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Season 40 launched on March 11, 2026 alongside Patch 2.1.61, and the MLBB tier list S40 looks meaningfully different from where S39 ended. The mid lane received a sweeping mage rebalance, Ixia took nerfs to her early-game dominance, Freya's ultimate sustain was cut, and Gloo got touched again. Meanwhile, Novaria, Nana, and Vale climbed the mage rankings, and Saber quietly re-entered the jungle conversation with a reworked cooldown on Skill 1. This article covers all five roles. Tier placements reflect Mythic rank performance.
#Tier System
| Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| S | Priority pick or ban every draft. Broken or close to it. |
| A | Strong in most drafts. No major counters at Mythic. |
| B | Viable. Requires matchup knowledge or team comp support. |
| C | Niche. Works with a one-trick or perfect conditions. |
| D | Avoid in ranked unless you have a very specific reason. |
Data is cross-referenced against Patch 2.1.61 notes, GosuGamers Mythic rank statistics (February 2026 snapshot), mlbb.io hero statistics, and in-client data. For live win rate and ban rate tracking, check the MLBB stats dashboard.
#Roamer Tier List (S40)
Mathilda and Diggie continue to anchor the roamer pool. Mathilda's mobility provides reliable engage and disengage regardless of team composition, while Diggie's anti-CC ultimate remains one of the most draft-warping tools in the game. Floryn stays A-tier: she wins lane utility checks but falls behind the S-tier duo when the draft punishes passive roamers.
Chip remains strong at A-tier despite not receiving adjustments this patch. Kaja and Minotaur round out A-tier. Franco holds B, his hook is still a single-point-of-failure mechanic that Mythic players routinely dodge. Grock dropped to B after his passive contribution felt the ripple effects of tank item adjustments from earlier patches.
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| S | Mathilda, Diggie |
| A | Floryn, Chip, Kaja, Minotaur, Tigreal |
| B | Grock, Franco, Angela, Lolita, Khufra |
| C | Carmilla, Johnson, Akai, Hylos |
| D | Bane, Uranus (roam), Atlas |
Biggest mover: Chip. Entered A-tier and has stayed there. His crowd-control setup is consistent enough to draft in almost any composition, and Mythic players have figured out his zone-denial patterns well enough to make him a genuine threat.
Moonton watch: Angela at B-tier is a quiet indictment. A pure tether support with zero engage in a meta that rewards proactive roamers. Her win rate reflects it.
#Jungle Tier List (S40)
Hayabusa keeps his S-tier seat. His 1v1 pressure, split-push threat, and objective control remain the best package in the jungle role. Helcurt is the other S-tier occupant, a rare combo of wave denial, burst damage, and global silence that Mythic players ban or pick every game.
Saber enters A-tier specifically because of the Patch 2.1.61 Skill 1 cooldown reduction (1s down to 0.5s). That change tightens his combo window and makes rotations noticeably faster. Whether it's enough to push him into S is the question for the first two weeks of S40. Aamon, Julian, and Yi Sun-shin (despite a duration cut on his ultimate) stay in A.
Ling and Fanny sit at A-tier for mechanical one-tricks. Both are rated on the ceiling of their player pool, not the average. Joy holds A. Lancelot dropped to B after falling out of pro and Mythic draft priority in S39's second half.
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| S | Hayabusa, Helcurt |
| A | Saber, Aamon, Julian, Yi Sun-shin, Joy, Ling, Fanny |
| B | Lancelot, Nolan, Martis, Benedetta (jg), Hanzo |
| C | Natalia, Selena (jg), Gusion |
| D | Zilong, Alpha, Clint (jg) |
Biggest mover: Saber. The cooldown cut is the kind of small number change that looks minor in patch notes and feels major in-game. Track his Mythic win rate over the next two weeks, if it clears 52%, he's knocking on S-tier.
Phoveus note: Some players run him jungle. He belongs in EXP lane. Don't.
#Mid Lane Tier List (S40)
Patch 2.1.61's mass mage rebalance reshuffled this role more than any other. The intent, per Moonton, was to flatten power differences so the lane isn't decided by two or three heroes every draft. In practice, they nerfed Pharsa harder than most, gave meaningful buffs to Novaria, Nana, Vale, Luo Yi, and Aurora, and left a few mid-tier mages untouched.
Our MLBB S40 mid lane mage tier list covers the earlier patch 2.1.56 mage shakeup in detail. The 2.1.61 layer on top of it moves Novaria and Nana up, pushes Pharsa down.
Zetian and Zhuxin remain at the top. Zetian's consistent ban rate at Mythic is the most honest indicator of her power level. Valentina stays S-tier because she absorbs the meta around her, whoever is broken, Valentina copies. That's not a design coincidence, it's why she's been S-tier for three consecutive seasons.
Kagura is the complicated one. Her ultimate damage dropped (105% to 90%, skill damage 170% to 155%), but Moonton simultaneously buffed her early-game output. The net result: she is slightly weaker at peak but more functional in the laning phase. A-tier is the right call, not the demotion some are pushing.
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| S | Zetian, Zhuxin, Valentina |
| A | Novaria, Nana, Kagura, Luo Yi, Vale, Aurora, Lylia |
| B | Yve, Kadita, Xavier, Cecilion, Gord, Eudora |
| C | Pharsa, Odette, Chang'e, Cyclops |
| D | Vexana, Lunox (current meta), Harith |
Biggest mover: Novaria. She received the most substantial buff package of any mage this patch. Improved skill effects, reduced mana costs, and better damage scaling put her firmly in A-tier. She was D-tier as recently as late S39 in some Mythic+ samples. One patch, full turnaround. That's how compressed the mage bracket is.
Pharsa note: Her early burst and cooldowns were nerfed specifically because she was too oppressive in the first three minutes. She's still functional past level 4, but she no longer wins laning against aggressive matchups the way she did in S39. C-tier is accurate.
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#EXP Lane Tier List (S40)
Freya is S-tier, and the Patch 2.1.61 nerf to her ultimate HP regeneration does not move the needle enough to drop her. Her revamped kit from earlier in S40 is still fundamentally overtuned relative to the EXP lane pool. 52.79% win rate at Mythic with a 62.52% ban rate tells you everything. If she's not banned, she wins most trades, and Mythic players know it.
Sora, Phoveus, and Arlott round out S-tier. Phoveus punishes the mobility-heavy meta without needing a specific draft condition, which is exactly why he's stayed relevant across multiple patches. Gloo drops slightly this patch due to a passive damage reduction. He's still A-tier, not falling off the map.
Lukas enters A-tier as a carry EXP option. His damage output in extended fights is high enough to warrant drafting over comfort picks like Terizla, though Terizla remains B-tier and perfectly functional in coordinated play. Yu Zhong and Lapu-Lapu hold A.
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| S | Freya, Sora, Phoveus, Arlott |
| A | Gloo, Lukas, Yu Zhong, Lapu-Lapu, Cici, X.Borg, Chou |
| B | Terizla, Ruby, Dyrroth, Guinevere, Khaleed, Fredrinn (exp) |
| C | Thamuz, Badang, Masha, Silvanna |
| D | Aldous, Alpha, Argus |
Biggest mover: Gloo drops from S to A. The passive damage reduction is numerically modest, but his value in EXP lane depended on punishing trades. The margin was thin enough that one nerf moves him down a tier.
#Gold Lane Tier List (S40)
Ixia was the dominant gold laner entering S40, and she took direct nerfs: Skill 1 damage reduced, area damage reduced, ultimate delay added. 2.1.61 formally ends her two-patch stranglehold on the gold lane meta. She drops from S to A, and the lane opens up.
The beneficiaries are Wanwan and Irithel, both of whom hold S-tier. Wanwan's mobility-based DPS remains unmatched in the gold lane when played correctly, and Irithel's sustained area damage profile was always held back by Ixia's dominance in the pick/ban phase. With Ixia less threatening, Irithel gets drafted more and performs. Melissa and Obsidia also sit in A-tier. Beatrix holds A, she rewards specific matchup knowledge but remains one of the higher-ceiling options in coordinated drafts.
Moskov is B-tier. For a full breakdown of his kit and usage, see the Moskov build guide 2026.
| Tier | Hero |
|---|---|
| S | Wanwan, Irithel |
| A | Ixia, Melissa, Obsidia, Beatrix, Natan, Kimmy |
| B | Moskov, Bruno, Brody, Clint, Granger |
| C | Karrie, Roger (gold), Lesley |
| D | Miya, Layla, Hanabi |
Biggest mover: Irithel. The Ixia nerfs effectively unban her from the draft phase. She's been A-tier talent stuck in B-tier visibility for two patches. With Ixia cooling off, expect Irithel's pick rate to jump in the first two weeks of S40.
#S40 Meta Summary
| Role | S-Tier | Biggest Winner | Biggest Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roamer | Mathilda, Diggie | Chip | Angela |
| Jungle | Hayabusa, Helcurt | Saber | Lancelot |
| Mid Lane | Zetian, Zhuxin, Valentina | Novaria | Pharsa |
| EXP Lane | Freya, Sora, Phoveus, Arlott | Lukas | Gloo |
| Gold Lane | Wanwan, Irithel | Irithel | Ixia |
The S40 meta is more open than S39. The mage rebalance accomplished its goal of widening the mid lane draft pool, even if it took a sledgehammer to Pharsa in the process. Gold lane is the most interesting lane to watch over the next month. Ixia's nerfs created a genuine gap at the top that three or four heroes can credibly fill.
For live hero data including updated win rates, ban rates, and pick rates across all rank tiers, use the MLBB stats page and the tier list tool, which pulls from ranked match data directly.
This tier list will be updated when Patch 2.1.62 hits the original server. For advanced server changes already in testing, see the Patch 2.1.62 advanced server breakdown.
