The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang game is about to start a new ranked season and as part of its kick-off, an original server update is released. Part of that update is several significant hero adjustments to seven heroes. The game designers mentioned in the patch note that they've optimized the gameplay of old heroes like Freya and Layla. Here are the significant hero adjustments based on the March 2023 update, Patch Note 1.7.68 Original Server.
1. Joy Adjustments
Joy has impressive durability, but her burst potential is a bit lacking in the mid-to-late game. As such, the game developers/designers, as mentioned the patch note, are making it harder for her to gain durability while increasing her damage to fit her role as an Assassin.
[Passive] (~)
Removed the shield effect.
New Effect: Joy's skills now deal an additional instance of damage each time they hit a non-Minion unit.
[Skill 2] (~)
Max Uses: 5 >> 4
New Effect: Gain a shield when hitting on beat.
[Ultimate] (~)
Number of Skill 2 casts required to unlock: 5 >> 4
New Effect: Gain Physical & Magic Defense during Ultimate.
Damage increase after hitting on beat: 30% >> 40% (max damage when hitting all beats is the same)
These complicated adjustments were already experimented in the advance server so it is expected that this will make Joy more balance. The players just need to adapt to her new mechanics and if ever there will be a new discovery that was found out that will make her unbalanced, there might be a hotfix depending on its effect on her viability. The gist of this update is she has now a higher total damage output potential but lower durability capabilities.
2. Freya buff
While Freya has great sustainability, she plays more or less the same as other heroes that rely on Basic Attacks. So, they made it easier for her to chain her skill combos, and in some circumstances, indefinitely. They're also improving the feel of Spirit Combo and Leap of Faith, and that of Freya's combos as a whole. Her shield and damage in the early-mid game have been adjusted to keep things balanced.
[Skill 1] (~)
Skill 1 is no longer enhanced by Sacred Orb nor does it cost any Sacred Orbs.
Can move through obstacles more easily.
[Skill 2] (↑)
Skill casts needed to trigger leaping strike: 3 >> 2
Reworked how the cooldown works: Cooldown is no longer triggered after the leaping strike, instead it triggers after not continuing to cast the skill within a certain period.
Slightly reduced the foreswing time of the leaping strike.
Airborne Duration: 0.5s >> 0.4s
Base Damage: 130-230 (+90% Total Physical Attack) >> 20-230 (+90% Total Physical Attack)
Final Damage: 156-276 (+108% Total Physical Attack) >> 26-276 (+108% Total Physical Attack)
Shield: 160-260 (+70% Extra Physical Attack) >> 60-260 (+70% Extra Physical Attack)
These adjustments are also overall will affect Freya's gameplay mechanics significantly. Just looking at the breakdown of the adjustments will make it hard to grasp what will be its impact in the current battlefield situation. Her shield and damage capabilities are adjusted to balance out her QoL (Quality of Life) adjustments.
3. Layla buff
As a Marksman without Blink, Layla has trouble with survivability. They hope the following changes will allow her to kite enemies more efficiently and increase her skill cap. They've also reduced a bit of her damage to balance these buffs.
[Basic Attack & Skills] (↑)
Greatly reduced backswing time to allow her to move and attack more efficiently.
[Attribute] (↓)
Physical Attack Growth: 9 >> 7.5
[Passive] (↓)
Maximum Damage Increase: 135% >> 130%
[Skil 2] (↑)
Changed the slow effect from mark detonations to a 0.25s AOE stun.
Only marks the first target hit.
To balance out her overall capabilities after gaining a stun CC potential, her damage output potential is lowered. These adjustments were also tested already in advance server and maybe this is the adjustment that Layla needs so that she would appear more in the professional tournaments. The game wants her to remain as a signature no-blink marksman hero but with an insane damage potential and now has a stun CC capability.
4. Wanwan adjustments
With fewer Weaknesses to hit, more players have been enjoying Wanwan, but it also made it harder for her opponents to counter her Ultimate. Therefore, they want to make it easier to escape her Ultimate while not affecting her power. After the changes, the locked target can more easily get out of lock range, and frontline heroes can move to block Wanwan's crossbow attacks to tank the damage. To compensate, they buffed Wanwan's damage, and how much she gains from Movement Speed bonuses in the early and mid game (Wanwan should get extra Movement Speed to take advantage of this).
[Passive] (↑)
All Weaknesses Hit Damage: 55-97 >> 70-112
[Ultimate] (↓)
Lock Range: 8.5 >> 6
Speed Boost while in the air: 10% Total Movement Speed >> 100% Extra Movement Speed
These were smart adjustments by the game to adapt to players trying to change how the game is played by not building boots on certain heroes. Wanwan tends to just build attack speed items because of her innate mechanics but with this update, the game found a way to balance her out and make players decide on how she should be played. This might have added a new layer on how Wanwan is played but this seems better than having the same overpowered Wanwan dominating almost every game.
5. Badang nerf
Badang has become too dominant in this version with the buff to Knockback effects. They've moderately reduced his damage in the early and mid game for balance.
[Skill 1] (↓)
Base Damage: 160-260 >> 125-225
Explosion Damage: 120-195 >> 100-175
[Ultimate] (↓)
Base Damage: 80-140 >> 60-120
Explosion Damage: 40-70 >> 30-60
This might be one of the most surprising adjustment for some players. Badang getting a nerf despite not having an insane impact in the professional tournaments. In ranked games though, the game stats says that he is indeed powerful for the less competitive players so to balance out the interest of everyone, this is a well-deserved nerf to him.
6. Esmeralda buff
They've slightly increased Esmeralda's damage to make her more competitive compared to other Exp Laners.
[Basic Attack] (↑)
First Damage: 80% Physical Attack >> 100% Physical Attack
Second Damage: 100 +55% Magic Power >> 100 +75% Magic Power
[Skill 2] (↑)
Cooldown: 5.5-3.5s >> 4.5-3.5s
Esmeralda dropped greatly in terms of usage in the professional leagues. The game has buffed her to try to gain back her former glory. The overall state of the battlefield after this update also seems leaning toward EXP laners so to increase the pool of top-tier picks, Esmeralda is buffed to be on par with everyone.
7. Eudora buff
They want players to be able to use Eudora's skills based on the situation, instead of always starting with Skill 2.
[Attributes] (↑)
HP Growth: 142.5 >> 160.5
[Skill 2] (↑)
Orb of Lightning bounce's Stun Duration: 0.6s >> 0.9s
This is another overall change in gameplay. It seems the game is already solved by the top players and teams in professional leagues and thus, the likes of Freya and Wanwan received significant gameplay adjustments. Eudora will also join them as she will now be a bit more versatile and players globally can now experiment more to unlock more potential with this hero that was revamped several updates ago.
Those are the seven significant hero adjustments for the March 2023 huge update. These adjustments also came with the Revamped Minsitthar that many players are waiting for! The new ranked season will be exciting and if there will be emergency updates needed, it will be just-in-time before the new ranked season starts or it will be at the commencement phase of the new season.
Stay tuned for more news and updates!
1. Joy Adjustments
Joy has impressive durability, but her burst potential is a bit lacking in the mid-to-late game. As such, the game developers/designers, as mentioned the patch note, are making it harder for her to gain durability while increasing her damage to fit her role as an Assassin.
[Passive] (~)
Removed the shield effect.
New Effect: Joy's skills now deal an additional instance of damage each time they hit a non-Minion unit.
[Skill 2] (~)
Max Uses: 5 >> 4
New Effect: Gain a shield when hitting on beat.
[Ultimate] (~)
Number of Skill 2 casts required to unlock: 5 >> 4
New Effect: Gain Physical & Magic Defense during Ultimate.
Damage increase after hitting on beat: 30% >> 40% (max damage when hitting all beats is the same)
These complicated adjustments were already experimented in the advance server so it is expected that this will make Joy more balance. The players just need to adapt to her new mechanics and if ever there will be a new discovery that was found out that will make her unbalanced, there might be a hotfix depending on its effect on her viability. The gist of this update is she has now a higher total damage output potential but lower durability capabilities.
2. Freya buff
While Freya has great sustainability, she plays more or less the same as other heroes that rely on Basic Attacks. So, they made it easier for her to chain her skill combos, and in some circumstances, indefinitely. They're also improving the feel of Spirit Combo and Leap of Faith, and that of Freya's combos as a whole. Her shield and damage in the early-mid game have been adjusted to keep things balanced.
[Skill 1] (~)
Skill 1 is no longer enhanced by Sacred Orb nor does it cost any Sacred Orbs.
Can move through obstacles more easily.
[Skill 2] (↑)
Skill casts needed to trigger leaping strike: 3 >> 2
Reworked how the cooldown works: Cooldown is no longer triggered after the leaping strike, instead it triggers after not continuing to cast the skill within a certain period.
Slightly reduced the foreswing time of the leaping strike.
Airborne Duration: 0.5s >> 0.4s
Base Damage: 130-230 (+90% Total Physical Attack) >> 20-230 (+90% Total Physical Attack)
Final Damage: 156-276 (+108% Total Physical Attack) >> 26-276 (+108% Total Physical Attack)
Shield: 160-260 (+70% Extra Physical Attack) >> 60-260 (+70% Extra Physical Attack)
These adjustments are also overall will affect Freya's gameplay mechanics significantly. Just looking at the breakdown of the adjustments will make it hard to grasp what will be its impact in the current battlefield situation. Her shield and damage capabilities are adjusted to balance out her QoL (Quality of Life) adjustments.
3. Layla buff
As a Marksman without Blink, Layla has trouble with survivability. They hope the following changes will allow her to kite enemies more efficiently and increase her skill cap. They've also reduced a bit of her damage to balance these buffs.
[Basic Attack & Skills] (↑)
Greatly reduced backswing time to allow her to move and attack more efficiently.
[Attribute] (↓)
Physical Attack Growth: 9 >> 7.5
[Passive] (↓)
Maximum Damage Increase: 135% >> 130%
[Skil 2] (↑)
Changed the slow effect from mark detonations to a 0.25s AOE stun.
Only marks the first target hit.
To balance out her overall capabilities after gaining a stun CC potential, her damage output potential is lowered. These adjustments were also tested already in advance server and maybe this is the adjustment that Layla needs so that she would appear more in the professional tournaments. The game wants her to remain as a signature no-blink marksman hero but with an insane damage potential and now has a stun CC capability.
4. Wanwan adjustments
With fewer Weaknesses to hit, more players have been enjoying Wanwan, but it also made it harder for her opponents to counter her Ultimate. Therefore, they want to make it easier to escape her Ultimate while not affecting her power. After the changes, the locked target can more easily get out of lock range, and frontline heroes can move to block Wanwan's crossbow attacks to tank the damage. To compensate, they buffed Wanwan's damage, and how much she gains from Movement Speed bonuses in the early and mid game (Wanwan should get extra Movement Speed to take advantage of this).
[Passive] (↑)
All Weaknesses Hit Damage: 55-97 >> 70-112
[Ultimate] (↓)
Lock Range: 8.5 >> 6
Speed Boost while in the air: 10% Total Movement Speed >> 100% Extra Movement Speed
These were smart adjustments by the game to adapt to players trying to change how the game is played by not building boots on certain heroes. Wanwan tends to just build attack speed items because of her innate mechanics but with this update, the game found a way to balance her out and make players decide on how she should be played. This might have added a new layer on how Wanwan is played but this seems better than having the same overpowered Wanwan dominating almost every game.
5. Badang nerf
Badang has become too dominant in this version with the buff to Knockback effects. They've moderately reduced his damage in the early and mid game for balance.
[Skill 1] (↓)
Base Damage: 160-260 >> 125-225
Explosion Damage: 120-195 >> 100-175
[Ultimate] (↓)
Base Damage: 80-140 >> 60-120
Explosion Damage: 40-70 >> 30-60
This might be one of the most surprising adjustment for some players. Badang getting a nerf despite not having an insane impact in the professional tournaments. In ranked games though, the game stats says that he is indeed powerful for the less competitive players so to balance out the interest of everyone, this is a well-deserved nerf to him.
6. Esmeralda buff
They've slightly increased Esmeralda's damage to make her more competitive compared to other Exp Laners.
[Basic Attack] (↑)
First Damage: 80% Physical Attack >> 100% Physical Attack
Second Damage: 100 +55% Magic Power >> 100 +75% Magic Power
[Skill 2] (↑)
Cooldown: 5.5-3.5s >> 4.5-3.5s
Esmeralda dropped greatly in terms of usage in the professional leagues. The game has buffed her to try to gain back her former glory. The overall state of the battlefield after this update also seems leaning toward EXP laners so to increase the pool of top-tier picks, Esmeralda is buffed to be on par with everyone.
7. Eudora buff
They want players to be able to use Eudora's skills based on the situation, instead of always starting with Skill 2.
[Attributes] (↑)
HP Growth: 142.5 >> 160.5
[Skill 2] (↑)
Orb of Lightning bounce's Stun Duration: 0.6s >> 0.9s
This is another overall change in gameplay. It seems the game is already solved by the top players and teams in professional leagues and thus, the likes of Freya and Wanwan received significant gameplay adjustments. Eudora will also join them as she will now be a bit more versatile and players globally can now experiment more to unlock more potential with this hero that was revamped several updates ago.
Those are the seven significant hero adjustments for the March 2023 huge update. These adjustments also came with the Revamped Minsitthar that many players are waiting for! The new ranked season will be exciting and if there will be emergency updates needed, it will be just-in-time before the new ranked season starts or it will be at the commencement phase of the new season.
Stay tuned for more news and updates!
