Patch 1.10.5 (February 5, 2026) reshaped Honor of Kings' meta through targeted flag nerfs. Defensive flags dropped from 20-30% to 20-25% damage reduction, offensive flags from 15-25% to 15-20% damage increase, regeneration flags from 40-80 to 40-60 health over 2.0s. Top heroes like Lam, Augran, and Loong saw win rates normalize after months of dominance. This guide breaks down exact changes, reveals best assault drafts, and provides strategies for climbing ranked.
Patch Overview: What Changed
Patch 1.10.5 launched February 5, 2026, targeting flag-synergy heroes dominating pro play and ranked. Core philosophy: preserve strategic depth while eliminating situations where flag control alone determined outcomes.
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Developer Goals:
Reduce early snowball from flag control
Normalize hero performance across skill brackets
Increase draft diversity
Teams securing both River Sprites gained 126 gold before 2:00—insurmountable when combined with flag bonuses. Loong-Yaria duo's 70%+ win rate proved flag synergies exceeded intended power.
Community Response: High-ranked players initially worried nerfs would kill strategic depth. First two weeks showed increased diversity without removing flag viability. Legendary King tier saw 23 heroes reach 10%+ pick rates vs 14 pre-patch. Lam's ban rate dropped from 38.7% to 22.3%, Augran's from 45.2% to 28.7%.
Complete Numerical Breakdown
Defensive Flags: 20-30% → 20-25%
16.7% decrease in peak defensive power. A 3,000 HP marksman previously absorbed 900 damage at max flags, now only 750—150 HP difference that determines survival. Minimum 20% unchanged, preserving early value. Prioritize defensive flags levels 1-8, then transition to offensive/extension flags.
Offensive Flags: 15-25% → 15-20%
20% reduction in peak offensive power. For 1,000 base damage, that's 50 less per rotation. Assassins with 2,500+ burst lose 125 damage per combo. Sustained dealers drop from 2,500 bonus damage to 2,000 over 10s engagements.
Targets early aggression where offensive flags enabled level 2 ganks with 73% win rates. Now requires better positioning—win rate dropped to ~64%.
Regeneration Flags: 40-80 → 40-60 Health
25% reduction in max healing. Solo laners previously healed 400 HP across five captures, now only 300—forcing earlier recalls. Junglers lose ~80 HP per full clear, reducing River Sprite contest health.
Unchanged 2.0s duration maintains kiting utility, but can't win attrition battles through healing alone. Must combine with lifesteal/support healing.
Team vs Solo Shields
Team shields: 10% → 8% max HP (20% nerf). Solo shields unchanged at 25% max HP for 5s.
Five-man team with 12,000 HP previously gained 1,200 total shielding, now 960. Opens poke comp opportunities. Solo shield preservation maintains split-push viability.
Extension Flags
800+ attack range with diminishing returns above 600 base range—unchanged. But offensive flag nerfs indirectly reduced extension value by lowering extended-range damage.
Heroes with 550+ base range gain 250-300 effective range after diminishing returns. Sufficient for siege but no longer risk-free poke.
Ranked Gameplay Impact
Early Game: Jungle Invades
River Sprites spawn 0:30, 1:30, respawn every 60s until 4:00 (63 gold each). Securing both yields 252 gold/min, totaling 504 pre-4:00—equivalent to two kills.
Offensive flag nerfs reduced early invade success by 12-15% in Diamond+. Junglers now require lane priority or numbers advantage.
Lam's Path: Red 0:30 → Azure 0:45 → Blue 1:00 → gank 1:15. Still viable but requires precise execution. Level 2 gank win rate: 73% → 64%.
Augran's Path: Blue-Azure 0:30 → small camps 0:45 → Crimson 1:15 → gank 1:30-2:00. Benefits from defensive flags, safer clears. Reaches level 4 by 2:00-2:30.
Mid Game: Turret Sieging
Tyrant spawns 4:00 (71 gold/player, 355 team). Storm Lord spawns 10:00 (136 gold/player, 680 team). Reduced team shields make objective contests more volatile.
Extension siege strategies lost ~15% effectiveness. Teams need additional resources (waves, longer timings) for outer turrets. Regeneration nerfs accelerate poke effectiveness by 8-12s per siege cycle.
Late Game: Team Fights
Flag capture: 3-5s uncontested, 5-7s contested. Defensive flag nerfs mean carries need more conservative positioning or additional peel.
Teams controlling defensive/offensive/regeneration flags previously gained 55-80% combined advantages, now 43-65%—still significant but not insurmountable.
Unchanged solo shields enable split-push threats, forcing 4v4 where reduced team shields create even fights.
Win Rate Data
Lam: Pro pick/ban 98% → 76%, Diamond+ win rate 54.9% → 51.2%, ban rate 38.7% → 22.3%
Augran: Pro pick/ban 94% → 71%, win rate 55.1% → 52.1%, ban rate 45.2% → 28.7%
Loong: Win rate 55.3% → 51.8%, pick rate 26.8% → 34.2%, pro pick/ban 96% → 68%
Loong-Yaria duo: 70%+ → 61% win rate
12 different junglers achieved 45%+ win rates in Legendary King tier post-patch.
Assault Draft Compositions
Assault drafts prioritize early aggression, objective control, snowball potential over late-game scaling. Flag nerfs paradoxically increased assault viability by reducing defensive stall options.
What Defines Assault Strategy
3-4 heroes with strong level 1-4 power spikes enabling coordinated invades, early turret pressure, River Sprite control. Sacrifice late-game for overwhelming early advantages.
Key characteristics:
High base damage (less reliant on offensive flags)
Crowd control chains for kills without extended trades
Objective-taking abilities converting kills to structures
Must secure 2-3 turrets, maintain 2,000+ gold lead by 8:00
Reduced regeneration healing benefits assault drafts—poke accumulates faster, forces earlier recalls.
Why Assault Dominates Post-Patch
Defensive flag nerfs reduced carry survivability, creating larger punishment windows. Marksmen absorbing 25% vs 30% reduction enables assassins to kill 2-3s faster.
Offensive flag nerfs ironically benefit assault by reducing counter-pressure. Defenders deal insufficient damage to deter invades.
Tournament mode restricts 2+ flag-synergy heroes in first three picks, naturally favoring assault drafts relying on individual power spikes.
Assault vs Standard Drafts
Standard: 1-2 early, 2-3 mid, 1-2 late-game heroes. Accept weak early for guaranteed scaling. Reduced team shields (10% → 8%) make grouped defense less effective.
Assault: 3-4 early, 1-2 mid-game closers. Accept near-certain losses past 15:00. Target 12:00-15:00 closures through structural advantages.
Critical difference: Standard aims for 18:00+ victories, assault targets 12:00-15:00. Post-patch: assault achieves 68% win rate in games ending before 14:00, only 31% past 18:00.
Best Assault Draft Templates
Template 1: Jungle-Focused Pressure
Jungle: Lam (early ganks, objective control)
Fighter: High-mobility bruiser, level 2 kill potential
Marksman: Early bully, tower-taking
Mage: Wave-clear, poke for siege
Support: CC, vision control
Secures River Sprites through jungle priority, converts kills to turrets, closes via 4-man rotations.
Template 2: Multi-Lane Pressure
Jungle: Augran (sustained clearing, team fights)
Fighter: Split-push specialist, solo shield synergies
Marksman: Self-sufficient, escape tools
Mage: Global pressure/teleport
Support: Roaming playmaker, CC chains
Pressures all three lanes simultaneously, forces defensive choices.
Template 3: Siege-Focused
Jungle: Objective-control, Tyrant/Storm Lord solo
Fighter: Frontline, team shield maximization
Marksman: Extended range, extension flags
Mage: Loong (poke, siege despite 51.8% win rate)
Support: Sustain, peel for sieges
Proper siege execution with extension flags achieves 56% win rate with early gold leads.
Template 4: Team Fight Dominance
Jungle: AoE damage, team fight ultimates
Fighter: Engage initiator, CC chains
Marksman: Consistent DPS, defensive positioning
Mage: Burst for priority targets
Support: Team buffs, defensive abilities
Accepts weaker laning for overwhelming 5v5 at levels 4-8. Reduced team shields require precise timing.
Template 5: Pick Composition
Jungle: Assassin, single-target deletion
Fighter: Lockdown CC for isolation
Marksman: Burst to confirm kills
Mage: Vision control, pick setup
Support: Catch tools, follow-up CC
Exploits reduced defensive flags—isolated targets die 2-3s faster, enabling snowballs through picks.
Role-by-Role Selection
Jungle: Lam (51.2% win rate) first-tier. Red → Azure → Blue → gank reaches level 3 by 1:15. Augran offers safer clears, better scaling. Secondary: objective-control specialists soloing Tyrant at 4:00.
Fighter: Strong level 1-3 spikes for River Sprite contests. Built-in sustain benefits from regeneration nerfs. Split-push specialists gain value from unchanged 25% solo shields.
Marksman: Early bullies winning through base damage vs offensive flags. Avoid late-game hyper-carries—reduced defensive flags (20-25% vs 20-30%) punish positioning mistakes harder.
Mage: Loong's 51.8% win rate, 34.2% pick rate indicates overvaluation. Select only with extension flags + Yaria support (61% duo win rate). Wave-clear mages enable faster rotations.
Support: CC specialists enabling kills without offensive flag damage. Vision control critical—ward 15-20s before River Sprites (0:10, 1:10).
Draft Integration
Stage 1 limits two flag-synergy heroes. Secure one high-priority (Lam/Augran) first rotation. If both banned (51% combined ban rate), pivot to objective-control junglers.
Timing:
First pick: Highest-value flag hero (typically Lam, 76% pro pick/ban)
Second rotation: Lane matchups, River Sprite contest potential
Third rotation: Complete core, max two flag heroes in first three picks
Final rotations: Counter-matchups, composition gaps
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Hero Synergies
Fighters: Mobility + CC excel at flag captures (3-5s uncontested). Level 2-4 power spikes enable River Sprite contests. High base damage (800+ at level 4) maintains kill threat despite 15-20% offensive bonuses.
Marksmen: Early-game champions winning through base damage + abilities vs auto-attack DPS. Extension flags grant 250-300 range for 550+ base range heroes. Avoid 3+ item champions—assault must close by 15:00.
Supports: CC duration over damage amplification. 2-3s lockdown chains sufficient despite reduced damage bonuses. Vision control 15-20s before spawns enables 126 gold advantage pre-2:00.
Junglers: Lam's path (Red → Azure → Blue → gank) reaches level 3 with buffs by 1:15. Augran's path (Blue-Azure → small camps → Crimson → gank) reaches level 4 by 2:00-2:30. Tyrant soloers provide guaranteed 355 team gold at 4:00.
Step-by-Step Execution
Draft Phase
First pick (Blue): Lam when available (76% pro pick/ban)
First pick (Red): Ban top flag hero if can't first-pick
Second rotation: Lane matchups, River Sprite contest
Third rotation: Core completion, max two flag heroes
Final rotations: Counter-matchups, gaps
Level 1-4 Aggression
0:30: Position jungle + support near River Sprite. Ward 0:10. Secure both for 126 gold
0:30-1:00: Execute clear paths (Lam: Red → Azure → Blue; Augran: Blue-Azure → small camps)
1:00-1:30: Level 2 ganks, 64% win rate. Convert to turret plates/flags
1:30: Second River Sprite, +126 gold. Total pre-4:00: 504 gold (7 kills worth)
2:00-4:00: Vision around Tyrant. Reach level 4 by 2:00-2:30
First Turret Push
4:00: Tyrant secure (71 gold/player, 355 team). Convert buff to first turret
4:30-6:00: Group 3-4 players with 500+ gold lead. Reduced team shields (8% vs 10%) enable faster takes
6:00-8:00: Rotate to second lane. Secure 2-3 turrets by 8:00
8:00-10:00: Vision around Storm Lord. Maintain 2,000+ gold lead
Game Closure
10:00: Storm Lord (136 gold/player, 680 team). Core item completions
10:00-12:00: Inhibitor pressure. Secure one by 12:00
12:00-15:00: Force fights near inhibitors with super minions. 68% win rate before 14:00, 31% past 18:00
Contingency: If can't close by 15:00, transition to objective control + picks. Avoid forced fights.
Countering Assault Drafts
Heroes: Wave-clear preventing turret pressure. Global abilities forcing split attention. Disengage specialists denying forced fights.
Positioning: Vision 30s before River Sprites to avoid unfavorable contests. Position near defensive flags for 20-25% reduction. Coordinate recalls to contest Tyrant at 4:00.
Objectives: Trade outer turrets for River Sprites when behind (504 gold > 400 turret gold). Defend inhibitors at all costs. Trade Storm Lord for inhibitors when ahead.
Scaling: Late-game hyper-carries at 3-4 items. AoE team fight ultimates punishing overcommits. Split-push across multiple lanes with 25% solo shields.
Common Mistakes
Overcommitting: Contesting without vision results in unfavorable fights. Anti-exploit detects >75% flag control in first 10 min. Ward 15-20s before spawns.
Poor Timing: Capturing during fights (5-7s contested) creates 4v5. Secure before/after fights, never during. Prioritize defensive flags when behind, not offensive.
Neglecting Scaling: Assault failing to close by 15:00 faces 31% win rate past 18:00. Transition to objective control + picks vs forcing fights.
Misconceptions: Assault doesn't always group—apply multi-lane pressure. 64% level 2 gank win rate shows significant failure rates. Flags amplify advantages but don't compensate for poor macro.
Pro Insights
Legendary King Usage: Prioritize flags by game state—offensive when ahead, defensive when behind. Coordinate captures with ability cooldowns for max uptime. Sync buff timings (90s respawn) with River Sprites (60s).
Tournament Examples: Vision 30-45s before objectives. Stage 1 limitation (two flag heroes) secures highest priority while maintaining balance. Target 2,000+ gold by 8:00 through River Sprites (504), kills (300-400 each), plates (160 each).
Advanced Positioning: Stand between defensive/offensive flags for instant adaptation. Marksmen use extension flags (800+ range) while near defensive flags. Coordinate captures during enemy cooldowns (3-5s vs 5-7s).
Map Scenarios: Control top-side flags near Storm Lord (10:00) for 680 team gold. When behind, focus flags near defensive positions. When ahead, establish enemy jungle flag control.
Maximizing Ranked Climb
When to Choose Assault: 3+ champions with level 1-4 spikes vs late-game scaling enemies. 68% win rate before 14:00. Avoid when opponents pick early-game or team lacks coordination (31% past 18:00).
Rank-Specific:
Platinum: Fundamental flag control, River Sprite timing (504 pre-4:00)
Diamond: Synchronized ganks, 64% level 2 ganks, track buff timings (90s)
Master: Full assault execution, 2,000+ gold by 8:00, adapt flag priorities
Legendary King: Advanced techniques, multi-flag positioning, tournament strategies, 58-62% win rates
Tracking: Monitor win rates by game duration (assault: 65%+ before 14:00). Track flag control (target 55-65%, avoid >75%). Analyze gold leads: 500+ at 4:00, 1,500+ at 8:00, 2,500+ at 10:00.
Staying Updated: Monitor patch notes for flag stat changes. Track pro pick/ban rates for emerging trends. Experiment early patch cycles (first 2-3 weeks) before counter-strategies spread.
FAQ
What changed in Flagbearing Spriteling patch? Patch 1.10.5 (Feb 5, 2026): defensive flags 20-30% → 20-25%, offensive 15-25% → 15-20%, regeneration 40-80 → 40-60 health, team shields 10% → 8%. Solo shields unchanged (25%). Normalized Lam (54.9% → 51.2%), Augran (55.1% → 52.1%), Loong (55.3% → 51.8%).
Best assault draft? 3-4 heroes with level 1-4 spikes. Lam/Augran jungle, early fighters, turret-taking marksmen, wave-clear mages, CC supports. Secure 504 River Sprite gold pre-4:00, level 2 ganks (64% win rate), 2-3 turrets by 8:00. Close by 15:00 (68% win rate vs 31% past 18:00).
Best Flagbearing heroes? Lam (76% pro pick/ban, 51.2% win rate), Augran (71% pick/ban, 52.1% win rate). Loong (51.8% win rate) with proper support—61% duo win rate with Yaria. Prioritize high base damage over percentage scaling. Extension users with 550+ range gain 250-300 effective range.
Win rates after patch? Lam Diamond+ 54.9% → 51.2%, Augran 55.1% → 52.1%, Loong 55.3% → 51.8%. Pro pick/ban: Lam 98% → 76%, Augran 94% → 71%, Loong 96% → 68%. Assault drafts: 68% before 14:00, 31% past 18:00.
Counter assault drafts? Wave-clear heroes, global pressure, disengage specialists. Vision 30s before River Sprites, position near defensive flags (20-25% reduction), contest Tyrant at 4:00. Trade outer turrets for River Sprites when behind, defend inhibitors. Late-game hyper-carries guarantee team fight superiority past 15:00.
When to pick Flagbearing in ranked? Select Lam/Augran/Loong when building assault with 3+ early-game champions vs late-scaling enemies. First rotation priority, max two flag heroes in first three picks (tournament mode). Avoid when opponents draft early-game or team lacks coordination—assault requires precise execution for 68% win rate before 14:00.
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