Arena of Valor (), formerly Strike of Kings, is an international adaptation of Honor of Kings (), a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch for markets outside Mainland China. As of September 2018, the game has grossed over outside China. Arena of Valor was one of six Esports video games featured at the 2018 Asian Games, 2019 Southeast Asian Games, 2021 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, and 2021 SEA Games as part of the competitive sport. Arena of Valor was published in other regions by Garena, DeNA, Actoz SG and TiMi Studio Group.
Gameplay
Arena of Valor is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed for mobile. The overall gameplay of Arena of Valor highly resembles League of Legends, a MOBA game on PC developed and published by Riot Games, which is also a subsidiary of Tencent and sister company to TiMi.
Players control characters, referred to as heroes, and each of these heroes have a unique set of abilities. Heroes start the game at a low level, and can earn gold and experience (XP) in various ways: Killing non-player creatures such as minions or monsters, defeating other players, destroying structures, passively through time and through special items that can be purchased through the shop. Earning experience unlocks and augments abilities, making the hero more powerful. Items purchased in the shop do not carry over matches, and therefore all players are on equal footing at the start of every match.
Matches give players rewards, such as gold, which can then be used to buy a variety of heroes or arcana. In addition to this, players can play a 'Ranked' match type, which allows them to be matched with players who are at their skill level and be assessed through in-game 'ranks'. Stars are earned for a victory, and lost when the player loses.
Game modes
There are various game modes in Arena of Valor, with "5v5" most commonly referred to as Grand Battle or Ranked Match, played on the Antaris Battlefield and being the most popular. Players compete in these matches which on average last for around 12 – 18 minutes. Players aim to destroy enemy's turrets on the map and securing objectives such as killing Abyssal Dragon and Dark Slayer, with the victory condition being to destroy the enemy's core.
Black City Arena is a 1v1 game mode with only one lane, two brushes at the left and right side of the horizontal battlefield, an HP pot, one tower and one core for blue and red.
Shadow Duel is a 3v3 game mode on Flatland Battlefield, using a much smaller map. In this version of the game, there is only one turret and a core base for both teams. These games are designed to be much quicker, and typically last for 4 – 6 minutes.
Abyssal Clash is a 5v5 game mode where players are given randomly selected heroes. Players may choose to re-roll once and receive a different hero. The game map, Abyss Canyon, only has one lane, with two turrets and a core base connected at either end of the lane. There are certain restrictions which do not appear in the default 5v5 mode: Items may only be purchased before leaving the base or upon death and hero healing at the team base is disabled. There are health regeneration runes that appear next to each turret, which provide heroes with a small regeneration effect.
Hook Wars is one of the arcade game modes. The game map, Treasure Bay, is made up of two large connected vessels. Although this game mode is also 5v5, there are no minions, turrets or bases in this mode. Each player is able to use a Hook as a special ability, which can grab an enemy on the opposite boat or from long distances. Players aim to capture the Control Zone, located at the center of the map, and hold the zone for a certain duration (until the counter reaches 100%). The capture rate increases with the number of players standing within the zone.
Football Fever is a 3v3, arcade game mode. The game map, Fantasy Island, is similar to a real-life football field with a summer-beach atmosphere. To achieve victory, you have to score a certain number of goals with a unique Talent called Kick, which is a solely linear ability, but it can be dragged. Using this ability will kick the ball over a long distance in the direction indicated.