Updated on December 4, 1:38 p.m. (GMT+8): Added relevant guides.
The EXP laner, also known as the offlaner or Turtle laner, is one of the five playable roles in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. It is one of the two sidelaners in the game, positioned across the gold laner on the map.
While the gold laner farms and buys items to carry the team in the late game, EXP laners are expected to gain as much experience as possible to level up their abilities so that they can impact the game from the get-go.
This is why heroes played in this role are mostly fighters or tanks who have strong utility abilities and reliable damage skills.
If you’re just getting started as an EXP laner, this ONE Esports guide will let you in on the fundamentals of the role, including your key assignments, how to execute them efficiently, as well as the best heroes to use.
If you want to put your team on a path to success as an EXP laner, the most straightforward approach is to win the laning stage.
It’s worth noting that you’ll spend most of your time going one versus one against your counterpart in the early game. This means that the more control you have over your lane and the enemy hero, the faster and more equipped you are to help your team out.
Unfortunately, there will be times when you will go up against more than one hero, or perhaps your teammates’ focus will be on the other side of the map. Your primary task will then be to hold out and not allow the enemy to down your outer turret.
In this situation, you’ll need to use the bushes to your advantage and be wary of heroes hiding in them.
Manage the lane by allowing the minions to push to your side of the map, while at the same time, position in proximity to the wave so you will not miss out on gold and experience when they are killed.
Controlling the objective area is among your most pivotal tasks as an EXP laner, and your ability in performing this job consistently will determine your team’s chances of winning the game.
To do so, it’s important to always know the position of objectives on the map. Fortunately, the first Turtle always spawns in the pit nearest to your lane which means you have the fastest route to the area than anyone on the team.
Your job is to be the first to position in the area to scout for enemy locations, then attempt to push the enemy jungler away from the objective.
To perform this effectively, ensure that you are already level four. By this time, your ultimate ability will be available for use, be it a crowd-control ability or burst damage skills which are typical for EXP lane heroes.
Communicate with your team consistently about enemy locations. When the opposing team chooses to contest, focus your abilities on the enemy jungler to disable him, inflict damage, or push him away.
Once you have enough levels and available abilities, you hold the power to reshape the dynamics of team fights.
In these encounters, you can be one of two things for your team, or both, depending on your hero pick. First off, you can fashion yourself as a killer EXP laner and unleash substantial damage on the enemy team with your offensive skill kit. In this case, go for an offensive build route to increase your kill potential.
You can also be a utility EXP laner and initiate team fights using crowd control abilities. If this is more of your style, go for utility items that reduce your cooldown and increase your sustainability.
Regardless of which type you go for, what you always need to do is to prioritize who to target based on the enemy team’s composition and the situation.
Generally, the gold laner and mid laner should rank high on your kill list so you can remove the enemy team’s kill threat.
In team fights centered on objectives, focus poking or killing junglers first to take away the enemy team’s ability to contest objectives.
There are also fights initiated through ambush. When the enemy team relies heavily on sustain from a support roamer like Estes or Rafaela, make sure to hunt them down to remove any chance of a counter-engage.
If you’re looking to play as an offensive EXP laner, consider the following heroes:
For heroes with utility skills and crowd-control abilities, the best ones are the following:
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