How ranks work in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

In Mobile Legends, once you reach level eight and have at least six or more heroes, you can start trying your luck at Ranked matches. Playing Ranked means that you're ready to take on the best of the best. Thankfully, the game's ranking system makes it easy to just jump in and get going.

In this guide, we'll break down the ranking system in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, from how to get started in the world of Ranked play to the mechanics put in place to help you earn Stars to rank up faster – or hold on to the Stars that you already have. There's a lot to take in, but once you've wrapped your head around it, you'll see that Mobile Legends' Ranked mode is where the real action happens.

You may want to jump into Ranked mode as soon as you log in to the game for the first time, but that's not really ideal. If you just jumped straight into Ranked mode from the outset, you'd get stomped by top players all the time, and wouldn't be able to learn the ins and outs of the game.

The Ranked mode is locked until you've either reached level eight or unlocked at least six characters. Spending some time in the casual lobbies or in one of the other game modes will do you a lot of good in the long run.

Once you've unlocked Ranked mode, you can start moving up the charts. As you win, you'll earn stars. Once you have enough stars, you can move up to the next rank. However, losing matches will also mean losing stars and going down in the ranks, so be careful. There are seven ranks in Mobile Legends, and their hierarchy is as follows: Warrior > Elite > Master > Grandmaster > Epic > Legend > Mythic.

Each rank has three to five divisions, denoted by a Roman numeral found next to the Rank name. A set number of stars is required for each of these divisions, and as you earn or lose stars, your division will rise or fall. Completing all divisions or being demoted from all divisions from your current rank will result in a promotion to the next rank or a demotion to the previous rank.

You can earn stars as you win Ranked battles. Additionally, as you progress, you'll also accrue 'Star-raising points'. Once the star-raising bar has reached 100%, you'll receive an extra star the next time you see the victory screen, helping you to rank up even faster and get to the more challenging matches. You know that feeling of 'just one more match'? Star-raising makes it even stronger.

On the other hand, you will lose a star every time you suffer defeat in Ranked, and if you lose too much, your rank will suffer as well. You can enable star protection using either a Star Protection Item or by earning Star Protection points. A 100% Star Protection gauge will stop you from losing a star, giving you an extra chance to stay at the rank you worked so hard to achieve.

Think of Star Protection as 'rank insurance'. Once the meter is full, you can lose a match 'for free' – in other words, without losing a precious star. Just make sure that you win the next match after you use the Star Protection meter, or else it'll be less about 'protection' and more about 'delaying the inevitable'.