How rotations work in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Each team in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has five heroes, so agreeing on a game plan together is key. There are a few things your team can do before a match even starts to give yourselves an edge. One of them is deciding on a rotation. Rotations give each player a role in a match that ideally works in tandem with their hero’s class and abilities.

For example, you may choose the team’s strongest hero to be the lead damage dealer with the rest of the team buffing them up. Or you might prefer to split the responsibility across all five heroes. Rotations are important to understand before jumping into ranked Mobile Legends matches, and this guide will help you understand them.

Rotations refer to the overall strategy of a team as a match progresses. They’re designated positions and actions that the team should follow during each of the three main phases of a match – early, mid-game, and late-game. If done correctly, a solid rotation will dramatically improve the odds of victory for your team.

There are a few different philosophies with regards to rotations, but the main goals of each strategy remain the same: clear lanes, steal buffs, and finally, support teammates in enemy territory. If your rotation idea doesn't include one of these ideas, you're likely going to suffer.

The first tenet of a rotation is for each hero to clear their designated lane, or at the very least defend their side of the map. This includes engaging with minions, enemy heroes, and when necessary, enemy turrets and towers.

The lane-clearing focus dominates the early game, as each team will be looking to gain footing to build their gold reserves and level up their heroes. Once the larger monsters start appearing in the jungle areas, it's time to shift your focus.

Monsters in the jungle, as well as some enemies, offer certain boosts and buffs after they’re defeated on both halves of the map. Once your designated lane has been sufficiently defended, you can move into the jungle areas and try to steal some of these buffs from the opposing side.

Not only does this take away advantages from your opponents, it also allows you to double up on key buffs going into the late-game stage. Keeping your team protected or providing a brief speed boost at a key moment could be vital to victory.This is also the part of the rotation where "ganking" – or stealing the last hit of a big monster from an opponent – comes into play.

For example, if you see an enemy whittling down the health of the Dragon Turtle, bide your time, and then strike when the turtle is close to death in order to steal their buffs and gold.

Journeying into enemy territory for buffs – or to challenge a tower or turret close to an enemy base – may require all team members at the ready, particularly late in the game. So, during the final phase of a rotation, make sure that anyone venturing into the opposing half of the map isn’t going in without support.

Whether it's a Tank positioned to absorb damage or a Support character providing health and buffs, keeping your teammate heroes alive while they try to kickstart the final push of a match is super important. If they can pull off their assigned rotation objectives, the match will get kicked up a notch.

Below are two examples of rotations most commonly used in Mobile Legends. Next time you and your pals jump into a match, keep these in your mind, and you may find your team pulling off victories more often than usual.

The 1-3-1 rotation is when you pick one hero to be the "main" hero, with the rest of the team focused on buffing and building them for the late game. The main hero will take the middle lane with two companions – preferably durable heroes like Supports or Tanks – while the other two team members take the top and bottom lanes.

The 1-2-2 rotation uses a similar strategy as the 1-3-1, only in this case two heroes are designated as the "mains" and the other three work to support them. One hero takes the top lane, while the mid and bottom lanes have two heroes each. Eventually, the top lane hero can break away and roam into the other two lanes, helping their teammates as needed.