Heroes of Newerth Beginner’s Guide: Conquering the Battlefield
Introduction to Heroes of Newerth
A veteran of Heroes of Newerth (HoN), I have been impressed with and intrigued by the strategic depth of the game and have put together this guide to help new players not only understand how to play the game, but also thrive in the competitive nature of the game.
Starting in Heroes of Newerth
System Requirements and Game Setup
HoN. Be sure your PC’s system requirements are met so gaming isn’t a crawl.
Understanding the Basics
HoN (Heroes of Newerth) is an MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), a sort of hybrid of StarCraft and Dota, where two teams of five heroes duke it out until one destroys the other’s base. In order to accomplish this feat, you’ll first need to learn the basics of the genre: how to laneline, when to jungle, which heroes play which roles, and so on.
Choosing Your Hero
Hero Roles and Abilities
The most online game (HoN) has a very large roster of heroes, featuring characters with different skills and roles (carry, support, ganker, initiator, etc) that you need to consider when selecting the software robot that works for you and your team.
Learning Hero Skills and Combos
Learn the abilities of your favourite hero. Can you make good ability combinations? How to make them? Play bot matches or unranked games to learn your hero.
Core Gameplay Mechanics
Laning and Farming
Learn to lane and farm correctly to earn gold and experience. Last-hitting and denying are equally important skills to master that will get you and your team ahead.
Map Awareness and Vision Control
Watching the map and using vision control also empowers the support to deny ganks; if the support spots an enemy approaching top lane, they can hit their Ctrl+P keybind (the hotkey for blink) to port right to stream while shouting ‘Going mid, X bring P’, to alert their team of the danger. Support can also supply extremely valuable information about enemy movements. When I was learning League, my favourite position was the supp, as my life discovery was that if I positioned my vision correctly, I could always see the enemy before they saw me. Leaving the fog of war was akin to dropping a microphone. Shining bright was what I did best, baby.
Advanced Strategies
Team Coordination and Communication
HoN is a team-oriented game. Communication and coordination with your team can be the difference between a kill and a slay.
Itemization and Power Spikes
Shopping for the correct items and recognising your hero’s power spikes (the times that your hero is stronger than your enemy) can be the difference between winning and losing in a match.
The Competitive Aspect and Cheating
Engaging in the Competitive Scene
The HoN competitive scene is demanding but richly rewarding. Play in community tournaments at events such as Frag Fest and participate in ranked games to test your strategy and skill against other HoN players.
Perspective on Cheating
But as long as cheating does persist in many indiscriminately, maintaining a neutral stance keeps me focused on the value of the experience – improving my own skills and having fun in the game.
Continuous Improvement
Keeping Up-to-Date with Game Changes
Like most MOBAs, HoN is constantly preemptively and postemptively patched. Whet your group can handle depends on how well you know what each patch will introduce into the game.
Learning from Each Game
Learn from a replay and build your skills game by game.
Conclusion
Just remember that, before the hardships of Heroes of Newerth can become meaningful, you are going to have to get past the bloom. With the right attitude and strategy, that won’t be as impossible as it first seems.