To be honest, when I saw the launch of the S1 season "The Other Side" of "Heroes of Dawn", my first reaction was: Is this game still alive? 😅 Don't get me wrong, this is not derogatory. As an old guy who has been in the mobile gaming circle since the Saipan era, I have witnessed the ups and downs of too many MOBA mobile games. I still remember when Heroes of Dawn was launched, around 2019. At that time, Honor of Kings was at its peak, and other MOBAs were basically trying to survive in the cracks. To be honest, it's not easy for Shuguang to survive until now.
Not to brag, but the content of this season update really surprised me.
Let's talk about the core thing first: the pain points of similar MOBAs. In the past few years, the threshold for development of Honor of Kings has become higher and higher, and the value of the inscription system has almost caught up with financial products. If a newbie wants to join the trap, why don't you give me the inscription fragments for a few months? Heroes of Dawn is smart enough to simply redo the astrolabe system and simplify development. This is not laziness, this is awareness. It's 2026, who still has the spare time to study the complex superposition of astrolabe attributes? There are more and more games installed on mobile phones. If you can play three games a day, you will really love them. Shuguang has done a good job of reducing the burden this time, and the idea of traveling light is the right idea.
Let's talk about hero rework. I played the hero Huang Quan back then. His skill mechanism was a bit backward, his control was unstable, and his damage was not enough. After watching the demo of the new version, the skill special effects are indeed explosive, the modeling has also been trimmed, and the smoothness has been significantly improved. Moreover, it will give Master Level 9 for free. I give this wave of sincerity a passing mark - after all, the king next door is still selling battle orders. But when it comes to hero design, Shuguang has always had a problem: the characters are not as recognizable as the top-tier ones. The silhouettes of most heroes will look a bit "popular" in King of Kings, and their skin styles are also more traditional, lacking a sense of fashion. But on the other hand, it is this steady art style that makes some players who like national style and mythological themes feel comfortable.
As for welfare, it's traditional arts. Liu Bei's legendary skin is given away for free, Princess Iron Fan's Hundred Birds Qiu Qiu can be obtained by reaching the red diamond rank, and Alice's epic skin is discounted. To put it bluntly, these skins in other MOBA games cost at least several hundred dollars, right? Sugon's ability to do this shows that the operators have finally figured it out - instead of short-term harvesting, it is better to rely on conscience welfare to retain us veterans. I have seen too many mobile games die from being stingy, so I applaud this "dare to give away" attitude with both hands.
But let's be honest. The biggest disadvantage of Heroes of Dawn is its user base. Compared with the experience of ranked matching, there is still a gap. Queues can be queued in seconds during peak periods, and you have to wait a minute or two for matching in the early morning. Moreover, the models of some old heroes should indeed be redone. When placed next to the newly released Huangquan, they look like products of two eras. I hope that some old characters can be refurbished during the season.
Overall, this update allows me to see the determination of Dawn Heroes to stand up again in 2026. I'm not going to brag about it, but if you are tired of Tianmei's aggressive and expensive routines and want to find a MOBA that allows you to play a few games quietly, has no stingy benefits, and has a reasonably comfortable rhythm, you can really give Dawn of Heroes a try. After all, we old guys who play mobile games have long stopped thinking about playing professionally or joining the national server. We can have fun playing black maps with our old friends without being forced to spend money in the game, which is enough. 😌
(The ten-year-old player is silently downloading the update package in the corner)