Patch 1.9.68 of Mobile Legends Bang Bang brought two hero revamps and many more adjustments to the meta.
Mobile Legends Bang Bang Patch 1.9.68 brought two hero revamps simultaneously and many adjustments that can affect the current meta. Kimmy got a revamp that gave her a much-needed quality of life improvement to her kit. The revamp on Gloo was a unique one, as he was one of the more modern heroes in the game. However, MOONTON Games decided that he needed one, especially for his ultimate and second skill interaction.
Do note that the predictions below are personal opinions, and not facts. What happens in the game might be different from what is stated in this article. Here are the major hero adjustments in Patch 1.9.68, and their impact on the current meta:
Hero Revamp:
1. Kimmy
- Passive–Aerial Dominance
Kimmy can move and aim in different directions when using her Spray Gun, but cannot lock on to a specific enemy. Kimmy's Spray Gun attack deals (+22% Total Physical Attack) (+27% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage. Hitting enemy heroes restores Starlium. At max Starlium, Kimmy's Basic Attacks are enhanced to deal (+27% Total Physical Attack) (+32% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and pierce through targets.
Kimmy doesn't stop moving while shooting and no longer benefits from Attack Speed Bonus. Every 1% Attack Speed she gains is converted to one Magic Power.
Kimmy's Basic Attacks only deal 60% damage to Turrets. - Skill 1–Anti-Grav Thruster
Kimmy uses her jetpack to take flight, passing through terrain and gaining Movement Speed boost. During the flight, she fires Chemical Bolts at nearby enemies, dealing 20 to 45 (+25% Total Physical Attack) (+30% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and slowing them by 50% for 0.5 seconds.
Kimmy doesn't consume Starlium during flight. - Skill 2–Starlium Beam
Kimmy fires a Starlium Beam in the target direction, dealing 300 to 600 (+50% Total Physical Attack) (+60% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage and immobilizing enemies in its path.
Gain 20 to 40 Starlium for each enemy hero hit. - Ultimate: Traction Pulse
Kimmy charges and fires a Traction Pulse in a target direction. Upon hitting an enemy or reaching its max range, the Traction Pulse explodes, deals 200 to 400 (+60% Total Physical Attack) (+72% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to nearby enemies, and creates a force field that slows down enemies within by 75%. After a short delay, the field contracts, pulling all enemies to its center and dealing 20% to 40% of their current HP as Magic Damage. Gain 40 Starlium for each enemy hero hit.
Previously, Kimmy was a pure frontline damage dealer, as her Basic Attacks could only damage the first target she hit. Now that her passive got revamped, she can hit through the frontline and reliably deal area damage. She is now a teamfight monster with her ultimate and Starlium Beam combination, rather than the poke hero she was before. However, her dash has been removed, making her more susceptible to burst assassin gank, especially if she can't fly through them.
We predicted that she will be popular in the Gold Lane in the first two weeks of her release, and slowly stabilise back to a mid-tier hero after everyone learns how to counter her.
2. Gloo
- Passive–Stick, Stick
Enemies gain a stack of Sticky each time they're hit by Gloo's skills, decreasing their Movement Speed by 4% for 6 seconds. Stacks up to 5.
Each stack of Sticky on an enemy reduces their damage dealt to Gloo by 4%. - Skill 1–Slam, Slam
Gloo reaches out and slams the ground, dealing 80 (+80% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to the enemy.
At the final location, a Goo is left behind that explodes after three seconds to deal 300 to 450 (+12% Extra Maximum HP) Magic Damage to nearby enemies, and immobilise them for one second. If Gloo touches the Goo, it will explode immediately, reset the skill's cooldown, and heal Gloo for 2.5% to 5% of Max HP if the explosion hits an enemy (doubled if it hits an enemy hero). - Skill 2–Spread, Spread
Gloo splits into Goos, dealing 100 to 200 (+80% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to enemies in a fan-shaped area and immobilising them for 0.5 seconds. While split, Gloo gains 10% Movement Speed and deals 80 (+15% Total magic Power) Magic Damage every 0.25 seconds to enemies it touches, lasting four seconds. If this skill hits a Goo, Gloo will charge over to merge with it, dragging enemies in its path in the same direction for a distance. - Ultimate–Grab, Grab
Unlocked when any enemy hero has full Sticky stacks, Gloo attaches itself to the target enemy hero for up to nine seconds. recovering 25% to 30% of its Max HP. For the duration, its Basic Attacks are converted to deal 30 to 90(+50% Total Magic Power)(+6% Extra Max HP) Magic Damage, and it transfers 80% of the damage it receives (excluding damage from turrets) to its host. If the target dies while attached, this skill's cooldown is reduced to five seconds.
While deemed unnecessary, Gloo's revamp was a welcome one. It Split, Split now embedded in it Spread, Spread, making its ultimate less risky to use, as Split, Split can be countered very hard with some heroes. The new Gloo could be one of the best EXP Laner in the game. He has the damage, the utility, and the tankiness required to compete with the current meta EXP Laner.
We predict that Gloo could become one of the best heroes to play right now in the EXP Lane, and will get a nerf sometime in the future.
Adjustments:
1. Yi Sun-shin
- Passive
- New Effect: An enhanced basic attack indicator was added. Yi Sun-shin can now see whether his next Basic Attack will be a glaive attack or an arrow attack.
- New Effect: Reduced the backswing of the second Enhanced Basic Attack from Weapon Mastery.
- Removed Effect: Obtaining Turtle Ships from the Base.
- Skill 1
- Fixed an issue where the skill wasn't granting Slow Immunity as intended.
- Skill 2
- Arrow damage no longer decays with each target hit. Self-Slow Effect while holding to shoot an arrow: 20% > 5% Significantly reduced arrow shooting backswing.
- Ultimate (Revamped)
- Yi Sun-shin summons a turtle ship and gains sight of the whole map. During this time, Yi Sun-shin gains extra Movement Speed Bonus. When cast again, Yi Sun-shin commands the turtle ship to ram toward a target location, stunning enemy heroes in the area. Then he commands the naval fleet to launch three waves of cannon shots on the area, dealing Physical Damage and slowing the enemies.
- New Effect: Immediately triggers Weapon Mastery after casting Ultimate.
- Removed Effect: Increased Enhanced Basic Attack Damage from Ultimate upgrades.
Yi Sun-shin got a buff and quality of life improvement on his kit, as he no longer needs to grab a turtle ship from the base, and can instantly ride it. His ultimate global area attack has been removed, but he can still see everyone on the map when on his boat. While he lost his capabilities as a marksman, his mini-revamp made him a better Assassin. However, his overreliance on Gold still cripples him greatly, and thus we feel that he still doesn't have what it takes to be a top-tier assassin in the meta.
We predict that Yi Sun-shin will sit nicely on the mid-tier Jungler. However, his lack of crowd control and overreliance on Gold will make it hard to play him effectively.
2. Valir
- Passive
- Ablaze Damage Duration: four seconds to three seconds.
- Sustained Damage per Second: 0.6% of target's Max HP to (1+0.2% of Magic Power)% of target's Max HP.
- Detonation Damage: 6% of target's Max HP to (5+1% of Magic Power)% of target's Max HP.
- Skill 1
- Fireball Flying Speed: 11 to 12.
- New Effect: The skill cooldown can now be affected by Cooldown Reduction.
- Skill 2
- Firewall Damage: 80–120 + 24% of Magic Power to 100–150+30% of Magic Power.
- Ultimate
- Removed Effect: Increased Base Damage of Skill One and Skill Two.
Valir's passive has been massively buffed, and can be a danger to Tank heroes because of his percentage HP-based Magical Damage. However, his ultimate got nerfed slightly to compensate for this. We feel that it was an overall buff to his kit, and he can be a great hero to deal with a tanky EXP Laner. Valir will sit nicely in the high-tier hero for the midlane.
3. Gord
- Passive
- Removed the Basic Attack's ability to stack and trigger the Passive.
- Skill 1
- Added a camera shift feature that provides an expanded view when aiming.
- Added an exclusive aiming indicator that displays the projectile trajectory and maximum range.
- Skill 2
- Number of Casts: 13 to 16 Cast Interval: 0.3 seconds to 0.25 seconds.
- Base Damage: 55 to 105 (+16% of Total Magic Power) → 30 to 80 (+14% of Total Magic Power).
- Ultimate
- Ultimate Width: 0.6 to 0.8.
- Added a camera shift feature that provides an expanded view when taking aim.
- Optimised Ultimate casting logic. Now, when auto-casting, the Ultimate will prioritise targeting heroes hit by Skill One or Skill Two.
Gord has been optimised more as a caster mage. His Basic Attack can't stack the passive anymore, but his second skill has received an overall buff. While it is an overall buff, his early duelling potential has been cut significantly by removing his Basic Attack stacking. He has also received a quality-of-life improvement to his kit. Overall, we think he will maintain his position in the current meta.
4. Natan
- Attributes
- Base Attack: 115 to 107.
- Passive
- New Effect: Natan's Basic Attack hits will refresh the duration of the passive [Entanglement) effect (without changing the number of Passive stacks).
- Entanglement Effect Base Duration: 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds.
- Skill One
- Removed backswing.
- Skill Two
- Removed backswing.
Natan got an overall buff for his Gold Lane potential with his Basic Attack, now refreshing Entanglement without changing the passive stacks. His skills' backswing has also been removed so he can maintain his basic attack after using his abilities. This is an overall buff for Natan, and we can see a rise in his popularity in the meta.
5. Suyou
- Passive
- Changed Damage Reduction to Physical Damage Reduction (no longer reduces Magic Damage).
This is a massive nerf to Suyou. It will make him very susceptible to Magic Damage and will reduce him from the strong fighter he was before. Suyou was picked a lot because of his ability to dish out decent damage while absorbing the enemy's damage comfortably. This nerf will sink his popularity and tier in the current meta.
There were also minor nerfs and buffs that haven't been addressed in here. We think they don't matter much in the current meta right now. Some, like Clint, needed more adjustments to change his position in the meta, while others needed a revamp to make them relevant again.
