This season, players across the 12BET Malaysia community have witnessed a major shift in the Honor of Kings support meta. In the past, teams often demanded durable tank supports, but players have now become comfortable using soft supports focused on healing, shielding, and mobility. The divide between tanks and utility supports has nearly disappeared, while mage supports such as Mozi and Zhang Liang are receiving greater recognition. Soft-support lineups paired with tanky Clash Lane heroes briefly dominated the meta, yet team fights still tend to collapse when no true frontliner is available.
What makes the situation unusual is that most team compositions still favor fighter-style Clash Lane heroes even though traditional side-lane tanks are no longer particularly strong. Analysts followed by 12BET Malaysia explain that fighter-assassin junglers have become increasingly common over recent seasons, naturally creating more lineups without a dedicated tank. The reasons for the decline of tanks are fairly clear. Tank supports often lack utility, side-lane tanks clear waves too slowly, and neither group can consistently threaten the enemy backline. This trend has also developed alongside the broader decline of burst assassins.
In earlier seasons, assassins dealt enough damage to eliminate backline targets by themselves. Side-lane heroes only needed to survive and hold their ground while the assassin finished the job. Now that assassin damage has fallen, Clash Lane heroes must participate more actively in decisive engagements. That is why heroes such as Allain and Sun Ce have returned to the spotlight.
Another rapidly emerging strategy is the fighter-assassin jungler equipped with tank items. This does not mean moving slow, traditional tanks into the jungle. Instead, naturally mobile fighter assassins are building defensive equipment to improve their durability. Two major factors have encouraged this change. Marksmen have become extremely powerful, while junglers are finding it increasingly difficult to gain enough resources and levels to take control of a match.
Current marksmen enjoy significantly longer attack ranges, better early-game attack speed, and greater protection because base defenses have risen across the roster. In the past, a full physical-penetration inscription setup provided an enormous early advantage, but its effectiveness has declined. At the same time, marksman statistics have arguably been pushed too far. Following the Red Hawk adjustment, supports also began staying much closer to their marksmen, making it extremely difficult for a lone jungle assassin to find an effective opening.
Junglers previously controlled matches through an economic lead and clearly defined power spikes. Those power spikes now arrive later and often overlap with the marksman’s strongest period. The result is a vicious cycle: marksmen become harder to approach, assassins fail to finish them, and the jungle role loses even more influence.
A different perspective is therefore necessary. Winning does not always require eliminating the opposing marksman. When that target cannot be reached, a team may gain more by defeating the enemy frontline first or by protecting its own marksman more effectively. While the Clash Lane hero initiates and controls the main fight, a fighter assassin can still contribute through secondary damage, crowd control, or disruption.
A resource-starved jungler gains little from rushing expensive offensive items, especially during the early stages. Building durability instead can improve survival and reduce costly mistakes. Damage-heavy builds force players to approach every engagement cautiously, while tank equipment allows them to act more boldly. Even without strong offensive scaling, many heroes can contribute through their base skill damage and unique mechanics. When diving the backline is unrealistic, pushing lanes, drawing attention, and creating space can be just as valuable.
Many Honor of Kings heroes already have high base damage, meaning that a single defensive damage item such as Blazing Cape can provide surprisingly strong output. Players in the 12BET Malaysia community recently shared a tank-build Charlotte that demonstrates this idea well. Her execute-style damage and Blazing Cape provide the main source of pressure, while her immunity effects and close-range harassment can buy valuable time for teammates.
The same logic applies to tank-build versions of Han Xin and Musashi, while defensive Zhao Yun and Prince of Lanling setups may also become reasonable options in the future. These heroes retain mobility, control, and useful base damage even when they sacrifice part of their offensive potential. Rather than forcing an outdated burst playstyle, they can adapt to the match and become durable disruptors who are difficult to remove.
Seen through the strategic lens used by 12BET Malaysia analysts, this season is undeniably unfavorable for fighter assassins built entirely around damage. When the environment changes, survival and flexibility matter more than simply stacking attack power. As the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, so charging directly into an enemy formation is no longer the smartest answer. Tank builds may not look as spectacular on paper, but they offer fighter assassins a practical way to remain useful, create opportunities, and help their teams win.