Mobile Legends Anti-Heal Items: Who Buys Them and When

The Mobile Legends anti-heal items are Sea Halberd, Necklace of Durance and Dominance Ice. Each one reduces the healing and the shields of enemy heroes: the first two on heroes you damage, the third on enemies standing near you. One or two of them on the right heroes is enough, bought when the enemy's healing starts to decide fights, not as a first item and not by all five players.

What anti-heal is in MLBB

You have seen the fight. The enemy fighter drops to a thin line of HP, your team uses everything, and a few seconds later he is half full again and still swinging. The problem was not your damage. Nothing stopped him from getting it back.

Anti-heal, which some players call MLBB anti-regen, is the name given to an item effect that lowers a target's HP regeneration and shields for a few seconds. It covers every kind of recovery: healing skills from a support, lifesteal from basic attacks, spell vamp from skills, and shields. It adds no damage of its own. It makes the damage you already dealt stay.

Three kinds of heroes make it matter: healers such as Estes and Rafaela, fighters who recover while they fight such as Ruby, Yu Zhong, Alpha and Uranus, and shield heroes such as Esmeralda.

The three Mobile Legends anti-heal items

• Sea Halberd: an attack item for heroes who deal physical damage. Damaging an enemy hero puts the anti-heal effect on that hero.
• Necklace of Durance: the magic version. A mage's skills put the same effect on every hero they damage.
• Dominance Ice: a defense item. It needs no hit at all: enemy heroes near the holder heal and shield less, and their attack speed drops too.

The effects do not stack. Two items on the same target do not cut the healing twice, which is why the hero who carries the item matters more than how many of you buy it.

How to counter healing in MLBB: who should buy the item

The useful question is not "who has to buy it" but "who touches the healing hero first and most often".

• A mage with area skills hits several heroes at once, so Necklace of Durance spreads the effect across a whole team fight.
• A marksman or fighter who keeps hitting the enemy front line carries Sea Halberd well, because every hit renews the effect.
• A tank or roamer who stands in the middle of the fight is the natural holder of Dominance Ice, most of all when the enemy also relies on attack speed.

One detail is easy to miss. Sea Halberd and Necklace of Durance mark the hero you damage, not the hero who casts the heal. Against a healer such as Estes, hitting Estes does not stop the healing he sends to his teammates. You have to damage the heroes he is healing, or take Estes out of the fight first.

Say it in chat early. One line at the start of the match about who takes the item saves the team from having none, or three.

When to buy anti-heal: not first, not last

Look at the enemy picks before the match starts.

1. No healer, no sustain fighter, no shield hero: skip the item. The slot is worth more as damage or defense.
2. One sustain hero in your own lane: plan the item right after your first core item, so that your trades in lane start to stay.
3. A healer, or two or more sustain heroes: one of you should have it ready before the first big fights around the Turtle, and a second holder can follow later.

Buying it too early has a cost. Anti-heal on a hero you cannot hurt is worth nothing, so an opening item that leaves you without damage or survivability usually loses the lane it was meant to win. Finish what makes your hero work, then add it.

Buying it too late costs more. Sustain heroes grow stronger as fights get longer. If the first fights go their way you lose turrets, then your jungle, then the map, and the item arrives when the gold lead is already theirs.

If you have said "after my next item" twice, you are already late. Buy it now and finish the other item afterwards.

What the item cannot do

Anti-heal reduces healing. It does not remove it, and it does not kill anyone. Use it together with the plays that beat sustain heroes anyway:

• Burst the target. Healing needs time, and a hero who dies in one combo never uses it.
• Save a stun for the moment the sustain hero starts to recover, so the team can finish.
• Kill the healer first when he stands within reach, or force him away from the fight.
• Keep fights short. If your skills are on cooldown and the enemy is still healing, step back, wait and start again.

The first of these starts in the draft: the counter pick guide shows how to answer a sustain hero before the match begins. For the fight itself, see the guide to front line, back line and target choice in team fights.

Frequently asked questions

What is anti-heal in Mobile Legends?

It is an item effect that lowers the healing and shields an enemy hero receives for a few seconds after it is applied. Three items carry it: Sea Halberd, Necklace of Durance and Dominance Ice.

Is there a magic anti-heal item for mages?

Yes, Necklace of Durance. It gives magic stats and applies the effect with skill damage, so a mage does not need to change role to carry it.

Do anti-heal items stack?

No. The effect is the same on all three, so a second item on the same target only helps to keep the effect running. It does not make it stronger.

Does anti-heal work against shields?

Yes. The effect reduces shields as well as HP regeneration, so it is worth buying against heroes who live on shields, not only against healers.

Items cost gold, not diamonds

All three items are bought with match gold, so countering healing is a decision, not a purchase. Diamonds are for what stays on your account, such as heroes and skins. If you top up, Mas4Games loads Mobile Legends diamonds by player ID and server ID, for accounts of the Türkiye region. The store asks only for those two numbers, never for a password.