Quick answer (20 October 2026): The next new hero in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is Dori, "Shepherd of Smiles", a Mage built for the Mid Lane who fights with a banner and ring-shaped area skills. She has been on the Advance Server since Patch 2.2.14 (27 August 2026) and would be the 134th hero, since the live roster is still 133. She is not playable on the Original Server yet. Moonton has given no release date. Seasons have recently run about three months and Season 42 started on 16 September, so the community expects her around Season 43, which starts on 16 December 2026. That is an estimate, not an announcement. Her most recent change was a nerf in Advance Server Patch 2.2.26 (15 October 2026).
One distinction matters for everything below. The Advance Server is Moonton's test build and the Original Server is the game everyone plays. Every skill detail and number in this article comes from the Advance Server. Until Dori ships to the Original Server, any of it can change.
Who is Dori in Mobile Legends?
Dori is the only brand-new hero on the Advance Server right now: none of the Advance patches from 2.2.16 to 2.2.26 added another one. Season 42 itself shipped revamps rather than new heroes: Masha and Bruno got real reworks, and six others got visual updates (see our Season 42 Starward Decade breakdown). Under the r/MobileLegendsGame thread for the latest Advance patch, one comment simply asked "Who is Dori". This page answers that.
Moonton introduced her in the Advance Server Patch 2.2.14 notes with this description, quoted verbatim from the patch archive on mlbbhub:
"Meet the cheerful troupe floor captain of the Whimsical Wonders, a Nature Spirit born with the ability to sense emotions and a Mage who wields a banner as her weapon. [Hero Feature]: Dori waves her banner to conjure magic rings of different sizes, protecting her troupe and, above all, everyone's smile."
Her Advance Server profile (pictured above: title, role, specialty and skill tags) plus the lane she is designed for (Players):
| Field | Dori (Advance Server) |
|---|---|
| Title | Shepherd of Smiles |
| Role | Mage |
| Specialty | Poke / Control |
| Intended lane | Mid Lane |
| Skill tags | Three skills, all tagged AOE |
| Added | Advance Server Patch 2.2.14, 27 August 2026 |
| Latest change | Nerf in Advance Server Patch 2.2.26, 15 October 2026 |
| Original Server | Not released (live patch is 2.2.16a) |
She would be hero number 134. mlbbhub's hero roster still counts 133 heroes, and Dori's entry in the 2.2.26 notes reads "No hero page yet". Her theme is a cheerful one: a bushy-tailed troupe performer who twirls a banner instead of carrying a staff or book.
What are Dori's skills?
Dori has one passive and three active skills. Most Mages have two basic skills and an ultimate that unlocks at level 4. Dori does not. All three of her active skills behave like regular skills, and early coverage of the Advance build (GamingonPhone, Players) reports that you can pick any of the three as your first skill at level 1.
The official skill notes from Patch 2.2.14 are short. The figures in the "reported test values" column come from hands-on coverage of the 2.2.14 build by GamingonPhone and Players, not from a Moonton patch note. They were also written before the 2.2.26 nerf, so read them as a snapshot of the first test version:
| Skill | Official 2.2.14 description | Reported 2.2.14 test values |
|---|---|---|
| Passive: Merry Mark | Skills mark the target. Hitting a marked enemy with another skill deals extra damage. Dori gains Movement Speed every time she casts a skill. | Mark lasts 4.5s; +30% Movement Speed for 1s per cast |
| Skill 1: Timid Courage | Damages nearby enemies, knocks them back and gives Dori a shield. | Shield lasts 3s; about 12s cooldown |
| Skill 2: Banner Twirl | Damages and slows enemies inside a ring area. | 30% slow for 1.5s; Dori gains 15% Movement Speed; about 3.5s cooldown |
| Skill 3: Starlit Parade | Damages and stuns enemies inside a ring area. | Larger ring; 1s stun; about 11s cooldown |
Moonton has not published damage numbers or exact cooldowns for Dori in any patch note we could find. We have left damage out deliberately rather than guess.
What makes the ring skills different?
Banner Twirl and Starlit Parade are rings, not circles. Their damage and crowd control land in the band at the edge of the ring, and the middle is empty. An enemy standing too close to the centre of the cast takes nothing. GamingonPhone's analysis puts it this way: the target "must be within the small ring at the edge of the ability range. If you end up missing it, that's more or less a waste of the ability."
So you are not aiming at a target. You are managing distance. A Dori who keeps enemies at the right range lands a slow, a stun and a mark detonation in a few seconds. A Dori who lets an assassin walk into the middle of her ring has nothing to hit it with.
Is Dori released yet, and when does she come out?
No, she is not released. As of 20 October 2026 Dori is only on the Advance Server. The Original Server is on Patch 2.2.16a (14 October 2026), and that hotfix touched only Aulus, Hirara, Eudora, Rafaela and Kalea, with no new hero (full details in our MLBB patch notes breakdown).
Here is what is confirmed and what is not:
- Confirmed: she was added in Advance Server Patch 2.2.14 on 27 August 2026. Advance Patches 2.2.16, 2.2.18, 2.2.20, 2.2.22, 2.2.22a and 2.2.24 left her untouched. Advance Patch 2.2.26 on 15 October 2026 nerfed her.
- Not confirmed: any Original Server release date or patch. We found no Moonton announcement naming one.
- Wrong: some early coverage said she would launch with Season 42 on 16 September. Season 42 launched without her.
The most common community estimate is a Season 43 debut. Season 41 ran from 17 June to 16 September (about three months), and mlbbhub's season schedule, checked against the in-game ranked countdown, has Season 42 ending and Season 43 starting on 16 December 2026 (08:00 UTC). A December release fits that pattern, but Moonton has not confirmed it. If the date matters to you, wait for the Original Server patch note that lists her as a new hero. If you want to know what the reset will do to your rank before then, see how the rank reset works.
What changed for Dori in Patch 2.2.26?
Advance Server Patch 2.2.26 went up on 15 October 2026 with three buffs (Aldous, Belerick, Lukas), three nerfs (Atlas, Dori, Gloo), three adjustments and a full Natalia revamp. Dori's line is one sentence. Moonton wrote:
"Slightly reduced her skill cast frequency."
That is most likely a cooldown increase, and it hits the core of her kit. Merry Mark rewards you for casting often: every cast gives Movement Speed, and every second skill hit detonates the mark. Fewer casts means fewer detonations and less kiting speed. Moonton gave no reason, but a pre-release nerf may suggest she was performing above target on the test server. Exact new cooldowns were not published.
For context, the same 2.2.26 notes also test Glowing Lantern, a new battlefield effect, and adjust Golden Turret and Healing Turtle. Those are Advance Server changes too. Nothing in 2.2.26 is live for normal players yet. For how those objectives work today, see our Healing Turtle and Golden Turret guide.
How do you play Dori?
Everything here is early theory from the Advance build, not a tested meta build. Treat it as a starting point.
Lane and job. Dori is designed for the Mid Lane. Her job matches the usual mid mage brief: clear the wave, rotate, and control teamfights from range. Banner Twirl's short cooldown (in the reported 2.2.14 values) makes it her wave-clear tool. Starlit Parade's stun is her teamfight button. One player's advice in a current r/MobileLegendsGame mage thread applies to her directly: "In the early game, your main job is defending mid." Dori's slow and stun make her strong at defending, and her lack of a single big burst combo means she should not expect solo kills early.
Basic combo:
- Open with Banner Twirl at mid range to slow and mark the enemy.
- Follow with Starlit Parade while the slow holds. The second hit detonates Merry Mark and stuns.
- If someone dives you, cast Timid Courage. The knockback pushes them out of your face, ideally back into the edge of your next ring, and the shield buys a second to walk away.
- Use the Movement Speed from each cast to reposition, then repeat when cooldowns return.
Skill order. Because all three skills are available from level 1, the usual choice is to open with Banner Twirl for lane clear and poke. Take Timid Courage first instead if you expect an early jungle invade or a hard-dive matchup.
Build and emblem. Early guides for the 2.2.14 build (Players) suggest a Magic Power, Magic Penetration and cooldown reduction build: Magic Boots (formerly Magic Shoes), Genius Wand, Glowing Wand, Enchanted Talisman and Holy Crystal, on the Mage emblem. The 2.2.26 nerf to her cast frequency makes cooldown reduction more valuable than before, so Enchanted Talisman moves up. For the emblem talents themselves, our emblem guide covers how the system works.
Battle spell. Flicker to escape divers, or Purify if the enemy has hard crowd control on their assassin. Our battle spells guide explains when each one wins.
Who will counter Dori?
There are no matchup statistics yet, because nobody can play her in ranked. Her kit still points to clear weaknesses:
- Divers and assassins that close the gap fast and fight inside the empty middle of her rings. Timid Courage is her only defensive tool, so once it is on cooldown she is exposed.
- Long-range mages and marksmen that can poke her from outside her ring range.
- Purify and crowd-control immunity, which weaken a kit that relies on a slow-then-stun pattern.
She should be good against slow, melee teamfight comps that have to walk through her rings to reach her backline. For which mid laners are strong in the current live patch, see our best Mid Lane heroes list and the current tier list.
Is Dori good for beginners?
Probably yes, with one catch. Her skill descriptions are simple: no stacking resource, no multi-stage ultimate, and one obvious combo. Sportsdunia's preview calls her a beginner-friendly Mage and compares her to Lylia and Joy. The catch is the ring range. Landing the edge of a ring on a moving target takes practice, and missing it means a whole skill does nothing. New players who want an easier start today can look at our best heroes for beginners list, which only includes heroes that are already live.
Want a new hero on a ready-made account the day she drops? Start from an MLBB account that already has a deep hero pool and skins, or get your rank where you want it before Season 43.
- Mobile Legends Accounts — ranked-ready MLBB accounts · hero and skin collections · instant handover
- Mobile Legends Rank Boost — Warrior to Mythical Immortal · piloted or self-play · pick your target
- All Mobile Legends services
FAQ
Who is the newest hero in Mobile Legends? The newest hero in testing is Dori, "Shepherd of Smiles", a Mage added to the Advance Server in Patch 2.2.14 on 27 August 2026. She is not on the Original Server yet, where the roster is still 133 heroes as of 20 October 2026.
When will Dori be released in MLBB? Moonton has not announced a date. She was not part of Season 42 (16 September 2026). The common community estimate is Season 43, which starts on 16 December 2026 per the in-game ranked countdown. Her arrival with that season is still a guess until an Original Server patch note lists her.
What role is Dori in Mobile Legends? Dori is a Mage with the Poke and Control specialty, designed for the Mid Lane. All three of her active skills are area-of-effect.
Does Dori have an ultimate? Not a traditional one. She has three active skills plus a passive, and early coverage of the test build reports that you can pick any of the three at level 1 instead of waiting for level 4. Her third skill, Starlit Parade, is her big stun and plays the ultimate's role.
Why was Dori nerfed before release? Advance Server Patch 2.2.26 (15 October 2026) "slightly reduced her skill cast frequency". Moonton gave no further reason. A pre-release nerf may suggest she performed above target in testing, so it is not necessarily a sign she will be weak.
Can I play Dori now? Only on the Advance Server, which is Moonton's separate test client and not your main game. On the Original Server she is not in the hero shop yet.
Updated 20 October 2026. Sources: Advance Server Patch 2.2.14 and 2.2.26 notes (mlbbhub archive), GamingonPhone, Players, Sportsdunia, mlbbhub season schedule. Live Original Server patch at time of writing: 2.2.16a. Advance Server details are test content and may change before release.
