Much like any competitive game, Mobile Legends continues to grow as a fast-paced multiplayer. The game turned from a cheap knock-off into a title that slowly distances itself from the PC competition as a unique online game. While it may look like a no-brainer game, Mobile Legends can get very lucrative when it comes to big plays, intense competitive battles, and taking over objectives while under pressure. As the game keeps growing, Mobile Legends Season 16 has become one of the biggest moments yet for the Moonton-developed game.
As such, we have a breakdown of 3 categories: a tier list of the most meta heroes, the most picked heroes, and the top hero builds. These are all based on the high elos of Mobile Legends – picks and item choices that helped players get to the higher ranks as these are proven to be the most effective.
Mobile Legends Season 16 Top Tier Heroes
So, how do you define whether or not a hero is considered a top pick or not? Well, it all comes down to their abilities. To simplify this tricky aspect of the game, each hero has his/her abilities to either benefit the team, buff up themselves, or give the enemy a disadvantage. Mobile Legends keeps growing with each Season having its own set of buffs and nerfs for specific heroes and items.
Where do you base off the heroes to categorize if they are effective or not? It all comes down in the meta. In a MOBA game such as ML, LoL, AOV, or DotA2, a patch of the game changes the way you play, making the whole genre feeling fresh even after playing it for hours and even years. This creates a meta: a phase where certain heroes become more relevant while others fall flattered.
Season 16 Meta
For higher-ranked players, some heroes are better to climb up from a measly Bronze to a coveted Mythic. Each role has its own set of top tier (and not so top tier).
Marksman
An effective Marksman can deal heavy damage to enemies and clear out waves and objectives in a short amount of time. Bruno and Claude are this Season’s most effective picks due to their flexible playstyle that can alter the match when late-game arrives at 8 or 10 mins on the clock. Granger and Karrie are also great Marksmen but will require a slightly higher skill ceiling before being very effective in the field. For the longest time, Kimmy has always been a top pick. While he may fall flat in some areas late game, there is no denying that he still shows his relevance in the game, whether it would be low elo or high elo.
Support
The Support role has been quite a roller coaster ride. This is due to many of the mages slowly transitioning into Support-meta rather than a solo-laner. But, for the heavily-dedicated Support heroes like Kaja, the team benefits from him from early game to late game thanks to his zoning abilities while granting shields to teammates. Of course, Angela is still one of the most effective Support heroes but only for specific cases where the enemy team is full of dashes and high movement speed. And then you have Diggie and Nana, who is great for massive CC while Estes is ideal for the big heal.
Mage
Mages have gone through quite a struggle for quite some time now due to the newer heroes having enough burst to the point where a team would barely need any AP-based hero. Yet, for those that main the Mage role, everybody can agree that Valir is one of the best choices right now, thanks to his powerful first skill fireball that can one-shot any squishy enemy while having the ability to escape all types of CCs with his ult. Esmeralda and Pharsa are great picks, too but will require you to learn their skills thoroughly before they get useful for competitive purposes. Harith and Lunox are also good choices but will require the aid of other teammates so that they can help carry the game.
Fighter
Since we are in the meta of Marksmen, it is always good to play as a fighter to suppress and flank squishy carries for the Assassins and Mages to swoop in. This is Yu Zhong’s primary specialty: a balance between damage dealing and damage intake. Others, such as Thamuz, Chou, X Borg, and Jawhead, are very reliable too but slightly do not have the gap-closing mechanics as Yu Zhong.
Assassin
The most systematic way to stop Marksmen – even if they are fed – is having a good Assassin teammate. And, if your teammate happens to be either a Natalia or Selena main, then your chances of winning are high even if your early game was losing.
Ling, Lancelot, and Helcurt are still among the best choices if you are around low to mid elos. All thanks to their high damage scaling with the right items. Bring an assassin and a Fighter to start locking down Marksmen.
Tanks
Last but not least are Tanks. Tanks are the frontlines of the game and are essential for all types of situations. They can soak up all the damages while the Assassin, Marksman, and Mages are back.
For any situation, Khufra, Hylos, and Grock are always the best choice and can turn the bottle upside down from a losing state to a higher chance of winning if you play your cards right. Atlas and Tigreal are also nice picks, but certain heroes can counter their kits.
Mobile Legends Most Picked Heroes
Here is a list of the most used heroes that have proven most effective in Season 16. While each player may have their favorites, the heroes in the chart are mostly picked for several reasons:
- Utility
- Damage scaling
- Team effectiveness
- Late game effectiveness
The utility is a hero’s abilities can benefit the other team. These include hard CCs like Kaja and Nana, while others are for zoning and re-positions such as Tigreal and Angela.
Damage scaling is all about how the items work very well with a hero’s stats and abilities. Give Bruno, Karrie, Valir, Natalia, and Ling at least two full items and watch them one-shot squishy enemies instantly.
Team effectiveness is similar to Utility with a few notes; it’s either because a certain hero such as Selena and Claude can solo-lane and 1v5 a whole team while others can push a lane hard. Others are because they provide enough sustenance for the team to stay alive during team fights like how Estes and Angela regenerate health and improve stats for teammates.
Late game effectiveness is for certain heroes that are terrible in the early game but become beasts at the late game where not even a whole team can stop them.
Mobile Legends Top Builds
We don’t need to explain this bit further since all you need to do is copy the selected items above and put them in your preset. Of course, these do not guarantee wins, but they will most likely turn the game in your favor once you complete the items. You may choose to go with Mobile Legends’ standard builds, or you can follow pro builds such as the ones you find for Ying, Yu Zhong, Natalia, and Chou.
However, while they may be powerful, some items may work well with your playstyle, while others may not. That is why pro builds are much more “niche” than the casual players, but if you are truly aiming to be as near as Mythic, you should refer to the items above. So, how do we base the item effectiveness? It all comes down in 3 aspects: scaling, utility, and sustenance.
Scaling
A great example is the Berserker’s Fury and Magic Blade. Berserker’s Fury scales with AD-based heroes with basic attacks, giving them the right amount of attack speed and burst damage in a few seconds. Magic Blade is excellent as both a defensive and offensive item. Not only does it prove well in surviving a mage attack, but it also life steals during the duration of a fight.
Utility
Concentrated Energy, Clock of Destiny, and Elegant Gem always make the Supports and Tanks more beneficial in a fight. As long as you have them in your item slot, a hero’s abilities and damage resistance become more effective against AD and AP attackers.
Sustenance
Life Steals, Spell Vamps, Armor, and Magic Resistance. Depending on which hero you are using, an item with adequate sustenance can help keep your hero alive in the long run. Life steal items are great for squishy Marksmen, and Spell Vamps are for mages that require a great amount of life absorption, while Armor and Magic Resistance are self-explanatory.
You may either become either of the two: a carry or a utility teammate. You can tell if you become the carry if you are getting more kills than other teammates and deal the most damage. If you are fed enough, you can approach a whole squad without the help of teammates. But, since it is a team game, the utility is always key. Whether you are in charge of zoning, CC, or tanking, you should use these kits to benefit the whole team – not just for yourself.
Climb Mobile Legends Season 16 Higher with PC Controls
With just a bit of shameless advertising, we highly recommend playing Mobile Legends using our game client. It’s free, easy to use, and you can customize the controls however you want. Plus, you get to play the game on a bigger screen with a smooth performance! What’s not to love there?
