The EXP lane in Season 39 is a sustain arms race. Post-DHS nerf, raw damage stacking is less efficient than it was six months ago, and that shift punishes glass-cannon fighters hard. What survives are heroes with innate regen, high base HP, and the ability to run repeated trades without burning through HP faster than the wave cycles.
This tier list covers Mythical Honor+ data from Patch 2.1 (current live patch). Win rates are sourced from mlbbhub.com hero pages and cross-referenced against community data. Rankings reflect solo-queue viability, not competitive draft theory.
#EXP Lane Fighter Tier List: Season 39 Patch 2.1
| Hero | Tier | Win Rate | Role Profile | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilda | S | 53.4% | Fighter/Tank | Medium |
| Leomord | S | 54.2% | Fighter | Medium |
| Aulus | S | 53.0% | Fighter | Medium |
| Ruby | A | 52.7% | Fighter | Medium |
| Guinevere | A | 51.8% | Fighter/Mage | Medium |
| Khaleed | A | 52.0% | Fighter | Medium |
| Freya | A | 51.7% | Fighter | Easy |
| Fredrinn | B | 50.7% | Fighter/Tank | Medium |
| Thamuz | B | 50.2% | Fighter | Medium |
| Phoveus | B | 50.1% | Fighter | Medium |
| Sora | B | 50.3% | Fighter/Assassin | Medium |
| Cici | C | 48.7% | Fighter | Easy |
| Lapu-Lapu | C | 48.7% | Fighter | Medium |
| Dyrroth | D | 44.5% | Fighter | Medium |
The gap between S and C tier here is real. Hilda at 53.4% and Dyrroth at 44.5% are not playing the same game.
#S Tier: Pick or Ban
Hilda, 53.4% Win Rate
The highest win rate in the lane, and the mechanic behind it is embarrassingly simple: brush regen. Hilda recovers 10, 15% max HP per wave cycle when standing in a bush. Against most EXP laners, that means she wins every sustained trade by default because she enters each exchange closer to full HP than her opponent.
Her execute ultimate punches through sustain. Yu Zhong heals to 20% and survives most things. Hilda's ult kills him anyway. That's not a small advantage in a meta defined by regen stacking.
Ban rate is climbing. If she's banned, move to the next option down the list. She also flexes to roam effectively, which gives her additional draft value.
Core items: Antique Cuirass, Oracle, Immortality, Queen's Wings
Leomord, 54.2% Win Rate
54.2% is the highest win rate among fighters in the current meta. The revamp delivered exactly what was advertised: a mounted fighter who scales hard and transitions from laner to teamfight initiator better than any other option in the role.
His Phantom Steed transformation is the key. Once mounted, he gains a persistent AoE aura, enhanced mobility, and a charge ultimate that pulls him across the map into enemies. In the EXP lane specifically, his level 4 power spike (full kit online) is one of the sharpest in the role. He punishes opponents who play too aggressively around that window.
He's also showing up in jungle in high-rank play. For EXP lane, his sustain is adequate rather than exceptional, which is why Hilda still beats him in win rate despite Leomord having the higher tier floor.
Core items: Endless Battle, Blade of Despair, Immortality, Berserker's Fury
Aulus, 53.0% Win Rate
The Patch 2.1.60 advance server revamp landed well. Skill 2 cooldown halved from 10 seconds to 5 seconds, basic attack range expanded from 2.1 to 2.4. Those two changes transformed his rhythm completely.
Pre-buff Aulus was a mediocre laner who spiked hard late but got bullied before items. Post-buff, the faster Skill 2 cycling means he's constantly in empowered-attack mode. The 14% range increase lets him threaten from distances that feel uncomfortable for melee opponents.
53.0% win rate at Mythical Honor+ is not a surprise pick or a fluke. He's genuinely strong right now, and the pick rate hasn't caught up to the win rate yet. That means lower ban pressure and easier access.
Core items: War Axe, Corrosion Scythe, Malefic Roar, Endless Battle
#A Tier: Reliable Secondaries
Ruby, 52.7% Win Rate
52.7% despite the Skill 1 nerf in 2.1.60 (base damage reduced from 120, 245 to 110, 210). That's a resilient number. Ruby's lane identity doesn't rely on Skill 1 burst; it relies on lifesteal and the CC chain from her hook mechanic.
Her value is teamfight disruption more than lane dominance. The scythe hook pulls enemies back into position repeatedly, and her lifesteal keeps her alive through trades that would kill other fighters. She's the best option if your team needs a frontline that also brings crowd control.
The nerf hurts her aggressive trading window at levels 1, 3. After level 4, she's back to full strength.
Core items: Endless Battle, Blade Armor, Oracle, Immortality
Khaleed, 52.0% Win Rate
52.0% win rate and chronically underpicked. Khaleed's sand mechanic generates desert energy that both sustains him and amplifies his damage. He recovers HP through Skill 1 repeatedly during laning phase, which gives him a sustain profile similar to Hilda without the brush dependency.
His wave-riding ultimate provides repositioning and a slow. Against immobile EXP laners, he controls the lane tempo without burning CDs.
The honest drawback: he's mediocre in teamfights compared to Leomord or Ruby. His value is almost entirely in the laning phase and split push.
Core items: War Axe, Blade of Despair, Malefic Roar, Queen's Wings
Guinevere, 51.8% Win Rate
51.8% and she brings something most EXP laners can't: reliable airborne CC into a juggle combo that removes one enemy from a teamfight for 2+ seconds. The knockup into ultimate sequence is one of the more frustrating things to be on the receiving end of in this lane.
Her weakness is the setup requirement. The Skill 1 knockup must land or the combo falls apart. Against mobile opponents who can dodge the approach, she struggles. Her durability stats are the lowest in A tier: 40 on the mlbbhub.com profile, which shows.
Pick her when the enemy EXP laner is immobile. Avoid her into Chou, Benedetta, or anything with a reliable dodge.
Core items: Calamity Reaper, Holy Crystal, Blood Wings, Immortality
Freya, 51.7% Win Rate
The revamp delivered a more functional kit. 51.7% win rate reflects a hero who now trades competently in lane rather than the pre-revamp version that felt gutted in 1v1 scenarios.
Her sacred orbs mechanic rewards staying in combat. Each skill use generates orbs that empower basic attacks, making her a sustained fighter who gets stronger the longer a fight runs. Her CC is tied to her jump skills, which require reading opponent movement.
She's Easy difficulty with A-tier output. That's legitimate value in solo queue where mechanical floors matter.
Core items: Endless Battle, Corrosion Scythe, Blade of Despair, Wind of Nature
#B Tier: Situational but Functional
| Hero | Win Rate | When to Pick | Hard Counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fredrinn | 50.7% | Against burst compositions | Esmeralda (absorbs his shields) |
| Thamuz | 50.2% | Against Dyrroth or Aldous | Baxia (reduces his HP regen by 50%) |
| Phoveus | 50.1% | Against blink-heavy rosters | Immobile opponents (he does nothing) |
| Sora | 50.3% | Flex pick with mobility | Any sustained regen fighter |
Phoveus deserves a specific note. His 50.1% global win rate understates his value in the right matchup. Against a team with Chou, Benedetta, Arlott, and two other blink-heavy picks, Phoveus becomes A-tier. He's not a blind pick; he's a counter-pick tool. Understand that distinction before locking him in.
Sora at 50.3% is B-tier, not S-tier, despite what some community tier lists claim. His kit has high skill expression but his EXP lane sustain is insufficient against the regen-stacking meta. He belongs in jungle where he can snowball off early kills. In EXP lane, he's a 50.3% hero.
#C and D Tier: Avoid in Ranked
| Hero | Win Rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cici | 48.7% | Esmeralda destroys her (45.1% WR matchup), low base durability |
| Lapu-Lapu | 48.7% | Weak before level 4, Yu Zhong counters him cleanly |
| Dyrroth | 44.5% | Thamuz negates his burst entirely; meta favors sustain over armor shred |
Dyrroth at 44.5% is the worst-performing fighter in the lane right now. His kit is designed to burst through tanks with armor shred. The problem: the meta EXP laners are Hilda, Leomord, Aulus, and Ruby, none of whom are particularly vulnerable to armor shred as their primary defense. He's a hero waiting for the right meta, and this isn't it.
#Why the EXP Lane Rewards Sustain Right Now
Three factors converged to create the current meta:
1. DHS nerf reduced damage-item efficiency. Physical damage builds are less gold-efficient than they were. Heroes who regen through skills (Hilda, Khaleed, Thamuz) are less impacted than heroes who relied on burst items.
2. The lane is still largely 1v1. At Mythical Honor+, roamers prioritize mid and jungle. EXP laners spend minutes 1, 6 in isolation. That punishes heroes who need team resources to survive trades and rewards self-sufficient sustain profiles.
3. Revamps landed well. Leomord and Freya both returned to relevance after their revamps. Two new legitimate picks entering S and A tier simultaneously compressed the meta and pushed weaker options like Dyrroth further down.
The meta hasn't shifted dramatically from Patch 2.1.47 in terms of top picks. Hilda, Leomord, and Ruby have been in the top three consistently for several patch cycles. What changed is Aulus entering S tier through the buff and Sora's reality check dropping him out of the inflated S rankings some community lists gave him.
#Draft Priority Cheat Sheet
| Situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| Open meta, no bans | Hilda |
| Hilda banned | Leomord |
| Need tank-fighter hybrid | Fredrinn |
| Enemy has 3+ blink heroes | Phoveus |
| Need teamfight CC | Ruby |
| Enemy picked Dyrroth/Aldous | Thamuz |
| Playing against burst comp | Fredrinn |
The EXP lane in S39 does not reward playing creatively. The sustain profile wins. Pick from S or A tier unless you have a specific counter-pick reason to go lower.
For the full hero stats, counter matchups, and build data, check the MLBB tier list and individual hero pages at mlbbhub.com/meta. If you're learning the EXP lane role from scratch, the EXP lane role overview has the fundamentals.
The MLBB emblem guide covers the best emblem setups for fighters if you want to optimize that layer of your build.