S11 Aug 2025 Stat Buffs
Reduced Skill Cooldown
Kongming
(诸葛亮) A Mid Jungle Difficulty
Mage
Ambush Mage Burst/Cleanup Late Game Medium
Kongming
诸葛亮
A Mid Jungle
Difficulty Mage
Ambush Mage Burst/Cleanup Late Game Medium
Also known as
Kongming's Chinese name is 诸葛亮.
诸葛亮
Quick summary
Kongming is a strong Mid Mage who wants to delete priority targets in one rotation. Public guides recommend a build starting with Guerrilla Machete and Smite.
Current patch decision guide
When to pick Kongming, when to avoid them, and how to adapt your build.
Kongming is a strong Mid Mage who wants to delete priority targets in one rotation. Public guide data shows a build centered on Guerrilla Machete, Boots of Tranquility, Blood Clan's Grimoire, paired with Smite, used to farm safely and rotate to side lanes when the wave allows. Pick him when the draft lets Kongming reach the targets his kit is designed to threaten; avoid when the enemy already stacks shields and magic resist.
Pick Kongming when
- The enemy draft has squishy backline targets that Kongming can isolate with Time Shift
- Your team can engage first, letting Kongming second-wave into low-health targets
- The enemy draft includes Han Xin, Jing, and Ukyo Tachibana, who appear in counter data as matchups Kongming can pressure.
Avoid Kongming when
- The matchup is grouped and shielded, leaving no isolated targets to delete
- Your team has no primary engage, leaving the cleanup pick with nothing to follow up on
- The enemy team is built around answers to Burst, removing the windows Kongming's kit needs to perform.
Power spikes
Early game: focus on safe lane phase and tracking jungle pressure before Kongming's mid-game tools come online.
Ultimate unlocked: Winning Strategy is the threshold where Kongming starts deleting low-resist targets in one rotation
Late game: full build online, Kongming reaches the spike public guides describe — extended fights favor him once items are completed.
Build decisions
Burst jungle mage core
Kongming's official build runs a magical jungle path for his Burst and Cleanup kit. Guerrilla Machete and Runeblade both scale from monster kills to power his clear (with Smite for objectives), while Savant's Wrath (greatly boosts magical attack) and Void Staff (anti-tank penetration) drive his burst against any target. Boots of Tranquility keeps his cooldowns short.
Lifesteal & survivability
Blood Clan's Grimoire and Insatiable Tome add magical lifesteal so he sustains off his combo, and Splendor (temporary invincibility) is the survivability option for diving as a mage. The recommended arcana are Nightmare, Hunt and Mind's Eye. This jungle-mage setup converts fast clears into roaming burst pressure.
Matchup logic
Versus shielded targets
Heroes with shields or damage reduction blunt Kongming's burst window. Wait for the shield to lapse before committing Winning Strategy, otherwise the combo wastes the cooldown without finishing the kill.
Role positioning
Kongming is a Mid pick whose value depends on consistent damage output and timely roams. Stick to the role plan rather than forcing fights his kit is not designed to win.
Synergies
Public synergy data lists Donghuang, Kui, and Yaria as strong partners for Kongming. Plan engages around Donghuang's setup window, then second-engage with Winning Strategy.
Common mistakes
- Opening fights when the enemy still has full crowd control, getting deleted before damage lands.
- Engaging first instead of second — cleanup picks lose their value as primary engagers.
- Engaging without checking enemy summoner-spell cooldowns, which often decide whether Kongming's commit reaches the target alive.
- Greeding farm in mid lane while side lanes get camped — rotation timing matters more than CS lead in most matchups.
Background
Mastermind
“This world is like a game of Go. You must think ahead!”
Kongming was known as a calm and collected genius at the Jixia Academy. However, his search for knowledge and the origins of the universe became an obsession that nearly consumed him. Under Zhuangzi's guidance, he left the school, and he soon realized that true knowledge rests out there in the real world. When his travels took him to the Three Kingdoms, where war had broken out, he joined forces with the city of Yi. Armed with his newfound understanding of the world and its people, he soon cemented his reputation as a brilliant strategist.
- Race:
- Human
- Height:
- 183 cm
- Style:
- Sorcery
- Nation:
- Shu
- Title:
- Shu Strategist
Source: Official Honor of Kings — canonical lore for Kongming.
Base Stats
Source: in-game capture (HoK Global v11.x, 2026-04-20)Survivability
3300
Max HP
150
Phys DEF
75
Mag DEF
46
HP/5s
Offense
162
Phys ATK
5%
Atk Speed
200%
Crit DMG
Utility
360
Move Speed
640
Max Mana
16
Mana/5s
Ranged
Range
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.
Jungle Full AP burst
Safe defaultStart here if the draft looks standard and you want the safest all-around setup.
Arcana
Teratas
Jungle Full AP burst
Anti-tankBest when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.
Arcana
Mage support
Utility supportBest when your team needs peel, setup, or safer fight control more than damage.
Arcana
Full AP burst
Anti-tankBest when the enemy team has multiple frontliners or early defense items.
Arcana
Update
Skills
passive Time for Tactics
Active skill hits on enemies grant 1 stack. At the max of 5 stacks, he summons prisms to attack nearby enemies.
skill1 Arcane Assault
Fires 3 orbs in a fan-shaped area, dealing damage to enemies hit.
skill2 Time Shift
Shifts in the target direction, dealing damage to enemies near the start and end points.
ultimate Winning Strategy
Channels briefly and unleashes a spirit bomb at the target enemy, dealing lethal damage. lf the bomb defeats an enemy hero, the skill's cooldown is refreshed
Skins
7 skins
Satoru Gojo
Yin & Yang
Rainbringer
Power of Control
Astral Awakening
Golden Ratio
Space Commander
Playstyle
Hold Winning Strategy for isolated targets rather than blowing it on the front line. Wait for the first engage to use up enemy defensives, then second-engage to clean up.
Patch History
S9 Mar 2025 Stat Nerfs
Stat Nerfs
S8 Jan 2025 Stat Changes
Balanced the effects of different presets.
Show details
Previously, we tried reducing Skill 2's cooldown time. Multiple dashes made Kongming hard to counter if his team was winning, but Skill 2 would lack damage output if his team was at a disadvantage. Hence, we've changed the number of stocks Skill 1 and Skill 2 can hold to make Kongming more consistent in various situations and lanes.
S7 Oct 2024 Stat Buffs
Increased damage from Skill 1 and reduced Skill 2 charge time.
Show details
"Increasing Kongming's damage while reducing his dash skill's charge time to make him more flexible."