Hanabi is a marksman that can turn into a late game core while also dishing out great crowd control. Her mix of damage and utility is something that not a lot of marksmen possess. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Scarlet Sakura.

Overview

Most marksmen lack a crowd control ability that makes a huge impact in a team fight. These heroes are designed mostly to deal as much Physical Damage as possible. However, there are a few heroes in this class that have both impactful crowd control and insane late game damage. One of these heroes is Hanabi. This marksman is an easy to use hero that has a lot of abilities that make her a very good team player. She is also the only marksman with Lifesteal built into her kit. Combine this with the fact that she gets a shield from her bonus lifesteal and you have a very durable marksman that can heavily outsustain her enemies. The best part about her kit is the fact that she can use a wide reaching crowd control ability that can lock all five of the enemy team in place.

Hanabi is not one without weakness though. She succumbs to the typical drawbacks of playing a marksman. For starters, she is very item and team reliant. She needs her items to be truly effective and needs her teammates to follow up on her damage and crowd control. She also lacks a true burst ability since most of her damage needs time to ramp up. The lack of an escape ability also works against her since marksmen are pretty squishy heroes. Overall, Hanabi is a good choice for a marksman. When placed in the right team composition, she can be a dominant late game core that can decimate the enemy team.

Abilities

Hanabi’s abilities all revolve around dealing damage. She has tons of utility in her kit that allows her to hit multiple targets at the same time. Thanks to her abilities, Hanabi is a very beginner friendly hero that doesn’t require a lot of mechanical skill to get into.

Passive – Ninjutsu: Equinox

When Hanabi is at full HP, 60% of incoming HP that would have been granted from Lifesteal is converted into a shield up to 25% of her Max HP.

When the shield is active, Hanabi is immune to slow and all controls and her Movement Speed is increased by 30 points.

This is a very useful passive for a marksman hero. Ninjutsu: Equinox gives Hanabi a shield that can absorb damage and makes her immune to crowd control when it is active. Thanks to her innate Lifesteal, you wouldn’t have much of a problem having this shield up most of the time even without lifesteal giving items.

First Skill – Ninjutsu: Petal Barrage

Passive: Hanabi has 8% / 10% / 12% / 14% / 16% / 18% Physical Lifesteal at the start of the game. She can upgrade this skill to increase her Physical Lifesteal by 2%, up to 20% Physical Lifesteal at max level.

Active: Hanabi’s Basic Attack will create a new petal blade that bounces 3 / 3 / 4 / 4 / 5 / 5 times in total to nearby enemies, dealing only 40% of her Basic Attack Physical Damage from the first bounce to them. (Damage of the petal blade will decay by 25% after each bounce.)

Thanks to Ninjutsu: Petal Barrage, Hanabi gets bonus Physical Lifesteal as soon as the game starts. This gives her lots of sustain and synergizes well with her passive ability. When activated, it makes each of her basic attacks bounce to numerous targets. This gives her very good wave clear and lets her do tons of damage to everyone in the enemy team in a clash.

Second Skill – Ninjutsu: Soul Scroll

Hanabi fires the energy scroll in the targeted direction, dealing 450 / 480 / 510 / 540 / 570 / 600 (+80% Total Physical Attack) points of Physical Damage to enemies along the way and slowing them by 40% for 2 seconds.

Hanabi will restore 140 / 160 / 180 / 200 / 220 / 240 points of Mana for each enemy hit. If multiple enemies are hit, the mana restored from the subsequent enemies will decay.

Ninjutsu: Soul Scroll is a good ability to have on a hero like Hanabi and it compliments her entire kit very nicely. Since she can be a bit mana hungry because of the active on her first skill, this gives her a bit of sustain in the form of mana restoration whenever she hits a target with this ability. It also helps that this ability slows enemies by 40% which can be enough for her to kite, get away, or secure kills.

Ultimate – Forbidden Jutsu: Higanbana

Hanabi throws Higanbana in the targeted direction and will bloom upon hitting a target, inflicting 600 / 700 / 800 (+100% Total Physical Attack) points of Physical Damage and immobilizing them for 2 seconds.

If another enemy hero still remains within the range of the Higanbana, another Higanbana will bloom, causing the same amount of damage and immobilization effect again.

Hanabi unleashes her weapon and will immobilize the first target it hits. This effect spreads to nearby enemies and immobilizes them as well. This is an ability that can change the outcome of a team fight thanks to the crowd control it provides. If you use this on enemies in a tight spot, it can be an absolute game changer and may just secure you the win.

Builds

When it comes to item builds, you build Hanabi like any typical marksman. You focus on increasing her overall DPS by buying items that give you Physical Damage and Attack Speed. Most of the time, you’ll probably be buying the same set of items with very little differences. However, there are four items that you’ll likely need every time you play as Hanabi. These core items are Windtalker, Berserker’s Fury, Corrosion Scythe, and Blade of Despair.

• Windtalker

+40% Attack Speed

+10% Crit Chance

+20 Movement SPD

Unique Passive – Typhoon: Every 5-3s, the next Basic Attack hits up to 3 enemy units and deals 150-362 Magic damage. The CD of this effect drops to the minimum when Crit Chance rises to 50%, while damage rises to the maximum when Attack SPD rises to 3.00. This attack can cause Crit Damage. To minions, deals 200% increased Damage.

Unique Passive – Activate: Each time Typhoon is cast, one’s movement speed will be increased 5% for a short time.

• Berserker’s Fury

+65 Physical ATK

+25% Crit Chance

Unique Passive: +40% Critical Damage

Unique Passive – Doom: Crit hit will increase the hero’s Physical Attack by 5% for 2s.

• Corrosion Scythe

+50 Physical Attack

+25% Attack Speed

+5% Movement SPD

Unique Passive – Corrosive: Each time a Basic Attack deals damage to enemies, reduces the target’s Movement Speed by 8% (halved for ranged Basic Attacks) for 1.5s. Stacking up to 5 times.

Unique Passive – Impulse: When each Basic Attack deals damage to enemies, increase Attack Speed by 8%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 3s.

• Blade of Despair

+160 Physical ATK

+5% Movement SPD

Unique Passive – Despair: Attacking enemy units that have HP below 50% will increase the hero’s Physical Attack by 25%. Lasts 2s. (Takes affect before damage is dealt)

These items are pretty self-explanatory and all come together to increase Hanabi’s effectiveness as a marksman. 

Useful Tips

1. For your emblems, go with the Marksman set and take Weakness Finder as your talent. This gives your Basic Attack a 20% chance of slowing your target by 90% and reducing its attack speed by 50%.
2. For your battle spell, always go with Flicker. Flicker is an all purpose battle spell that gives you an additional blink to help you escape or chase targets. 
3. Hanabi is countered by mobile heroes that can quickly dash or blink towards her to deal damage. She is also countered by heroes that can hit her with lockdown crowd control abilities from afar. Heroes that counter Hanabi include Gusion, Natalia, Kaja, and Franco.

So there you have it! That’s everything you need to know on how to play Hanabi in Mobile Legends. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun!