Honor of Kings Season 8 patch notes: Rank reset, equipment adjustment, hero balances, and more

Level Infinite launched the Honor of Kings Season 8 globally on January 9, 2025. The latest season brings new content to the global server, including events, themed and casual modes, Honor Pass, and more. The developers have also adjusted some equipment and battlefield mechanics, reworked some heroes’ kits, and introduced new systems.

This article provides complete details of all the new content and changes in the latest Honor of Kings season.

Honor of Kings Season 8 patch notes: Rank reset

HoK Season 8 rank reset (Image via Level Infinite)

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The Honor of Kings Season 8 has reset the ranks of global players, giving them a new starting tier. The table below shows the rank reset for the current season:

Season 7 final tier	Season 8 starting tier
Bronze III	Bronze III
Bronze II	Bronze II
Bronze I	Bronze I
Silver III	Silver III
Silver II	Silver II
Silver I	Silver I
Gold IV	Gold IV
Gold III	Gold IV
Gold II	Gold III
Gold I	Gold III
Platinum IV	Gold II
Platinum III	Gold I
Platinum II	Platinum IV
Platinum I	Platinum III
Diamond V	Platinum III
Diamond IV	Platinum II
Diamond III	Platinum I
Diamond II	Diamond V
Diamond I	Diamond V
Master V	Diamond IV
Master IV	Diamond IV
Master III	Diamond IV
Master II	Diamond III
Master I	Diamond III
Grandmaster (0-9 Stars)	Diamond II
Grandmaster (10-24 stars)	Diamond I
Mythic (25-49 Stars)	Master V
Epic (50-74 Stars)	Master IV
Epic (75-99 Stars)	Master III
Legend (100+ Stars)	Master III

Honor of Kings Season 8 patch notes: Equipment adjustment

Level Infinite has made adjustments to roaming and jungling equipment (Image via Level Infinite)

Level Infinite has adjusted some jungling and roaming equipment in Honor of Kings Season 8. Here are the details:

1) Knowledge Gem

Gold Buff from the Guerilla Passive

Before: Applies to the holder.

Now: Applies to the allied hero with the lowest Gold.

2) Crimson Shadow

Gold Buff from the Guerilla Passive

Before: Applies to the holder

Now: Applies to the allied holder with the lowest Gold.

Effect of the Agility Aura Passive

Before: Teammates within range of 800 gains 8% Attack Speed, 8% Cooldown Reduction, and 10 Mana every 5 seconds.

Now: Grants 12% Attack Speed, 9% Cooldown Reduction, and 10 Mana every 5 seconds.

New universal effect

If minions die and their Gold is not collected by teammates, 50% of the Gold will drop on the ground (can pick up to 450 Gold).

3) Guardian

Gold buff from the Guerilla Passive

Before: Applies to the holder

Now: Apple to the allied hero with the lowest Gold.

Effect of the Guardian Aura Passive

Before: Teammates within a range of 800 gain 32 to 60 Physical and Magical Defense.

Now: Grants 36 to 72 Physical and Magical Defense, and restores 0.4% max Health every 5 seconds. Teammates within a range of 800 gain 50% of this effect.

New universal effect

If minions die and their Gold is not collected by teammates, 50% of the Gold will drop on the ground (can pick up to 450 Gold).

4) Crimson Shadow - Starspring

Gold buff from the Guerilla Passive

Before: Applies to the holder

Now: Applies to the allied hero with the lowest Gold.

Effect of the Agility Aura Passive

Before: Teammates within a range of 800 gains 15% Attack Speed, 15% Cooldown Reduction, and 20 Mana every 5 seconds.

Now: Grants 20% Attack Speed, 15% Cooldown Reduction, and restores 20 Mana every 5 seconds. Teammates within a range of 800 gains 50% of this effect.

5) Crimson Shadow - Redemption

Shield from the Rescue Active Skill

Before: 680 to 1800

Now: 240 to 480 (+10% max Health)

6) Crimson Shadow - Radiance

Base damage of the Mirror Domain Active Skill

Before: 6% of current health

Now: 3% of current health

Changes to Mirror Domain’s Cooldown Reduction if it misses an enemy

Before: 70%

Now: 75%

New Mirror Domain effect

It temporarily exposes heroes in stealth or hiding in the brush with a scouting light. The light remains for 2 seconds, providing visibility and exposing stealth heroes.

7) Crimson Shadow - Howl

Basic effect of the Rally Active skill

Before: Progressively gain 50% to 260% movement speed over 2 seconds for 5 seconds.

Now: Progressively gain 100% to 200% movement speed over 2 seconds for 5 seconds.

Rally’s effect on Receiving an enemy attack

Before: removes movement speed buff

Now: retains 20% of the movement speed buff

8) Guardian - Starspring

Gold buff from the Guerilla Passive

Before: Applies to the holder

Now: Applies to the allied hero with the lowest Gold.

Effect of the Guardian Aura passive

Before: Teammates within a range of 800 gain 50 to 120 Physical and Magical defense.

Now: Grants 65 to 130 Physical and Magical defense, and restores 0.6% ma health every 5 seconds. Teammates within a range of 800 gain 50% of this effect.

New universal effect

If minions die and their Gold is not collected by teammates, 50% of the Gold will drop on the ground (can pick up to 600 Gold).

9) Guardian - Redemption

Shield from the Rescue active skill

Before: 680 to 1800

Now: 240 to 480 (+10% max health)

10) Guardian - Radiance

Base damage of the Mirror Domain active skill

Before: 6% of current health

Now: 3% of current health

Mirror Domain’s cooldown reduction if it misses the enemy

Before: 70%

Now: 75%

New Mirror Domain effect

It temporarily exposes heroes in stealth or hiding in the brush with a scouting light. The light remains for 2 seconds, providing visibility and exposing stealth heroes.

11) Guardian - Howl

Basic effect of the Rally Active skill

Before: Progressively gain 50% to 260% movement speed over 2 seconds for 5 seconds.

Now: Progressively gain 100% to 200% movement speed over 2 seconds for 5 seconds.

Rally’s effect on Receiving an enemy attack

Before: removes movement speed buff

Now: retains 20% of the movement speed buff

In addition to the above, Level Infinite has halved the Magical damage dealt by the Hunter passive of Hunting Knife, Guerilla Machete, and Runeblade for ranged heroes. Additionally, they’ve halved the True damage dealt by the Hunter passive of Patrol Axe and Giant’s Grip for ranged heroes.

On the other hand, the ranged heroes can deal half the Physical damage with the Hunter passive of Relentless Blade and Rapicious Bite after this update. Only melee heroes were able to deal the damage before the adjustment.

Also read: Best heroes for solo rank push

Hero balance adjustments in Honor of Kings Season 8

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Here are the details of the heroes' balance adjustments in Honor of Kings Season 8:

1) Nuwa (rework)

Divine Consciousness (Passive)	Nuwa gains 10% to 20% increased vision range, basic attack range, and skill range
Divine Glow - Creation (Skill 1)	Cooldown: 8 seconds (-0.5 seconds per level) Nuwa fires energy, dealing 225 (+75 per level) (+42% Magical attack) Magical damage to enemies in its path and knocking them back. After hitting an enemy, the energy gradually comes to a stop and creates a matrix that expands in a cross shape, dealing 225 (+75 per level) (+42% Magical attack) Magical damage to enemies it hits. The cross deals 50% more damage to enemies at its center and explodes if it touches another matrix.
Divine Glow - Coalescence (Skill 2)	Charge Time: 15 seconds (-1 second per level) Nuwa creates a matrix, lasting 3.5 seconds. She can leap over but blocks enemy heroes. If the matrix touches another, it explodes to deal 210 (+70 per level) (+40% Magical attack) Magical damage. Matrices can fuse up to 2 times, dealing 50% of the explosion’s damage to enemies in their path and knocking them back for 0.5 seconds and generating another explosion. The explosion has up to 30% extra range and 50% extra damage based on the initial distance between them. If multiple matrices explode simultaneously, they will only hit the same target one. Nuwa can stock up to three matrices.
Divine Glow - Emergence (Skill 3)	Cooldown: 30 seconds (-2 seconds per level) Nuwa creates a spatial rift to teleport to the target location, receiving a 600 (+200 per level) (+9% extra health) shield. Her movement speed also increases by 30% for 2 seconds. She also deals 300 (+100 per level) (+57% Magical attack) Magical damage to surrounding enemies and slows them by 50% for 0.5 seconds. The further away the enemy is, the less damage they take (up to 50%). Passive: Magical attack can reduce this skill’s cast time.
Divine Glow - Annihilation	Cooldown: 50 seconds (-5 seconds per level) Nuwa unleashes pure energy in the target direction, dealing 640 (+320 per level) (+120% Magical attack) Magical damage to enemies in its path. The pure energy triggers an explosion if it touches a matrix.

2) Luara (Mechanics upgrade)

Level Infinite has adjusted the Passive and Skill 1 and 2 of the marsman hero, Luara. The table below shows the details:

Serpent’s Envoy (Passive)

Removed mechanic: Gain Speed Up and a serpent blade upon performing a kill or assist.

Added mechanic: Whenever a serpent blade hits a target, Skill 1’s cooldown is reduced by 0.15 seconds. This effect can trigger only once per hit.

Changed how critical rate affects serpent blade attack speed

Before: When Luara’s critical rate reaches 50%, a button can be tapped to grant the serpent blade an attack speed boost

Now: The serpent balde’s attack speed increases by 5% for every Skill 1 level. The maximum cap remains the same.

Serpent blade’s basic attack effect percentage changed to 20% from 10%, previously.

Deadly Fang (Skill 1)

When Luara leaps over terrain, the speciality bar remains red. It turns yellow after she finishes the leap.

Furtive Attack (Skill 2)

While casting Skill 2, Luara canchain into her basic attack or Ultimate skill without interrupting Skill 2’s delayed attack.

3) Dian Wei (mechanics upgrade)

Level Infinite has adjusted Dian Wei’s Skills 1 and 2. The table below shows the details:

Holding on to Sanity

New enhanced basic attack mechanic

Dian will dash forward a small distance when he casts this skill without a target.

Improve existing enhanced basic attack dash mechanic

Before: When cast with an enemy hero, Dian Wei will dash toward it.

Now: When cast with an enemy hero, Dian Wei wil dash toward the enemy if it is outside Dian’s basic attack range.

Frenzy (Skill 2)

Added mechanic

Dian Wei recovers 30 (+6 per skill level) health when he hits with a basic Attack.

Changed Lifesteal percentage

Before: 25% (+5% per skill level)

Now: 20% (+4% per skill level)

4) Lu Bu

Level Infinite has adjusted Lu Bu’s passive, Skill 1, Skill 2, and Ultimate. The table below has all the details:

Bloodthirsty Ancestry (Passive)

Changed enhancement effects

Before: Basic attack, Skill 1, and Ultimate deal true damage.

Now: Basic attack and all skills deal true damage.

Added mechanic

When enhanced, basic attacks and skill gain 30% Physical pierce.

Changes to health restore upon hitting heroes with basic attacks and when enhanced

Before: 50 to 100 (+2% extra health)

Now: 65 to 130 (+1.25% extra health)

Souleater (Skill 2)

Cooldown

Before: 8 seconds

Now: 8.5 seconds (-0.3 seconds per skill level)

Base damage

Before: 100 (+20 per skill level) (+40% extra Physical attack)

Now: 100 (+20 per skill level) (+35%% extra Physical attack)

Shield per stack

Before: 300 (+60 per skill level) (+10% extra health)

Now: 350 (+70 per skill level) (+7% extra health)

Tremble, Mortals (Ultimate)

Base damage

Before: 550 (+275 per skill level) (+280% extra Physical attack)

Now: 650 (+325 per skill level) (+240% extra Physical attack)

Health restored upon hitting heroes while enhanced

Before: 100 (+50 per skill level)

Now: 150 (+75 per skill level)

Physical and Magical defense gained by Lu Bu in the Ring of Slaughter

Before: 150 (+50 per skill level)

Now: 150 (+75 per skill level)

Slow

Before: 50%

Now: 30% (+15% per skill level)

5) Luna

Level Infinite has adjusted the passive and Ultimate skills of the jungler hero, Luna. The table below mentions all the details:

Moonlight Dance

Added Mechanic

Basic attack becomes ranged when Luna is at least 450 in range away from the target.

First basic attack’s chase range

Before: 400

Now: 450

New Moon (Ultimate skill)

Base damage

Before: 400 (+125 per skill level) (+60% Magical attack)

Now: 420 (+140 per skill level) (+65% Magical attack)

6) Kaizer

Level Infinite has buffed Kaizer’s Skill 1 and 2. The table below shows the details:

Vortex Brand

Base damage

Before: 260 (+52 per skill level) (+65% extra Physical attack)

Now: 280 (+56 per skill level) (+85% extra Physical attack)

Blade Tempest

Slash damage

Before: 120 (+24 per skill level) (+40% extra Physical attack)

Now: 150 (+30 per skill level) (+55% extra Physical attack)

Extra dash damage

Before: 120 (+24 per skill level) (+25% extra Physical attack)

Now: 125 (+25 per skill level) (+25% extra Physical attack)

7) Zilong

The developers have buffed Zilong’s Skill 2 in the Honor of Kings Season 8. The table below shows the details:

Stormpiercer (Skill 2)

Base damage

Before: 190 (+38 per skill level) (+40% extra Physical attack)

Now: 185 (+37 per skill level) (+55% extra Physical attack)

8) Consort Yu

The developers have buffed Consort Yu’s passive skill. The table below shows the details:

Blessing of the Dryads

Bolt damage

Before: 100 to 170 (+20% Physical attack)

Now: 95 to 190 (+20% Physical attack)

9) Dun

Level Infinite has adjusted Dun’s skills 1, 2, and Ultimate in the Honor of Kings Season 8. The table below shows the details:e

Wind Slash (Skill 1)

Base damage

Before: 240 (+50 per skill level) (+100% Physical attack)

Now: 400 (+80 per skill level) (+130% extra Physical attack)

Gale’s Benediction (skill 2)

Cooldown

Before: 8 seconds (-0.6 seconds per skill level)

Now: 7 seconds (-0.3 seconds per skill level)

Base damage

Before: 200 (+25 per skill level) (+70% Physical attack)

Now: 300 (+60 per skill level) (+100% extra Physical attack)

Unruly Blade (Ultimate skill)

Cooldown

Before: 15 seconds

Now: 16 seconds (-1.5 seconds per skill level)

Base damage

Before: 300 (+125 per skill level) (+18% Physical attack)

Now: 400 (+200 per skill level) (+1% extra health)

10) Kongming

Level Infinite has adjusted Kongming’s Skill 1 and 2 in the Honor of Kings Season 8. The table below shows the details:

Arcane Assault (Skill 1)

Stock limit

Before: 1

Now: 2

Time Shift (Skill 2)

Stock limit

Before: 3

Now: 2

11) Prince of Langling

The developers have made QoL (Quality of Life) changes to the Prince of Langling’s kit in Honor of Kings Season 8. They’ve adjusted his Skills 1, 2, and 4. The table below shows the details:

Secret Skill - Split (Skill 1)

Base damage

Before: 300 (+60 per skill level) (+150% extra Physical attack)

Now: 325 (+65 per skill level) (+125% extra Physical attack)

Secret Skill - Sling (Skill 2)

Damage dealt when mark disappears

Before: 12% (+2.4% per skill level) (+1% per extra 100 Physical attack) of the enemy’s lost HP

Now: 140 (+28 per skill level) (+12% of the enemy’s lost HP, +1% per 50 extra Physical attack)

Secret Skill - Shadow (Skill 4)

Improved stealth mechanic

Players can now gauge his distance with the indicator.

Battlefield mechanics adjustments in Honor of Kings Season 8

Level Infinite has adjusted several battlefield mechanics in season 8 (Image via Level Infinite)

Here are the adjustments made to some battlefield mechanics in Honor of Kings Season 8:

1) Jungle protection

Level Infinite has adjusted the sprite’s protection, which remains active during the first four minutes. Now, it reduces damage dealt in enemy jungles by 15%, from the previous 10%.

2) Minion Waves

Level Infinite has made changes to minion waves after destroying a high-ground tower. The table below shows the details:

Destroying high ground tower between 00:00 and 04:00 minutes mark	Melee, ranged, and ballista minions change to Super melee, ranged, and ranged minions
Destroying high ground tower between 04:00 and 10:00 minutes mark	Melee, ranged, and ballista change to Super melee, ranged, and ballista
Destroying high ground tower after 10:00 minutes	Melee, ranged, and cannon change to Super melee, ranged, and cannon

Details about themed modes in Honor of Kings Season 8

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1) Brush Sprite

Brush Sprite is a new unit that players can call using the Summon Sprite common skill. It can heal allies, damage enemy units, and help push towers. Summon Sprite will be available from January 9 to January 22, 2025.

The sprite follows the advancing minion wave, continuously restoring health to nearby allies. Two sprites can merge when they come close, enhancing their stats to a maximum level of five. The skill’s cooldown period is 90 seconds.

2) Rune Blessing

The Rune Blessing battlefield mechanics will be available from January 23 to February 12, 2025. Rune Blessing causes a random buff to spawn in the river after two minutes of the battle’s start. Players who pick up the buff will gain the effect for two minutes, and can’t collect another buff during the period.

Here are the details of the buffs:

Buffs	Effects
Gold	Immediately earn some Gold and passively earn Gold for the duration of the buff
Cooldown	Immediately reduce current skill cooldowns, and fasten skill cooldown for the duration of the buff
Mana	Immediately recover some Mana and passively recover Mana for the duration of the buff
Recovery	Immediately recover some health and passively recover health for the duration of the buff
Movement speed	Gain a brief movement speed buff. Gain another small movement speed buff upon leaving combat

3) Emergence

Emergence is a new Common skill, which will be available from February 13 to March 5, 2025. It teleports the hero to an allied structure or minion, after a hero channels it for two seconds. The skill’s cooldown period will shorten to 30 seconds if it gets canceled.

Emergence’s cooldown is reduced by 30 seconds if cast within 30 seconds after using a Teleportation portal. The skill’s cooldown period is 75 seconds.

Casual modes in Honor of Kings Season 8

Level Infinite will introduce several casual modes in season 8 (Image via Moon Active)

1) Clone Clash

The Clone Clash mode will be available from January 9 to February 22, 2025. Each side chooses a hero for all members to play in this game mode. There will be clones of the same heroes fighting against each other.

2) Battle of Awakening

Level Infinite has yet to reveal the schedule of the Battle of Awakening mode. In this mode, all heroes' skills will awaken and change in unexpected ways. The model also introduces new game modes and hero-selection mechanics.

3) Hook or Crook

The developers have yet to reveal the schedule for Hook or Crook game mode. In this mode, the battle happens on two narrow ledges, placed on either side of a ravine. The battlefield features hooks, flying through the air. They can snag and pull a hero outside the ledges, killing them. The team that defeats other players 30 times will be victorious.

4) Skill Thrill

Level Infinite has yet to reveal the schedule for the Skill Thrill. In this game mode, the Hero’s Gorge is invaded by mysterious creatures who’ve been altered by a strange power. Similarly, all heroes’ skills have also changed in unexpected ways.

New systems in Honor of Kings Season 8

New System, Dragon's Hoard (Image via Level Infinite)

Here is the list of new systems in Honor of Kings Season 8:

1) Dragon’s Hoard

Dragon’s Hoard is the new system in Honor of Kings Season 8. Players can collect Dragon Crystal event currency by upgrading their tiers, Honor Pass, and more. They can use crystals to make wishes in the Dragon’s Hoard (each wish can drop a skin).

One can also get Dragon Emblem (advanced event currency), which they can redeem for various rewards at the event shop. Players can exchange Epic and Legend skins, limited-time tokens, and more.

2) Spriteling Weekly Gift

The Spriteling system grants weekly gifts to the players. They must play five matches in the current week to get rewards in the subsequent week. Players can get Everything Box, Spriteling’s overview of their tier changes, playstyle, and other data points from the played week.

One can also get recommendations for the best events of the week from the system.

3) Technical challenges for some heroes

Level Infinite has added new Technical challenges for Hou Yi, Angela, and Lian Po. Players can complete the challenges to earn rewards. They can view the challenges from the Main Menu (profile icon at the top left) > Honors > Hero page.

4) Ban/pick screen improvements

Level Infinite has improved the ban/pick interface in the Honor of Kings Season 8. Here are the details:

Easy Lane Switching: Players can use a new feature to send the lane-swap request during the ban/pick stage in the ranked mode.
Mode-specific lane preferences: Level Infinite has added separate lane preference settings for Peak Tournament and normal matches.
Quick decline lane swap: Players can use a Quick Decline button to decline all lane-swap requests automatically.

5) Upgraded tier rewards

Players who reach the Mythic, Epic, and Legend tier in each seasonal tier will receive exclusive rewards in Honor of Kings Season 8.

Other improvements in Honor of Kings Season 8

In addition to the above content, Level Infinite has made improvements to other in-game content. Here are the details:

Level Infinite has temporarily removed the Mini Gorge game mode. They will introduce it with new updates in future updates.
Optimized the appearance of some interfaces to make the game’s interface style more consistent.
Optimized the Download As You Play feature. Now, if the device is using a mobile connection, only resources selected by the player will be downloaded. After downloading these resources, Download As You Play will be paused.
Standardized the rules for the “untargettable” status in matches. Now, Dolia can only refresh her teammates’ cooldowns after her untargetable status ends.

That concludes our Honor of Kings Season 8 patch notes.

Edited by Abu Amjad Khan