Estes MLBB Guide: The Deathball Has a King (Season 42)

The Lord pit fight is going wrong in the specific way it goes wrong against us: slowly, and then not at all. Their Hayabusa has burned through two of my teammates' health bars and is circling for the third — but nobody has died, because nobody on my team is allowed to die. My Moonlight Immersion link is already on our Moskov, and the moment their dive commits I press Blessing of Moon Goddess: every link refreshes, doubled, the clump's bars climb mid-fight, and their assassin stands in the edge of my Domain of Moon Goddess at 10% speed, doing arithmetic that no longer works. We win the fight by refusing to lose it, one heal tick at a time.

That's Estes. Welcome in. He's the Moon Elf King, woken from a deep sleep after the Second Plane War to defend the Emerald Woodland (Fandom's story). Season 42 never touched him, and the trackers have him winning ~52.7% of his games with a ~44–45% ban rate on a 0.7% pick rate — drafts fear the comp he enables, not the elf.

Why he's feared (and loved)

Fear first: Estes is the only roam who turns *standing together* into a win condition. Moonlight Immersion is a tether contract — instant heal, sustained heal, defense and charge speed — and Blessing of Moon Goddess re-signs that contract with *every nearby ally at once*, doubled, for eight seconds. MLBBHub calls him a pure deathball roam: five heroes walking at you as one health bar with five cooldown sets — your damage refunded while you deal it.

Love second: the UBE heritage. Blacklist International built an entire era — the "Ultimate Bonding Experience" — around OhMyV33nus's Estes, won M3 with him (Fandom's gallery literally carries a Blacklist International skin), and MPL Philippines still treats him like a banned heirloom: his Estes once sat at an 86% win rate across 66 MPL games. Pros didn't fear a healer. They feared a strategy with a crown on.

Season 42 viability: the honest read

Paperwork first — this is where guides lie to you.

Patch 2.2.16 (released 16 September 2026): Estes is not on the adjustment list — Masha and Bruno revamps plus 21 adjustments (buffs Kalea, Cici, Alpha, Kagura, Edith, Karina, Kaja; nerfs Melissa, Miya, Hanabi, Yi Sun-shin, Paquito, Kadita; Aulus, Argus, Aldous, Lukas, Odette, Sun, Marcel besides) — and blooing's complete roundup, read end to end (buff/nerf tables, Classic pass, both Brawl columns), mentions him zero times. Patch 2.2.16a (14 Oct 2026): documented changes (Kalea buff; Aulus, Hirara, Eudora, Rafaela nerfs — Kazuki Official) include no Estes; no Fandom page exists for the sub-patch, so any "secret Estes tweak" stays [UNCONFIRMED]. His last documented touch is patch 2.1.88, which cut his skill mana costs across the board (MLBBHub).

The trackers, dated (community snapshots, not Moonton figures): - MLBBHub (refreshed daily, checked 21 Oct 2026): 52.6% WR, 0.7% pick, 44.3% ban, Easy. - MLBBDex (tier list updated 19 Oct 2026): S+ group in Roam — 52.7% WR, 45.0% ban — captioned: "Dominates compositions without healing reduction; collapses as soon as it arrives." - EliteDias (15 Oct 2026): S+ bracket, 52.7% WR. Pocket Gamer (17 Oct 2026): C among Supports (editorial outlier).

The chorus: 52.6–52.7% — a top-shelf win rate, a ban rate forty times his pick rate, and the gap *is* the hero. Nobody bans Estes the support; they ban the deathball he makes possible if the other four picks cooperate. Sentiment: no fresh r/MobileLegendsGame Estes threads surfaced this season (two searches), so this is labelled tracker/creator material plus pro heritage: MLBBHub's thesis is that he's a *contract, not a heal* — "the bank, not the ambulance." My tier verdict: A−. The paperwork says S+; the honest seat is one notch down, because the S+ only exists while the enemy forgets to shop. Into a deathball draft with no anti-heal across the table, he plays at S. The moment Baxia and a Lifebane item both appear, the crown is rented, not owned.

The full kit: what every button does

All mechanics from the MLBB Fandom hero page, checked 21 October 2026. Base HP 2221→3950 — the frailest level-1 body in this guide series — mana 500→1900, MS 240, attack range 4.7. Everything deals magic damage. - Passive — Scripture of the Moon Elf: Charges over time (~6.7 stacks a second per Fandom, full at 100 in ~15s; linking speeds it). At 100 stacks his next Basic Attack is enhanced: 250 (+100% Total Physical Attack) (+150% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage to the target, ricocheting 125 (+50% PA) (+75% MP) to nearby enemies and slowing them 60% for 1.5 seconds. - Skill 1 — Moonlight Immersion: Instant heal 250–325 (+110% Total Magic Power), then a 3-second link restoring 325–400 (+60% Total Magic Power) more in ticks. While linked, *Estes* gains +20–45 Hybrid Defense and +15% Movement Speed; walk too far and the link snaps. Cooldown 11.0→7.0s; mana 110–210. Enhanced (inside the ult window): instant 500–700 (+220% MP), sustained 1170–1470 (+210% MP) over 15 ticks, cooldown cut to 20%, zero mana. - Skill 2 — Domain of Moon Goddess: A flood of moonlight on an area: 350–600 (+70% Total Magic Power) Magic Damage, and reveals enemies inside it. Enemies who touch the edge are slowed 90% for 1.5 seconds (decaying). Cooldown 12.0→9.5s; mana 80–130. Fine print: the slow triggers on *crossing the edge* — enemies already inside when it lands are not slowed (MLBBHub) — and Fandom doesn't publish the domain's own duration; anyone quoting one is guessing. - Ultimate — Blessing of Moon Goddess: Casts enhanced Moonlight Immersion on all nearby allied heroes at once. For 8 seconds his Skill 1 stays enhanced — free, on a fifth of its cooldown — and Estes himself recovers 1230–1470 (+210% Total Magic Power) HP. Casting it replaces any active normal link with the enhanced one. Cooldown 55/50/45; mana 150–350.

Skill priority, my way: ultimate whenever offered, Moonlight Immersion first (it is the hero), Domain of Moon Goddess second.

Combos

"The Contract Renewal" (the standard teamfight): Link your carry *before* the fight (MLBBHub: chosen pre-fight, never swapped mid-fight) → Domain of Moon Goddess laid on the ground the fight will cross → when your carry hits ~50–60% HP with at least two allies in aura range, Blessing of Moon Goddess → chain the free enhanced Immersions for the full 8 seconds. The ult's value is the refresh plus the doubled link, not the instant heal.
"The Peel Lane": A diver commits on your carry: drop the Domain *between* carry and diver — never on top of him (MLBBHub) — so he must cross the edge and eat the 90% decaying slow; fire the charged Scripture basic for a second 60% slow; keep the link and walk out together. Two slows, one tether, no panic ult.

Rotation and map control

Level 1 (MLBBHub's script): take Moonlight Immersion and help your jungler *without touching the buff* — stand there, don't auto — camp mana is a link your gold laner doesn't get. Rotate to gold at level 2: the play is the link's Hybrid Defense letting your marksman win trades he'd otherwise recall from. Cast Skill 1 on cooldown, even at full HP (MLBBHub): the link accelerates the passive charge, and a charged ricochet closes the lane.

The spike: Enchanted Talisman + Oracle, ~8–10 minutes (MLBBHub). CDR stacks toward the cap, link uptime goes near-permanent, and Oracle's Bless amplifies every heal on the receiving side — in Hub's rough terms, one Estes becomes 1.25 Estes. Positioning law: stand 1–2 body-lengths behind your primary carry, always (MLBBHub). Not behind the tank — when the tank charges, a tank-link snaps instantly.

Best build, emblem, and battle spell (Season 42)

Battle spell: Purify — MLBBHub's current pick, FAQ and tips both: a CC-locked Estes never casts the Blessing; Purify clears the lock. The older school (blooing) runs Flicker for repositioning and escape, Sprint for long kiting fights. My call: Purify into chain-CC, Flicker vs a diver you must not stand next to.

The locked slots (MLBBHub's body build): Tough Boots or Demon Boots (Favor) → Enchanted Talisman (CDR cap + mana; non-negotiable and early — Talisman fourth is Hub's named trap) → Oracle (heal amplification, layered defense). MLBBHub's FAQ core three swaps the order — Flask of the Oasis, Fleeting Time, Oracle — Flask shielding your heal target under 35% HP; both families agree Oracle is core. Flex, by lobby (MLBBHub): - Fleeting Time — the ult-reset slot: kills and assists shave the Blessing cooldown, and deathball games can earn a second refresh in one long fight. - Dominance Ice — the heal-war answer: vs a sustain support across the table (mirror Estes, Rafaela, Angela, Floryn), Lifebane taxes their healing too. Skip it if they have no sustain to fight. - Immortality — the default burst answer (you are target number one; the revive buys a peel window). Athena's Shield vs two-plus magic threats; Antique Cuirass vs two physical assassins.

Emblem: Support — the debate barely exists. MLBBHub's FAQ: Agility / Pull Yourself Together / Focusing Mark. Focusing Mark's 6% amp turns your clump's focus fire lethal. Roam blessing: Favor.

How to counter him

Two tracker families, one verdict: don't fight the healing — defund it. MLBBHub's measured counters (FAQ): Ixia, Beatrix and Sora hold the biggest ranked edges against him. MLCounter.com's matchup table (older page — direction, not gospel): Estes wins just 41% vs Freya, 42% vs Fanny, 44% vs Baxia, 46% vs Luo Yi. The schools: anti-heal, the whole school — Baxia's passive taxes the entire team's regen by existing, and Lifebane items (Dominance Ice, Sea Halberd, Glowing Wand) cut the rest; MLBBDex's caption is the scouting report — he "collapses as soon as it arrives." Isolation — Yin's My Turn yanks him into a 1v1 he cannot win or heal from (Hub: Yin + Baxia is the canonical disqualifier). Burst that beats the ticks — Fanny (measured), Eudora, Kadita (blooing): delete him or the carry before the heal matters.

Play patterns: (1) Buy anti-heal first, not fourth — Lifebane as item one or two is the cheapest draft correction in the game. (2) Never deathball into him. Slow grouped fights are where his healing gets full value (u7buy's counter guide); spread, pick, fight on two fronts one aura can't cover. (3) Focus Estes himself. No dash, no hard CC, 240 movement speed, the frailest level-1 HP bar in this series — the engine is also the softest target. (4) Force the Blessing, then re-fight its cooldown: 55 seconds at rank 1 is a long winter; bait it with a poke skirmish, take the real fight inside the window. (5) Break the tether, break the hero — displacement separating him from his link target voids the contract.

And who Estes counters: MLCounter gives him 58% vs Layla, 57% vs Rafaela (he out-sustains the other healer), 55% vs Alpha, 53% vs Cici; MLBBHub adds dive mages and enchanter supports (Angela, mirror Estes). The structural counter is poke: any comp whose plan is "chip them down over a minute" donates him a highlight reel.

Mistakes everyone makes

MLBBHub's Estes autopsy list — all five still true at 52.6%: - "The Full-HP Coronation": Ulting before anyone has taken damage. The instant heal is the smallest part of the spell; the value is the refresh and the doubled link on a fight already happening. Ult a healthy team and you've spent 55 seconds of cooldown on a parade. - "The Link Affair": Swapping your link mid-fight to whichever ally is suddenly lowest. A swapped link's ticks pay out late to both targets. Choose by who the enemy will focus, before the fight, and stay faithful unless they die. - "Domain as a Greeting": Throwing Domain of Moon Goddess onto the enemy team at engage range. Enemies already inside when it lands are *not* slowed — only edge-crossers are. On the dive route it's a wall; on their heads it's a decoration. - "Skipping Oracle Into Anti-Heal": The most common high-elo mistake on Hub's list. "The heals get cut anyway" is exactly backwards: receive-side amplification is worth more when the cut exists. Buy it sooner, not never. - "The Invisible Passive": Never firing the charged basic. Scripture's ricochet slow is his only damage and a real disengage layer — a full meter left sitting while you babysit is a fifth button unplayed.

FAQ

Does one anti-heal item really beat him? It beats the S+ version of him. MLBBDex: he dominates comps *without* healing reduction and collapses when it arrives. One Lifebane item doesn't delete Estes — it deletes the math that made five people unkillable, which is why pros buy it early.
Who do I link? The ally the enemy *has* to focus — usually your immobile carry (Hub's named fits: Kimmy, Beatrix, Moskov, Lesley) — chosen before the fight starts. Not the tank who'll charge out of range, not whoever panicked first.
When exactly do I ult? At compression: carry around 50–60% HP, two-plus allies in the aura, enemy committed. Not at full HP as insurance; not on one isolated ally.
Why a ~44% ban rate on a 0.7% pick rate? Because drafts ban the *comp*. Specialists are rare, but a five-stack — or a lucky draft with a frontline and a parked carry — makes him un-itemizable in champion select. The ban is insurance against the deathball.
Is he hard to play? Easy (MLBBHub). Moonton's ratings (via MLCounter): Durability 7, Offense 1, Control 2. The game is tether discipline: one link, chosen early, defended like a marriage, and an ult pressed at compression instead of panic.

Final verdict

Estes in Season 42 is an S+ spreadsheet with a C-grade dependency list: a 52.7% win rate, a 44% ban rate, and a kit that is either the strongest thing in the lobby or a slow elf next to a broken link — decided entirely in the draft and the enemy's shop. The patch ignored him because his game is played in the five minutes before the loading screen.

Play him if: your draft is a genuine deathball — a frontline that stays, an immobile damage-dense carry who stands in one spot and deletes things — and the enemy hasn't shown Baxia, Yin, or a team that shops for anti-heal on time.

Skip him if: your carry is a Fanny or a Claude who'll be four screens away when the link matters, your comp has no frontline for him to preserve, or the enemy draft is burst, isolation and Lifebane. Estes doesn't create space and he doesn't chase fights. He makes five people standing together the scariest formation in the game — and he is only ever as strong as the huddle.

Keep reading

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on CoolGameShelf — the game page: player rating and official store links
MLBB Emblem Guide — the emblem setup behind this guide's build
More roam guides: Angela MLBB Guide, Akai MLBB Guide, Belerick MLBB Guide