Honor of Kings Year of the Snake: All new game modes and mechanics explained

Level Infinite has announced a new Honor of Kings Year of the Snake-themed battlefield, which features a new theme mode and battle mechanic. The latest themed mode is Rune Blessing, and the battle mechanic is Full Steam Ahead. Both will be released on January 24, with the former being available till February 12 and the latter till February 13, 2025.

Here’s everything about the Year of the Snake-themed game mode and battle mechanic in Honor of Kings.

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New Honor of Kings Year of the Snake-themed game mode, Rune Blessing, explained

The Year of the Snake-themed game mode, Rune Blessing, features five runes that grant unique buffs to the heroes in Honor of Kings. These will appear on the river two minutes from the match’s beginning. Heroes can pick them up to obtain the corresponding buffs. They will respawn after 60 seconds from the time when a hero picks it up.

The buff will remain active for two minutes after picking up a rune. A hero can’t carry or pick up multiple simultaneously, and the runes will stop spawning after the 10-minute mark.

Here is a list of all the runes and their corresponding buffs:

• Gold Rune: Heroes will earn some Gold passively while obtaining the rune.
• Cooldown Rune: Heroes’ skills cooldown will reset immediately upon picking up this rune. Additionally, the rune will reduce the cooldown period of all skills.
• Mana Rune: Heroes will immediately gain some Mana upon picking up this rune. Additionally, the rune will passively grant some Mana.
• Movement Speed Rune: Heroes will gain a movement speed buff while picking up this rune. Additionally, their movement speed will buff upon leaving the combat.
• Health Rune: Heroes will instantly recover health upon picking up this rune. Additionally, their health recovery speed increases when leaving the combat.

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New Honor of Kings Year of the Snake-themed battle mechanics, Full Steam Ahead, explained

Full Steam Ahead mechanics are exclusive for Marksman heroes (Image via Level Infinite)

The Honor of Kings Year of the Snake-themed battle mechanics, Full Steam Ahead, are exclusive to the Marksman heroes. They will gain a new buff at fixed intervals during a match. The boost will trigger after players repeatedly deal damage to the enemy heroes.

It will summon a support minion, which assists the Marksman in dealing higher damage than usual for a few seconds. The minion will automatically attack enemy heroes and towers.