Is Kongming good in Honor of Kings?

Current HOKMeta data lists Kongming as Tier S, with 50.1% win rate and 1.3% pick rate. Kongming is worth playing if your team needs reliable Mid Lane pressure, but you should avoid blind-picking into Allain, Biron, Wuyan without peel or defensive item planning.

How do you play Kongming in teamfights?

In teamfights, Kongming should respect enemy engage range first, then play around the hero's Mage job: dealing damage, protecting carries, or entering after key control is used. When behind, clear waves and preserve cooldowns instead of face-checking fog.

SMid Lane

Kongming Build, Items, Arcana & Counters

Kongming is a Tier S Mid Lane pick. Get the best build, core items, arcana, battle spell, counters, and tool-backed item decisions.

WR 50.1%Pick 1.3%Ban 0.2%

Build answer

Kongming best build for S15 (June 2026)

International server

Updated: 2026-07-20

Reviewed by: HOKMeta

Role, lane, difficulty

Mid Lane · Mage · Tier S · Medium

Current patch rates

50.1% WR · 1.3% Pick · 0.2% Ban

Core 3 items

Insatiable Tome, Boots of the Arcane, Scepter of Reverberation

Best arcana

Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Hunt, Lvl 5: Mind's Eye

Battle spell

Teleport

Best into

Han Xin, Jing, Ukyo Tachibana

Watch out for

Allain, Biron, Wuyan

Kongming TL;DR

Tier S50.1% WRMid Lane

Kongming: Active skill hits on enemies grant 1 stack.

Fast conclusion

Kongming is a Tier S Mid Lane pick with 50.1% win rate.

Arcane Assault → Time Shift → Winning Strategy → weave basic attacks

Core 3 items

Insatiable Tome

Boots of the Arcane

Scepter of Reverberation

Pick when

You need a current high-priority Mid Lane pick and your draft can play around its main timing.

Avoid when

Main threats: Allain, Biron, Wuyan.

Open full counter pageMatchup notes, strong targets, and heroes that punish Kongming.

Current patch decision guide

How to decide if Kongming is the right pick

Pick Kongming if

Pick Kongming when your team needs a Tier S Mid Lane option and the draft gives this hero enough space to play around core cooldowns.

Avoid Kongming if

Avoid Kongming when the enemy composition directly attacks the hero's main weakness or your team cannot support the Mid Lane game plan.

Power spikes

First completed core item: check whether the hero can now contest lane or jungle tempo.
Two to three item point: decide whether to group for objectives or keep farming toward the late-game plan.
Final defensive or damage item: adapt to the enemy threat instead of following the build blindly.

Build decision

Start from the recommended build, then adjust based on whether the enemy is forcing burst survival, anti-tank damage, anti-heal, or safer positioning.

Matchup logic

Use the counter page and build compare tool together: first identify the threat, then test whether damage, defense, or utility gives the better answer.

Common mistakes

Following the build without checking the enemy draft.

Taking fights before the first meaningful item spike.

Ignoring wave state and vision before rotating.

30-day trend

Last 30 days of win rate, pick rate, and ban rate

Use daily snapshots to see whether this hero is heating up, cooling down, or simply staying popular without converting that attention into wins.

Win rate

Current 50.07%

7d change -0.02 pts

30d change -0.02 pts

Pick rate

Current 1.31%

7d change -0.06 pts

30d change 0.00 pts

Ban rate

Current 0.18%

7d change -0.02 pts

30d change -0.01 pts

Trend read

Kongming currently sits at 50.07% win rate, with a 30-day move of -0.02 pts and a 7-day move of -0.02 pts.

Win rate is falling by -0.02 pts.

Pick rate is mostly flat.

Ban rate is falling by -0.01 pts.

Patch reason

There is no current-season official balance entry to cite in the last 45 days.

Tools

Test Kongming damage and item builds

Use the calculator for combo damage, or compare two item builds side by side before changing your ranked setup.

Damage calculator Compare builds

Best Build for Kongming

End-game item order with gold costs and slot notes. Purchase path may differ in-match.

Build philosophy

Kongming benefits from Magic attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration — match items and runes to kit scaling.

Passive: Active skill hits on enemies grant 1 stack. At the max of 5 stacks, he summons prisms to attack nearby enemies.

Magic attackCooldown reductionPenetration

Arcana: Prioritize runes that boost Magic attack, Cooldown reduction, Penetration for this hero's passive and skill scaling.

4 presets — switch by draft, lane, or CN meta. Default matches Mid Lane when available.

Recommended item build order
#	Item	Gold	Stats	Why
1	Insatiable Tome	2,060g	MATK +160, Magical Lifesteal +24%, HP +750 Lifesteal increases CDR	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Arcane Conversion — Every 2% Magical Lifesteal grants an extra 1% Cooldown Reduction.
2	Boots of the Arcane	700g	MSPD +50, MP +400 Magical Pierce	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Swift — Grants 50 Movement Speed.
3	Scepter of Reverberation	2,100g	MATK +210, MSPD +7.5% Skill hits explode	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Echo — Triggers an explosion when landing a skill hit, dealing (140–280 + 28% {ap}) magical damage.
4	Sage's Tome	2,610g	MATK +350, CDR +10% Great for mages	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Enlightenment — Every 100 Magical Attack increases damage dealt by 0.5% and grants 0.5% damage reduction.
5	Savant's Wrath	2,140g	MATK +210 Greatly boosts MATK	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Doom — {ap} +30%
6	Void Staff	2,040g	MATK +210, HP +500, CDR +5% Anti-tank	Fits Magic attack priority — Passive - Devastation — Magical Pierce +45%

Best Arcana & Spells

Arcana and battle spell setup
Slot	Choice	Effect
Primary	Nightmare	Recommended for Mage Mid Lane
Spell	Smite / Flash	Adjust Purify/Execute based on enemy dive.

Abilities

Skill Order

Skill 2 → Skill 1 → Winning Strategy (max Skill 2 first)

Max primary utility/damage skill first, then Arcane Assault, and Winning Strategy on cooldown.

Passive

Time for Tactics

Active skill hits on enemies grant 1 stack. At the max of 5 stacks, he summons prisms to attack nearby enemies.

Skill 1

Arcane Assault

Fires 3 prisms in a cone-shaped area, dealing damage to enemies hit.

Skill 2

Time Shift

Teleports in the target direction, dealing damage to enemies near the start and end points.

Ultimate

Winning Strategy

Channels briefly and unleashes a Spirit Bomb at the target enemy, dealing grievous damage. If the bomb defeats an enemy hero, the skill's cooldown is reduced by 80%.

Combos

1. Standard trade
Arcane Assault → Time Shift → Winning Strategy → weave basic attacks
When: Mid Lane skirmish or objective fight

Counters & Matchups

🏛️ Camp Official Counter Data

Official counter reference from Camp HOK rank statistics.

Kongming is strong into

Pick Kongming when the enemy drafts these heroes.

Kongming struggles into

Avoid Kongming or ban these when they appear on the enemy team.

Full counter analysis →

vs Similar Heroes

Kongming vs Daji (Mage, Tier S+): Daji is 2.4% pick / 51.0% WR. Daji wins 1.8% more often globally. Choose Kongming when you need Mid Lane identity; choose Daji for Mid Lane comfort.
Kongming vs Angela (Mage, Tier S+): Angela is 2.3% pick / 51.8% WR. Angela wins 2.6% more often globally. Choose Kongming when you need Mid Lane identity; choose Angela for Mid Lane comfort.

Playstyle & Ranked Tips

Laning Phase

Control first wave without taking free poke. Roam after pushing wave 2–4 to side lanes with your jungler.

Teamfight Role

Poke from max range before objective. Save hard CC for enemy dive or your carry peel window.

High Rank (Diamond+)

Kongming is a Tier S staple in high-elo (Diamond+) on the international server — worth mastering for climb. Pick rate 1.4% — frequently seen in ranked; learn the matchup even if you do not main Kongming.

Related decisions

Keep researching Kongming

Kongming full guide

Lane plan, teamfight rules, ranked mistakes, and matchup notes.

Kongming counters

Best counter picks, matchup notes, and draft risks.

Kongming damage calculator

Test item damage against marksman, mage, fighter, and tank templates.

Kongming build compare

Compare two item builds and get matchup-specific conclusions.

Best Mage heroes

Compare this pick with other heroes in the same role.

Kongming Build 2026 FAQ

Quick answers for Kongming builds, arcana, counters, lane choice, and ranked value.

What is the best Kongming build in 2026?

The best Kongming build in 2026 uses Insatiable Tome, Boots of the Arcane, Scepter of Reverberation, Sage's Tome, Savant's Wrath, Void Staff. Play Kongming in Mid Lane, take Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Hunt, Lvl 5: Mind's Eye arcana, and usually run Teleport. This recommendation is aligned with S15 (June 2026) and the 2026-07-20 HOKMeta data snapshot.

What is the best arcana for Kongming?

The best Kongming arcana setup is Lvl 5: Nightmare, Lvl 5: Hunt, Lvl 5: Mind's Eye. Keep the core damage arcana first, then adjust movement speed, pierce, or sustain only when the matchup makes your lane unsafe.

What should Kongming build first?

Kongming usually wants Insatiable Tome first because the first item should stabilize Mid Lane clear speed, trading power, or tempo. If the lane is unsafe, adjust boots or a small defensive component first, but do not delay the core damage curve too long.

What should Kongming build against tanks?

Use the HOKMeta damage calculator or build compare tool to test penetration, sustained damage, and survivability against tank templates. The best anti-tank item choice depends on whether Kongming can keep attacking safely or needs a defensive item to survive the first engage.

Who counters Kongming?

Kongming is most vulnerable to Allain, Biron, Wuyan. Draft peel, respect engage range, and adjust items when the enemy lineup can dive or chain crowd control.

What lane does Kongming play?

Kongming is mainly played as a Mage in Mid Lane. In ranked games, prioritize a stable farm pattern and only rotate early when the wave state keeps your economy safe.