MOONTON just dropped patch 2.1.78 on the Advanced Server, and if you haven’t been paying attention to the test realm lately, you’re about to get blindsided. Hirara got stripped down to just two skills. Argus switched his entire class identity. And if you scroll back one patch to 2.1.76, Masha turned into a berserker with three health bars, while Marcel lost his crowd control lockdown in exchange for crit-enabled basic attacks.
Every change below matters for your ranked prep. Here’s the full breakdown, hero by hero.
π₯ Hirara: Two Skills, Zero Wasted Buttons
Hirara first appeared on the Advanced Server in patch 2.1.66 as a combo-heavy Assassin with four energy stacks, two base skills, an ultimate, and a mechanic where you’d drag one skill onto another to trigger combo abilities. Cool concept on paper, but too many resources to track for what she delivered in actual fights.
Patch 2.1.78 tears that design apart and rebuilds Hirara’s skills from scratch for 2026.
Her energy cap dropped from 4 to 2. Basic skills no longer cost energy at all. Only combo skills consume one stack now. The immobilize effect from stacking Crimson and Death marks? Gone. Energy recovery time now mirrors Skill 1’s cooldown, so you always know when your next combo is ready.
| Change | Before (2.1.66) | After (2.1.78) |
| Energy Cap | 4 stacks | 2 stacks |
| Basic Skill Cost | 1 energy | Free |
| Combo Skill Cost | 2 energy | 1 energy |
| Dual Mark Immobilize | Yes (0.8s) | Removed |
| Energy Recovery | Fixed timer, interrupted by casts | Tied to Skill 1 cooldown |
| Skill Count | 2 skills + Ultimate | 2 skills only |
The devs also swapped her Skill 1 and Skill 2 positions and adjusted their cooldowns. Skill 1 now dashes in the joystick’s direction and spins to deal damage with immobilize. Skill 2 makes Hirara untargetable and unable to move, then deals massive damage after a short delay before letting her dash out.
Upgrading Skill 2 increases damage. Upgrading Skill 1 reduces cooldown. Two levers. Clean decision-making every time you level up.
What You Should Do About It
Old Hirara asked you to manage four energy stacks, track two mark types, and figure out which drag direction gave you which combo. New Hirara asks you to pick the right moment, burn your combo, and get out. She plays closer to Ling or Lancelot now, where the skill expression comes from spacing and timing rather than resource juggling.
If you tried Hirara early and bounced off because the D-pad-to-joystick targeting felt clunky, give her another shot. MOONTON clearly listened to that feedback. She’s still expected to launch on the original server around June 2026, and this rework suggests the devs found the version they’re comfortable shipping.
βοΈ MLBB Argus Rework in May 2026: From Assassin to Fighter With Auto-Cast Ultimate
Argus has been floating around the bottom of everyone’s priority list for a while now. Decent concept, underwhelming numbers, and an ultimate that required you to predict incoming burst before it actually hit. Patch 2.1.78 changes his classification from Assassin to Fighter and gives him tools that match the new identity.
Demonic Slash now provides longer attack range than normal basic attacks and lets Argus dash a short distance. Think of it as a mini-gap closer baked into his basic trading pattern. You poke, you reposition, you stay on top of targets without burning your full engage.
The biggest shift is in his Ultimate. If Argus takes fatal damage while his ult is off cooldown, it casts automatically. No button press. No reaction time required. You eat the lethal hit, the immortality kicks in, and you keep swinging.
| Ability | Old Effect | New Effect |
| Demonic Slash | Standard range | Extended range + short dash |
| Ultimate | Manual activation | Auto-casts on fatal damage (when off CD) |
| Class | Assassin | Fighter |
| Malice Energy Cap | Previous value | 200 |
Why Auto-Cast Ultimate Matters
Old Argus rewarded prediction. You needed to pop the ult before the burst landed, which meant good players could bait it out and punish the cooldown. New Argus punishes all-in divers who expect to burst him down. If you commit to the kill and his ult is up, he’s coming back swinging.
In EXP lane matchups, this turns Argus into a strong counter against burst-heavy fighters like Paquito or Chou. They blow their combo, Argus survives, and now they’re stuck in melee range against someone who just got a free lifeline. The early-to-mid game power curve buff means he won’t be a sitting duck during laning phase either.
Start practicing Argus in Classic now if you want to be ready. Auto-cast death immunity on a Fighter with enhanced basic attack range is the kind of kit that forces bans once people figure it out.
π» Masha Rework (Patch 2.1.76): The Berserker With Three Health Bars
One patch before 2.1.78, MOONTON shipped a full rework for Masha in patch 2.1.76. The old Masha was a split-push specialist who melted towers and ran away. The new Masha is a sustain berserker built for extended team fights, and she plays very differently.
Her core identity stays the same: 3 HP bars, only dying when the last one is depleted. The new part is Fury. Masha gains Fury when dealing damage to heroes or jungle creeps, and that Fury converts to HP when she’s out of combat. Hit things, heal up, go hit more things.
When Masha breaks 3 Wounds consecutively on an enemy (each attack counts as breaking a Wound), she enters Feral state and gains massive Resilience, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed. This is the berserker payoff. You stick to a target, stack your damage, and run them down with boosted stats.
Her updated skill set:
- Skill 1 releases energy forward, dealing Physical Damage in a line and slowing enemy heroes.
- Skill 2 dashes in the target direction and enhances the next basic attack with a shockwave. Each hit reduces the target’s Physical Defense by 5%, stacking up to 8 times. (The Physical Defense reduction moved here from Skill 1 for easier application.)
- Ultimate charges at a target hero, dealing Physical Damage, stunning them, and knocking back nearby enemies.
The damage bonus formula shifted to 20% Total Physical Attack + 1.3% Max HP, and it can no longer crit. Less burst, more grinding power. Combined with the Fury-to-HP conversion, Masha wins through attrition now.
Patch 2.1.78 Follow-Up
The devs reverted some of 2.1.76’s tuning in patch 2.1.78 to improve Masha’s early-to-mid game and lane-clearing strength. She’s still a work in progress on the Advanced Server, so expect more tweaks before she hits live. If you’re a Masha main, start learning the Fury stacking rhythm now. The gameplay loop is completely different from old Masha.
πΈ Marcel Adjustments (Patch 2.1.76): Less Lockdown, More Brawling
Marcel landed on the original server in patch 2.1.61 as a Support with heavy crowd control. His Passive snapped photos that immobilized enemies, his skills slowed and froze, and his Ultimate dropped a 3-second Stasis on an entire area. Facing a good Marcel in ranked felt oppressive because he could chain CC without letting you move.
MLBB patch 2.1.76 on the Advanced Server targets that exact frustration.
| Change | Before | After |
| Basic Attack Crit | Cannot crit | Can now crit |
| Attack Speed Bonus | Cannot benefit | Partially benefits |
| Platinum Snap CD reduction | Basic Attacks reduce CD by 1s | Removed |
| Passive Immobilize | Yes | Removed |
| Out-of-Combat Regen | Standard | 300% HP Regen |
The devs want to reduce the misery of facing Marcel’s stacked CC while giving him room to express individual skill. Removing the immobilize from his Passive is the big one. Marcel can still slow, still use his Ultimate’s Stasis, but the days of being perma-locked by a support hero’s auto-targeting Passive are over.
The trade-off? Marcel’s basic attacks can now crit and benefit from bonus Attack Speed. This opens up builds that lean into offensive support rather than pure tankiness. Combined with the 300% HP Regen when out of combat, Marcel becomes a roaming brawler who picks fights, backs off to regenerate, and comes back for more.
π§ Your Ranked Prep Checklist
Four heroes, four significant redesigns, and a clear pattern from MOONTON: simplify overloaded kits and push heroes toward clearer identities.
Hirara went from a 4-energy combo puzzle to a 2-skill burst Assassin. Argus stopped pretending to be an Assassin and became the sustain Fighter he always wanted to be. Masha traded split-push for sustained brawling. Marcel swapped perma-CC for damage potential.
None of these changes are on the original server yet. Advanced Server patches go through multiple iterations before they ship, and MOONTON already reverted Masha’s tuning once. But the design direction is consistent.
Here’s what to do right now: if Argus ships with the auto-cast ultimate intact, learn his EXP lane matchups. If Hirara keeps her streamlined two-skill kit, she’ll be day-one pick-or-ban when she launches. Masha mains need to practice the Fury stacking loop in Classic. And if you’ve been abusing Marcel’s CC chains in ranked, enjoy it while it lasts.
