“UBE” strategies, they’re everywhere! All courtesy of the codebreakers, Blacklist International.
During the recently concluded Mobile Legends Southeast Asia Cup, a lot of teams tried their best to implement their ultimate bonding experience tactic.
Even Execration admitted that they themselves took a page from Blacklist’s playbook. Patrick James “E2MAX” Caidic mentioned in the post-match press interview that they combined their gameplan with that of Blacklist. This was clearly evident in Game 2 of the MSC 2021 finals where Execration grouped themselves up en route to victory.
However, with the latest 1.5.88 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang patch, the glory days of the “UBE” antics might finally come to an end. Teams might still find a way to integrate the “UBE” methods with the latest patch, but the updated roaming mechanics will mean that they’ll need to get more creative.
But besides the fate of the most prominent strategy in the current Mobile Legends meta, there are other noteworthy discussions to consider. Who will benefit from this patch? Who will suffer? Let’s further dig deep on our conclusions, which could potentially aid you in your rank games.
Skill-based heroes will benefit a lot
Remember that time when Shemaiah Daniel “Chuuu” Chu’s Ling nearly killed Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno’s Claude during their mano-y-mano duel in the MPL-PH 7 playoffs, only for the latter to surprisingly outplay the former?
Well, KarlTzy was blessed to have a jungle creep nearby, which he immediately bursted down to regain his lost health points.
But what if KarlTzy didn’t have a jungle creep nearby? The latest patch was able to find an answer with the revamped Queen’s Wings item.
Prior to the latest update, the Queen’s Wings provided physical lifesteal, which made it limited to heroes like Alucard, Freya, and Aldous (though there are mages like Alice who benefit from it as well).
The latest update made a huge shift by replacing the physical lifesteal to spell vamp, meaning that players can regain lost health by casting their abilities on their foes. This will only work when their HP is below 40 percent.
Given the drastic shift, fans could potentially see more outplays in the professional scene. Imagine your Lancelot with only a pint of HP left, being chased by a fully fleshed Claude. With the current Queen’s Wings, an accurate usage of Thorn Rose might be a difference maker to mount a counterattack.
Besides outplays, we might see the return of other skill oriented heroes like Terizla and X.Borg. The latter was given a massive buff in terms of overall damage.
Though the new effect will entice players, one should note that this item isn’t recommended for attack speed fighters, like Masha, and marksmen, as they mostly benefit from physical lifesteal effects. Granger is the only exception to this rule.
Damage-centric fighters are back
If the previous patch saw fighters in the EXP lane, where their primary purpose was to level up their abilities in order to be a contributor in teamfights and skirmishes, the recent changes will definitely change the scene.
While the updates on the Queen’s Wings have made the item favorable for ability-centric heroes, the newest item, the War Axe, will revive the main damage dealing fighter.
Players can benefit from its increased physical attack and penetration. With its cooldown reduction mixed with items or abilities that provide physical lifesteal, and the effects of the Festival of Blood emblem, expect users to obliterate their foes with a flurry of attacks while keeping themselves alive.
Perhaps this could signal the golden age of Balmond, Ruby, Masha, Thamuz, and other damage-centric fighters.
Junglers rejoice
A huge cause for celebration for junglers: They no longer need to buy a pair of boots and jungling items like Raptor Machete. Moonton has decided to combine the effects of jungling items with the player’s choice of footwear, which in turn will widen their inventory options and lessen the amount of gold needed to farm for items.
But besides the economic benefits, the added effects of the retribution spell have further enhanced the role of junglers. Players can only attain the added bonuses of the retribution ability when they reach 5 creep kills, hero kills, or hero kill assists using the said ability.
If before, junglers could be punished by an unexpected sneak attack, recent changes could allow them to survive. Junglers can be difficult to kill with the flame and bloody retribution effects. The former lessens the physical and magic damage output of opponents while the latter heals the user.
In addition, the jungler’s rotational role was further enhanced with the ice retribution mechanic, which allows the user to lessen the movement speed of the opponent.
Given the recent addition, it’s possible that most teams will prioritize getting the upgraded retribution mechanic in the first few minutes, and they’ll do so by protecting their jungler at all costs.
It’s also possible that players might be cautious when executing their retribution ability, as they could face a tough dilemma between killing a turtle/Lord or weakening an opposing hero.
Roaming with ease
Similar to junglers, tank and support users have likewise received economic benefits, as the effects of roaming items have merged with their choice of boots.
And like their creep hunting counterparts, roaming players can receive additional benefits upon reaching a certain condition. The only difference stems from the conditions, as roamers are required to earn 600 gold while being at the bottom in terms of gold accumulation.
Upon acquiring the benefits, roamers can be more impactful in teamfights — even without their ultimate ability. They could choose between boosting the damage outburst of their teammates, sustaining their teammates, or deliver a surprise mechanic by concealing teammates which will lead to potential takedown on a key hero or an objective.
With these changes, tank and support heroes can just sip their tea and relax as they will no longer need to suffer from overspending in order to be effective.
Anti-mage meta?
There have been some stories of professional players complaining about the lack of magic damage resistance especially against dual burst mage setups.
Reiniel Causing “Honda Beast” Encisa related an anecdote that he struggled to deal with the Zhask and Chang’e combination even after having an Athena’s Shield and Oracle.
The arrival of the Radiant Armor should finally address Honda Beast’s concerns, as it provides magic damage reduction and magic defense.
Combining that with Athena’s Shield will definitely lay a curse upon mage aficionados.
Though it seems mage users will suffer from the current patch, there are other spellcasters that can still be reliable. Esmeralda’s damage output from her second skill increased, while Alice benefits from the Queen’s Wings buff.
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