MLBB Patch 2.1.61: Full S40 Patch Notes Breakdown

MLBB Patch Notes 2.1.61 dropped on March 11, 2026, marking the official start of Season 40 "Decisive Moment." This is not a routine balance pass. Moonton pushed 1 new hero, 28 hero adjustments (19 buffs, 9 nerfs, 21 stat restructures), a full magic item overhaul, and emblem changes that reshape how marksmen and fighters itemize. The mid lane looks fundamentally different starting today.

Here is the full breakdown: what changed, what the numbers mean, and who wins or loses in S40.

#Marcel: New Support Hero Arrives in Patch 2.1.61

Marcel, the Soul Photographer, enters the original server as an agile support with one of the most disruptive ultimates in the game.

The key mechanic: Golden Hour places all units in a target area into Stasis for 3 seconds, making them immune to all damage and regen from anyone except Marcel himself. That includes allies. Misuse this and you lock your own team out of a fight. Use it correctly and you isolate a target for guaranteed execution.

His passive, Platinum Snap, converts Extra HP into Hybrid Defense and makes his Basic Attacks scale off Hybrid Defense instead of Physical Attack. He cannot crit. He cannot benefit from extra Attack Speed. Moonton is forcing a pure support identity here, with no accidental carry builds.

For a deeper look at Marcel's kit and first impressions, see our Marcel skills and build breakdown.

#The Mage Standardization: MLBB Patch 2.1.61 Stat Overhaul

This is where the patch gets ambitious. Moonton normalized base stats across nearly the entire mage roster, pulling outliers toward a narrow band. The target values are clear:

The logic: remove stat-based advantages so hero kits determine viability. In theory, this creates a cleaner metagame where you pick Kagura for her umbrella mechanics, not because she happened to have 4 more Physical Defense Growth than Gord.

In practice, it cuts both ways. Heroes like Yve and Lunox who relied on above-average durability to compensate for positioning demands lose their safety margin. Heroes like Gord and Zhask who were unfairly squishy now get to compete on kit quality alone.

The full stat changes affect 22+ mages. Rather than listing every single one, here are the heroes with the most meaningful shifts.

#Biggest Winners in Patch Notes 2.1.61

Novaria: The Mana Unlock

Novaria sat at 47.8% win rate in Mythic+ last season. Her kit was fine. Her mana costs were not. A max-rank Skill 2 costing 200 mana meant she ran dry after two rotations without blue buff. The reduction to 110 is not a tweak. It is a 45% mana cost cut that doubles her effective uptime.

The Skill 2 Magic Power ratio bump from 70% to 90% translates to roughly +100 extra damage per cast at 500 Magic Power. Combined with the mana freedom, Novaria becomes a genuine poke threat. B-tier floor, A-tier ceiling.

Nana: Molina Hits Different

+100 base damage and +20% Magic Power ratio on Molina Smooch is the kind of buff that changes a hero's role in teamfights. At 500 Magic Power, that is +200 damage per Molina hit. The cooldown reduction to 9 seconds at max rank means Nana can zone every single teamfight, not every other one.

The trade-off: Magic Defense Reduction locked at 30% instead of scaling to 40%. A fair exchange. The raw damage increase more than compensates.

Gord: Late-Game Passive Rework

Gord's passive damage changed from 140 (+60% Magic Power) to 140 + (8 x Hero Level) (+40% Magic Power).

At level 15 with 500 Magic Power, the old passive dealt 440 damage. The new formula: 140 + 120 + 200 = 460 damage. A slight net gain at full build, but the real story is the Skill 1 cooldown drop from 10-7.5s to 8-6s. Gord can now poke more frequently, partially addressing his "stand still and die" problem. Partially.

Phoveus: Scaling Threat

Phoveus becomes significantly scarier in mid-to-late game. A 50% increase in both damage and shield scaling at max level makes him a genuine anti-dash threat throughout the game, not just early.

#Biggest Losers in MLBB Patch 2.1.61

Yve: Gutted Slow, Gutted HP

At level 15, Yve loses roughly 770 HP compared to before. That is nearly a full Concentrated Energy worth of health, gone. Combined with the slow reduction across her entire kit, Yve's territorial control identity takes a direct hit. Mobile assassins like Lancelot and Ling can now walk through her zones with significantly less penalty.

The passive shield buff (50 + 10/lvl + 20% MP to 120 + 10/lvl + 50% MP) softens the blow slightly, but it does not replace 770 HP of raw durability. Expect a 2-3% win rate drop.

Ixia: Sustain and Damage Cut

Ixia loses both lane sustain and trading power. The Skill 1 damage reduction of 50 base and 10% Physical Attack ratio is not subtle. At 300 Physical Attack, that is roughly 80 less damage per cast. Farming also becomes less comfortable with halved base HP regen against minions.

Freya: Ultimate Sustain Halved

Freya's Ultimate HP Regen per Basic Attack drops from 60-120 to 40-80. A 33% reduction at all ranks. For a hero whose survivability in teamfights depends entirely on this mechanic, this cuts deep into her 1v1 and sustain-fight identity.

Odette: Damage Ceiling Lowered

At 500 Magic Power, Odette's Ultimate lost 950 total damage (200 base + 750 from ratio). The community reaction was predictable. "Odette was absolutely butchered," as one Reddit thread put it. Her entire identity is the game-changing Ultimate, and losing 950 damage from it while also losing early shield value pushes her further into niche territory.

#MLBB Patch 2.1.61 Item Changes: Magic Item Overhaul

The item changes are as impactful as the hero adjustments. Moonton restructured the entire magic item economy.

Holy Crystal Nerf: The Big One

20 Magic Power off Holy Crystal is substantial. This item amplifies total Magic Power by 21-35%, so the base reduction cascades through the multiplier. At full build, expect roughly 30-40 less effective Magic Power depending on other items. Every burst mage feels this.

Enchanted Talisman: Identity Shift

Enchanted Talisman gains 25 Magic Power and 50 HP but loses 5% CDR and costs 200 more gold. Pre-patch, it offered 30% CDR with Talent (20% item + 10% talent). Post-patch: 25%. For CDR-reliant mages like Cyclops and Chang'e, this is a meaningful reduction. Moonton is pushing Enchanted Talisman toward a hybrid stat stick rather than a CDR-rush item. Check the full items page for updated values.

Ice Queen Wand: Hidden Buff

IQW lost 15 Magic Power but gained a 2.5x faster stack application (1.0s to 0.4s internal cooldown). For DOT and multi-hit mages like Novaria, Nana, and Aurora, reaching max slow stacks almost instantly makes this a net buff despite the raw stat loss.

Dominance Ice: Range Nerf

Fortress Shield trigger range shrunk from 5 units to 3.5 units. Lifebane range also reduced to 3.5 units. Tank supports now need to stay much closer to targets for the anti-heal to apply. Positioning discipline just became more important for roamers.

#Emblem Changes in Patch 2.1.61

Two emblem changes that shift role optimization:

Fighter Emblem loses 6 Adaptive Attack, a 27% reduction. This directly targets the cross-role abuse where marksmen and mages ran Fighter Emblem for the raw stats. At 16 Adaptive Attack, the emblem is still viable for fighters but far less attractive as a universal choice.

Marksman Emblem swaps Lifesteal for Adaptive Penetration. This is a fundamental identity change. Marksmen lose early sustain but gain damage amplification that scales into late game. The 5% penetration matters most against targets stacking armor, making it a direct buff to marksman relevance against tanks. Visit the emblem calculator to test the new values.

#Battlefield and System Changes

Mid Lane Minion HP Reduced

Ranged minion HP in mid lane: 1,288 to 1,188. A 100 HP reduction that speeds up wave clear for all mid laners. This favors mages with AOE clear (Kagura, Chang'e, Lylia) and reduces the penalty for mages with weaker early wave pressure.

Claude and Yi Sun-shin Fixes

Claude's Ultimate previously missed hits at certain Attack Speed thresholds. Fixed, but Attack Effects reduced from 50% to 40% as compensation. Net result: more consistent damage output, slightly lower per-hit value.

Yi Sun-shin's Enhanced Basic Attacks now benefit from Attack Speed, but his Ultimate Turtle Ship max duration dropped from 15s to 10s. A trade between basic attack DPS and global utility.

Obsidia Attack Speed Scaling Rework

Obsidia's Bone Shard speed scaling changed dramatically. Speed now ranges from 15-45 (up from 18-22) and scales 7.5x faster with Attack Speed (0.75 per 10% AS, up from 0.1). Bone Shard damage dropped from 7% to 6% Total Physical Attack, but Attack Effect inheritance jumped from 70% to 100%. High Attack Speed builds become significantly more rewarding.

Season 40 Start and Ranked Rewards

S39 ended at 21:59:59 on March 10. S40 launched at 00:00:00 on March 11. Ranked rewards include the seasonal skin Chip "Player One" and the S40 Avatar Border "Decisive Moment."

Mayhem Mode Returns

Mayhem mode runs from March 27 to April 22, 2026, featuring super-enhanced skills on select heroes including Freya, Eudora, Granger, Alpha, Layla, Yu Zhong, Cici, Leomord, Belerick, Badang, X.Borg, Nolan, Zetian, Obsidia, and Sora.

#Patch 2.1.61 Verdict: Who Wins S40?

Moonton's intent with Patch 2.1.61 is transparent: flatten the mage stat curve, redistribute power from raw numbers to kit mechanics, and force emblem diversity. Whether the stat homogenization actually produces mid lane diversity or just elevates the heroes who already had the best kits (Kadita at 53% win rate remains untouched, for the record) will become clear within the first two weeks of S40.

For detailed projections on how the S40 mid lane meta shakes out, and to track live win rates as data comes in, check meta stats.

#FAQ

What heroes were buffed in MLBB Patch 2.1.61?

19 heroes received buffs: Aurora, Eudora, Gord, Hilda, Kagura, Luo Yi, Lylia, Nana, Novaria, Phoveus, Vale, Valir, Zhask, and others received varying degrees of stat improvements, mana cost reductions, or cooldown buffs.

When did MLBB Patch 2.1.61 release?

Patch 2.1.61 released on March 11, 2026, coinciding with the start of Season 40 "Decisive Moment" on the original server.

Was Holy Crystal nerfed in Patch 2.1.61?

Yes. Holy Crystal lost 20 Magic Power (185 to 165). Because Holy Crystal's passive multiplies total Magic Power by 21-35%, the effective loss is roughly 30-40 Magic Power at full build, impacting every burst mage.