Honor of Kings: ACE First Match Guide: What to Do Each Round

The preparation-to-combat loop

1. 1

   Collect and assess

   At the start of a round, note your Energy, Health, shop, board, bench, and likely opponent. Decide what the board needs before buying.

2. 2

   Buy with a reason

   Hero cards cost 3 Energy. Effect-card costs appear in their top-right corner. Buy cards that complete a merge, trigger your faction engine, or fix a clear weakness.

3. 3

   Level when it changes something

   Chess Player levels unlock Talents, improve access to higher-tier Heroes, and sometimes add another unit slot. Do not level merely because the button is available.

4. 4

   Position and lock in

   Frontline absorbs pressure; carries need time; utility Heroes need their key target or trigger. Move units after checking what beat you last round.

5. 5

   Watch one cause and effect

   During combat, track your carry: did it survive, gain mana, and cast? That answer is more useful than watching every animation.

Energy: spend now or save?

Unused Energy carries into the next round. You also gain Energy each round, can sell a Hero card or a deployed Hero for 1 Energy, and may gain more through specific Talents or Effect cards. Because a Hero costs 3 Energy but normally sells for 1, speculative purchases have a real cost.

Spend immediately when a purchase creates a meaningful power spike: an important merge, another functioning frontline unit, a key faction trigger, or the card that makes your engine work. Save when the shop offers only sidegrades or when an upcoming level or auction matters more.

How the auction works

At fixed rounds, all players bid Energy for valuable cards and equipment. Bids have no maximum. The highest bid wins; if bids tie, the earlier bid wins. Losing bidders do not pay their bids.

Every valid bid contributes to a dividend pool that is distributed after the auction. Lower-Health players receive a larger share, creating a comeback mechanism. Waiting players can also collect occasional arena drops, including interaction items and rarer Energy or low-tier Hero cards.

• Before bidding, decide your maximum based on what the item changes this round—not how exciting it looks.
• Bid highest for a piece that completes your engine or solves a matchup; bid less for a replaceable upgrade.
• If nothing fits, preserve flexibility. Losing a bid costs no Energy, but winning an overpriced item does.

When should a beginner level?

Leveling competes with cards for the same Energy. It is good when it unlocks a Talent, adds a unit slot, or meaningfully improves the tier of Heroes offered. It is weak when you level and then cannot afford a useful board.

A community guide suggests treating post-auction turns as natural checkpoints because auctions add experience and often coincide with roster expansion. Use that as a review prompt, not a rigid schedule: different Chess Players and shops change the correct answer.

The 20-second decision checklist

• What is my main source of damage?
• What is stopping it from working: survival, mana, levels, or positioning?
• Which purchase fixes that problem most directly?
• Does leveling create a Talent, unit slot, or better shop worth more than the purchase?
• How much Energy do I want available for the next auction?

How to review a loss

If your carry died before casting, change protection or position. If it cast but dealt too little, improve its level, equipment, or support engine. If the frontline vanished instantly, add durability or crowd control. If your board never started its combo, identify the missing keyword trigger.

Do not rebuild everything after one loss. Matchups vary, and changing five pieces at once hides which decision helped.