Ready to become the backbone your team actually needs? Master tank and support gameplay with S-tier heroes, advanced peel techniques, and the coordination strategies that separate good players from great ones. Time to turn those ranked losses into victories.
What Tank and Support Really Mean in Honor of Kings
The Real Talk on Roles
Look, I've watched countless players think tanks just walk forward and supports just heal. That's... not it. Tank and support heroes are literally the foundation that makes or breaks your team—and Patch 1.10.5 (October 16, 2025) proved this harder than ever.
After King's World Cup 2025 dropped those jaw-dropping numbers ($10 million prize pool, 58 million peak viewers), something became crystal clear: coordination beats flashy plays every single time. The meta shifted hard toward high-utility roamers and portal supports because—surprise—teamwork actually wins games.
Here's what tanks really do: soak damage like a sponge, start fights when the moment's right, control space through smart positioning and crowd control, create breathing room for your damage dealers.
And supports? They're the unsung heroes: keeping fragile teammates alive through heals and shields, controlling vision across crucial map areas, enabling your hypercarry to actually scale up, providing game-changing utility through crowd control and buffs.
Tank vs Support - More Different Than You Think
Here's where it gets interesting. Tanks win through raw team fight presence and frontline dominance. Supports? They're all about enabling those protect-the-carry compositions through reactive utility.
Take Arthur—this guy's sitting pretty at 54.2% win rate because he's reliable. Engage, disengage, area denial, damage amplification. He just works. Meanwhile, supports like Yaria maintain that solid 53.8% win rate through multi-layered crowd control, healing, shields, and vision control that most players don't even notice.
Meta Evolution - What's Actually Happening Right Now
The November 15, 2025 Plus Update changed everything with performance-based matchmaking. Finally! The system now looks at recent metrics for fairer solo queue experiences, and here's the kicker—it actually rewards you for doing your job right.
No more supports getting flamed for low damage. The system recognizes tanks for absorption and initiation, while supports get credit for assists, peels, vision control, and healing output. About time, honestly.
KWC 2025 showed us Lam's absolute dominance (98% pick/ban rate, 67% win rate over 64 matches—insane numbers). But the support meta? That's where Yaria shined with her consistent 20.2% pick rate.
Current meta favorites: portal supports like Da Qiao for global positioning control, hybrid tank-fighters like Augran for that 1v9 carry potential, sustain-focused supports that enable late-game scaling, vision-centric roaming strategies that actually win games.
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S-Tier Tanks That Actually Win Games
The Undisputed Champions
Arthur - This guy's your bread and butter. 54.2% win rate, 18.5% pick rate, and I recommend him for Diamond and below players because he's just... reliable. His kit gives you everything: skill 1 for mobility and engagement, skill 2 for area damage with slows, ultimate knockup for team fight initiation.
Core build path? Resistance Boots (crowd control reduction is life), Dominance Ice (mana and cooldown benefits), Shield of the Lost (magic resistance), Twilight Armor (physical damage mitigation). This combination covers all your bases while keeping you relevant in fights.
Dun - S-tier for good reason. 53.8% win rate, 16.2% pick rate, and professional teams love him (33.3% pick rate in pro play). Why? High survivability, solid damage output, and crowd control that actually matters.
His ultimate Unruly Blade provides chain-pulls for initiation, while his passive Gouge heals when you're below 50% health. Plus, he's flexible—Clash, Roam, or Jungle. That versatility wins drafts.
Situational Picks That Can Carry
Augran - This hybrid tank-fighter is something else. 55.1% win rate, 22.3% pick rate, and a whopping 45.2% ban rate. Self-healing passives and mobility dashes enable actual 1v9 potential and effective split-pushing.
Professional teams ban Augran first because he can single-handedly change games. Counter him with burst damage dealers and anti-heal items like Deadly Blade or Plague Blade—trust me on this one.
Zhang Fei - A-tier tank roaming with consistently high professional win rates. His Fury resource system enables aggressive rotations, skill 2 offers leap mobility with ally shielding. Ultimate provides invincibility, team shields, and AoE crowd control that can flip entire team fights.
Beginner-friendly kit? Absolutely. Perfect for learning tank fundamentals without getting overwhelmed.
Elite Support Heroes That Enable Victory
The Premium Tier
Yaria - Leading S-tier supports with 53.8% win rate and 20.2% pick rate. Multi-crowd control, healing, shields, vision control—she does it all. Her ultimate Verdant Predator provides true damage shields while amplifying allies, creating versatility that fits any composition.
Here's a pro tip: Yaria + Marco Polo synergy achieves 70%+ win rates through dual mobility and protection. That's not coincidence—that's game design working perfectly.
Da Qiao - S-tier support utility through global positioning control. Eye of the Whirlpool enables global teleports with cooldown reduction for map pressure. Ultimate Maelstrom? Team-wide teleports for split-pushing, ally saves, and objective control.
Professional teams often first-pick or ban Da Qiao. When a hero warps the entire game around their existence, you know they're special.
Utility vs Damage - The Eternal Support Debate
Angela - S-tier with 53.3% win rate and 18.9% pick rate. Global ultimate enables cross-map plays, crowd control provision, and consistent damage output. Combo sequence: Chaos Cinders stun, Scorching Barrage burst, Blazing Brilliance shield for comprehensive team utility.
Versatile in roaming and team utility, making her beginner-friendly with safe support tools. Sometimes the best supports are the ones that don't make you sweat every ability usage.
Dyadia - Balances healing and damage with 52.6% win rate and 17.9% pick rate. Ultimate locks enemies while providing speed boosts, dual heals, and damage over time effects. Vision control and gold theft capabilities enable versatile build paths.
That 47.6% ban rate in professional play? Yeah, that tells you everything about her impact.
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Mastering Peel - The Art of Keeping People Alive
Basic Peel Mechanics (That Most People Get Wrong)
Effective peeling isn't just use crowd control on enemies. It's systematic positioning and ability usage to protect carries from assassins. Four-step process that actually works:
Maintain position between enemies and carries while monitoring threat angles. Use abilities like Yaria's attachment vision/shields to cover ally cooldowns. Chain crowd control with teammates for elimination opportunities. Emphasize vision control in river bushes and jungle entrances.
Essential for supports like Yaria and Dyadia—proper peeling means avoiding engagement when you're low health. Successful peeling requires patience, positioning awareness, and ability conservation for critical moments rather than proactive engagement.
Advanced Combinations That Win Team Fights
Advanced peeling involves coordinating multiple abilities and teammates for maximum protective impact. Yaria's multi-stage crowd control chains with tank abilities like Arthur's knockup create extended lockdown periods that delete threats.
Da Qiao's global ultimate provides emergency extraction for endangered allies, while positioning abilities enable reactive saves across the map. Dyadia's speed boosts and dual heals create sustained protection during extended fights—her ability to lock enemies while providing team mobility enables both offensive and defensive applications.
Protection Strategies That Actually Work
ADC Protection Fundamentals
Protecting hypercarries requires sustaining them through fights while enabling safe positioning for damage output. Dolia creates healing zones and resets ultimates during key moments, enabling carries like Loong to maintain pressure throughout extended engagements.
Angela's global ultimate provides cross-map saves when carries overextend or face unexpected threats. Late-game protection strategies involve chaining crowd control to lock down divers while maintaining healing/shielding on primary damage dealers.
Successful protect compositions win through late-game team fights by countering early aggression with vision denial and defensive positioning. It's not flashy, but it wins games.
Backline Security Tactics
Backline security requires multiple layers of protection: positioning, vision control, and ability usage. Zhang Fei's invincibility chains and team shields create safe zones for carries during team fights. Ultimate Unbridled Outburst provides stun and displacement effects disrupting enemy dive attempts while enabling ally repositioning.
Cai Yan's ultimate grants 704 resistance for 5 seconds to lowest-health ally—crucial survivability during burst attempts. Her crowd control and healing enable carries to tank damage while maintaining offensive pressure.
Team Fight Mastery - Where Games Are Won
Initiation Timing and Positioning
Team fight initiation requires tanks like Arthur or Dun to engage after enemy key cooldowns while supports prepare peel/healing. Here's the step-by-step:
Step 1: Tanks position for optimal engagement angles while supports maintain protective positioning. Step 2: Supports like Da Qiao prepare teleports for ally extraction. Step 3: Target enemy carries while peeling friendly carries using slows/stuns. Step 4: Position with tanks front and carries back, utilizing terrain for cover.
Professional insights from KWC 2025 demonstrate coordination trumps individual skill in team fight scenarios. Teams must practice engagement timing and ability coordination to maximize protective and offensive potential.
Target Focus and Priority Systems
Target prioritization requires focusing enemy carries while protecting friendly damage dealers from threats. Meta trends emphasize portal supports like Da Qiao for fight positioning control through global abilities.
Achieving SSS rating requires 70-80% kill participation, demonstrating support involvement importance in team fights through assists, healing, shielding, and crowd control. Vision mastery requires denying enemy wards before objectives while establishing information networks for team decision-making.
Late-game team fights determine match outcomes. Period.
Essential Builds and Item Optimization
Core Tank Item Builds
Tank builds prioritize durability, initiation potential, and crowd control reduction. Standard build: Resistance Boots (crowd control reduction), Dominance Ice (mana/cooldown benefits), Shield of the Lost (magic resistance), Twilight Armor (physical damage mitigation).
This combination provides comprehensive protection while maintaining initiation capabilities. Situational adaptations include Witch's Cloak against magic-heavy compositions and Armor of the Sage against physical damage threats.
Support Utility Items
Support builds for heroes like Yaria emphasize cooldown reduction, magic resistance, and anti-physical protection. Core items: Guardian's Glory (essential first purchase), Boots of Fortitude (mobility), Glacial Buckler (cooldown reduction), Succubus Cloak (magic resistance), Ominous Premonition (utility).
This build focuses on enabling consistent ability usage while providing survivability against common threats. Anti-heal items like Deadly Blade or Plague Blade become essential against sustain-heavy compositions.
Build adaptation requires analyzing enemy damage types and adjusting resistance priorities accordingly. Cookie-cutter builds lose games.
Advanced Coordination Strategies
Communication Best Practices
Effective communication enables coordinated peel attempts and team fight execution through clear callouts and timing coordination. Professional teams demonstrate coordination importance over individual skill through systematic communication and role execution.
Five-step roaming coordination: mid lane assistance, farm lane rotation, jungler coordination, vision establishment, flexible response to map threats. Simple, but effective when executed properly.
Vision Control and Map Awareness
Vision control requires establishing networks around key objectives and jungle entrances while denying enemy information gathering. Objective preparation involves warding 45 seconds before dragon spawns at 4:00, with contest timing coordinated through team communication.
Baron preparation at 15:00 requires confirming enemy jungler position and maintaining above 70% team health. River Sprites provide 63 gold each until 4:00, making early vision control economically beneficial.
Teams must balance vision investment with combat effectiveness through strategic ward placement and timing.
Common Mistakes (And How to Actually Avoid Them)
Positioning Errors That Kill Games
Common positioning mistakes include single-lane focus as roamers and prioritizing roaming over ADC survival during pressure spikes. Here's the fix:
Step 1: Ward river bushes and jungle entrances for threat awareness. Step 2: Rotate only when allies are safe under tower protection. Step 3: Communicate with junglers for synchronized rotations. Step 4: Adapt builds to enemy compositions rather than following generic paths.
Low-health engages represent critical positioning errors leading to failed peel attempts and team fight losses. Supports must maintain health and positioning for critical moments rather than engaging aggressively when vulnerable.
Timing Mistakes That Lose Objectives
Timing mistakes involve engaging without proper vision or team coordination, leading to isolated deaths and lost objectives. Objective timing requires preparation and vision control rather than reactive attempts.
Ability usage timing requires conservation for critical moments rather than proactive usage for minor advantages. Patience wins more games than aggression.
Professional Insights and Meta Adaptations
KPL Professional Strategies
Professional strategies from KWC 2025 emphasize coordination over individual skill through systematic role execution and communication. Wolves Esports defeated Dynasty 4-2 with MVP Shadow achieving 8.7 KDA on Lam—individual excellence within team frameworks.
Dyadia's 47.6% ban rate reflects her versatility and utility in coordinated environments. Draft strategies involve first-picking flexible heroes like Da Qiao while securing power picks like Yaria after ban phases.
Seasonal Meta Shifts
2025 meta favors portal supports and tank buffs following April 10, 2025 patch that buffed Sun Bin and Yao while nerfing Dun's jungle damage. Shorter 2-month seasons accelerate meta shifts toward high-utility roamers like Dyadia.
November 2025 meta changes emphasize mobility and sustain following KWC 2025 professional insights. Performance-based matchmaking rewards role fulfillment over raw statistics, encouraging proper tank and support play rather than damage-focused builds.
Future trends indicate continued emphasis on utility and coordination over individual carry potential. The game's evolving, and smart players adapt.
FAQ
What are the best tank heroes in Honor of Kings 2025? Arthur leads S-tier tanks with 54.2% win rate, followed by Dun at 53.8% win rate. Arthur excels in simple engagement and area denial, while Dun provides exceptional peel for hypercarries.
How do I properly peel for my ADC in Honor of Kings? Position behind frontline to intercept threats, use abilities like Yaria's shields to cover ally cooldowns, chain crowd control with teammates, maintain vision in river bushes.
Which support heroes provide the best protection? Yaria offers versatile protection with 53.8% win rate through multi-crowd control and shields. Da Qiao provides global extraction through teleports, while Dolia enables hypercarry scaling through ultimate resets.
When should tanks initiate team fights? Initiate after enemy key cooldowns are used, when your team has positioning advantages, and when supports are ready to provide follow-up utility.
What items should tank and support heroes prioritize? Tanks should build Resistance Boots, Dominance Ice, Shield of the Lost, and Twilight Armor. Supports need Guardian's Glory, Boots of Fortitude, and resistance items adapted to enemy damage types.
How can I improve my team fight coordination as tank or support? Focus on communication for engagement timing, maintain proper positioning with tanks front and carries back, coordinate ability usage with teammates, prioritize vision control for information advantages.