What Franco is bad at
- Iron Hook has a 15s cooldown early and whiffing it leaves him with no other engage tool
- Zero dash or blink in his kit — once spotted, he can't reposition to find a new angle
- Bloody Hunt's 62s cooldown means one bad suppression is a long wait before he threatens again
- Low personal damage outside a landed hook, so he contributes little to fights he doesn't start
Every counter below works by pressing one of these.
Hard counters to Franco
Pick one of these and the matchup is decided before the fight starts.
AtlasTankHardFatal Links chains every enemy hero around him at once and plants them where he chooses, and only suppression interrupts the channel — a far more reliable engage than Franco's single-target skillshot, so Atlas usually initiates first.
JohnsonTank · SupportHardFull Throttle turns Johnson into an accelerating car that outruns Iron Hook's range entirely, and once he is at speed Franco has to lead a skillshot at a target moving faster than anything else on the map.
X.BorgFighterHardFiraga Armor absorbs everything an Iron Hook at full Wasteland Force stacks can put out before X.Borg's real HP is touched, and it regenerates on its own, while Franco's damage scales off physical attack he isn't building, so he can't burst X.Borg back.
Soft counters
Favourable, but Franco can still play around them.
HanzoAssassinSoftKinjutsu: Pinnacle Ninja leaves Hanzo's real body behind invincible while Hanekage does the fighting, so a hook or a full Bloody Hunt lands on a body that was never at risk and Franco spends his whole kit for nothing.
SunFighterSoftSun's Doppelgangers keep attacking even if the real Sun gets hooked, and Simian God heals him off every hit they land while shredding Franco's Physical Defense, so isolating one body rarely ends the fight.
TigrealTankSoftTigreal's ultimate is a point-blank AoE stun rather than a skillshot, so in a grouped fight he lands his own hard CC on Franco's team before Franco can line up an unassisted hook.
Items to build against Franco
You cannot always change your pick. You can always change your fourth slot.
Tough BootsCuts the duration of Fury Shock's slow and shortens how long Bloody Hunt's suppression effectively locks a target down.
Winter CrownIts damage-negation window can swallow the burst from Bloody Hunt's six suppression strikes.
ImmortalityGuarantees a second chance if Franco lands the hook-into-suppression kill combo on the wearer.
Do not pick these into Franco
Heroes whose own counter list names Franco — these matchups go the other way. A red dot marks a hard counter.
Why Franco works
Common questions
Who counters Franco in Mobile Legends?
Hanzo, Sun, Atlas, Johnson, Tigreal all beat Franco. Atlas is the hardest counter: Fatal Links chains every enemy hero around him at once and plants them where he chooses, and only suppression interrupts the channel — a far more reliable engage than Franco's single-target skillshot, so Atlas usually initiates first.
What items should I build against Franco?
Tough Boots: Cuts the duration of Fury Shock's slow and shortens how long Bloody Hunt's suppression effectively locks a target down. Winter Crown: Its damage-negation window can swallow the burst from Bloody Hunt's six suppression strikes. Immortality: Guarantees a second chance if Franco lands the hook-into-suppression kill combo on the wearer.
What is Franco's biggest weakness?
Iron Hook has a 15s cooldown early and whiffing it leaves him with no other engage tool