How to counter Zilong
5 hard counters, 5 soft · 4 counter-items · full Zilong guide
What Zilong is bad at
- Spear Flip is his only hard crowd control, on a 12-second cooldown, leaving long windows with no way to lock a target down
- Supreme Warrior removes slows but not stuns or suppressions, so hard CC still shuts his combo down completely
- No ranged tool or blink, so a target with a head start and a slow immunity or gap-opening skill of their own simply escapes
- Falls off in the late game against enemies who out-scale his basic-attack damage with defense or burst that outpaces Dragon Flurry's heal
Every counter below works by pressing one of these.
Hard counters to Zilong
Pick one of these and the matchup is decided before the fight starts.
EudoraMageHardBall Lightning's 1.2-second stun lands before Zilong can close with Spear Strike, and the Thunder's Wrath burst that follows can kill him outright before Dragon Flurry's lifesteal has a chance to matter.
KarinaAssassinHardDance of Blades blocks all incoming Basic Attacks while reflecting damage, shutting down Dragon Flurry entirely during her active window, and Shadow Combo's third-hit True Damage ignores his physical defense stacking.
LukasFighterHardHero's Resolve feeds Unleash the Beast, which lifts every one of his attributes by 15%, and Flash Step's Flash Strike blinks him behind Zilong to reposition around a single Spear Flip and win the straight duel.
JawheadFighterHardUnstoppable Force grants CC immunity during its dash, meaning Spear Flip can't stop the engage, and Ejector can fling Zilong himself away from the fight entirely, erasing his positioning.
BaratsTank · FighterHardDetona's Welcome suppresses and carries its target for over a second — a CC type Supreme Warrior's slow-immunity does nothing against — while Big Guy's stacking defense lets Barats tank through Dragon Flurry.
Soft counters
Favourable, but Zilong can still play around them.
Popol and KupaMarksmanSoftKupa fights on wherever Popol stands, so Zilong never gets the single isolated target his duel depends on and has to chew through the wolf before he can touch the hero behind it.
JohnsonTank · SupportSoftElectro Airbag's shield scales off 700% of Johnson's Physical Defense and triggers automatically under 30% HP, absorbing exactly the physical damage type Dragon Flurry deals and stalling out the duel.
AamonAssassinSoftCamouflage after every skill hit makes Aamon untargetable, and Zilong's only lockdown, Spear Flip, is on a 12-second cooldown, giving Aamon room to burst him with Magic Damage that skips his physical itemization.
GatotkacaTank · FighterSoftBlast Iron Fist leaves a persistent damage-and-slow zone that punishes Zilong for standing still to auto-attack, and his Rage-fueled enhanced basic attack deals Magic Damage that ignores his physical defense stacking.
ChipSupport · TankSoftCrash Course deals damage scaling off a percentage of the target's Max HP, so Zilong's own tankier HP pool from defensive itemization makes him take more from it than a squishier hero would.
Items to build against Zilong
You cannot always change your pick. You can always change your fourth slot.
Antique CuirassDeter stacks up to 18% Physical Damage reduction against a skill-combo hero, blunting Spear Flip and Spear Strike's damage before Dragon Flurry ever comes online.
Blade ArmorReflects Physical Damage back on every basic attack he lands, punishing the exact Dragon Flurry loop his sustain depends on.
ImmortalityA revive shield survives his all-in kill window and lets a target disengage before Spear Strike can reset off the kill.
Winter CrownThe freeze negates a full Dragon Flurry combo window and lets a target reposition the instant it ends.
Do not pick these into Zilong
Heroes whose own counter list names Zilong — these matchups go the other way. A red dot marks a hard counter.
Why Zilong works
Common questions
Who counters Zilong in Mobile Legends?
Eudora, Karina, Popol and Kupa, Johnson, Aamon all beat Zilong. Eudora is the hardest counter: Ball Lightning's 1.2-second stun lands before Zilong can close with Spear Strike, and the Thunder's Wrath burst that follows can kill him outright before Dragon Flurry's lifesteal has a chance to matter.
What items should I build against Zilong?
Antique Cuirass: Deter stacks up to 18% Physical Damage reduction against a skill-combo hero, blunting Spear Flip and Spear Strike's damage before Dragon Flurry ever comes online. Blade Armor: Reflects Physical Damage back on every basic attack he lands, punishing the exact Dragon Flurry loop his sustain depends on. Immortality: A revive shield survives his all-in kill window and lets a target disengage before Spear Strike can reset off the kill. Winter Crown: The freeze negates a full Dragon Flurry combo window and lets a target reposition the instant it ends.
What is Zilong's biggest weakness?
Spear Flip is his only hard crowd control, on a 12-second cooldown, leaving long windows with no way to lock a target down