These tips are meant for beginners to medium skilled players looking to find out what they need to do to improve their level of play. Some people may already know most of these things, hopefully they can be of help to other players as well.
#1 Avoid auto-attacking, try to last hit instead
This means that when you are in a lane do not simply right click on enemy creeps and constantly attack, this is a bad idea because it does several things you do not want early game:
- pushes the lane up making you easier to gank,
- makes the other teams denies easier,
- slows your ability to farm,
- you lose your ability to harass with ranged attacks
Instead try to move back and forth and use the "a" button or simply right click to land the final attack on both your creeps (for denies) and enemy creeps.
Many people think that this only goes for early game but a truly good last hitter will continue to last hit as the game continues in order to maintain lane control. Even if the game is 30 minutes in.
#2 Always carry a Homecoming Stone
This is key in all games, regardless of the level of play. After 10 minutes there is no reason as to why you should not have a Homecoming Stone on you at all times. The use for this stone can be teleporting out of a lane that is about to get ganked, or mass teleporting to a tower to counter gank the other team. Or to a lesser extent simply used to switch lanes for farming.
#3 Have some form of health regeneration items at the start
Whether you prefer Potions, Runes of Blight or a Bottle, just make sure you have something at the start of the game because if you don't it is very easy for the enemies in the lane to force you to low health making you either useless in the lane, or make you go back to the base to heal up.
Trinket of Restoration
If you want to buy a Trinket of Restoration on the start of the game, be sure to bolster it with at least one set of Runes of Blight and a Health Potion.
#4 Watch the Mini-Map
Many people in all levels of games get caught needlessly because they are not watching the mini-map to see if people are missing. This does not just refer to early game when people leave lanes, but it refers to the entire game; knowing where your opponents are heading enables you to gain control of the game.
#5 Make sure your team has wards up
Wards of sight are generally non existent in regular public games but I assure you that they are worth far more then the gold they cost. On average a well placed ward will save your team from getting ganked at least once, create one ganking opportunity, and also give you better vision so that you can farm a lane without the suspect of getting killed. They are also useful for getting runes.
#6 Make sure your team has a Monkey Courier, and USE it!
Although not as good as a flying courier a monkey courier enables you from the start of the game to bring items to yourself from the base, if used properly they can mean the difference between winning and losing a lane.
#7 Call Missing when heroes leave the lane
One of the easiest things to do in HoN is to talk over team chat, or type in team chat that the person from your lane is missing. Clicking a button and saying two words saves your teammates numerous times. If it is possible you seen the direction they were going you could be more descriptive in your missing call. e.g. "middle missing, heading top with haste rune". Could save two heroes.
#8 Have a gameplan
At the start of the game discuss very briefly what everyone intends on getting and what role each player intends to play. Of course it wont go exactly as you planned but discussing who the carry is going to be (main damage per second hero), who will buy wards are quick and easy to discuss and help to form team synergy. Furthermore discuss what heroes everyone should be going on in team fights. This does not need to be said prior to the start but it should occur throughout the game, it is important for everyone to know what they should be doing in the chaos of the big fights. If you wait until the last second, people will be unclear and waste skills on the wrong heroes.
#9 Learn how to use Fog of War
For those of you unfamiliar with the term Fog of War refers to the vision that someone is blocked from because of trees and other objects such as uphill ramps. Being able to use Fog of War while running away increases your chances of escape, and vise versa being able to see your opponents while running and knowing when to try to cast spells improves your chance of getting a kill. Fog of War is also important for lining up team fights, if you have sight of the opponent and it is known they don't know where you are, you are at a huge advantage when starting a fight because your team can unleash all their skills before the other team even realizes what happen.
#10 Have Fun!
Regardless of what people say (including myself), it is just a game and the most important thing is that everyone has a good time. This will not be accomplished if people yell at each another, give constructive criticism and ask for advice rather then screaming at each other. People play better when they are not nervous about screwing up, so just tell them that they need to do something different if they made a mistake do not simply yell at them.
