’ll build in most games, the order and specific choices should adapt to each match’s unique circumstances.
However, itemization isn’t just about blindly following a build path. Consider the enemy team composition and adapt accordingly. Against tank-heavy teams, you might want to prioritize armor penetration items.
How to Position as an ADC in HoK?
Positioning is arguably the most crucial skill for any ADC player to master. One positional mistake in the late game can cost your team the entire match. Think of positioning as a constant balancing act between dealing damage and staying safe.
In team fights, you want to maintain what I call the “golden distance” – close enough to deal damage to the nearest target, but far enough to react to incoming threats. This distance changes constantly based on the abilities that have been used and the threats present on the enemy team.
In general, the rule I follow is – I tend to stay close to my support, and in case my support is not around me, I prefer sticking close to the character with CC (be it a Warrior or Mage). This gives me a chance to survive if I am caught off guard.
Hero Recommendations and Conclusions
If you’re just starting your ADC journey, I highly recommend beginning with Hou Yi, Luban No 7, and Lady Sun. These heroes have straightforward mechanics that allow you to focus on learning the fundamental principles of the role.
For more experienced players looking to push their skills to the limit, Arli and Shouyue offer incredibly high skill ceilings. These heroes require excellent mechanical skills and game knowledge but can completely take over games when played well.
