5 pro tips for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) has taken the gaming world by storm with its epic 5v5 battles and strategic gameplay. To give you an edge to secure your victories and rank up to Mythical Glory, here are five tips from those who know the game inside and out: MLBB coach Bjorn Ong, pro MLBB player Vivi Indrawaty and the game’s design team at Moonton.

Master your hero and role

To make the most of a hero’s abilities, combos and talents, Bjorn Ong – the pro MLBB coach better known as Zeys – suggests grinding out your hero in Ranked mode to get to know them better.

Make the most of your hero’s abilities by knowing their best match-ups.

“Knowledge is power,” he says. “ know every match-up of the hero you are playing.”

It’s not just about understanding your own hero’s strengths and weaknesses either, but also how those attributes would benefit your team and counter the enemy’s line-up. Here are some of the best combinations suggested by the Moonton game design team.

First up: Arlott, a Fighter with high damage, should be paired with Diggie, a Support that can help Arlott easily draw first blood by learning their second skill and following the Fighter hero in the Exp Lane.

Another deadly duo will be X.Borg and Carmilla: when they deal ultra skills together, the AOE damage transmission is explosive.

Also consider Floryn and Lesley: Floryn’s buff will greatly enhance Lesley’s basic attack in the middle and late stages of the game, amplifying the level of its damage.

Keep an eye on the mini map

Having a keen map awareness is essential in tracking enemy movements, potential ganks and objectives like the Turtle and the Lord. But simply looking at the map isn’t enough – you’ll also need to think ahead.

MLBB’s map design has symmetrical features that reflect the game’s philosophy of fair competitive gameplay.

Vivi Indrawaty, a professional MLBB player, says being able to predict where your enemy’s heroes are going to go next is a skill you should hone.

“Generally, the enemy plans their rotation and movements to achieve a particular objective,” she says. “Analysing your enemy’s strategy and understanding their goals is crucial.”

Familiarise yourself with how different strategies play out on the map. That will put you in a better position to place wards in key locations and work with your team to maintain vision control.

Strategise for each stage of the game

“Each game is normally broken up into three parts: early, mid and late game,” explains Zeys. “Early game is when you need to understand how you should play during your laning phase. Mid-game is when you need to know how to pan out objectives and rotate. Late game is when you need a flawless team-fight execution.”

While knocking down the opponent’s turrets can get you more map control, remember to be strategic with your objectives. “Sometimes trading your entire board but getting to eliminate the king would win you the game,” says Zeys.

Early in the game, the MLBB game design team highlights the importance of quickly levelling up your team’s core heroes. Position each hero to farm as best as you can – especially if you’re a Roamer, Jungler or Mid Laner.

If both sides are evenly matched by the beginning of the mid-game, clever manoeuvring around the side lanes to gain more map control will give your team the upper hand in group fights.

In the late game, whoever takes the Lord can usually take the final victory. But it is also necessary to prevent the enemy from coming in through a backdoor or pushing the turret when there are no minions. Everyone’s survival is important in this stage, so it’s all about staying alive.

Determine your optimal settings

Each player has their own playing style, and particular game settings that suit it best. To customise your controls, tap the Settings icon on the top right corner of the game’s home screen, and go to Control.

According to MLBB’s design team, the advanced choice for most players is enabling Select Targeting as their Targeting Method, and selecting Lowest HP Percent in Targeting Priority.

The Advanced Select Targeting method allows you to control whether to attack heroes, minions or turrets freely, while prioritising Lowest HP Percent can help you quickly target the closest objective that can be eliminated.

Want more customised settings? First, understand what works best for your hero.

For instance, if you play as an Assassin you can enable the Lock-on Targeting Method, allowing you to only attack the locked hero during combat.

The Assisted Aiming Mode in the Advanced Control Mode setting can also be enabled to automatically target nearby heroes, significantly reducing the difficulty of aiming and operating.

Rotating multiple heroes? Apply customised settings in Individual Hero Settings to optimise your controls for each.

Train your body and mind

Practice makes perfect, and testing out your combos in Practice or Classic modes can save you costly mistakes on the actual battlefield. If a skill is too tricky to play in Classic, try playing in Versus A.I. mode.

Zeys also recommends going into a custom room and spamming certain combos to train your muscle memory. And make sure you’re confident with your hero before playing it in Ranked mode.

Apart from skills, your gaming mentality is just as important.

“Mistakes usually happen due to a lack of emotional control. There are tonnes of mistakes that we could list that players make. It all comes down to how focused they are when it matters,” shares Zeys.

No matter how strong or coordinated your team is, you will inevitably encounter ups and downs during the course of the game. When facing a disadvantageous situation, keep a positive mindset and work together as a team to achieve a comeback. You’ll be well on your way to becoming a legend in the Land of Dawn!

Bjorn Ong – also known as Zeys – is a professional MLBB coach.