Season 16 in Honor of Kings explained: New heroes, game modes, and balance

Honor of Kings (HoK) invites players for Season 16 fun and competition! It starts on Sept. 23, and new content brings awesome refreshment to the usual playing experience.

Dive into everything exciting in HoK Season 16 right here. Our guide features hero introductions, a breakdown of new game modes, and a sneak peek at balance changes.

Key takeaways

• Season 16 starts in Honor of Kings on Sept. 23.
• Four new heroes join the game: Assassin and Roamer versions of Flowborn, Wang Wei, and Dunshan. They arrive on different dates throughout the season.
• Umbosa and Mage Flowborn receive skill adjustments.
• Two season-specific game modes are MOBA matches with a unique Flow State skill and a casual Battle Royale mode.
• The Flow State skill is available for all HoK heroes but has different effects. Its common feature is reducing the cooldowns of other skills by 50%.
• The Battle Royale mode comes with a shrinking active battle zone and neutral monsters to power up your heroes.
• Season 16 comes with new and adjusted equipment. It also introduces a variety of improvements.

Table of contents

• Key takeaways
• Honor of Kings Season 16 release date
• The lore of Season 16: Jixia and Mount Jing Academies
• New heroes in Honor of Kings Season 16: Breakdown
• New game modes in HoK Season 16: The Flow State skill and quick Battle Royale battles
• Meta changes in the HoK Season 16 update
• FAQs about Season 16 in Honor of Kings

Honor of Kings Season 16 release date

Season 16 officially launches in Honor of Kings on Sept. 23, 2026.

• Make sure you’ve redeemed all Season 15 tokens.
• Look to unlock all battle pass tiers.
• Your Honor of Kings rank will undergo a soft reset. The exact drop depends on your end-season ranking.

Following the usual schedule, we expect HoK Season 16 to run through mid-December 2026.

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The lore of Season 16: Jixia and Mount Jing Academies

The background story of HoK Season 16 revolves around the friendly rivalry of two Academies, Jixia and Mount Jing.

They have different ways of teaching students, but both encourage them to grow via battles — sure, strictly on Hero Gorge.

New heroes in Honor of Kings Season 16: Breakdown

The game roster is getting bigger, with more options to express yourself on the HoK battleground.

Assassin Flowborn

The hero is a jungler with quick movement and high burst damage.

Assassin Flowborn has dual claws for his basic attack. Skill 2 includes a dash for quick monster-camp clears and for team-fight mobility. Their ultimate also comes with a dash. Skill 1 resets other skills.

Flowborn in the Assassin form is especially effective against low-health opponents.

Roamer Flowborn 

The support form of Flowborn completes all five classes for this universal hero.

Roamer Flowborn has abilities to buff and protect their teammates. Skill 2 increases the range of other skills. Apply it to allies to give shields and extra range for mages and marksmen. The skill increases stationary damage output. 

The ultimate is a massive group heal in addition to dealing damage. 

Wang Wei

He is a mage with abilities to control mist. Wang Wei can create mountains and water across Hero Gorge.

The developers promise that each Skill of Wang Wei “unfolds like a graceful ink painting.”

Dunshan

This hero arrives at Honor of Kings as a new support. Pair Dunshan with an ally to unlock various playstyles.

• With marksmen: Mobile artillery.
• With fighters and tanks: Quick charges into the battle.

If Dunshan merges with towers, he can defend them: repair the structure and attack nearby opponents.

New game modes in HoK Season 16: The Flow State skill and quick Battle Royale battles

Honor of Kings introduces two seasonal game modes. One adds a new skill to the usual matches. The other one offers a very different experience.

Flow State

HoK features matches with the Flow State skill. It’s a common skill for all the heroes. Use Flow State to reduce cooldowns of other skills by 50%. The battle effect depends on the hero class.

• Fighters and tanks: Damage and launch on hit. 
• Assassins: Area damage and true damage to targets.
• Supports: Restore allies’ health and damage opponents.
• Marksmen: Damage and a knockback effect.
• Mage: Slow down opponents and damage them.

3-minute 2v2v2v2 Battle Royale

Play this new chaotic mode for quick matches and tons of action. It features four teams with two players each. You need to farm monsters to get stronger and dominate PvP fights. 

The active area is shrinking to trigger combat interactions. The last team standing wins!

Meta changes in the HoK Season 16 update

In terms of balance adjustments, Season 16 brings buffs for two heroes and changes to some equipment pieces. 

Hero updates

• Mage Flowborn: They can use their Skill 2 while moving, which is a decent buff. The ultimate has a bigger range.
• Umbrosa: Skill 1 instantly stacks all six marks so that Skill 2 can deal burst damage quicker. It’s a great buff for battle potential! 

Three Arena of Valor heroes joined Honor of Kings with the previous update. Annette, Florentino, and Lorion remain on the active roster for Season 16.

Equipment adjustments

• Assassin’s Wristbow: It’s a new piece of equipment. With it, you can instantly gain stealth, movement speed, and recovery. It’s a survival tool for marksmen and other hero classes.
• Roaming Equipment: It collects gold across the entire map, and the resource flies directly to the roamer.
• Bloodweeper: It improves sustainability by granting extra max health.

FAQs about Season 16 in Honor of Kings

When does Season 16 happen in Honor of Kings?

Season 16 starts on Sept. 23 and runs through mid-December.

What’s the lore theme of this HoK update?

The friendly rivalry between Jixia and Mount Jing Academies is the story behind the Season 16 update in HoK.

What new heroes join the game roster?

Assassin and Roamer versions of Flowborn, Wang Wei, and Dunshan are four new heroes arriving at Honor of Kings with Season 16.

What does the Flow State skill do?

It’s a common skill across all the heroes. Flow State skill instantly reduces the cooldowns of other skills by 50%. Its battle effect depends on the hero class: it’s damage for everyone and some specific extra tweaks.

What is a new 2v2v2v2 game mode?

HoK has a Battle Royale mode in Season 16. Four teams with two players in each battle in a shrinking safe zone. You need to farm monsters and collect items to gain power for fights against other participants.