Layla is the most famous marksman in Mobile Legends. Any player who’s played the game is no doubt familiar with this iconic hero. Despite falling off in the current meta, she still remains a very popular pick. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started playing the Energy Gunner.

Overview

When you ask any Mobile Legends player which hero did they first main, chances are, they’ll say that it was Layla. I mean, Layla is literally the first hero that everyone will get to use in the game since you’ll be playing as her through the tutorials. So it should come as no surprise that everyone is familiar with her. It makes perfect sense that she is our introduction into the game because she has a very beginner friendly kit. She has excellent range, good burst, a bit of crowd control, and scales really well into the late game. With proper positioning and some help from your teammates, Layla can easily carry a game and pretty much force a victory under difficult circumstances. 

Despite all of the good things she has going on, she has quite a few drawbacks. For starters, Layla lacks any sort of mobility which means she is very vulnerable to popular assassin or fighter heroes that can go near her. These heroes can stick to Layla and pretty much close the gap if she attempts to kite. She is also very squishy at all stages of the game. Overall, if you can play around her limitations, Layla is still a pretty solid hero that can take you all the way to Mythic if you play her right.

Abilities

Layla is one of the few marksmen that relies on both her abilities and basic attacks to deal damage. Learning to weave in ability combos with your basic attacks is the key to making the most out of her kit.

Passive – Malefic Gun

The damage of Layla’s Basic Attack and skill damage increases with the distance between her and enemies, from 100% to 140% (reaches a maximum of 6 yards).

Out of all the marksmen heroes, Layla has the longest range in the later stages of the game. Use this to your advantage by keeping your distance and learning to position properly during fights. Having a range advantage is part of what makes Layla a relatively safe marksman to use.

First Skill – Malefic Bomb

Layla fires a Malefic Energy Bomb forward, dealing 200-400 (+80% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to the first enemy hit. (This damage can be critical.)

Upon hitting an enemy, Layla’s Basic Attack range will be increased for 3 seconds and her Movement Speed is increased by that decays rapidly within 1.2 seconds. (Upon hitting an enemy hero, the duration of the Movement Speed gain will be doubled or 2.4 seconds.)

This skill can be a little difficult to land since it has a small area of effect. However, using this ability drastically increases Layla’s movement speed and her basic attack range making her relatively safe during fights and trades.You must learn to master landing this ability as it is a huge reason for Layla’s massive damage boost since it synergizes well with her passive.

Second Skill – Void Projectile

Layla fires an energy ball that explodes, dealing 170-320 (+65% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to the target and enemies within a certain range, slowing them by 30% for 1.2 seconds.

She applies Magic Marks to enemies hit. When Layla hits an enemy with a Magic Mark, she deals 100-200 (+35% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to nearby enemies and slows them by 30% for 1.2 seconds.

Void Projectile is a pretty straightforward ability that doesn’t take much skill to utilize properly. Try to use it to slow down enemies when they’re near so you can either kite or escape.

Ultimate – Destruction Rush

Passive: This skill increases the range of Void Projectile and Basic Attack by 0.6-1.8 yard(s) and increases Layla’s sight range upon leveling up this skill.

Active: Layla fires an energy blast, dealing 500-800 (+150% Total Physical Attack) Physical Damage to enemies on the path.

Destruction Rush is both a great source of burst damage and a buff to your basic attacks. This ability’s active has a pretty long range and it’s on a relatively short cooldown. Don’t hesitate to use it whenever you are in a fight as it can chunk out a huge portion of all enemies hit by it. It’s passive is great as well and synergizes perfectly with the bonus damage you get from Malefic Gun.

Builds

When it comes to item builds, Layla benefits most from items that increase her DPS through attack speed and critical strike. As such, you’ll find yourself mostly running the same few items every game. However, there are three items we consider essential on Layla that you must have regardless of the build path you choose. These core items are Windtalker, Berserker’s Fury, and Scarlett Phantom. 

• 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.

• Scarlett Phantom

+30 Physical ATK

+20% Attack Speed

+25% Crit Chance

Unique Passive – Frenzy: Crit hits increase the hero’s ATK Speed by 30% and Crit Chance by 5%. Last 2s.

These items increase all of Layla’s key stats and make her a very powerful late game core. 

Useful Tips

1. For emblems, take the Marksman set and Electro Flash as your talent. This will allow Layla’s Basic Attacks to increase her movement speed and restore a portion of her health.
2. For your battle spell, take either Inspire or Flicker. Flicker is the general, all purpose choice that adds another layer of mobility to Layla’s kit. If you want to secure leads and win the game faster, go with Inspire to get a bonus on your attack speed.
3. Layla is very susceptible against heroes that can stick to her and heroes that have a lot of crowd control. Layla’s hardest counters are Gusion, Karina, Lancelot, Natalia, Clint, and Fanny.

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