What Hanabi is bad at
- No shield up means no control immunity — she dies to any lockdown chain that catches her without Equinox ready
- Shorter effective range than most gold-lane marksmen, forcing riskier positioning to land Soul Scroll
- The instant Equinox's shield expires she is back to marksman-squishy with nothing covering the recast cooldown
- Fully reliant on landing basic attacks for late-game value, so attack-speed slows and disarms cripple her
Every counter below works by pressing one of these.
Hard counters to Hanabi
Pick one of these and the matchup is decided before the fight starts.
LolitaSupport · TankHardGuardian's Reflection sends Hanabi's ranged basic attacks and Soul Scroll straight back at her, denying the marks her whole bounce combo and Higanbana follow-up depend on.
BeatrixMarksmanHardBeatrix out-ranges Hanabi outright, and Renner's Apathy lands a single 250%-scaling shot that kills before Hanabi gets enough basic attacks off to matter.
YveMageHardReal World Manipulation's Starfield rains continuous magic damage that isn't a control effect, so it burns through Equinox's shield without ever triggering Hanabi's immunity.
IxiaMarksmanHardIxia's Star Helix pulls Hanabi out of position and Dual Beam slows her from range, denying the closing window Equinox's shield needs to matter.
NataliaAssassinHardNatalia's stealth lets her choose the exact moment to dive, usually before Hanabi has Equinox pre-cast for the control immunity.
Soft counters
Favourable, but Hanabi can still play around them.
EsmeraldaTank · MageSoftFrostmoon Shield siphons Hanabi's own shields into Esmeralda's, and Falling Starmoon blinks onto her and immobilizes before Equinox is even active.
LyliaMageSoftLylia can burst Hanabi down from well outside her effective range before Hanabi ever gets a bounce combo started.
GrangerMarksmanSoftGranger out-trades Hanabi as a fellow finisher — Rhapsody's six-shot burst lands more raw single-target damage in the same short trading window.
BelerickTankSoftBelerick's Deadly Thorns passive fires back at whoever damages him for a slice of his Max HP, and Hanabi's petal bounces trigger it over and over.
Items to build against Hanabi
You cannot always change your pick. You can always change your fourth slot.
Winter CrownBlocks the burst window right as Hanabi lands Higanbana or a marked bounce combo, negating the kill.
Tough BootsCuts the duration of Soul Scroll's slow and Higanbana's immobilize, making it easier to simply walk out of her combo.
Blade ArmorReduces crit damage and reflects basic attack damage back at her, punishing a hero whose bounce damage comes off her own basic attacks.
Do not pick these into Hanabi
Heroes whose own counter list names Hanabi — these matchups go the other way. A red dot marks a hard counter.
Why Hanabi works
Common questions
Who counters Hanabi in Mobile Legends?
Lolita, Beatrix, Esmeralda, Yve, Lylia all beat Hanabi. Lolita is the hardest counter: Guardian's Reflection sends Hanabi's ranged basic attacks and Soul Scroll straight back at her, denying the marks her whole bounce combo and Higanbana follow-up depend on.
What items should I build against Hanabi?
Winter Crown: Blocks the burst window right as Hanabi lands Higanbana or a marked bounce combo, negating the kill. Tough Boots: Cuts the duration of Soul Scroll's slow and Higanbana's immobilize, making it easier to simply walk out of her combo. Blade Armor: Reduces crit damage and reflects basic attack damage back at her, punishing a hero whose bounce damage comes off her own basic attacks.
What is Hanabi's biggest weakness?
No shield up means no control immunity — she dies to any lockdown chain that catches her without Equinox ready