Did you know Mobile Legends started its journey on July 14, 2016, in Brazil? That’s right—this global esports sensation started as a beta test in South America! Let's dive deep into the early days of Mobile Legends, exploring its first heroes, quirky features, and how it evolved into the game we can’t stop playing.
This topic will cover of ML's Journey in Brazil while it is still on BETA.
1. Beta Beginnings: Why Brazil?
Back in 2016, Mobile Legends launched as Mobile Legends: 5v5 Fair MOBA in Brazil. A retro loading screen, a basic logo, and a game still finding its groove. Why Brazil? While Tencent’sHonor of Kings ruled China, developer Moonton chose Brazil to dodge strict regulations and test the game for a global audience. Smart move, right? This beta phase laid the foundation for MLBB’s worldwide domination.
Mobile Legends First Logo (2016)
Mobile Legends First Loading Screen (2016)
2. Meet the First Heroes.
The beta roster was tiny—just Eight heroes with some serious inspiration from other games:
- Miya: Inspired by Ashe from League of Legends.
First Miya
Ashe From League of Legends
- Balmond: A nod to Grommash Hellscream from Warcraft.
First Balmond
Grommash Hellscream from Warcraft
- Saber: Channeling Cyborg Raiden and Samuel from Metal Gear.
First Saber
Cyborg Raiden and Samuel from Metal Gear
- Alice: Drawing from Lilith in Magic Rush.
First Alice
Lilith from Magic Rush
- Nana: A fan-favorite with no clear inspiration.
First Nana
First Nana
- Tigreal: Basically Garen from League of Legends.
First Tigreal
Garen from League of Legends
- Akai: Think Po from Kung Fu Panda.
First Akai
Po from Kung Fu Panda
- Alucard: Originally Dante, a mix of Devil May Cry’sDante and Nero.
First Alucard
Dante & Nero from Devil May Cry’s
Dante & Nero from Devil May Cry’s
3. Tutorial Gameplay.
First Tutorial
You introduced as Miya with Banshee skin.
Miya's Banshee Skin
Miya said : "This war is about to get started!" after she respawns on a Brawl Map.
The mascot potraited as a "Racer Girl" like. Probably an early concept of Layla.
Racer Girl introducing you on Tutorial
"Racer Girl" said : "It's great to meet you, my friend."
As usual, you have to drag an analog and buy an equipment as usual
After that, you have to press the basic attack on the Minion.
Miya's Basic Attack
After that, you have to upgrade your first skill and kill the minion.
Miya's 1st Skill Concept
After that, you have to ugprade your second skill and kill the minion.
Miya's 2nd Skill Concept
Buy an equipment, and move to the location.
Kill the minions that attacking your turret. After that, learn an ultimate skill.
Your first opponent will be Saber with "Golden Warrior: skin.
After you kill Saber. You instantly win the First Tutorial!
First Tutorial completed. Proceed to enter your name.
Second Tutorial
You teleported to the Home Page. There were no free hero after you completed the first tutorial because there were no Yun Zhao. Instead, you immediately get Balmond as a second hero ( didn't show up after Tutorial ). And you have to play Classic to proceed the next tutorial.
On "Ready section", you can see the avatar still used from the Characters in Magic Rush.
the avatars that used from Magic Rush
These are the heroes that are avalaible to play. On that day, there were only 8 heroes.
This is the loading screen while you wait to enter a match. You can see all of these players are from Brazil
There were no "Welcome to Mobile Legends" , and "5 Seconds before the Minions reached to the Battlefield. Smash them! All troops deployed." sound.
Instead, it just shows the animation you teleported to Land of Dawn with an Outlined Character (even the Outline settings are disabled.)
This tutorial you can freely go to whenever the lane you like. You can go Jungle, go to Top, Mid or Bottom Lane.
There were no name such as EXP Lane, and Gold Lane
The Map were structured like this. You can see there were Turtle, and Lord that already respawn in 2 Minutes.
The Turrets and The Base were so easily to destroyed. Even, the true damage are not as big as now.
Victory Scene in Classic
There were no scoreboard. You can just like in this session, and you can see the enemies statistics through here
The medal you've got showed after the scoreboard session.
You will get a lot amount of EXP. And you immediately leveled up to Level 3
Congratulations! You've completed the Second Tutorial!
These heroes had Magic Chess-style avatars, giving off major nostalgic vibes. Which one’s your favorite?
4. Raw and Chaotic Gameplay
The beta gameplay was as raw as it gets—no iconic voice lines like “Welcome to Mobile Legends!” or “5 seconds until enemy minions spawn.” You’d just teleport into the Land of Dawn with a basic character outline (even if outline settings were off). No scoreboard, just pure chaos—smashing minions and enemies. It was simple, messy, and ridiculously fun!
5. Updates That Shaped the Game
Updated Loading Screen
New Loading screen while waiting to go to the Advanced / Second Tutorial
By August 2016, Mobile Legends started evolving fast. The loading screen got a glow-up, and the Advanced Server was introduced. Five new heroes joined the roster:
- Bane: Think Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Bane
- Clint: Inspired by Clint Eastwood’s rugged cowboy vibe.
Bruno & Clint
- Bruno: A tribute to Brazil’s soccer star Neymar.
- Karina: Modeled after Katarina from League of Legends.
Karina
- Franco: A fighter (not yet a tank) with a placeholder portrait.
Franco
Moonton also launched the Rio de Janeiro event, featuring Brazil-themed skins for Akai and Bruno, plus a remodeled Karina skin with Katarina vibes. Miya’s Banshee skin swapped yellow for bold red. Free chests and metal chests added excitement, while heroes like Rafaela and Eudora debuted by December, along with new splash art for Tigreal and Alice. Emblems deepened gameplay, and the mechanics kept improving.
6. From 2D to Epic Animations
Back in the beta, Mobile Legends relied on simple 2D animations. Fast forward to 2025, and MLBB’s animations are straight-up masterpieces! From its humble Brazil beta to a global esports giant, Moonton’s dedication turned Mobile Legends into the phenomenon we love today.
What Beta Feature Do You Miss?
The origin story of Mobile Legends which started, from its Brazil beta to the Land of Dawn we know now. Which beta hero or feature do you wish would make a comeback? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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