Increased skill damage
Hou Yi
(后羿)Marksman
Hou Yi
后羿
Marksman
Also known as
Hou Yi's Chinese name is 后羿.
Quick summary
Hou Yi is a top-tier Farm Marksman who wants to output sustained ranged damage. Public guides recommend a build starting with Boots of Dexterity. Watch for Agudo-style counters in the enemy draft.
Current patch decision guide
When to pick Hou Yi, when to avoid them, and how to adapt your build.
Hou Yi is a top-tier Farm Marksman who wants to create engage windows with stuns and slows. Public guide data shows a build centered on Boots of Dexterity, Twinblades of Destruction, Vampiric Scythe, used to farm the safe side, scale into late game, and protect priority targets. Pick him when the draft lets Hou Yi reach targets that aren't built around Agudo-style answers; avoid when the matchup denies the windows his kit needs.
Pick Hou Yi when
- Your team needs a setup hero whose Afterglow creates kill windows for the carry
- The enemy team has front-line targets that Hou Yi can chip down with sustained ranged damage
- The enemy draft includes Cirrus, Mulan, and Xuance, who appear in counter data as matchups Hou Yi can pressure.
Avoid Hou Yi when
- The enemy team is loaded with cleanse, dashes, and immunity that bypass crowd control
- The game is decided early before the marksman can hit core item spikes
- The enemy already drafted Agudo, who counter data identifies as direct answers to Hou Yi.
Power spikes
Build decisions
Default farm path
Public build references for Hou Yi recommend Boots of Dexterity, Twinblades of Destruction, Vampiric Scythe, Shadow Ripper, Eternity Blade, and Doomsday. Use this as the baseline marksman plan before adapting to the enemy draft.
Situational item pivots
Spare options listed in build data include Daybreaker's Virtue, Sunchaser, Sage's Sanctuary, Destiny, and Haste - Sunpool. Treat these as situational swaps when the default path is not enough — for example, swapping in defensive items against burst comps or penetration items against stacked armor.
Matchup logic
Versus Agudo
Agudo is flagged in counter data as a direct answer to Hou Yi. Position behind the front line, save flash for the dive, and let the support set vision rather than walking forward to look for fights.
Versus mobility
Dashes and immunity skills bypass Hou Yi's control. Force the enemy mobility before committing Burning Sun Arrow, and aim control on stationary targets like channeling carries.
Synergies
Public synergy data lists Wuyan, Dun, and Menki as strong partners for Hou Yi. Plan engages around Wuyan's setup window, then second-engage with Burning Sun Arrow.
Common mistakes
- Throwing Afterglow on the front-line tank instead of saving it for backline carries.
- Auto-attacking instead of repositioning when the enemy assassin is missing — losing the marksman loses the fight.
- Ignoring Agudo on the enemy team when picking fights — counter data flags them as direct answers, so engage timing must respect their cooldowns.
- Auto-attacking through enemy dive instead of repositioning — losing the marksman in early fights collapses the late-game win condition.
Background
Solarus
“Finally, awake! It's time to hunt!”
Hou Yi is the only heroic marksman in the world to be made an by superbeings and trusted to carry out their will. He was ordered to destroy the Sun Tower as atonement for the superbeings' enslavement of the ferali. In his pursuit of destruction, the power-seeking sharpshooter felt inevitably drawn to the Sun Tower's brilliance and thus absorbed the Wonder's power, which cursed him to a deep slumber. When he woke up, the world was truly Hou Yi's hunting ground.
- Race:
- Enforcer
- Height:
- 183 cm
- Style:
- Martial Arts
- Nation:
- Sun Tower
- Title:
- Enforcer
Source: Official Honor of Kings — canonical lore for Hou Yi.
Base Stats
Source: in-game capture (HoK Global v11.x, 2026-04-20)Survivability
Offense
Utility
Current patch rates
Source: Camp APIFarm lane
- Win rate
- 48.7%
- Pick rate
- 2.8%
- Ban rate
- 0.2%
Rates are role-specific snapshots from the current Honor of Kings Camp data refresh.
Build
How to choose a build
Start with the safe default badge if the draft looks normal, then swap to burst, anti-tank, sustain, or utility builds when the matchup clearly calls for it.
Crit attack speed
Safe defaultStart here if the draft looks standard and you want the safest all-around setup.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Populer
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Critical strike
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Teratas
Crit attack speed
Burst damageBest when you can reach squishier targets and convert quick kills.
Presets
Skills
Basic Attack hits grant Attack Speed and 1 stack of enhancement.At 3 stacks, enhanced Basic Attacks shoot 3 arrows, dealing more totaldamage than a regular Basic Attack.
Enhances Basic Attacks for 5s to deal heavy damage. At the same time, HouYi shoots arrows to hit two other enemies in front of him, dealing 50%damage.
Inflicts damage and slow on enemies in the target area while also gaining vision of the area.
Fires an arrow in the target direction. Deals AoE damage upon hitting a hero inflicting stun and slow.
Skins
8 skins
Cosmic Curator
URYU ISHIDA
Starshooter
Ranger Sagebow
Perfect Calculation
Glorious Dawn
Golden Sagittarius
Strike Team Alpha
Playstyle
Land control on the enemy carry, not the front-line tank — chain follow-up damage from teammates immediately after. Position behind your front-line, save flash for the dive, and let the support set vision.
Patch History
Adjusted Skill Damage
Skill Damage Adjustments
Passive Attack Speed reduced
Increased Basic Attack interval slightly
Show details
Hou Yi's stable Basic Attack and ability to target multiple enemies at once make it hard for other marksmen to compete with him, so we've lowered the frequency of his Basic Attacks slightly to give his enemies time to catch their breath.