S1: World Beginning Season

Overview

S1 World Beginning Season (世界启程·梦演) is the first full live-service season after launch for Honor of Kings: World. The season opened on May 29, 2026 and runs in two halves: the first half ran through approximately July 8, 2026, and the second-half patch went live on July 9, 2026. It continues TiMi Studio Group's announced model of two sub-versions per season for the entire post-launch lifecycle.

This article is the hub for all S1 content. Each major addition has its own dedicated article; this page consolidates the season-level facts in one place and cross-links to the deeper documentation.

S1 Season-Level Facts

S1 First-Half Content (May 29 Opener)

• New Resonance: Sun Shangxiang (Scorching Flow Strong Attack and Support builds)

• New Resonance: Longya (hammer-wielding 铸云庐 sect blacksmith, Scorching Flow Support)

• New region: Caiyun Basin (彩云盆地)

• New chapter: Chapter 9: Guixu Dream Performance continues the 归虚 arc

• New feature: Genderswap (性转) selection for player characters, paired with a login-reward genderswap item

• New login outfit: 异邦斗影

• Login package: 异邦斗影 outfit + 10 Heavenly Reward Banner pulls + the genderswap item

• Newcomer onboarding: low-level gear stat buffs to ease new-player ramp

• End-of-season catch-up event for late-joining players (auto-balanced gear curve)

S1 Second-Half Patch (July 9, 2026)

The S1 second-half patch went live on July 9, 2026. It opened new group content and adjusted several live Resonances:

• Cangmang Riverboat: a new riverboat area with story and exploration content (see the Cangmang Riverboat article)

• Calamity Beast Twin Shadows (灾兽双影): announced in this window as the season's new co-op boss challenge; its opening came later, on July 31, 2026

• Hero balance: Sun Shangxiang received a nerf to her armor-penetration output; Longya received a damage increase to strengthen solo play; Xi Shi received a character-model optimization with a second facial design option and support-ability buffs

• New cosmetics: a Wang Zhaojun skin (繁光旧梦), a vegetable-themed collaboration that includes a free Meng Ya collaboration skin, and reverse-season winter outfits

• Additional content: a new 鲲梦决·堕梦 (Fallen Dream) challenge and Master Lu Ban resonance and story missions

• Fei Han held back then re-dated: the mid-season Resonance Fei Han (妃寒) originally planned for this patch did not ship with it, and was subsequently confirmed for July 23, 2026

Resonances and Acquisition

Sun Shangxiang and Longya launch on the S1 opening Heavenly Reward Banner, which uses the cosmetic-banner pull system rather than character gacha. Per the S0 model, S1 launch Resonances will eventually also become available through direct-shop purchase using the in-game Jingpo currency. Price anchors and Heavenly Reward pull mechanics are covered in the Monetization article.

Genderswap (性转) Feature

S1 introduced an in-game genderswap toggle for player avatars. The launch package includes a one-use genderswap item (化相滴露, valued at 1280 crystals), and the feature ties into the existing Character Customization surface (gender selection, facial customization, hair, outfit). Cooldown or cost rules for repeat genderswaps are not documented here.

Newcomer Onboarding Layer

S1 ships two newcomer-friendly systems to address community feedback about S0's early grind:

• Low-level gear stat buffs, increasing the effective stats on starter and early gear pieces so new players ramp faster through Jixia content

• End-of-season catch-up event: late joiners get auto-balanced gear so they can engage Chapter 9 content without first finishing the S0 progression

• Together these systems are intended to keep S1 accessible to anyone joining after May 29 without locking them out of current-season content

S1 Live-Only Systems and Features

Beyond the new Resonances, region, and chapter, the live S1 patch shipped several systems and quality-of-life features that the pre-show previews did not detail. Confirmed on the official S1 hub:

• Ranch (牧场): a home-side activity centered on animal care, expanding the Home Building loop. See that article for the homestead systems it builds on.

• Minimap UI: a long-requested small-map interface was added; official coverage notes it required underlying code restructuring to implement.

• 1V1 Peak Ranked (1V1 巅峰赛): a top-tier solo PvP ladder that requires King rank or the current season's high-tier qualification to enter. See the PvP System article.

• New activity modes: 神机推演 (Divine Machine Deduction), 暗影试炼 (Shadow Trial), and 灾兽双影 (Calamity Beast Twin Shadows).

• A free exploration-unlock Resonance, 破灭刀锋 (Broken Blade), obtained through S1 beginner tasks rather than the banner.

S1 Second Half in Practice (July 23 Onward)

The July 23, 2026 update delivered the held-back mid-season content. Fei Han arrived as the game's first Battle Pass Resonance, with her quest and a limited trial opening the same day. The update also started two crossovers: the China National Geographic collaboration, a creature-cataloguing side event in Jixia, and the Chagee collaboration, a tea-planting home event running July 23 to August 12. An in-game activity calendar covering July 23 to August 12 shipped with the patch, and a bonus-drop event in the 流光试炼 daily runs had already started on July 20.

A July 30 no-downtime patch acknowledged a damage bug on Fei Han's Snow Spirit Ring and pushed the Twin Calamity Beasts Challenge back a day; it opened on July 31 with a widened title reward, covering the top 10,000 on the leaderboard instead of the originally announced top 1,000. The same patch spelled out rating-decay rules for Peak Ranked and fixed breakthrough-stage issues for Leng Chun, Dongfang Yao, and Kai.

On August 6 a further no-downtime update reworked how Resonances are labeled for team-building: the three trait roles were joined by five position labels (Warrior, Assassin, Mage, Marksman, Support), layered on top of them, and dungeon matchmaking added first-choice and backup position selection. The three trait roles were not retired: they remain the basis on which matchmaking composes a team. See Party and Matchmaking for details.

How S1 Compares to S0

S0 (Jixia Chapter) shipped the launch baseline: 11 Resonances, the Jixia Academy region, the 27-chapter prologue arc, the Resonance and Talent systems, and the cosmetic-only monetization model. S1 is the first season-pack expansion in the live-service rollout: it adds Resonances in pairs (one per sub-version), opens a new region, and continues the main narrative arc, while keeping the no-gacha, skin-based monetization unchanged.

Future Beyond S1

Per the announced Content Roadmap, the post-S1 future-region pipeline includes 孤叶山 (Solitary Leaf Mountain, with Li Bai content and a Martial Arts Meet), 元初学院 (Yuanchu Academy), and 灭境荒原 (Wasteland of Annihilation). Season placement for these regions has not been announced; they are not part of S1.

Season Extended, No S2 Date

On August 11, 2026 the development team published a letter confirming that S1 will run on for longer than planned and that no date has been set for S2. The stated reason is a deliberate pause in the season cadence: rather than ship the next season on schedule, the team is spending the time on three areas of the base game.

• Newcomer experience: a rework of the opening hours, which launch-window feedback singled out as the weakest part of the game.

• Combat and progression framework: iteration on the underlying systems rather than additions on top of them.

• Base polish: mobile performance, art, and controls.

The letter also named content intended for the next season. None of it has shipped, and it should be read as announced work rather than as live content.

A limited test server was said to open recruitment at a later date. No recruitment window had been published as of October 19, 2026.

Documentation Status

S1 is live as of the May 29, 2026 patch; its second half went live on July 9, 2026, with the mid-season Resonance following on July 23 and the Twin Calamity challenge on July 31. The season-level facts, new Resonances, region, chapter, gender-swap feature, and the live-only systems above are confirmed by official S1 coverage. What remains undocumented (and is left out here to avoid fabrication) is the deep per-system detail: numeric values for Fei Han's abilities, full Chapter 9 boss and collectible data, and the granular mechanics of the new modes and the Cangmang Riverboat area, which Chinese guide sites are still publishing after each patch.

S1 Status in September and October 2026

S1 was still the live season on October 19, 2026, almost five months after its May 29, 2026 start. The season has been extended rather than closed out: updates through late August and early September continued to add events, cosmetics and balance passes under the S1 banner. The September 3, 2026 update shipped a nine-Resonance balance pass and a set of housing refinements, and the Bamboo Court Appreciation (竹庭清赏) event opened the same day.

The season continued through the September 10 and September 17, 2026 no-downtime updates. The September 10 update consolidated the housing visitor list, extended the helper system's 新苗 buffs to 流光试炼 and added penalties for cross-platform account sharing in competitive play; the September 17, 2026 update moved 梦行奇谭 rewards off stamina and onto 梦华清露, raised the housing level cap to 80 with new crops and animals, and re-tuned the Shadow Trial elite tier. A third benefit wave with a free outfit, a free vehicle and 2000 晶珀 was previewed on September 16. See the Content Roadmap for the itemised notes.

The September 24, 2026 update ran a slate of events under the S1 banner: 天下如棋, a card-based academy management game (September 24 to October 28), the 金秋礼笺 login calendar (September 24 to October 25), the 狩梦猎影 shadow-rift hunts in the open world (September 30 to October 26), 偷得浮生 (October 1 to 3), and two limited 赐福 bonuses (October 1 to 7 and October 9 to 14). A September 23 fix update had cleared eight bugs beforehand, and the October 15 update then opened the 稷下百晓生 compendium event (October 15 to November 25) together with the 赏味甜心 outfit draw and the 百翎归序 weapon skin for Master Lu Ban. None of these posts mention S2. Windows, entry requirements and rewards are on the Content Roadmap.

No start date for S2 had been announced as of October 19, 2026. A season-two reward tier exists on one running event, which indicates S2 is planned, but no official notice attaches a window to it. Any specific S2 date circulating in the community is speculation.