Mobile Legends Advanced Server Patch 2.2.20 Update: Hero Adjustments, Battlefield Changes, and more

Moonton, the developer behind the immensely popular mobile MOBA title Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), has rolled out its latest Advanced Server update, Patch 2.2.20, introducing a series of significant hero adjustments, battlefield modifications, and system enhancements. This particular patch highlights notable buffs to the mage heroes Lunox and Xavier, while simultaneously implementing nerfs and adjustments to several other prominent characters including Hirara, Gloo, Rafaela, Uranus, and Kaja. These changes, deployed exclusively on the Advanced Server, are part of Moonton’s ongoing strategy to fine-tune game balance, foster meta diversity, and address player feedback before official implementation on the Live Server.

The Advanced Server serves as a crucial testing ground for Moonton, allowing a select group of players to experience upcoming content and balance changes firsthand. This environment enables the developers to gather vital data on hero performance, item interactions, and overall gameplay impact in a live setting, identifying potential issues or unintended consequences before rolling out updates to the broader global player base. The iterative nature of these patches ensures that the competitive landscape of MLBB remains dynamic and engaging, constantly evolving with new strategies and hero viability. Players on the Advanced Server will also find that skins for Cyclops, Popol, and Kupa are temporarily unavailable, indicating potential reworks or preparations for new cosmetic content related to these heroes.

Key Hero Adjustments in Patch 2.2.20

The core of Patch 2.2.20 revolves around a strategic re-evaluation of several heroes, aiming to either bolster underperforming champions or temper those exhibiting excessive power.

Xavier: The Mystic Seer (Buffed)
Xavier, a mage known for his long-range poke and burst damage, receives significant quality-of-life improvements designed to make his gameplay feel more fluid and responsive. The developers have specifically optimized the control experience of his skills, addressing player feedback regarding his casting animations.

• Skill 1 (Infinite Extension) and Skill 2 (Mystic Field) Improvements: Both of Xavier’s primary damage and crowd control abilities have seen their backswing time reduced by 50%. Backswing refers to the brief animation delay after a skill is cast before the hero can perform another action, such as moving or casting another skill. A 50% reduction is substantial, dramatically improving Xavier’s ability to chain skills, reposition quickly after casting, and react to enemy movements. This buff is expected to increase his damage output in skirmishes and team fights by allowing for faster spell rotations, making him a more formidable threat in the mid and late game. It also enhances his defensive capabilities by enabling quicker retreats after poking. This adjustment likely aims to solidify Xavier’s position as a potent backline mage, giving him more opportunities to capitalize on his powerful abilities without feeling clunky.

Lunox: The Twilight Goddess (Buffed)
Lunox, a high-burst mage with a unique dual-mode mechanic, sees a direct buff to her Ultimate ability, enhancing her offensive potential.

• Ultimate (Order and Chaos): The damage dealt to nearby enemies after Lunox’s dash using her Power of Chaos mode has been restored. This change directly boosts her burst damage capability, particularly when engaging enemies at close range or diving into enemy formations. Lunox’s effectiveness relies heavily on her ability to quickly eliminate priority targets. Restoring this damage component means that a well-executed ultimate will yield more impactful results, making her a more reliable assassin-mage. This buff could see an increase in her pick rate, especially in compositions that favor aggressive engagements and burst damage.

Hirara: The Agile Hunter (Nerfed)
Hirara, a relatively newer addition to the MLBB roster, receives a nerf that rolls back some of the damage buffs from the previous patch. This is a common pattern for new heroes, who are often released slightly overtuned to encourage play, then adjusted to fit better into the meta.

• Skill 2 (Agile Strike) Damage Bonus: The damage bonus from her Skill 2 has been reduced from 75% Extra Physical Attack to 65% Extra Physical Attack. A 10% reduction in physical attack scaling is significant for a damage-dealing hero, directly impacting Hirara’s burst potential and sustained damage output. This adjustment suggests that Hirara was performing too strongly, likely out-damaging other heroes in her class or role. The nerf aims to bring her damage in line with other comparable heroes, promoting a more balanced competitive environment.

Gloo: The Swamp Ghost (Nerfed/Adjusted)
Gloo, a tank hero known for his disruptive crowd control and ability to stick to enemies, undergoes adjustments that re-emphasize his tank role over a hybrid damage threat.

• Skill 1 (Slam, Slam): The explosion damage of his Skill 1 has been reduced from 250-400 (+12% Extra HP) to 230-380 (+11% Extra HP). This direct reduction in both base damage and HP scaling curtails Gloo’s offensive capabilities. The developers noted that as a tank, Gloo’s damage was "too high," indicating a desire to prevent him from disproportionately carrying games through damage rather than pure tank utility.
• Skill 3 (Split, Split): In compensation, his Ultimate sees a buff to its HP Regen, increasing from 20% to 20%-30%. This adjustment enhances Gloo’s sustainability in prolonged fights, allowing him to absorb more damage and stay in the frontline longer. The overall effect is a shift towards making Gloo a more resilient and disruptive tank, rather than a tank with significant damage threat.

Rafaela: The Heavenly Healer (Nerfed)
Rafaela, a support hero revered for her healing and movement speed buffs, receives a targeted nerf to her team utility.

• Skill 2 (Holy Healing): The Movement Speed bonus now increases by 1% for every 15 Magic Power, up from the previous rate of 1% for every 10 Magic Power. This change means Rafaela will need to acquire significantly more Magic Power to provide the same level of movement speed bonus to her allies. It directly impacts her ability to facilitate engages or disengages, especially in the early to mid-game when her Magic Power items are not fully developed. This nerf suggests that her team-wide movement speed buff was deemed too potent and easily accessible, providing an excessive advantage in rotations and skirmishes.

Uranus: The Aethereal Defender (Nerfed)
Uranus, a durable tank/EXP laner known for his high regeneration and sustained presence, also sees a cooldown increase to one of his core abilities.

• Skill 2 (Transcendent Ward): The cooldown of his Skill 2 has been increased from 10.5-8.5s to 11.5-10.5s. This increase in cooldown directly impacts Uranus’s ability to maintain his shield, clear waves, and poke enemies. The developers noted that Rafaela’s Skill 2 "provided strong team utility and could be cast too frequently," and this reasoning also applies to Uranus’s frequent shielding. A longer cooldown means Uranus will have windows of vulnerability and less consistent sustain, requiring more strategic timing for his engagements and disengages. This adjustment aims to balance his formidable regeneration capabilities, providing opponents with more opportunities to burst him down.

Kaja: The Nazar King (Adjusted)
Kaja, a fighter/support known for his powerful suppress ultimate, receives a nuanced adjustment that modifies how enemies can respond to his signature ability.

• Ultimate (Divine Judgment): The developers have adjusted how enemy heroes can respond to Kaja’s Ultimate. Enemies now have more time to leave the area before the Ultimate takes effect. However, they can no longer use Control Immunity skills to avoid the area restriction. This is a dual-faceted change. The increased window for evasion offers a slight counterplay opportunity for highly mobile heroes or those with quick escape tools. Conversely, the removal of Control Immunity as a counter makes Kaja’s ultimate more reliable against heroes who could previously negate its effect with abilities like Diggie’s Ultimate or certain spell shields. This adjustment enhances the strategic depth surrounding Kaja, forcing enemies to rely on positional awareness and swift movement rather than simply pressing a control-immunity button.

Battlefield, System, and Mode Adjustments

Beyond hero-specific changes, Patch 2.2.20 introduces broader adjustments to the battlefield, system functionalities, and specific game modes, all designed to refine the overall player experience and competitive balance.

Spell Adjustment – Sprint (Buffed)
The combat spell "Sprint" receives a significant buff, potentially increasing its viability as a competitive choice.

• Cooldown: The cooldown of Sprint has been reduced from 100 seconds to 75 seconds. This substantial 25-second reduction makes Sprint available much more frequently throughout a match. Sprint provides a burst of movement speed and removes slow effects, making it valuable for both initiating fights and escaping dangerous situations. With a shorter cooldown, heroes who rely on burst mobility or kiting, but do not necessarily need the blink effect of Flicker, might find Sprint a more attractive option. This could lead to a shift in preferred battle spells for certain roles, especially marksmen, mages, or fighters who benefit from sustained speed.

System Adjustments: Streamlined Preparation Feature
Moonton continues its commitment to improving the user interface and overall player experience with updates to the "Preparation" feature.

• Intuitive Interactions: This patch streamlines the Preparation feature, aiming for more intuitive interactions and easier use. The Preparation tab is where players customize their emblems, spells, and equipment sets for various heroes. Enhancing its usability means players can more quickly and efficiently set up their preferred builds, reducing pre-game friction and allowing for more focus on strategy. These quality-of-life improvements are crucial for both new players, who might find the initial customization daunting, and veteran players, who frequently adjust their setups based on meta shifts. A more user-friendly interface contributes to overall player satisfaction and retention, reflecting Moonton’s attention to the game’s foundational mechanics outside of direct gameplay.

Mode Adjustments: Card Brawl
Specific game modes also receive attention, with Card Brawl undergoing significant rebalancing.

• Brawl Card Adjustments: A large number of Brawl Cards in the Card Brawl mode have been adjusted. Card Brawl is a unique, often chaotic, alternative game mode within MLBB that features special cards influencing gameplay. Extensive adjustments to these cards suggest a comprehensive rebalancing effort, likely aimed at improving the mode’s fairness, variety, and overall enjoyment. Such changes ensure that secondary game modes remain fresh and engaging, providing players with diverse experiences beyond the standard ranked or classic matches.

Broader Implications and Developer Philosophy

These Advanced Server changes underscore Moonton’s proactive approach to game development and balance. The continuous cycle of buffs, nerfs, and adjustments is essential for maintaining a vibrant and competitive ecosystem in MLBB. By empowering certain heroes while reining in others, Moonton aims to prevent meta stagnation, encourage strategic diversity, and ensure that a wide array of heroes remains viable across different skill tiers. The focus on quality-of-life improvements and mode adjustments further demonstrates a commitment to the overall player experience, recognizing that a well-maintained interface and engaging auxiliary content are just as important as core gameplay balance.

The adjustments to Xavier and Lunox suggest a potential shift towards empowering high-skill-ceiling mage heroes, rewarding players who master their mechanics. Conversely, the nerfs to Hirara, Gloo, Rafaela, and Uranus indicate a careful watch on heroes that might be overperforming in terms of damage, utility, or sustain, ensuring that no single hero or archetype becomes overly dominant. The Sprint buff could introduce interesting strategic variations in spell choices, adding another layer of depth to hero builds and team compositions.

As these changes are currently confined to the Advanced Server, they are subject to further iteration based on player feedback and data analysis. The MLBB community eagerly awaits the official rollout of these adjustments to the Live Server, anticipating how they will shape the competitive meta and influence future gameplay strategies. Moonton’s transparent and iterative development process, utilizing the Advanced Server as a crucible for change, remains a cornerstone of MLBB’s enduring popularity and dynamic gameplay experience.