Mobile Legends Defensive Items Overhaul Brings Big Changes

Some big changes have arrived in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, including some massive overhauls for defensive items!

Here's everything you need to know about the new Mobile Legends item changes.

Mobile Legends Item Changes

The third phase of Project Next in Mobile Legends brought the revamps of Karina, Minotaur, Alpha, and Sun, plus big changes to the item system; particularly for Roam and Jungle positions.

Now with an extra spot, assassins and tanks can carry the same amount of items than their counterparts in the three main lanes of the game.

Patch 1.5.88 also introduced new items and changes to existing ones. We believe that the adjustments in these 3 defensive equipment pieces will determine the meta for ranked games in the 21 season. That is changes with the new Radiant Armor, Dominance Ice, and Twilight Armor.

Radiant Armor

• +850 Health Points
• +6 Health Regeneration
• +45 Magic Defense
• Unique Passive: Holy Blessing: Increases own Magic Damage Reduction by 3-10 upon taking Magic Damage (scales with level), lasting 3s and stacking up to 8.
• Price: 1980 gold

Let's start with Radiant Armor, a defensive item against magic damage. It has the second highest magic resistance after Athena Shield, plus Health Regeneration that makes it useful also for offlane and sideliners. They can stay longer in the map, adding some counter to powerhouse mages.

But the real mages kryptonite is in its passive. "Holy Blessing" lets you remove flat damage from any magic damage received. It can remove 10 points and can stack up to 8 times. That means every magic damage received will increase defense by 3 to 10, depending on what level you are. That means 125 magic resistance extra at max level.

This is a huge punch against heavy hitters lineups. In particular Chang'e, Yve, and Lunox; heroes that are picked constantly in high tier level games and tournaments.

It’s also effective against burst mages like Harley, Harith, and this might be the last nail in the coffin for Zhask that was nerfed in this same patch.

Dominance Ice

• +70 Physical Defense
• 500 Mana
• +5 Movement Speed
• Passive: 10 CD reduction.
• Unique Passive: "Artic Cold" reduces the shield and HP regen of nearby heroes by 50% (excluding those affected by "life drain") and their attack speed by 30%.
• Price: 2010

Dominance Ice was traditionally used to reduce the movement speed of opponents. For this patch, they changed his Unique Passive. Removing the slow-down effect and substituting for a "Life Drain", or an anti healing effect.

Life Drain is such an important debuff, perhaps the most important in the current meta.

After all, it's good against healers (Estes, Angela, Rafaela), heroes that generate shields (Esmeralda, Lolita, Mathilda, Harith, Hannabi), heroes using spell Vamp (Fanny, Leomord, Xborg, Alucard, Dyrroth, Thamuz, Balmond, Yu Zhong), heroes that rely on Magic Lifesteal (Gusion, Alice, Lunox, Silvanna, Guinevere and Cecilion), heroes that rely on Physical Lifesteal (most Marksmen and Fighters), and other heroes like Hylos, Uranus, Belerick, and Alpha.

This affects the Battle Spells Aegis and Revitalize as well as Items or Heroes that build Endless Battle, Bloodlust Axe, Concentrated Energy... well you get the idea.

Before the changes in Dominance Ice, Life drain was exclusive for Mages, Support, and Physical Damage Items. Now is the time for tanks to shine, especially now that this item introduces the effect "life drain aura". It means you do not have to attack your enemy to inflict the debuff, you just need to be around them.

Twilight Armor

• +1200 Health Points
• 400 Mana
• Passive: +20% Crit Damage Reduction.
• Unique Passive: "Defiance" Triggers after taking over 600 Physical Damage, to reduce Physical Damage taken by 20%, dealing True Damage equal to 20 + 4% of the hero's Max HP to nearby enemies every second. Lasts for 3s. Has a 6s Cooldown
• Price: 2100

This item was originally created to help your team to resist damage dealers late game. The unique passive, was capping the damage received to 900, however this happens only once every 4 seconds, a reason why this item was not really useful.

With these changes, this passive not only is triggered easier, also the benefits are better. Every time you receive damage higher than 600 physical damage, the damage taken will be reduced 20% and if it wasn't enough, you also deal back TRUE DAMAGE equal to 20 + 4% of your Max HP.

This item is finally giving you that fighting chance versus well fed damage dealers, preparing the scenario for epic comebacks. Although with 600 physical damage as trigger do not be surprise if more tanks start equipping twilight armor in the mid-game!