MLBB Core
Ling splash art
Assassin

Ling

Assassin rated 60 physical offense, 50 durability, 70 difficulty in Moonton's in-game data, built around the passive Cloud Walker.

Ling is a highly agile Assassin hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang who excels at high-mobility combat, burst damage, and strategic map presence. Known as the "Cyan Finch," Ling's unique wall-hopping mechanics and invincibility make him a formidable threat capable of diving backlines, eliminating key targets, and escaping danger with unparalleled grace. Mastering his complex Lightness Point management and precise skill execution is key to unlocking his full potential and becoming an unstoppable force on the battlefield.

Offense — Physical60
Offense — Magical30
Durability50
Difficulty70

Build guide Matchups & counters

Skills, ratings and recommended gear on this page are read directly from Moonton's official in-game hero data for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang — not scraped from another fan site, and nothing is invented to fill a gap. Data retrieved .

Written by EllieAnth — playing MLBB since 2017 (9+ years), peak rank Mythical Immortal, 1126 stars.

Assessment

Strengths & weaknesses

Ling's distinct playstyle comes with clear advantages and disadvantages that shape how he performs in battle.

  • Exceptional Mobility: Ling's signature ability to leap between walls grants him unmatched map traversal and ganking potential. This allows him to initiate fights from unexpected angles, chase down fleeing enemies, and quickly disengage from unfavorable situations.
  • High Burst Damage: With the right itemization and skill execution, Ling can unleash devastating critical strikes and skill combos that can swiftly eliminate squishy enemy heroes, making him a potent threat to Marksmen and Mages.
  • Temporary Invincibility: His ultimate skill provides a brief but crucial window of invincibility, allowing him to dodge critical crowd control or burst damage, turning the tide of a team fight or ensuring his survival during a risky dive.
  • High Skill Ceiling: Ling is one of the most difficult heroes to master, requiring precise timing, excellent map awareness, and efficient Lightness Point management. Players must invest significant practice to truly excel with him.
  • Vulnerable to Crowd Control: While his ultimate offers invincibility, Ling is otherwise susceptible to crowd control, especially when he lands on the ground or is caught off a wall. Being stunned or suppressed can quickly lead to his demise.
  • Resource Dependent: Ling's mobility and damage are heavily reliant on his Lightness Points. If he runs out of this resource, he becomes significantly less effective and vulnerable, requiring careful management to maintain his presence.

Kit

Skills

Passive

Cloud Walker

Ling's superb Lightness Skill allows him to leap among walls. He gains 4 extra Lightness Points per second when he's on a wall and 5 extra Lightness Points each time he deals damage.
Ling gains 1.5 times Crit Chance from all sources but only has 150% Crit Damage.

Ling's superb lightness skill helps him leap from wall to wall to chase enemies. When resting on the wall, Ling restores extra Lightness Points per second. Every time Ling deals damage to enemies, he restores extra Lightness Points. Ling’s lightness skill grants him Crit Chance, but decreases his Crit Damage.<br><br>The Crit Chance of Ling’s Passive Skill grants him the possibility of dealing Burst DMG in Early Game. With proper equipment and emblems, the Crit Chance could greatly increase the burst DMG he deals.

Skill 1

Finch Poise

Passive: Ling’s Critical Chance is permanently increased by 2.5%.
Active: Ling casts his Lightness Skill, leaping onto the designated wall, entering half-stealth state, restoring Lightness Points more quickly and gaining 30% Movement Speed. If Ling receives damage, he will leave the half-stealth state. If he is controlled, he will fall onto the ground and be slowed by 30% for 2s. When using this skill to jump from a wall to another, it will reset the Cooldown and refresh the half-stealth state.

Passive: Ling permanently increases the Crit Chance. His Crit Chance will be improved after 1st Skill levels up.<br> <br>Active: Ling casts his Qinggong (lightness skill), leaping to the designated wall, entering camouflage state and restoring Lightness Points more quickly. When Ling receives damage, he will end the camouflaged state. If he is controlled, he will fall onto the ground. When using this skill to jump from a wall to another, it will reset the CD and refresh the Camouflage State.<br><br>Ling could quickly leap from wall to wall and could move to anywhere at the battlefield. He could escape from the danger quickly.

Skill 2

Defiant Sword

Ling charges in the target direction and stabs nearby enemies, dealing them 250 (+33% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage.
If Ling casts this skill when he's on the wall, he'll dash to the target location on the ground, dealing 250 (+33% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies in the area and slowing them by 30% for 1.5s. If this attack Crits, the enemies will be slowed by an extra 45% for 0.75s.
Defiant Sword is regarded as Basic Attack, can trigger attack effects, and restores 35 HP for Ling each time it hits an enemy.

  • 250 + 33% Total Physical Attack Physical
  • 250 + 33% Total Physical Attack Physical

Ling charges in a designated direction and stabs the nearby enemies at his destination. If Ling casts this skill when he is on the wall, he will dash to a designated spot on the ground, dealing Damage to enemies within a small area and slowing them down. If this attack deals Crit damage, enemies within the area will extra be slowed.<br><br>"Defiant Sword" can trigger ATK Effects as Basic Attack and can restore HP for Ling each time he hits an enemy.<br><br><br>This is Ling's main DMG skill, which could deal Critical Damage and trigger ATK Effect. Use it wisely and Ling could deal massive burst damage.

Ultimate

Tempest of Blades

Ling leaps into the air, becoming invincible and gaining 10% extra Movement Speed for 1.5s. He ignores obstacles when in the air. He then lands on the ground, dealing 250 (+100% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies in the area, knocking those in the center airborne for 1s, and creating a Sword Field for 8s.
Four Tempest of Blades will also appear on the edge of the Sword Field. Ling can touch them to reduce the cooldown of Finch Poise by 4s, reset the cooldown of Defiant Sword, and gain 25 Lightness points.

  • 250 + 100% Total Physical Attack Physical

Ling leaps up and casts his superb sword skill for 1.5s, during which he becomes invincible and can move freely, dealing Damage to enemies within the area of effect, knocking the central enemy into the air, and generating a Sword Field. At the edge of the Sword Field, there will be 4 field eyes “Tempest of Blades". By touching the field eye, Ling can reset the CD of "Defiant Sword" and restore Lightness Points.<br><br>Choosing the right timing to activate this skill can dramatically help Ling to dodge massive DMG. Ling can get CC if he hits enemies with the core of the skill. By touching the field eye, Ling can reset "Defiant Sword" and restore Lightness Points and deal burst damage.

Items

Berserker's Fury

Unique Passive - Doom: Critical strikes grant 5% extra Physical Attack for 2s.

Flame Hunter's Magic Boots

Unique Passive - Hunter: After dealing damage to a Creep, deal 25 + True Damage to the target over 3s (damage is increased by 100% for non-Marksmen heroes).

Windtalker

Unique Passive - Typhoon: Every 5-2s (reduced by 0.2s for each Basic Attack), the next Basic Attack will hit up to 3 enemy units for 150-362 Magic Damage. (This attack can Crit and the damage increases to 200% against Minions.)

Endless Battle

Unique Passive - Divine Justice: After casting a skill, the next Basic Attack within 3s deals 60% Physical Attack as extra True Damage (1.5s cooldown).

Blade of Despair

Unique Passive - Despair: Dealing damage to non-Minion enemies below 50% HP increases Physical Attack by 25% for 2s (takes effect before the damage is dealt).

Immortality

Unique Passive - Immortal: Revives 2.5s after death, gaining 16% Max HP and a 220-1200 shield (scales with level) that lasts 3s (210s cooldown).

Read the full Ling build guide — item order, why each item earns its slot, and how to adapt it

Matchups

Counters

Best ally

Angela

Angela, Minotaur

Counters

Diggie

Diggie, Terizla, Kaja

Countered by

Gord

Gord, Kimmy, Odette

Understanding Ling's matchups can give you a significant edge in battle, allowing you to identify allies that amplify his strengths and enemies that exploit his weaknesses.

  • Best Mate: Angela - Angela is an excellent companion for Ling. Her ultimate allows her to attach to Ling, providing him with a shield, movement speed, and additional crowd control or damage. This synergy enables Ling to dive deeper into enemy lines, survive sustained damage, and secure kills more reliably, making him even more formidable.
  • Counters Ling: Diggie - Diggie poses a significant threat to Ling. His ultimate grants CC immunity to his allies, completely negating Ling's crowd control from Tempest of Blades and making it harder for Ling to lock down targets. Additionally, Diggie's bombs can zone Ling off walls or punish him when he lands, making it difficult for Ling to engage or disengage safely.
  • Ling Counters: Gord - Ling excels against immobile mages like Gord. Gord relies heavily on skillshots and has no inherent mobility or escape tools. Ling's high mobility with Finch Poise allows him to easily dodge Gord's slow-moving abilities and close the distance. Once Ling gets on top of Gord, his burst damage and the invincibility from Tempest of Blades make it very difficult for Gord to retaliate or escape.

See every Ling matchup explained — who counters Ling, who Ling beats, and how to play each one

In practice

A practical scenario

Imagine you're on a wall near the enemy's mid-lane, scouting for an opportunity to gank. The enemy Mage, currently pushing forward, is slightly out of position. You have a full bar of Lightness Points. First, use Finch Poise to leap onto the wall closest to your target, ensuring you maintain your half-stealth and quickly regenerate Lightness Points. Once in position, target the enemy Mage with Defiant Sword, dashing off the wall directly onto them. This applies physical damage and a significant slow, making it difficult for them to escape. Immediately follow up with basic attacks, leveraging the critical chance from Cloud Walker and Finch Poise, and the True Damage from Endless Battle. If the enemy attempts to retaliate with burst damage or crowd control, activate Tempest of Blades. This makes you invincible for 1.5 seconds, dodging their abilities, while dealing further physical damage and knocking them airborne. As the Sword Field appears, quickly collect the four "Tempest of Blades" around its edge. This resets your Defiant Sword cooldown and grants Lightness Points, allowing you to cast Defiant Sword again for another burst of damage and potentially secure the kill, or use Finch Poise to retreat back to a wall if needed.

Summary

Key takeaways

  1. Master Lightness Point Management: Continuously use Finch Poise on walls to regenerate Lightness Points and maintain high mobility, ensuring you always have resources for engages and escapes.
  2. Prioritize Critical and Physical Attack Items: Build items like Berserker's Fury, Windtalker, and Blade of Despair to maximize Ling's inherent critical strike chance and physical damage scaling, enabling devastating burst.
  3. Utilize Tempest of Blades Defensively and Offensively: Time your ultimate's invincibility to dodge crucial crowd control or burst, and always collect the swords in the Sword Field to reset Defiant Sword for extended damage and Lightness Point replenishment.
  4. Gank from Unexpected Angles: Leverage Ling's wall-hopping ability to initiate fights from positions enemies don't anticipate, catching them off guard and securing early advantages for your team.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How does Ling's passive, Cloud Walker, affect his item build?

Cloud Walker grants Ling 1.5 times Crit Chance from all sources, but reduces his Crit Damage to 150%. This means building critical strike chance items like Berserker's Fury and Windtalker is highly effective for him, as he gains more crit rate than other heroes. However, because his crit damage is lower, balancing crit with raw Physical Attack from items like Blade of Despair is crucial to maximize his overall burst.

When should I use Ling's ultimate, Tempest of Blades?

Tempest of Blades is versatile. You can use it offensively to initiate a fight, dealing damage and knocking up enemies in the center, especially squishy targets. Defensively, its 1.5 seconds of invincibility allows you to dodge powerful crowd control, high burst damage, or even tower shots, saving your life or turning the tide of a skirmish. Always aim to collect the four 'Tempest of Blades' to reset your Defiant Sword cooldown and gain Lightness Points for continued combat.

What is the best way to manage Ling's Lightness Points?

Lightness Points are Ling's core resource. The best way to manage them is by constantly utilizing walls with Finch Poise, as he regenerates 4 extra Lightness Points per second while on a wall. Additionally, every time Ling deals damage, he restores 5 Lightness Points, encouraging aggressive play. Ensure you have enough points for your full combo and an escape route before committing to an engagement.

Which items are essential for Ling's early game power spike?

For an early game power spike, Flame Hunter's Magic Boots are crucial for faster jungle clear and gold accumulation. Berserker's Fury is also a key early purchase as it provides significant critical strike chance and physical attack, which Ling's passive heavily benefits from, enabling strong burst damage early on.

How can Ling deal with heroes that have a lot of crowd control?

Ling is vulnerable to crowd control when not on walls or using his ultimate. Against heavy CC heroes like Diggie, it's vital to use Tempest of Blades' invincibility to dodge their key CC abilities. You can also use Finch Poise to stay on walls and out of range, waiting for an opportune moment to strike when their CC is on cooldown or your team can follow up.

Keep reading

Other Assassin heroes