Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) went live on the Japanese App Store on November 11, 2016. Among mobile MOBAs it is one of the oldest still running.
Set beside the other two titles, there is less to memorise. What you do need is the clock: knowing when things spawn changes what you should be doing.
■ The clock makes most of your decisions
The Turtle first spawns at 2:00. Kill it and another arrives two minutes later, until the spawns stop at 8:00. The first one always appears on the EXP lane side of the river.
Only the EXP laner and the jungler can reach the river by 2:00. Whether those two have shoved their wave decides who takes the first objective.
Outer turrets carry a golden shield for the first five minutes. The turret takes 30% less damage and allies standing near it take 15% less. Diving under one in that window almost never works.
The Lord arrives around 8:00, two minutes after the last Turtle dies. Kill it and it marches with you, hitting the first turret it meets for 30% of that turret’s maximum health as true damage. It evolves at 18:00.
Those three timers are enough to answer the only question that matters early: stay in lane, or step to the river.
■ There is very little to set up before a match
There are seven emblems. The talents you can pick are the same on all of them, and what differs is the stat line the emblem itself carries. Every emblem takes one talent from each of the three tiers.
So whichever one you level, your options stay the same. Next to building runes from four trees in Wild Rift, or filling 30 Arcana slots in Honor of Kings, there is barely anything to do before the match starts.
There are 61 items. Selling returns 60% of what you paid, and advanced boots only 30%. For the first 15 seconds of a match, though, anything sells for full price, so a misclick can be undone on the spot.
One pre-match choice does bind your shop. Bring the battle spell Retribution and the only boots you may buy are jungle boots; leave it at home and jungle boots are locked out. You decide whether you are jungling before the game begins.
■ The honest downside: Japanese coverage is thin
Far less has been written about MLBB in Japanese than about the two newer titles. Even hero name spellings are not settled everywhere.
The in-game text and the official site do not always agree either. The ranged carry role is shown as Hunter in the Japanese client and as Marksman on the official English site.
The official data files every hero under two separate systems: six roles and five lanes. Of the 133 heroes, 35 are listed under two roles, and some under two lanes. Knowing the role does not tell you the lane.
Roamers have a rule that catches people out: for the first eight minutes, killing minions or jungle camps alone pays only 30%. Farm on your own without knowing that and eight minutes pass with nothing to show.
■ Verdict: who this is for
What you get is a game that pays back the little it asks you to learn. Three timers cover the early calls. One emblem covers the pre-match setup.
What you take on is checking things yourself. The written coverage is thin and the naming is inconsistent, which is why our Mobile Legends site transcribes what the client actually shows.
If storage matters, there is one more reason. The Japanese App Store lists it at 343.9 MB, against 1.1 GB for Wild Rift and 872.3 MB for Honor of Kings.
Mobile Legends by the numbers (as of October 12, 2026)
- 133 heroes across six roles: Tank, Fighter, Assassin, Mage, Marksman and Support, with 35 of them listed under two roles. Five lanes: Gold, EXP, Mid, Jungle and Roam.
- 61 items, 7 emblems and 12 battle spells. Battle spells unlock one at a time with account level: a new account starts with Retribution only, and Revitalize opens at level 3.
- The most recent patch we have verified is 2.2.16 (September 16, 2026), which adjusted 23 heroes. A map update followed on September 28, and killing the Turtle no longer grants a shield.
- The Japanese App Store lists 343.9 MB, iOS 12.0 or later. First published on November 11, 2016 by MOONTON.
Light to install, light to learn, and clear about what decides a fight. Whether it suits you better than Honor of Kings or Wild Rift is easier to judge with all three side by side in the comparison article.