Basics

Energy

Each step in a mission requires one energy point. Once energy is exhausted, you have to wait for it to recharge. Energy fully recharges every time the commander gains a level. Energy Packs can also be purchased from the shop using 60 diamonds. Research can increase the total amount of energy available and the rate at which energy recharges.

Currencies

Diamonds are the premium game currency. They can be purchased for real-world money, or they can be awarded or earned in the game. They are used to purchase:
- Energy Packs, Revive Potions, Gear Packs, Traps to help capture new heroes, Essence/Coin/Ember vault refills, hero Summoning Runes or Emblems, expanded slots in your hero library, scholars for performing research, etc.
Coins are the standard game currency used to purchase items and research. Earn coins by completing missions and from gold mines, which are unlocked gradually through the story.
Embers are the special game currency used to purchase hero upgrades, rituals, and research. Collect embers from the Ember Baron introduced in the tutorial.
Summoning Runes are used to summon new heroes and commanders from the shop. 1 rune = 1 hero. Runes drop from Treasure Chests during missions and can be gained as rewards from various activities. There are three different types of runes:
- Basic Runes can summon common, uncommon or rare heroes.
- Silver Runes can summon uncommon, rare or epic heroes.
- Elite Runes can summon rare, epic or legendary heroes, or a commander. Summoning with 10x Elite Runes guarantees 2 epic heroes and increases the chances of a legendary hero or commander.

Summoning Rune Drop Rates
	Basic	Silver	Elite	Elite x10
Commander	-	-	0.01%	0.1%
Legendary	-	-	1%	1.5%
Epic	-	1%	24%	26.5% †
Rare	5%	24%	75%	72%
Uncommon	20%	75%	-	-
Common	75%	-	-	-

† Guaranteed 2 epics

Favor tokens are a reward gained from your friends each day. See the Friends page.
Guild Runes are a reward from guild events. See the Guild Prize page.
Summoning Emblems are used to research new commanders. Many emblems are required for 1 commander. Emblems drop during battles in high-end missions. See the Commander Summoning Research page.
Event currencies may be used during special events. At the end of the event, these special currencies convert into standard game currencies. See the Events page.

Earn Diamonds

New in HonorBound: watch advertising videos to earn diamonds.

Heroes & your squad

There are many different heroes in HonorBound, with different abilities, attacks, and upgrades. Heroes are classified in three important ways:

Rarity: how unusual and how hard to obtain. Greater rarity brings greater strength and value to your squad.
Class: the type of hero and their primary function. The classes in HonorBound are common in many role-playing games -- archer, cleric, knight, rogue, warrior, and wizard -- and help define how your squad will play together. The exception is your commander, which is the heart of your squad and possesses the ability to capture other heroes.
- See the Classes page for general information.
Affinity: the elemental affiliation of the hero and the source of their power (and weakness). The elemental affinities in HonorBound provide a source of depth and strategy later in the game, as players can take better advantage of elemental powers and weaknesses.

See the Heroes page for a chart of heroes by rarity, or browse by category:

Rarity
Mythic
Legendary
Epic
Rare
Uncommon
Common

Class
Commander
Archer
Cleric
Knight
Rogue
Warrior
Wizard

Affinity
Abyss
Lunar
Primal
Spirit
Terra

Abilities

Each hero possesses three special abilities that enhance the play and strategy of the hero. Each class of hero has a common base ability, such as 'Steal' for rogues, or 'Capture' for commanders; however, newer heroes and commanders don't always follow this format.

See the Abilities page for basic information about common abilities by class, or see Category:Abilities for a listing of all abilities.

Resistances

Heroes have different resistances to the different forms of attack available in the game -- crushing, piercing, slashing, fire, ice, lightning, light, dark, toxic, and disease. An excellent strategy is to use an attack that your opponent is weak to. At the same time, it's important to protect your own heroes against attacks they may be weak to. Certain knights possess a warding ability to protect squad members against attacks of a certain elemental affinity. Conversely, certain clerics possess an invocation ability to enhance the attacks of squad members from a certain elemental affinity. Additionally, special "Resistance Dungeon" events take advantage of these strengths and weaknesses to pit one type against another. A player would be wise to have many attack types, resistances and affinities to choose from amongst their heroes.

Gear

Heroes can equip 4 pieces of gear: 2 rings, an amulet, and a trinket (or charm). Gear is acquired mainly through Treasure Chests during missions, but can also be purchased from the shop. Gear can be examined and sold from the inventory window. Amulets require hero Rank 2 to equip. Trinkets require hero Rank 5 to equip and become available after completing the mission What Naema Fears.

See the Gear page for more information.

Battle

Missions

The game's story narrative is told through various missions that are completed in sequence. Missions typically involve several areas or maps to battle through, with a final "boss" hero at the end and various "sub-boss" heroes throughout. Bosses and sub-bosses are stronger than normal heroes and possess special abilities over and above what are available to the player. These special heroes are denoted by a red glow at their feet when viewed on the map. Players are advised to approach boss battles with full health and more strategy than normal battles.

See the Missions page for a listing of all storyline missions and optional side-missions.

Player vs. Player

Player vs. Player ("PvP") battles allow you fight the squads of other players in the Arena, where the opposing team is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence ("AI"). The AI calculates who goes first based on the "initiative" of each party. Players are unable to calculate initiative, as that information hasn't been released by the developer, but players are able to influence initiative through the Luck score of each hero. Also, abilities such as Haste and Slow can increase or decreased initiative. Having the first attack is a significant advantage in the game generally, but even more so in PvP, as matches tend to be weighted more evenly than normal battles.

See the Arena page for more information.

Dying

There is no way to "lose" the game, but it is possible to fail a mission. When your commander is killed during a mission, the mission fails unless you use a Revive Potion. If you don't have any Revive Potions available, there is an option to purchase one using diamonds. Otherwise, you must restart the mission.

In PvP combat, unlike the normal game, the battle will continue if your commander is killed, so long as other members of your squad are still alive. Revive Potions are now available in PvP -- new in version 2.42.64.

Research

Research can upgrade and unlock many different elements of the game, such as the level rank of your heroes, the size of your coin vault, or the number of squad members. Research typically costs embers or coins and takes a set amount of time to complete. Having more scholars performing research means faster progress.

See the Research page for more information.

Rituals

There are three different ritual ceremonies:

Fortify sacrifices heroes to increase the experience of another.
Banish sacrifices heroes for coins.
Evolve merges two heroes of the same kind into a stronger version.
- Warning: merging resets the new hero to level 1!

See the Rituals page for more information.