Honor of Kings (HoK) and Arena of Valor (AoV) are essentially the same game, but for different regions. Honor of Kings is the original Chinese version developed by TiMi Studio Group, while Arena of Valor is the international version released for global audiences. Honor of Kings launched globally in 2025 and became a massive success, bringing millions of new players to the game. If you’re one of those new players coming from Arena of Valor or trying to understand how these two games connect, this guide will help you. Because both games share the same foundation, many characters appear in both, though sometimes with different names, appearances, or slightly adjusted abilities. This guide lists all Honor of Kings characters and their Arena of Valor counterparts, helping players understand which heroes they already know from one game appear in the other.
Understanding the Relationship Between HoK and AoV
Arena of Valor launched globally in 2016 as the international version of Honor of Kings, which had already been successful in China since 2015. When bringing the game to international markets, TiMi Studio made several changes:
- Name Changes: Many characters were renamed to be more accessible to global audiences. Chinese historical figures kept their names in HoK but got new names in AoV.
- Design Changes: Some character designs were adjusted for different regional preferences and cultural sensibilities.
- Ability Adjustments: While most characters play similarly between both versions, some received minor ability tweaks or balance changes for their respective regions.
- Exclusive Characters: Honor of Kings has significantly more characters than Arena of Valor. Many HoK heroes never made it to the international version, while AoV has a few exclusive collaboration characters.
It’s important to note that not all characters share identical abilities. Some are completely the same between both games, some have similar kits with minor differences, and a few only share thematic or visual similarities while playing quite differently.
Complete List of HoK and AoV Character Counterparts
| Arena of Valor Character | Image | Honor of Kings Character | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allain |  | Allain | |
| Natalya |  | Angela |  |
| Quillen |  | Arke |  |
| Elandorr |  | Arli |  |
| Arthur |  | Arthur |  |
| Ata |  | Ata | |
| Wonder Woman |  | Athena |  |
| Mina |  | Bai Qi |  |
| Butterfly |  | Butterfly | |
| Peura/Helen |  | Cai Yan |  |
| Charlotte |  | Charlotte | |
| Joker |  | Consort Yu |  |
| Rouie |  | Da Qiao |  |
| Veera |  | Daji |  |
| Qi |  | Dharma |  |
| Valhein |  | Di Renjie |  |
| Zanis |  | Dian Wei |  |
| Lauriel |  | Diaochan |  |
| Dolia |  | Dolia | |
| Arum |  | Dong Huang |  |
| Mganga |  | Dr. Bian |  |
| Arduin |  | Dun |  |
| Erin |  | Erin | |
| Fennik |  | Fang |  |
| Lu Bu |  | Faith | – |
| Dyadia |  | Dyadia | |
| Omen |  | Fuzi |  |
| Yue |  | Gan and Mo |  |
| Jinnar |  | Gao |  |
| Batman/Kaine |  | Gao Changgong |  |
| Tel’Annas |  | Garo |  |
| Kahli |  | Garuda |  |
| Superman |  | Guan Yu |  |
| Krizzix |  | Guiguzi |  |
| Nakroth |  | Han Xin |  |
| Heino |  | Heino | |
| Laville |  | Hou Yi |  |
| Brunhilda/Celica |  | Huang Zhong |  |
| Amily |  | Kaizer |  |
| Tulen |  | Kongming |  |
| Grakk |  | Kui |  |
| Violet |  | Lady Sun |  |
| Murad |  | Li Bai |  |
| Toro |  | Lian Po |  |
| Aleister |  | Liang |  |
| Xeniel |  | Liu Bang |  |
| Rourke |  | Liu Bei |  |
| Omega |  | Liu Shan |  |
| Maloch |  | Lu Bu | |
| Yorn |  | Luban No. 7 |  |
| Raz |  | Mai Shiranui |  |
| Hayate |  | Marco Polo |  |
| Ming |  | Ming | |
| Gildur |  | Mozi |  |
| Yena |  | Mulan |  |
| Kriknak |  | Nakoruru |  |
| Max |  | Nezha |  |
| Zata |  | Shangguan |  |
| Elsu |  | Shouyue |  |
| Paine |  | Sima Yi |  |
| Alice |  | Sun Bin |  |
| Ryoma |  | Ukyo Tachibana |  |
| Diao Chan | | Wang Zhaojun | |
| Wukong |  | Wukong | |
| Ormarr |  | Wuyan |  |
| Thane |  | Xiang Yu |  |
| Krixi |  | Xiao Qiao |  |
| Enzo |  | Xuance |  |
| Aya |  | Yaria |  |
| Sephera |  | Yuhuan |  |
| Cresht |  | Zhang Fei |  |
| Chaugnar |  | Zhuangzi |  |
| Zephys |  | Zilong |  |
For Players Switching Between Games
From AoV to HoK: If you main a character in Arena of Valor, this guide can help you find your equivalent in Honor of Kings. Since HoK’s global release was a great success in 2025, many AoV players made the switch and found that their muscle memory transferred well to counterpart heroes. Look up your main in the table above and try them out in Honor of Kings. Your experience with the character archetype will give you a head start, but be prepared for potential ability differences. Take time to read ability descriptions carefully.
From HoK to AoV: If your main in Honor of Kings isn’t listed in the table, they’re probably exclusive to HoK and don’t exist in AoV. You’ll need to find a new main with a similar playstyle. However, since Honor of Kings global has a much larger and more active player base following its successful 2025 launch, you might want to stick with HoK rather than switching to AoV.
