Season 41 landed a mid-season revision that reshuffled who wins games in the Land of Dawn. Patch 2.1.90 pulled the tank junglers back down, poured extra gold into the jungle, and quietly revived a handful of fighters and assassins that had been sitting on the bench. The result is a faster, snowballier meta where early leads stick and damage cores decide fights before the ten-minute mark.
Quick answer: Gloo is the strongest single pick right now (roughly a 55% win rate at the top of the charts). If you want the fastest climb, learn Gloo in Roam, Melissa in Gold Lane, and Hayabusa in the jungle.
What Patch 2.1.90 changed
The update went live on July 8, 2026. It is a targeted revision rather than a full overhaul, but the changes moved the ranked ladder in a big way. The jungle went back to damage dealers, side lanes gained weight, and farming got quicker for everyone.
| Change | Heroes affected | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tank jungle nerfs | Baxia, Fredrinn, Akai | Lost clear speed and damage after dominating the prior patch |
| Buffs to off-meta picks | Esmeralda, Nolan, Aulus, Minsitthar, Argus | Pushed back into contention in the jungle and side lanes |
| Skill trim | Zhuxin | Reduced Skill 2 cast range, a small clip to a dominant mage |
| Economy | All junglers | Higher early-game jungle gold, so cores spike faster |
| Targeted buff and fix | Melissa, Atlas | Melissa got a Mythical Honor buff; Atlas had his Skill 1 cooldown bug fixed |
In plain terms, the slow tank-jungle era is over. Games run faster, damage assassins reclaim the jungle, and fighters that outlast opponents one-on-one now rule the EXP lane.
Best Gold Lane marksmen
Marksmen scale into the late game and win Lord fights, but this patch is dive-heavy, so carries that protect themselves matter more than greedy hyper-carries who need babysitting.
| Tier | Marksmen |
|---|---|
| S | Melissa, Karrie, Hanabi, Kimmy |
| A | Claude, Beatrix, Brody, Ixia, Moskov |
| B | Bruno, Clint, Wanwan, Irithel, Roger, Layla |
Melissa jumped to the top after her Mythical Honor buff. She peels for herself against assassins, which is exactly what a lone marksman needs in solo queue. Karrie shreds tanks with true damage, so she answers the bulky frontlines that survived the nerfs. Hanabi stays elite thanks to her crowd-control immunity and steady team-fight output. Claude is still strong, but his early ultimate damage got trimmed, so he now sits just below the top group.
Best Mid Lane mages
Mages control space and clear waves quickly. The best of them rotate to the side lanes after clearing and swing team fights with zone control or burst.
| Tier | Mages |
|---|---|
| S | Gord, Zhuxin, Harley, Yve |
| A | Lylia, Novaria, Valentina, Kadita, Aurora |
| B | Eudora, Cyclops, Valir, Pharsa, Lunox, Cecilion, Xavier |
Gord is the low-effort, high-reward pick. His poke and huge team-fight damage punish bad positioning without demanding perfect aim. Zhuxin lost a little Skill 2 range this patch, but her ability to trap enemies and float them still keeps her dominant, and she pairs brutally with an Execute item. Harley deserves respect too, since his burst deletes squishies with almost no counterplay, which keeps him among the most-banned heroes right now.
Best EXP Lane fighters
The EXP lane turned into a war of attrition. Sustain fighters now outlast almost anything in a one-on-one, so bring anti-heal or a hard-CC counter when you draft against them.
| Tier | Fighters |
|---|---|
| S | Esmeralda, Masha, Sora, Paquito, Argus |
| A | Yu Zhong, Minsitthar, Ruby, Khaleed, Fredrinn |
| B | Balmond, Chou, Terizla, Phoveus, Thamuz, Silvanna, Dyrroth, Cici |
Esmeralda walked away the biggest winner. The buff handed back her shield-eating, sustain-first style, and now you struggle to put her down in a straight duel. Masha is a different headache with three health bars and nonstop side-lane pressure. Sora rounds out the top with real flexibility, switching between a burst Thunder form and a tanky Torrent form, though his nine abilities carry a steep learning curve. Minsitthar flies under the radar, but his ultimate shuts down dash-heavy heroes completely, so save him for teams stacked with mobility.
Best Jungle assassins
The jungle flipped. Higher early gold plus the tank nerfs handed the role back to damage assassins that farm fast and snowball leads into map pressure.
| Tier | Junglers |
|---|---|
| S | Hayabusa, Paquito, Yi Sun-shin, Julian, Nolan, Aulus |
| A | Lancelot, Ling, Fanny, Joy, Suyou, Gusion, Karina, Harith |
| B | Baxia, Akai, Fredrinn, Alucard, Saber, Natalia, Helcurt, Zilong |
Hayabusa is the safest, highest-ceiling jungler for solo queue. His shadow teleports let him reposition or escape, and his untargetable ultimate deletes a big chunk of an enemy’s HP while they panic. Nolan and Aulus both got buffed and now feast on the faster jungle gold. Yi Sun-shin is back after months on the sidelines thanks to his revamped ultimate, which now lets him ram a ship into enemies for a stun and AoE damage; just be ready to practice, because his skill ceiling is high. Take note that Baxia, Akai, and Fredrinn are still listed here, but the nerfs pushed all three down the board.
Best Roam tanks and supports
Roamers define this patch. Durable frontlines and healing supports anchor the front-to-back fights that decide games, and learning to roam well swings matches on its own.
| Tier | Tanks and supports |
|---|---|
| S | Gloo, Atlas, Minotaur, Marcel, Estes, Floryn, Rafaela, Belerick |
| A | Tigreal, Mathilda, Angela, Chip, Khufra, Franco, Hylos |
| B | Johnson, Lolita, Diggie, Grock, Gatotkaca, Carmilla, Kaja |
Gloo tops not just the roam list but the whole game. He latches onto the enemy carry, refuses to die, and drags every fight out in your favor. Atlas returned to form now that the patch fixed his Skill 1 cooldown bug. Marcel, the newest support, freezes an entire zone with his ultimate, halting units and even enemy projectiles, which keeps him one of the most contested picks in the draft. Estes and Floryn keep the healing supports strong, which forces the enemy to build anti-heal or lose the long fights.
Heroes to ban first
The ban phase tells the clearest story this patch. These heroes get removed most often in high-rank queues.
| Hero | Role | Why the ban |
|---|---|---|
| Marcel | Support | Zone-freezing ultimate that flips team fights |
| Gloo | Roam | Sticky, nearly unkillable, and the strongest hero overall |
| Harley | Mid / Assassin | High burst that deletes squishies with little counterplay |
| Estes | Support | Relentless global healing that drags fights into attrition |
| Sora | EXP / Flex | Flexible transform kit with strong team-fight control |
Tip: do not always ban the strongest hero. Banning an enemy one-trick often matters more, since a dedicated Fanny or Ling player can hurt you more than a generic S-tier pick anyone can grab.
Fastest heroes to climb with
If you just want ladder gains this month, prioritize heroes that are both strong and forgiving. These five carry games without perfect teammates.
- Gloo (Roam) — hard to kill and impactful even when behind. The safest pick in the game.
- Melissa (Gold Lane) — self-peels against divers and carries games solo after her buff.
- Hayabusa (Jungle) — reliable snowball with a built-in escape.
- Esmeralda (EXP Lane) — buffed sustain makes her nearly unlosable one-on-one.
- Gord (Mid Lane) — massive damage with a low skill floor.
One build note for the current meta: pack anti-heal somewhere in your team. With Esmeralda, Masha, Argus, and Floryn everywhere, at least one core should run Sea Halberd for physical damage or Necklace of Durance for magic, and tanks can grab Dominance Ice for the aura and armor.
How these ranks were decided
Placements weigh current-patch win rate and fight impact most heavily, then carry potential, ease of use in solo and duo queue, and draft flexibility across lanes. The rankings target the Original Server from Epic up to Mythic, so heroes that carry without a coordinated five-man are favored over picks that only work in perfect team comps.
These tiers reflect Patch 2.1.90 during Season 41. Moonton refreshes the meta with every balance update, so expect the board to shift again the next time a new hero or patch arrives. Treat a tier as a starting point, then lean into the heroes that fit your role and playstyle before you commit to grinding one out.
