As of August 15, 2026, the anticipation for the new S45 season of Honor of Kings is steadily heating up. For players who enjoy studying version changes and preparing their climbing heroes in advance, the upcoming preview livestream is definitely worth watching.

This livestream will not only cover new season content, but also feature new heroes, hero adjustments, changes to the canyon environment, and updates to casual modes. For an average player like me who checks the meta trends before the end of every season, the greatest value of this livestream is knowing in advance which heroes might become stronger and which playstyles need to be re-adapted.

If you are living abroad and, besides playing the Chinese server of Honor of Kings, also enjoy watching domestic Chinese livestreams and catching up on domestic video content, then network stability is also something worth preparing for in advance. Especially if the screen buffers frequently on the day of the livestream, or if your ping suddenly spikes during ranked matches after the new season starts, your experience will be significantly affected.

Let's break this down into two parts.

Part 1: What to look for in the S45 preview livestream?

The S45 new season express livestream is confirmed to start on August 19 at 18:00. Players can follow the official Honor of Kings livestream channels.

Based on the information released so far, this content won't just be a simple showcase of a few new skins, but will involve many adjustments that truly affect the gameplay of the new season.

New hero Wang Wei becomes the focus of attention

One of the topics most discussed by players right now is the new hero, Wang Wei.

The theme of a traditional Chinese poet is quite unique, so many players have already started guessing his hero role, skill mechanics, and which lane he is suited for.

For me, the most worth-watching aspect of a new hero isn't the stats, but the gameplay mechanics.

If it's just a standard long-range poke or burst hero, it might be easy to pick up; if it introduces a brand-new way of skill synergy, then the team compositions and lane choices for the new season could change.

The specific details still await further official announcement during the livestream, so players who want to know his skills and role as soon as possible should pay close attention to this part.

Niu Mo and Goya may see major changes

Also worth noting for veteran players this time are Niu Mo and Goya.

Both heroes are involved in discussions regarding gameplay-level adjustments. Compared to simply adding a bit of damage or reducing a cooldown, these types of adjustments are usually more noteworthy.

As a support hero, Niu Mo's biggest problem has always been that some of his skills rely heavily on prediction, and it's easy to end up in an awkward position if an initiation fails.

If the operation feel can be improved or skill synergy strengthened, his pick rate in solo queue and multi-player team games could increase.

Goya, on the other hand, is a marksman with a unique operational rhythm. Players who like her often play very smoothly, but those who haven't adapted to her movement and output style will find her difficult to pick up.

If there are indeed adjustments to her core gameplay this time, the environment of the Gold Lane in the S45 season might also be affected.

Xiahou Dun and Cang focus on improving actual combat experience

Xiahou Dun and Cang are currently leaning more towards experience optimization.

While such changes may not look as eye-catching as a full rework, they are often more practical for players who use a certain hero for a long time.

For example, whether chasing feels smooth, skill combos are fluid, or the timing of key skills is easy to grasp—all these directly affect the ranked experience.

I am personally looking forward to the adjustments for Xiahou Dun.

This hero's tankiness, crowd control, and sustain are actually not bad, but in some cases, there is a feeling that while his skills are comprehensive, they just fall a bit short in actual combat.

If the stuttering sensation in operation can be improved in the new season, he might become a climbing choice for many Clash Lane players again.

Canyon environment changes may be more important than hero adjustments

Besides heroes, the S45 preview livestream will also discuss canyon balance and the overall match experience.

In fact, after a season update, what truly determines the climbing experience isn't just whether a specific hero is buffed or nerfed.

Minion wave rhythm, jungle resources, matchmaking experience, hero tier changes, and the strength relationships between different roles can all affect the final game environment.

Therefore, players preparing to climb in the new season don't need to decide right now that a certain hero will definitely be the meta answer.

It is usually safer to watch the livestream first, observe the actual data after the official update, and then decide on your main hero.

If you don't want to keep playing ranked, you can also check out the Jixia Farm

Recently, Honor of Kings has also been continuously adding casual gameplay.

In the S45-related content, the Jixia Farm will also see new changes.

For players who find ranked matches tiring every day, occasionally planting crops and experiencing social content is actually a nice game rhythm.

Especially when the ranked environment changes significantly at the beginning of the season, I prefer to play casual modes for a few days first, and wait until everyone has figured out the new heroes and playstyles before I officially start climbing.

Experiencing lag while watching Honor of Kings livestreams or playing the Chinese server from abroad?

If you are in China, you basically don't need to worry about network routing for watching previews or accessing the Chinese server.

But the situation for overseas players is significantly different.

I usually pay attention to three scenarios:

Whether watching domestic Chinese livestreams is smooth.

Whether catching up on domestic video content involves frequent buffering.

Whether the Ping value is stable when playing Chinese server games like Honor of Kings.

If you are in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Singapore, or other regions, your device needs to pass through long cross-border routes when connecting to the domestic network.

The further the distance, the more network nodes you usually pass through.

So sometimes your home internet speed test looks fast, but opening a Chinese livestream can still result in slow loading, decreased resolution, or sudden screen buffering.

The performance in games is even more direct.

You might not feel much while just running around in Honor of Kings, but as soon as a team fight starts, the latency suddenly spikes, making it easy for skill releases to be slow, character controls to feel unresponsive, and team fight rhythm to become chaotic.

In this case, I highly recommend that overseas Chinese and international students use the HiCN accelerator to optimize their network.

Enter the code 1124 to receive free membership acceleration time, effectively reducing latency and making controls feel more responsive.

Don't ignore your local Wi-Fi either

Using an accelerator doesn't mean you can completely ignore your local network.

If your dormitory Wi-Fi is severely congested, even with route optimization, your experience may still be affected.

Especially at night when everyone returns to the dorm, watching videos, downloading games, or having video conferences simultaneously, Wi-Fi fluctuations are often more noticeable than during the day.

If possible, prioritize using 5GHz Wi-Fi.

When playing PC games, try to use an Ethernet cable.

When playing Honor of Kings on your phone, don't stay too far from the router.

If you suspect there is an issue with the dormitory network, you can also temporarily switch to your mobile data to test it.

By handling both your local network and the cross-border route well, your actual experience will generally be much more stable.