Mobile Legends Best Strategies for teams: 1-3-1 Rotation vs 1-2-2 Rotation

Mobile Legends is undoubtedly one of the most popular MOBA for mobile devices currently. Following an intuitive control system, there is a good cast of heroes to pick from in its 5v5 online design. Of course, the going will get tough as you progress through Ranked matches. So here is our guide to help you choose the best strategies to follow for your team in Mobile Legends which will help you ace any fight.

The 1-3-1 Rotation (or funnel strategy) and the 1-2-2 Rotation are our favorite strategies for fights in Mobile Legends, and in this article, we are going to give you the thorough details of each strategy. So let’s begin without any further ado.

The 1-3-1 Rotation or Funnel Strategy in Mobile Legends

The 1-3-1 Rotation is very popularly known as the Funnel Strategy has gained massive popularity recently. Why wouldn’t it, considering the aggressive gameplay strategy and the success rate. As exciting as it may sound, but the strategy is little complex and requires the entire team to cooperate. Here is everything you need to know about Funnel Strategy or 1-3-1 Rotation:

Team Composition

Strategies in Mobile Legends require a proper team composition that compliments the strategy perfectly. The very basic thing about 1-3-1 rotation is that the team of heroes you choose. The team should have only a Main hero (most probably the Marksman), 2 side-laners (mostly fighters), one Tank & one Support/Mage. This is a mandatory team composition to play 1-3-1 rotation.

Team Split-Up

Split-up refers to the lanes, the heroes go at the start of the play. In 1-3-1 rotation, the two fighters take the sidelanes whereas the Main (Marksman), the Tank and the Support/Mage go for the mid lane. So, 1 in Top lane, 3 in Mid lane and 1 in Bottom Lane, hence the name 1-3-1 rotation.  

Objective

The primary and the mandatory objective of 1-3-1 rotation is to give all the Buffs/Farm to your Main hero (the MM) so that it becomes stronger quickly. Hence it can kill others in the early game. This means you are funnelling all the power to your Main hero, that’s why the name Funnel strategy.

Basic Gameplay

Giving all the buffs to the Main hero sounds easy, but it isn’t considering there are 5 opponent heroes who are there to defeat you. It would be obvious from the team line up, what strategy the opponent is trying to follow, therefore they would try to counter the strategy. So, a basic gameplay can be followed for having a successful 1-3-1 rotation.

• First, the Top lane fighter cuts through lane and try to clear the minions. The 3 heroes in Mid clear the minions there and head towards taking the enemy Red Buff. The fighter clearing the minions will join and together all the heroes gank the enemy Marksman and take the Red Buff.
• The opponent seeing the gank may come for a team fight. During this time, the fighter in the Bottom lane should take the chance and go for the other Blue Buff of the enemy. The idea is also to not allow the opponents to take buffs. Then they can’t level up or do much damage in team fights.
• The Main hero should be active and cover the whole space and also take part in the Team fight. It is important to take the Buffs, as early as possible. So, a route map is to be followed. Below is one example of how to cover the entire space.

• The Gameplay may also change as per the opponent’s response but the very objective of 1-3-1 rotation should be in the mind and the cooperation of the teammates is very crucial. Help your Main hero to farm faster and don’t allow the opponents main to farm or get buff. The strategy may sound aggressive but it needs to be aggressive because if you play safe then the opponent following a 1-2-2 strategy would have 2 main heroes who will get stronger and you would be having one.
• Another important thing to follow in the 1-3-1 strategy is that the Main Hero must not die. If your Main hero dies frequently, then it will not level quicker and the strategy may fail. For this Purify spell comes in very handy. If stunned, use the spell to get out of it. The teammates also should protect the Main.

The 1-2-2 Rotation strategy in Mobile Legends

The 1-2-2 rotation is the most commonly used strategy in Mobile Legends. It’s simple and focusses to be effective in the late game of the match. Here is everything you want to know about 1-2-2 strategy:

Team Composition

The basic composition in 1-2-2 rotation is two Main heroes (mostly the Marksman and an Assassin/Fighter), 1 side-laners (mostly fighter), one Tank & one Support/Mage. The composition may vary but this is a very basic overlook of 1-2-2 strategy team.

Team Split-Up

Split-up refers to the lanes, the heroes go at the start of the play. In 1-2-2 rotation, the fighters take the Top lane whereas one Main (damage dealer), the Tank go for the mid lane, and the other Main (probably the MM) & the Support go for the Bottom lane. Tank and Support/Mage can switch position as per their convenience.

Objective

The primary objective of 1-2-2 rotation is to make the two Main heroes stronger for the late game. The damage dealer is very crucial in stealing buffs from the enemy and countering the opponent’s strategy whereas the other Main hero focusses on levelling up for late-game damage.

Basic Gameplay

• The Main hero (damage dealer) with Support/Mage clears the minions in Mid lane and heads for enemy Red Buff. Things may get ugly here, so the fighter in Top lane may join the fight if required. Then the Main should take the Blue buff in Mid and follow taking the Buff from mid to top lane area while also clearing out the minions in Mid.
• This Main Hero should also rotate between Mid lane to Top lane, farming and getting Buffs.
• While the above gameplay is playing, the other Main hero (MM) should take the buffs in the bottom lane with the help of Tank and also try to sneak Buffs from enemy territory if possible.
• It is important to remember that 1-2-2 strategy is to play safe and level up quicker while protecting your turrets. But it is more important to steal Turtles and Buffs from Mid, so to get an edge over the opponent, else the chances of winning in Team Fights reduces

One thing that the 1-2-2 Rotation one of the best strategies in Mobile Legends is its ability to turn tables in the late game, but it is very obvious in Mobile Legends. So, to improvise in the gameplay would give you the edge over others. This also requires the cooperation of other teammates, so without their active involvement the chances of success are low.

 There was another popular strategy namely the 5 Roam (Mask item) strategy, which got fixed in the April patch issue. So, don’t go on chasing the ghost which doesn’t exist.

That’s all for today’s guide about the best strategies in Mobile Legends. Looking for ways to master different heroes? Check out our Mobile Legends Heroes Guides:

Did you find this guide useful? Read our other Mobile Legends articles here. Do you prefer to use any other strategy? Let us know in the comment section below!

For more Mobile Gaming news and updates, join our WhatsApp group or Discord server. Also, follow us on Instagram and Twitter for quick updates.