IF / MLBB#002

SEASON 41 PROFILE

Bloody Beast

Balmond

Bloodthirst keeps Balmond healthy through a fight, while Cyclone Sweep deals damage without forcing him to stand still. Lethal Counter scales with missing health, so his best fights are the ones he can extend until the target enters execution range.

DATA REVIEWED 24.08.2026 · PATCH 2.1.95

HOW TO PLAY

Balmond guide for Season 41

DAMAGE: Physical
ATTACK: Melee
SPECIALTY: Damage / Regen
MAIN POSITIONS: Jungle / EXP Lane
IN THE GAME SINCE: 2016

01EARLY GAME
In the jungle, use Cyclone Sweep for a fast clear; in EXP Lane, let it hit both the wave and the opposing laner without giving up position.
02MID GAME
Soul Lock closes distance or gets Balmond out of danger. Spending it at the start for no reason leaves him walking after more mobile heroes.
03LATE GAME
Around Lord, hold Lethal Counter for the monster or an injured enemy. Its execution damage can decide either objective.

IF / LOADOUT LAB

Three builds. One draft.

Choose the lane or job first. Hover or use the keyboard on any item, talent or emblem to see exactly what it does. Spells and blessings are explained alongside their icons.Choose the lane or job first. Tap any item, talent or emblem to open its explanation. Spells and blessings are explained alongside their icons.

EXP Sustain Default

Default EXP setup for extended trades, second-entry teamfights, and ranked games where Balmond must survive while keeping Cyclone Sweep active.

11,050 GOLD

WHAT IT DOES
+18 Magic Defense. +40 Movement Speed. Fortitude: CC and Slow Duration Reduced by 30%
Magic Defense
+18
Movement Speed
+40
WHAT IT DOES
+400 HP. +8% Spell Vamp. +35 Physical Attack. +10% Cooldown Reduction. Fighting Spirit: Attacks grants 12 extra Physical Attack per second for 4 seconds, up to 6 stacks. Deals 10% extra True Damage based on the damage dealt (no damage reduction counted) at full stacks. (Marksmen, Mages, and Supports only receive 50% of these stacked effects.)
HP
+400
Spell Vamp
+8%
Physical Attack
+35
Cooldown Reduction
+10%
WHAT IT DOES
+600 HP. +10% Spell Vamp. +40 Adaptive Attack. +10% Cooldown Reduction. Demonize: When HP drops below 40%, gains 30% Damage Reduction for 3 seconds and reduces the skill cooldown by 2 seconds. This effect has a 60 seconds cooldown. Defiance: For every 1% HP lost, damage is increased by 0.25%, up to 15%
HP
+600
Spell Vamp
+10%
Adaptive Attack
+40
Cooldown Reduction
+10%
WHAT IT DOES
+40 Physical Defense. +5% Movement Speed. +40 Magic Defense. Fortress Shield: For each enemy hero within 5 units, Hybrid Defense is increased by 8, up to 40. Lifebane: Reduces Shield and HP Regen effects of nearby enemies within 5 units to 60% of normal for 1 second.
Physical Defense
+40
Movement Speed
+5%
Magic Defense
+40
WHAT IT DOES
+600 HP. +20 Physical Defense. +10% Cooldown Reduction. Brute Force: Each second after dealing damage, gain 6 Adaptive Attack and 2% extra Movement Speed for 4 seconds, up to 6 stacks. Gain 15% extra Control Duration Reduction at full stacks.
HP
+600
Physical Defense
+20
Cooldown Reduction
+10%
WHAT IT DOES
+800 HP. +15 Physical Defense. Immortal: Revives 2.5s after death and gaining 16% Max HP and 220-1200 shield (scales with level) that lasts for 3s. (210 cooldown).
HP
+800
Physical Defense
+15

EMBLEM + 2 STANDARD TALENTS + 1 CORE TALENT

BASE EMBLEM

Recommended emblem setup for this build.

Hybrid Lifesteal: +10%
Adaptive Attack: +16
Hybrid Defense: +8

STANDARD TALENT

Gain 8 extra Physical & Magic Defense.

STANDARD TALENT

Gain 6% Spell Vamp. Each hero kill or assist grants an additional 0.5% Spell Vamp, up to 12 stacks.

CORE TALENT

Brave Smite: Dealing skill damage to an enemy hero recovers 5% Max HP. CD: 6 seconds.

BATTLE SPELL

75s

Vengeance

For three seconds, reduces damage taken by 35% and returns 40% of the damage received to the attacker as Magic Damage.

ADAPT ITEMS AND BLESSINGS TO THE MATCH

WHAT IT DOES

+18 Physical Defense. +40 Movement Speed. Valor: Gain 4 extra Physical Defense for 3s when taking Physical Damage, up to 20

Physical Defense: +18
Movement Speed: +40

WHAT IT DOES

+18 Magic Defense. +40 Movement Speed. Fortitude: CC and Slow Duration Reduced by 30%

Magic Defense: +18
Movement Speed: +40

Warrior Boots FOR Tough BootsUse into physical EXP lanes when the enemy control chain is light enough to skip Fortitude.

WHAT IT DOES

+850 HP. +20 Physical Defense. +20 Magic Defense. +10% Cooldown Reduction. Bless: Received Shield and HP Regen effects are increased by 25%.

HP: +850
Physical Defense: +20
Magic Defense: +20
Cooldown Reduction: +10%

WHAT IT DOES

+40 Physical Defense. +5% Movement Speed. +40 Magic Defense. Fortress Shield: For each enemy hero within 5 units, Hybrid Defense is increased by 8, up to 40. Lifebane: Reduces Shield and HP Regen effects of nearby enemies within 5 units to 60% of normal for 1 second.

Physical Defense: +40
Movement Speed: +5%
Magic Defense: +40

Oracle FOR Dominance IceUse when enemy sustain is low and extra received healing gives more value than Lifebane.

WHAT IT DOES

+900 HP. +2 HP Regen. +48 Magic Defense. Shield: Upon taking Magic Damage, gains 25% Magic Damage Reduction for 3s (applies before taking damage). Regains this effect 5s after leaving combat.

HP: +900
HP Regen: +2
Magic Defense: +48

WHAT IT DOES

+800 HP. +15 Physical Defense. Immortal: Revives 2.5s after death and gaining 16% Max HP and 220-1200 shield (scales with level) that lasts for 3s. (210 cooldown).

HP: +800
Physical Defense: +15

Athena's Shield FOR ImmortalityUse when a burst mage can remove you before Queen's Wings and Vengeance stabilize the fight.

WHAT IT DOES

+920 HP. +4 HP Regen. +40 Physical Defense. Deter: When hit by a skill, reduces the attacker's Physical Damage by 6% for 2s (this effect stacks up to 3 times).

HP: +920
HP Regen: +4
Physical Defense: +40

WHAT IT DOES

+600 HP. +20 Physical Defense. +10% Cooldown Reduction. Brute Force: Each second after dealing damage, gain 6 Adaptive Attack and 2% extra Movement Speed for 4 seconds, up to 6 stacks. Gain 15% extra Control Duration Reduction at full stacks.

HP: +600
Physical Defense: +20
Cooldown Reduction: +10%

Antique Cuirass FOR Brute Force BreastplateUse against repeated physical skill burst from fighters or assassins that reach you before the spin finishes.

IF / KIT

Abilities at a glance

Hover or use the keyboard on any ability to read exactly what it does in game.Tap any ability to open its in-game explanation. Tap elsewhere to close it.

IF / LIVE META

Balmond in ranked and pro play

AUTOMATIC SNAPSHOT24 Aug 2026

CURRENT TIERC

WIN RATE: 47.03%
PICK RATE: 0.98%
BAN RATE: 0.88%
WIN-RATE CHANGE: -0.58 pp

OUR READING

Balmond is struggling to convert games in this rank. That does not erase good matchups, but blind-picking the hero is difficult to justify right now.

Seven-day ranked data, updated 24 Aug 2026 · MLBBHub · cross-checked with MLBB.io

PRO / MLBB Mid Season Cup 2026USED IN COMPETITION

PICKS: 1
RECORD: 1-0
BANS: 0
DRAFT PRESENCE: 0.88%

Balmond has appeared in the tournament draft 1 times. This is tournament context, not a global verdict on the hero.

Tournament statistics · Liquipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

PATCH ARCHIVE

Every buff, nerf and adjustment

IF / PATCH TRACKER

Balmond's full patch history

Every documented buff, nerf and adjustment, ordered from the latest patch backwards.

15documented patches

15 patches shown

v2.1.88BUFF
17 June 2026
- BUFFPassive: HP Regen Upon a Kill: 20% Max HP → HP Regen Upon a Kill or Assist: 10% Max HP
- BUFFSkill 2: Movement Speed Boost: 15% that decays over time → 15% that no longer decays
- BUFFSkill 2: Damage: 25-50 (+2% Extra HP) (+25% Total Physical Attack) (Physical Bonus can Crit) → 30-55 (+1.3% Total HP) (+25% Total Physical Attack) (cannot Crit)
Check original notes · MLBBHub
v2.1.30BUFF
4 November 2025
- BUFFSkill 1: Slow Effect: 60% for 2s → 40% for 3s
- BUFFSkill 1: Cooldown: 8-5s → 8-6s
Check original notes · MLBBHub
v1.8.47ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Damage increased with each subsequent hit: 12.5% → 7.5%
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.8.34ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: New Effect: Cyclone Sweep can no longer be interrupted by Crowd Control (Balmond can be knocked airborne during Cyclone Sweep before.)
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: New Effect: Gains 15% Movement Speed Bonus during skill cast, which decays over time.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Base Damage: 50-200 + 50% Total Physical Attack → 25-100 + 25% Total Physical Attack, double the Attack Speed (Total Damage remains unchanged).
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: Increased skill range, optimized visual effects, and revamped animation.
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: New Effect: This skill cannot be interrupted by Crowd Crontrol.
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: Cooldown: 28-18s → 34-24s
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki

Open the earlier archive · 11 patches

v1.6.10NERF
- NERFBloodthirst: Max HP Restoration after Minion or Creep Kills: 8% → 5%
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.5.96BUFF
- BUFFCyclone Sweep: Cooldown: 7s → 6s
- BUFFLethal Counter: Cooldown: 32-24s → 28-18s
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.5.46ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTremoved role Removed Secondary Role - Tank.
- BUFFSoul Lock: Cooldown: 11-8.5s → 8-5s
- NERFSoul Lock: Slow Effect: 40% for 2.5s → 30% for 2s
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.5.24ADJUSTMENT
- BUFFBloodthirst: HP Restoration from Killing Minions or Creeps: 7% → 8%
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: Base Damage: 300-500 → 400
- NERFLethal Counter: Physical Attack Bonus: 100% → 60%
- BUFFLethal Counter: Extra Damage of Enemy's Lost HP: 20% → 20%-30%
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.5.16ADJUSTMENT
- NERFCyclone Sweep: Damage increase after dealing damage to enemies doesn't work on minions now.
- BUFFBloodthirst: HP restoration from killing minions and creeps. 5% → 7%
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.4.94ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTPartially Adjusted label specialty - Charge/Regen to Damage/Regen.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Only Physical Attack Ratio Damage can now be Critical.
- BUFFCyclone Sweep: Increased Physical Attack Ratio: 35% → 50%.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Adjusted Base Damage: 60-185 → 50-200.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Optimized skill description.
- BUFFLethal Counter: Reduced Cooldown: 40-26 seconds → 32-24 seconds.
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.4.86ADJUSTMENT
- BUFFBloodthirst: Increased the Max HP Heal on minion or creep kill from 4% to 5%.
- BUFFBloodthirst: Increased the Max HP Heal on hero kill from 10% to 20%.
- BUFFSoul Lock: Increased the Charging Radius by 50%.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Every time an enemy takes damage from this skill, the damage will increase by 25% thereafter, stacking up to 100%.
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Adjusted the Basic Damage from 80-255 to 50-200.
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: Reduced the Basic Damage from 350-650 to 300-500.
- ADJUSTMENTLethal Counter: Increased the Total Physical Attack Ratio from 50% to 100%.
- NERFLethal Counter: Reduced the Base HP by 100.
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.3.60ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTCyclone Sweep: Adjusted Basic Damage to (55 + skill level*25) from (45+ skill level *35).
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.3.44ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTSoul Lock: Fixed a problem where Balmond can't deal damage to enemies after smashing minions.
- ADJUSTMENTSoul Lock: Optimized the display and animation effect.
- ADJUSTMENTSoul Lock: Optimized the Skill description.
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.2.88BUFF
- BUFFAttribute: Adjusted HP to 246 from 239
- BUFFAttribute: Adjusted HP growth to 172.5 from 154.5
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki
v1.1.21ADJUSTMENT
- ADJUSTMENTBalmond's skills no longer cost Mana now.
- ADJUSTMENTChanged Balmond's illustration.
Check original notes · MLBB Wiki

THE DRAFT

Balmond in the draft: strengths, counters and teammates

GOOD INTO

Barats and Phoveus offer large targets and long fights, exactly where Cyclone Sweep and Lethal Counter deliver value.

BaratsTank / Fighter

LukasFighter

JohnsonTank / Support

WATCH OUT FOR

Cici and Valir can keep their distance while wearing Balmond down, forcing him to rely on Soul Lock just to reach them.

ValirMage

X.BorgFighter

AngelaSupport

WORKS WELL WITH

Angela shields and heals his entry, while Masha adds another front-line threat so Balmond does not absorb all the attention.

AngelaSupport

ArgusFighter

AldousFighter

See all 5 counters, favorable matchups and best teammates for Balmond

COLLECTION

Balmond skins: what you can get right now

Available now6

AVAILABLE

Power Source

ORIGIN / EVENTin-game shop: 269 Diamonds

Permanently available through the in-game shop: 269 Diamonds.

AVAILABLE

Ghoul's Fury

ORIGIN / EVENTin-game shop: 399 Diamonds

Permanently available through the in-game shop: 399 Diamonds.

AVAILABLE

Savage Hunter

ORIGIN / EVENTin-game shop: 599 Diamonds

Permanently available through the in-game shop: 599 Diamonds.

AVAILABLE

Savage Pointguard

ORIGIN / EVENTin-game shop: 749 Diamonds

Permanently available through the in-game shop: 749 Diamonds.

AVAILABLE

Infernal Warlord

ORIGIN / EVENTin-game shop: 899 Diamonds

Permanently available through the in-game shop: 899 Diamonds.

AVAILABLE

Vulcan Lionheart

ORIGIN / EVENTAugust 2026 Grand Collection

Available through Grand Collection during August 2026; check the in-client countdown.

Locked right now3

NOT AVAILABLE NOW

God of Mountains

ORIGIN / EVENTGrand Collection event

It was obtainable through the Grand Collection event. It is not currently available.

NOT AVAILABLE NOW

Bioroid

ORIGIN / EVENTApril 2022 StarLight Pass

It was obtainable through the April 2022 StarLight Pass. It is not currently available.

NOT AVAILABLE NOW

Razor Edge

ORIGIN / EVENTthe Razor Edge's Summon draw (November-December 2024; returned in January 2025)

It was obtainable through the Razor Edge's Summon draw (November-December 2024; returned in January 2025). It is not currently available.

QUICK ANSWERS

The questions players ask about Balmond

01What is the best lane for Balmond?

Balmond is currently played mainly in Jungle and EXP Lane. The guide separates the recommended builds by lane or job, so choose that tab before copying the six items.

02Which Balmond build should I use?

Start with «EXP Sustain Default». The other options, «Jungle Objective Tempo» and «Frontline Anti-Sustain», are there for a different lane or match-up; they are not cosmetic variations.

03Which heroes counter Balmond?

Valir, X.Borg and Angela are the first counters to consider. Cici and Valir can keep their distance while wearing Balmond down, forcing him to rely on Soul Lock just to reach them.

04Which Balmond skins can be obtained now?

6 skins are marked as obtainable right now. 3 more are kept in the vault with the event or shop where each one originally appeared.

Balmond

DATA REVIEWED 24.08.2026 · PATCH 2.1.95