Meng Ya

Meng Ya is a Marksman hero in Honor of Kings.

Background[]

Meng Ya always had a prodigious talent for strategy and mechcraft firearms as a child, which he used to come up with many creative battle plans. This often put him at odds with Meng Tian, his strict father and highly orthodox military commander. However, his father's strict upbringing only lit the fuse of his rebelliousness. Finally, a massive argument ended in him packing his unfinished mechcraft cannons and heading for Jixia Academy, alone. Initially seeing the academy as a refuge, he had no idea of the friendships, recognition, and knowledge he would earn by following his own path in life.

Lore[]

Growing up in the general's mansion, Meng Ya was well-versed in military strategy from a young age, but he often had unconventional interpretations on it. An encounter with a mechcraft master in his childhood sparked his passion and talent for mechcraft weapons, inspiring him to innovate various unique tactics beyond traditional military doctrines.

As the son of General Meng Tian, renowned in Yong for his adherence to order and rules, Meng Ya's upbringing was marked by his father's strict and orthodox education. His unconventional insights were dismissed by his father as childish nonsense, and his tinkering with mechcraft weapons was seen as mere child's play. Deep down, Meng Ya always longed to become a true Yong warrior like his father. However, as he grew older, his father's lack of understanding and recognition for Meng Ya's ideas fueled his dissatisfaction with all the rigid doctrines and order, making him increasingly rebellious. When his father, in punishment for Meng Ya's latest scribbling in the military texts, confiscated his mechcraft creations, Meng Ya, in a fit of anger, decided to leave. He packed up his remaining weapons and his beloved mechcraft gun, the "Apocalyptor" and set off alone for Jixia Academy, the pinnacle of wisdom and knowledge in Primaera. He vowed to return to Yong one day and prove himself to his father.

The highly inclusive Jixia Academy did not disappoint Meng Ya. With his fiery temperament, he managed to achieve several victories through his unorthodox "thrillingly correct combat tactics" and his natural talent for mechcraft weapons. When joining the Dream Trial, he also unexpectedly made friends with his teammates at the Team of Stars and earned their recognition. Though his rebellious and quirky nature often led him to clash with others, and his habit of resorting to cannons at the slightest disagreement had made him one of the most notoriously difficult students at Jixia, his talent and aspirations would eventually guide him down a path of personal growth...

The Rebellious Boy who Ran Away[]

Meng Ya, a boy with striking black and white hair, was once again ordered to stand before the desk. On the desk lay a copy of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, completely scribbled over. The boy, still growing, clenched his fists tightly, turned his head toward the window, and bit his lip defiantly, his eyes full of stubbornness and resentment...

Standing before the boy, straight as a mountain, was the renowned general Meng Tian, famous throughout Yong and the entire Zhulu Plateau. As a battle-hardened veteran, he was a pillar of the nation, deeply valued by the emperor for his strict military discipline and strategic brilliance. He was also the father of this rebellious teenage boy.

"This is the twenty-seventh military book you've doodled on without permission." The general's voice was steady and deep.

Meng Ya remained silent, his head still turned toward the window, disdainfully gazing at the orderly formation of guards his father's officers were training in the courtyard. In Meng Ya's eyes, the exercises seemed utterly uninspired...

"The book states, 'For a strategic location, if we take it first, we should find a high and open ground to wait for the enemy.' Why did you scribble on it?" his father questioned in a calm tone.

Hearing that the conversation turned to military strategy, the boy swiftly turned his head around and defiantly shouted at his father, "The book is wrong! If you've occupied the high ground and have a good overview, the enemy might not even engage with you! If it were me, I would do the opposite—ambush the enemy in a strategic, narrow location, fully utilizing the terrain..." The boy continued passionately, "And with the adaptive projectile trajectory of my 'Apocalyptor', swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, the enemy would..."

"Ridiculous! The military books are the distilled essence of countless battles from our predecessors," his father interrupted forcefully. "You are still young and must study the classics diligently to learn their true essence. Stop these childish antics!"

"Childish! Childish!!! In your eyes, am I always going to be an ignorant kid who knows nothing about military strategy?! Can't your outdated doctrines accommodate any new ideas?" Meng Ya slammed his fist onto the desk with force. "If you've got the guts to actually let me onto the battlefield, I will definitely..."

"Nonsense!" The general, calm yet authoritative, interrupted his son once again. "The battlefield is no place for games. If you aspire to become a proper soldier of Yong one day, there are no shortcuts. You must diligently study the classics. The wisdom distilled from time and practice is the only sure path to victory."

"Enough!!! No one wants to become a rigid, unchanging adult like you!!!" The boy's eyes blazing with fiery determination, and his fury seemed capable of blowing the roof off the general's mansion.

The general looked calmly at his enraged son and imparted his lesson with composed detachment: "Capriciousness is a grave mistake in warfare. One cannot reach a thousand miles without taking many small steps. Go back to your room and reflect on your behavior."

Clenching his teeth in anger, Meng Ya stormed out, almost stumbling over his father's beloved magnolia pots in the courtyard. Filled with rage, he raised his mechcraft gun and fired a volley at the neatly arranged magnolias before storming off. Petals and leaves flew wildly through the air before falling onto the gray stone platform, shattered, just like his pride.

"Without rules, nothing can be accomplished." The general, who commanded thousands of troops, found himself once more deep in thought as he faced his wild, untamable only son...

The rooftops of the buildings surrounding the back courtyard had been Meng Ya's retreat since childhood, a place he often went to brood after clashing with his father.

The setting sun of Yong cast a warm glow on the roof tiles. After a few short whistles, the white-feathered eagle he had named "Freedom" since childhood swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder. The eagle softened its sharp gaze and retracted its talons, gently nuzzling the boy's cheek with its fluffy head. As Meng Ya stroked the now fully-grown eagle's powerful wings and snowy feathers, the anger in his eyes gradually gave way to a childlike gentleness. As a child, he had insisted on saving "Freedom" and bringing it home, despite his father's scolding...

"As the proverb says, 'Success is achieved through diligence, but ruined by play.' Boys of your age should study diligently to build a solid foundation. Things like this will only serve to distract you..." His father's scolding still echoed in his ears. But, even as his eyes had filled with tears of anger, he had held the injured fledgling in his arms, refusing to compromise even a bit...

Another thing he would never compromise on was his lifelong passion for all sorts of mechcraft weapons. No matter what kind of device it was, in Meng Ya's hands, it would invariably turn into a powerful weapon. This was his unique talent, especially with the mechcraft gun he named "Apocalyptor," which he had crafted in imitation of a mechcraft master he once saw as a child. In his hands, it never missed its mark.

However, his father stuck stubbornly to the orthodox military texts and practical formations. To him, his son's devices would always be trivial "toys," symbols of wasted ambition...

The wind on the rooftop cut like a knife, as harsh and sharp and as the winds of Yong could ever be. Meng Ya couldn't understand why his father, the revered General Meng, feared by his enemies and adored by the people of Yong, was always at odds with him. Since he could remember, his father seemed to care only for rigid military texts and strategies. To him, all of Meng Ya's innovative tactics and cherished mechcraft weapons were just nonsense created by a rebellious youngster. Meng Ya's repeated defiance was met with harsh reprimands and teachings, even severe punishments, leading the naturally hot-tempered youth to become even more rebellious and unruly.

Lying on the rooftop, Meng Ya felt the anger rise within him again as he thought about it. He didn't climb down until the moon rose into the night sky...

Under the moonlight, the boy with black and white short hair in a red outfit returned to his room, still simmering with anger. He glanced around the place he had grown up in, and his fury flared up again. This wasn't a room; it was a cage! The desk, bed, couch, and cabinets, all sharp-edged and devoid of beauty, had to be kept spotless because of his rule-obsessed father... The airtight bookshelves were overly organized, packed with a plethora of military books—Sun Tzu, Wu Qi, Sima's Law, Six Secret Teachings, Wei Liaozi, Three Strategies... And the unbearably strict schedule... The intentionally right-angled chair backs were uncomfortable even to look at... And the large character "Discipline" written by his father on the plaque of the main wall made Meng Ya want to blast it in half with the "Apocalyptor"... Wait! Something seemed to be missing in the room?!

Just as Meng Ya was fuming and searching every corner of the room for his usual mechcraft gadgets, a few servants rushed in from the courtyard, breathlessly delivering a message: "Little... little lord, General Meng has ordered to confiscate and lock away all your mechcraft weapons. He said... he said..."

Before the servant could finish, Meng Ya was erupting with anger. He grabbed the messenger and threw him heavily on the floor. In a fit of anger, he swept everything off the shelves—books, brushes, and military texts scattered everywhere. He picked up military texts from the floor at random and furiously tore them into pieces, roaring, "I've had enough! Get out of here!!!" The servants fled in terror.

In a storm of anger, Meng Ya strapped the remaining mechcraft weapons—the ones he had hidden under his bed—onto his back, grabbed his beloved "Apocalyptor" in both hands, and charged toward the door. This time, he didn't intend to apologize to his father and ask for the confiscated weapons back. This time, he had finally decided to break free from the prison that had been his "home."

Suddenly, Meng Ya stopped in his tracks. What was it that stung his fiery eyes? It was the couplet written by his father on the pillars: "Brothers fight tigers together. Fathers and sons go to war together." Meng Ya frowned, pondered for a moment. Then he took a deep, resentful breath, picked up the brush he had thrown on the ground, and wrote a line of small characters on the bottom of a page from a tattered military book. Finally, without looking back, he walked out of the mansion gate and into the cold, moonlit night.

He was heading to Jixia, said to be the place of ultimate wisdom and knowledge in Primaera. More importantly, it was rumored to be a place where freedom and self-taught truth were upheld. Meng Ya was going there to seek the recognition and answers he longed for.

Before that, the sound of "Apocalyptor" firing a few shots had pierced the quiet night. After a few explosions, silence returned. This time, the casualties were the large "Discipline" plaque in his room, some military books on the bookshelf, the densely arranged schedule that had kept him busy from dawn till night, and so on... This was probably the last memento the rebellious young lord Meng Ya would leave in the Meng mansion.

The next morning, General Meng Tian stood calmly amidst the chaos in the room. He saw the scattered, torn military books, and the pages filled with Meng Ya's various scribbles and revisions. He was lost in thought once again, with his otherwise resolute brows creased by a rare hint of confusion.

In the early spring of Yong, the piercing morning wind howled through the doorway, rustling the damaged pages of the military books.

What the general failed to notice was a neatly written line of small characters on the bottom of a page from a book: "A tiger father breeds no dog sons—wait for my return!"

Skills[]

Fiery Temper

Type: Passive

Cooldown is reduced when Attack Speed is increased. Gains Anger when Basic Attack and Skill 1 hit targets. At max Anger, becomes Excited, enhancing all skills. While Excited, surplus Anger restores Health.

Awesome Barrage

Type: Skill 1

Uses the Apocalyptor to strafe continuously and deal damage. Excited: Bullets have a piercing effect, dealing half damage to subsequent enemies.

Heavy Shot

Type: Skill 2

Shoots a heavy round in the target direction, inflicting damage and slow. Upon hitting an obstacle or reaching its max range, it will split into splinters that deal damage. Excited: Increases the number of splinters.

Missile Mayhem

Type: Ultimate

Scans the vicinity and fires missiles at enemies within range who are attacked by teammates, dealing damage. Excited: Reduces interval between missiles.

Skins[]

Partners and Counters[]

Strategies[]

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Meng Ya's most common skill combo is Ult-2-1.
Slow enemies with Skill 2 after using the Ultimate, then continue to deal damage over time with Skill 1