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Hello everyone, I'm Xiaodi from Gaming.

Have you ever had this experience: you start with a lead in kills and gold, but as the match goes on, you suddenly can't beat the enemy team anymore, and you can't even defend your base. Actually, at this point, it's often not that one lane collapsed, but that the enemy's lineup combination is starting to shine. But in reality, most players don't know how to build a proper lineup. During hero selection, they usually just pick their favorite heroes, and they might end up with a lineup that has no crowd control, no frontline, which naturally can't survive until the late game. In this episode, Xiaodi will talk about what kind of lineup is considered reasonable and strong, based on games I've seen.

Three key principles: Frontline, Crowd Control, and Cores

A team in Honor of Kings consists of five heroes, each with different roles. The frontline's job is to provide vision and positioning for the whole team. When a teamfight starts, someone needs to be in front to absorb damage, so that the marksman and mage have safe spots to deal damage. However, because of this, many players dislike playing tank-type heroes. They are slow and clunky, and the whole game they just tank damage and peel, feeling like their contribution is tiny and not fun. Worse, sometimes they initiate a fight only to be abandoned by teammates.

But without a frontline, things become noticeably harder. No one dares to initiate, no one dares to check bushes, and enemy assassins can freely dive the backline. Once your carries are exposed to the enemy, they'll be taken out in seconds. So you need at least one frontline hero, sometimes even three or two frontliners.

As for crowd control, everyone can feel its importance. When someone can reliably lock down an enemy—whether for initiating, chasing, or protecting the backline—it's incredibly valuable. A team with reliable crowd control has a completely different margin for error. So you need at least one strong crowd control ability.

Note that the crowd control here generally refers to hard crowd control. Effects like slows don't count. For example, Cai Yanji's second skill also has a control effect, but it's very short, so it can't be considered hard control—at most half a control. Typically, control abilities come from the top lane, mid lane, and support. If these roles don't have control, then the jungler and marksman should consider picking heroes with crowd control, like Miyamoto Musashi or Hou Yi.

Finally, the core issue. A "core" is a hero that needs to consume resources to be effective. If the whole team is full of cores, resources can't be distributed properly. The jungler needs the jungle, the mid laner needs minion waves, and the marksman needs to farm. In the end, no one gets enough. This kind of game is not uncommon: five late-game hypercarries get crushed in the early game and can't survive until their power spike.

The reasonable approach is to keep the number of cores between 1.5 and 2.5. That means one or two hypercarries responsible for mid-to-late game damage, while the rest picks utility heroes or semi-cores, like a utility mid laner or a tanky top laner, letting the jungler and marksman have the resources. The advantage is clear: core heroes come online faster, and their power spike arrives earlier.

Finally, one more point: it's best to have one or two meta-strong heroes in the team. The advantage is that even if the player's mechanics are average, the hero's inherent strength can still produce good results, effectively making up for the skill gap. Conversely, if the whole team is composed of off-meta weak heroes, and the enemy picks a few meta favorites, you'll be naturally behind at the same skill level.

Overall, a good approach is to ensure at least one tank, one reliable crowd control, one or two strong heroes, and keep the number of cores between 1.5 and 2.5. With such a lineup, whether in the early laning phase or late-game teamfights, you won't be too passive. If the lineup is well-built, the whole game becomes much easier.

So, do you usually pay attention to these factors when picking? What kind of lineup mistake do you think you make most often?

That's all for today. If you found it helpful, feel free to give a like to support me. If you have anything to say, ask, or want to see, leave a comment below, and I'll read them all~

I know all about games, nothing escapes me; I'm Xiaodi, let's have a good chat!

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